Problems for Tomorrow (Vol. I): Soul Without a Body Without a Soul
Problems for Tomorrow are projects that I haven't been able to figure out how to complete, posted so they wouldn't go forgotten and to document my process. Suggestions and ideas are greatly encouraged and appreciated.
Shiori is a god of grief created by human cruelty and Adira is a feral huntress created by nature’s necessity. This is a story of two monsters bound together in a dying forest desperately clinging onto what’s left of their humanity.
(the thing and the creature)
Present
On June 24th, Lemy introduced me to the characters Shiori (pretty) and Adira (creature).
Shiori and Adira are two halves of a shattered divine event. Shiori is quite literally the concept of sadness constructed with the sadness of tens of thousands of people, while Adira was born from the physical mess Shiori left behind.
Their paths crossed when Adira spotted Shiori in the woods. Seeing a frail, trembling girl, Adira categorized her as easy prey. However, after several successful kills that resulted in her spotting Shiori stumbling around weeks later, her worldview was shattered. For the first time in her life, Adira found something a bone she couldn’t keep snapped. She began to study her, eventually following her back to her isolated home.
Because Adira's lineage has forgotten how to feel complex emotions, she is one of the few creatures nearly completely immune to the fallout of Shiori's original ritual that plagues the forest. To Shiori, Adira is a relief because she seemingly cannot be worn down by what she believes is a consequence of her existence. Adira allows her to forget about the 'responsibility' that she was unwillingly cursed with.
I've always been intensely fascinated with genuine relationships that form out of necessity. Similarly to 13o, this story runs on the idea that their bond is fundamentally toxic and dangerous, however it is earned because they are both outcasts who would cease to exist or function in the normal world.
There is a beautiful poignancy in Adira's realization that she will eventually burn out while Shiori lives forever. She has an innate, human desire to be remembered, framed through the lens of a monster who doesn't know how to say "I love you and I'll miss you."
The Wall
I find myself seeking a grand, rewarding narrative. A grand, expansive of epic proportions. These days, I continue to chase after the high that an emotional odyssey like { twolonelyheavens } gave me. Naturally, my first instinct was to take them away from home and send them across the map, but every time I try to plot the journey, I run into dead-ends.
Shiori's core essence is stasis. She is defined by depressive stasis, avoidance, and a desire to be invisible. She doesn't want to save the world; she doesn't even want to be in it. Adira is a scavenger. She is motivated by territory, food, and the possession of her toy. She has little grand ambitions to see the world and just wants to keep what is hers.
When I try to force them into a Hero's Journey, it is always artificial. Who would Shiori walk a thousand miles? Why would Adira care about a distant kingdom? Moving them feels like uprooting a tree.
The worldbuilding is rather empty because the characters have no natural reason to engage with it. Shiori and Adira are at the edge of the woods, and I am stuck with them having every reason to stay and no reason to leave. Until I find that reason, the world beyond the trees remains a mystery.
The Future
Whilst this story sits in stasis, I've been asking myself questions for where it could go next.
If Shiori is a concept (agony) are there others? Is she part of a pantheon of accidental gods created by human error? Does her existence maintain a balance she doesn't know about?
What is something Adira is afraid to lose more than Shiori? Is there anything? If the answer really is nothing, then should the story be about Adira realizing Shiori wants to be lost?
What if the forest's rot is a resource that somebody else wants?
If Shiori is a failed ritual, is there a successful one? Is the God of Joy out there, and is it less or more terrifying?
Adira inherently runs on a clock defining her lifetime. If Adira succumbs to the original effects of the rituals, how would Shiori save the only person who can look at her?
I love these fuckheads but I have no clue what to do with them. As I move onto other projects, I'm hoping I can change how I think about a grand story or what it should look like. I'm going back to the drawing board to see if I can find something that preserves what makes these characters so special.