This was my year one semester one proposel for the writers workship unit for the piece I intented to write the following semester. When I wrote this I did not realise there was a 3000 word limit to the piece.
Plan for historical, political, fantasy.
Titled, Akashuro.
For my upcoming project, I intend to write about the Anashuro incident, a fantasy piece of political tragedy that highlights the injustice of the past for women and gays. I have decided to do this because I have a particular interest in political affairs being placed into works of fiction to get the point across in a more palatable way. I intend to present my three points, (Class, women's/gay rites, and racial prejudice) as a short fantasy story. The story shall be set in 1912 during a time of known political turmoil, however with a dark fantastical twist to our world. The story shall be set alongside real historical events and places, such as the present-day haunting of Bewdley graveyard and pre-war friction. By using real-life events I shall be mirroring the fantasy setting to our own past, therefore, highlighting the issues presented as our own.
The story Itself follows Myata Akashuro, the fourth child of a European Duke. the forgotten child. To emphasise the point of men being seen as superior in the set time period, Myata is mentioned less than her twin brother Ayatari, leading the reader into believing this is his affair. Instead of being the obvious lead her actions will be overshadowed by that of her brothers, until the very end when they finally push her too far. Her actions will be left a little to the reader's imagination. Myata's family are pure-blooded Vampires (Symbolism of high society) move to England for an opportunity put forward for the eldest son Michaelis. While her brothers fight to become the next Heir, Myata dabbles curiously into the affairs of the locals, toying with the humans like they're play things and generally using her status as a 'lady' to cause havoc. She is designed to act this way as a show of defiance against her male dominated family. Then one day she meets a young penniless maid named Astra, (Celtic for stars), the last of the wolf born. The two fall in love as both are outcasted for their own reasons and women far wiser than they are given credit for. This is a love Myata will kill to protect. Throughout the story, the reader witnesses Miyata's descent into unrest as she becomes more paranoid about someone discovering their love, afraid to lose the one person to ever show her love. In the end, a priest betrays the pair on the local hunt. Astra (the symbol of peaceful revolution portrayed by her love of nature and her willingness to co-exist) is shot by the men of the church guard (symbols of the male-dominated world around). This causes Myata to lose her mind and commit atrocities upon the men and the men alone that forbade her love. This is Myata turning into the 'monster' everyone always thought of her, the cursed child of the Red House. Red is used to symbolise the dangerous and volatile nature of the house, also seen as foreshadowing for the end. In the last scene, Myata is stabbed by her mother's dagger in her brother's hands and it is left open as to why he would do this. Whether it's to become heir to the family name, to kill the woman threatening to destroy the village's peace, or to provide his sister with a merciful death. The question is left open to the reader, then follows with a sorrowful piece about what her grave in Bewdley looks like now.
The points I previously mentioned are placed throughout the above timeline. Class or social status divide, is represented between Myata being a noble lady and Astra being a penniless maid. Rites of women and gays; since the story is set pre Suffragette movement and many years before gay rites became socially accepted. Though it is true, Britain has never had a law against lesbianism, this does not mean woman were not prosecuted. Parliament and society liked to pretend lesbianism did not exist and instead punish those to partake in it under different offences, this done so the idea wouldn't be spread to more curious woman (Openlearn, 2021). This brings us to my final point of racial prejudice. As a white British woman raised in small typically British farming areas, I was not comfortable writing real world racial struggles into this work. Though I could research the struggles these groups have faced I don't believe it would be right for me the use them as examples. This is where the fantasy element comes in. By introducing Werewolves and Vampires I have opened up a less 'risky' way of broaching this last point to the reader.
Structure wise in this piece, I would like to use short sentences and sharp paragraphing to show the fast progression of time. I'd like to work on \show rather than tell', using actions and words to depict relationships rather than describe them as the narrator. I want the piece to be speech-heavy, using terms from the time period to help make it feel more authentic, as well as colloquial langue for the locals to show the divide between classes. I shall assure good historical accuracy using research from a great number of notable sources. These shall include news reports from around 1912, studies into relevant fashion trends, and language studies from works written around this time such as diary entries, pre-war telegrams and other such places of life-accurate content. I already have several resources I'm looking into as well as character design sheets.
I want to contrast the morbidity of Myata with the harmony of Astra by using subtle points of imagery. However using my research I will also highlight how despite their differences, they are both women pushed down by society. I want to highlight the injustice of the past and how simple acts of prejudice made out of unjustified fear can cause fear to become justified.
Conclusion.
If all goes to my weekly plan, I shall have the short story finished by the end of the given time and will have portrayed the points above in a subtle yet understandable piece of historical, tragic fantasy. The piece shall be no more than ten concise chapters, again highlighting how quickly things change. This shall give a bittersweet feel to the love affair. I want to leave the piece with loose ends so the reader may reflect for themselves on who was right. The piece is not designed to enforce a message but rather to give questions to the reader's moral compass.
My aim is to write a beautiful tragic story to reflect upon.
