I’m planning my story’s overarching plots, and I’m realising Empress Sakurako is really old, nearing death, and has no children.
This creates issues, since she’s been fighting much of her life to prevent the Shogunate-Merchantile conglomerate (name is a WIP) from siezeing too much power and dragging Fukurou down into Plutocratic decay.
She doesn’t want them appointing an heir in her absence who won’t uphold her values, or be a weak pawn of theirs.
Now that i think about it, plots and subplots involving dramas surrounding heirless monarchs are reasonably common. Wdy think? What are your thoughts? Is it a common trope? Or is it a full-on cliche?
Thematically this plot/subplot line works amazingly for my story, but I’m a little worried it’s an immersion breaking cliche. Wdy think?
P.S. I’m considering writing her having heirs, but those heirs being unsuitable in her eyes as they’d be easilly manipulated by the Shogunate-Merchantile conglomerate and/or just generally lack her moral compass/conviction. But first and foremost I’d like her to lack any heirs
by Juno_The_Camel
3 Comments
It’s a very historically accurate cliche! I doubt it will detract from the book, as long as it fits the narrative and doesn’t detract from the story
If it fits the story well I don’t care how tropey it is. I’m not sensitive to tropes at all when reading, I often need them pointed out to me.
It is not a cliche, it is just a historical reality of medieval and ancient times. Japan itself was sent into several crises throughout history due to the death of a ruler without a clear succession.
Are you afraid of it being a bit cliche? Then why don’t you try giving it potential heirs, but without a clear succession line? In japan the ancient Yamato state may give you ideas