Greetings and Salutations! This is technically not that new, but I've decided to cut out the story ideas section of Assorted Awfulness, and give them their own chapter. Might be pointless, but Hell, I've seen story challenges like this before, and the Assorted Awfulness Rant is in desperate need of an AEnema. Taking out the overly long Story Ideas section was a good start I felt.
All story ideas, whether facetious or serious, have all been greatly expanded on. Part 2 will delve into some new story ideas not proposed in Assorted Awfulness, but this for now is expansion and rewriting of the ideas that were present on that Rant. If you would like to (for some reason) take up any of these ideas, please feel free to do so. Also feel free to PM me if you have any questions, I can try my best to help, and I'd like to read them myself.
Bear in mind that you don't have to follow these ideas I am pitching verbatim. If you are inclined to actually take up one of these ideas, change what you want how you want. I'm mostly just using the examples to show how I personally pictured them, and to act as a sales pitch. Your story, change what you want.
Svane's Story Ideas Pt. 1
Lamentations of the Betrayed (But Not Really) / Lucy Heartfilia: The All Slayer Everything
Genre: Humor/Parody
Characters (forefront): Lucy, Lisanna, Team Natsu
Pairing: Author's Choice
Takes place: After Edolas, Pre-Tenrou
This story idea takes the ever so wonderful insipidness of the Betrayed Lucy bullshit, and takes a more humorous spin on the genre as a whole. If you've read my 3rd Rant (why are you here if you haven't?), you'll recall I had a summary written for a potential story of this type. Wherein more and more ridiculous situations and scenarios would play out with this overdone garbage-fire of a plot-line.
The idea I had was that Lucy would become the All Slayer Everything, of course destroy Fuhrer Lisanna and foil her machinations, and Natsu would literally fall in love with her on the spot for this.
Then they would take off to the moon and have a billion babies, and something else I kinda ripped off verbatim from the Angry Marine Plays Ruby 4Chan thread. Not gonna lie, that WAS a dick-move on my part.
After all of that, it would change into Lucy realizing it was all a fever-dream borne from her delirious state of mind. She would talk to Lisanna about them for some semblance of closure about the issue, and they would really hit it off. Having a heartfelt interaction about the situation they find themselves in.
This is where they would start to connect with one another, and share some hard to admit feelings that they find themselves ashamed to admit to the other person.
Lisanna for example could admit that deep down, part of her wishes Lucy WASN'T in the picture. This is hard for her to admit, but some part of her wishes this were so, even though it disgusts her. Yet she quickly amends that she is overjoyed to be back, and even if it hurts that what she and Natsu may have once had is gone, she is happy that he found peace with himself, and everyone recovered from her supposed death.
She would have been more torn-up and distraught if she found those she was close to never came back from the crippling sorrow of that incident, and went down darker paths of self-destruction, or worse.
Towards the end, they would agree that whatever happens with Natsu, happens. If he is happy, they'll be happy for him, and the other person. One of them makes a joke about Natsu being into Gray, pointing to them fighting all the time, and they both break out laughing over it as Natsu, who is sitting elsewhere, just looks mortified, having heard and understood that.
This in my opinion would not only serve as a way to just ridicule the different moronic avenues this trope takes, but it would also give some time and development to Lucy and Lisanna themselves. We would see some glimpses of how they might interact with each other in this situation.
OR
This one I feel might be far more difficult to pull off, but takes this idea in a different direction. This time it isn't a just a dream. Rather, someone or something has... let's say inhibited, Lucy's critical thinking and rational thought, and led her to interpret Lisanna's return with deep-seeded suspicion and fear of betrayal.
Now the elephant in the room for this one will be WHY Lucy is suddenly like this. She DOES have an overactive imagination, we see that in the episode wherein Natsu constantly asks to see "her", Lucy interpreting it as him wanting to have a billion babies with her, all of them Happies.
But this is beyond that, and straight-up paranoia. You could have it be some kind of magical sickness or side-effects from the Edolas adventure, wherein she faces delirium and even episodes of paranoia. That, she has a bad fever which causes this to happen, someone spikes her food or drink with a potion that does this, or even a rogue mage or OC FT Mage just sees an opportunity for some fun, and takes advantage of this situation.
All are... moderately plausible means of justifying this, and setting up the insanity to come.
Now from there Lucy's fears and suspicion grow, and she starts to act like she does in these stories. Some of her actions closely mirror her actions in the stories that this one mocks. I.E. she goes off into the forest alone, expecting to find Acnologia/A Dragon/Some Mystical Being/A God/Goddess/Carmen Santiago.
Instead of finding any of things things, instead she finds something else entirely. Something more plausible, and a complete subversion of expectations. For example! A Forest Vulcan that wants to make her his bride.
The general plot is just that. We see Lucy give into her paranoid insanity as the guild spends more time with Lisanna, overjoyed for her return, and every time it seems like some kind of common development is happening, it subverts it and corrupts it into something else. Deconstruction Fics, I think they're called?
Another example I had was that when a certain Shadow Dragon Slayer comes to sweep her off her feet... he's a lost 11 year old boy trying to find his way to a guild he'd heard of. He has literally no interest in her platonically or romantically, but does need directions.
Eventually she has a moment of clarity, and realizes how ridiculous she is being. That, or the effects of whatever pushed her to this have finally worn off, and her sanity is restored. The ending is much of the same, though I had the idea for a scene wherein she eavesdrops on Natsu and Lisanna talking. She catches only part of it, and interprets it as her pushing Natsu to kick her to the curb.
Lisanna in reality was trying to convince Natsu to finally ask her out. It'd taken her a few days to come to grips that what they had was over, but they both clearly have SOMETHING there. She doesn't want indecisiveness on either's part to ruin it.
*This idea has been taken up by an author named MyDearWatson back in June. Please go read "The End is Where We Began".*
Lisanna's Return from Her Perpsective:
Genre: Friendship/Angst (Substitute as you see fit)
Characters (Forefront): Strauss Siblings, Natsu, MAYBE Bixslow
Pairing: NaLi, Bixanna, N/A (Your story your call)
Starting Point: Post-Edolas.
Ending Point: Author's Choice.
On the cancerous tumor of the Internet known as Reddit, there is a Fairy Tail sub-reddit. This idea was created from some of the discussions about canon on there, I think about a year ago.
There'd been many threads on what people would have done differently, and discussions on characters themselves. From one or more of these threads, people had the idea of just leaving Lisanna dead, or actually expanding her role in the series.
I don't remember it was me, or someone else; but someone pitched the idea of expanding on her return. Hell, I think several people did. Instead of a long three-day party, show there are consequences for it, and not everything is hunky-dory for Lisanna and the others.
That really stuck with me for a while, and eventually I figured, "This would be excellent from her point of view!".
I mean, Lisanna had finally adapted to life in Edolas after being torn from her family and friends during that fated S-Class Mission. And once again, the new family she had was torn from her as she was returned back to her old life, two years later.
Imagine waking up out of a coma after two years, and finding so many new faces, people you once knew changing so much, being older, some disappearing or dying, it's a terrifying thought.
This is basically what Lisanna went through, but worse.
Sooooo! How about a story focusing on this? MyDearWatson may have already taken this idea, but I don't think that means you can't either. Just, don't rip her work off bloodily and you'll be good in the hood.
The main focus by and large should be on Lisanna herself, and how she copes with the situation she finds herself in once again. How she copes with everything, adjusts to what's changed, and tries to make sense of all that she has lost and regained.
Natsu could be a sore-point for her. She wants to try and continue what she once had with him, but finds it might very well be a farce. To some extent, he has changed from what he once was before she was sent to Edolas. And now that Lucy is with him, does she really want to potentially destroy something they might have for her own desires?
Not to mention Mirajane is almost a completely different person from what she once was. Mira wasn't exactly the best person in the world, but she was her big sister. Seeing her like this just leaves her... bereaved almost.
I don't personally get WHY this is a common pairing, but if it breaks up the dull and monotonous tripe beaten into the ground, go for it! Bixslow x Lisanna, if this is the pairing you have decided you want to use, you can use this story as a means of exploring that relationship.
Now, the pre-canon is seen some and explored a touch, but much of it is still absent. You could perhaps fill in blanks and establish some moments wherein Lisanna and Bixslow got along rather well when they DID interact.
She was of course extremely close to Natsu, but he could have had a one-sided crush on her, and she could have been there for him at some times. He and Laxus weren't tighter than bark on a tree just yet, and he could find himself not adjusting to the guild well.
His eyes being the issue. Lisanna sympathizes, remembering what Mira was like, and befriends him. That, or he expresses concern to her about how Laxus is changing. He is becoming more belligerent and even violent towards the Raijinshuu and people around him. She once again offers calming words and support. He remembers that well, and was shattered by her supposed death. When she returns, he is overjoyed, and wants to try and have some kind of relationship with her once again. Platonic or romantic.
He can see into someone's very soul, and see that deep down, Lisanna is not adjusting to everything well. So he provides some form of stability and support for her in these uncertain times. From there, they start to hit it off, and become closer throughout all the chaos and strife that comes from being a Fairy Tail mage.
Canon mostly plays out the same if you want, but that isn't the real focus of the story. The focus is the person in the background of it all: Lisanna Strauss, and her story. Oh and by the way, pairing is of course optional. You can do NaLi if you want, Bixanna if that's your thing, or just do nothing. Though if you're going to advertise a pairing, actually show it develop, instead of sidelining it until the very end in a one-chapter epilogue where she has fifteen kids with someone.
Perhaps more than any other story, attention to small details is a must on this one. Anything that can explore and build up what Lisanna is going through, and how the situation for her unfolds is all the better for this kind of story.
By the way, again, please go read "The End is Where We Began". It only has two chapters, but it's off to a spectacular start, and deserves far more praise and recognition than it currently has.
Lord Dragneel of Magnolia: Second Generation:
Genre: Parody/Humor
Characters: Natsu Dragneel, OC (Natsu's Sons), Female Characters
Pairings: Natsu x Massive Harem, OCs x Massive Harems
Starting Point: 18-24 years after canon
Ending Point: Author's Choice.
If you recall what I started off my Assorted Awfulness Rant off with, you're probably surprised to see me pitch an idea such as this. Okay hear me out. So we can easily determine that there are hundreds if not thousands of Natsu x Harem stories, yeah? There are also a few dozen Second Generation Stories.
Sooooo, how about we combine them? Take your average Natsu x Harem story. Natsu is overpowered, not at all his former self, and has a massive harem of one-dimensional 'characters' that merely wear the face and appearance of female characters in the series we may have once loved/loathed.
Okay cool, so at first show him as a brooding twat as he is bound to be, or completely overly intelligent and philosophical in his ways of life. He's defeated everyone, literally. Destroyed Acnologia, killed Zeref, dismantled all possible enemies, and now he's bored. Soooo, now he's decided to have as many children as he can, to ensure the Dragneel lineage shall live on forever!
Now, lots and lots of boinking later, time-skip to focus on one of his sons. They are all named Natsu of course, Natsus 1-20, with some variation. I.E. Natsu with Wings, Natsu with Metal Hands, Blacker than the Void overly jovial Natsu, etc. By this point Harem-Lord Natsu has become the God-Dragneel, he rules Fiore alone, can't be bothered to deal with other nations or continents.
He has decided to step down from being an active mage, citing it's too damn boring now because he is so strong, and now it is up to his sons to maintain the peace and continue on his glorious legacy.
Each of the Natsus he has sired are all different to some extent in personality and appearance, but they all have much of his traits. When they all gather together, it often leads to mayhem as they try to beat one another to death to show that they are the strongest Natsu since the God-Dragneel, and are worthy to carry his mighty genes.
Fairy Tail has been overrun completely, and destroyed. They betrayed him (or some shit), so only those of his harem survive, the rest were killed. Now there is only the Imperium of the Dragneel in Magnolia, and it overtakes other guilds and soon other nations under his sons.
All of them have their distinct ways of fighting, and even command their own harems or brothers (slaves) to fight by their side. It is important to note that many do have their own secondary magics, or their own spin on their Dragon Slaying Magic. Two were born without his magic, and are not to be spoken of ever again.
Eventually some turn against the God-Dragneel, and seek to destroy the vast and mighty empire the God-Dragneel has forged for his harem on the backs of his sons.
Those who are loyal to him gather their harems and brothers to fight against the traitors. Atrocities on both sides are committed as the newly conquered territories pledge allegiances to different sides, as it tears Ishgar apart.
The final arc is the siege of Magnolia, wherein the traitors and their allies lay siege on Magnolia itself, lead by Natsu #16. The God-Dragneel himself is finally roused into action, and pulled away from his harem. He intends to deliver a smackdown of legendary proportions, but finds his magic has atrophied greatly due to not using it anymore for so many years.
Still, he tears through people like Taco-Bell through the digestive system as he finds his wayward son who leads this army against him. He finds Dragneel #9, his Hawk-Boy, Natsu With Wings, dead at his feet. Enraged, the fight begins. It ends with Natsu #16, dead; and the God-Dragneel dying.
With haste, he is interred into the new Lumen Histoire, Mavis happily giving it up to save her beloved harem-lord. With #16 dead, the rest flee to Alvarez, the survivors of their harem and supports in tow, they work to rebuild Alvarez, and wait for a time to come when they can try again.
The story ends with an epilogue wherein it explains that the world goes to absolute shit because of the fighting between the Dragneels. The sea boils way, lands are forever scorched and destroyed beyond repair, and soon both sides take to the stars, and even open portals to new lands in the hopes of furthering the God Dragneel's original machinations, and ending them respectively.
No world is safe. no multiverse is safe. Edolas falls into Traitor hands, and soon the death-toll soars above the trillions as the God Dragneel's descendants and Harems continue to breed like cockroaches and carry his genes across the human race.
"Lorgar, did you rip off Warhammer 40k?" Yes, yes I did. And even if this is cringe-worthy, I must confess that I had fun writing this out. No idea how I even came up with it, but I hold out hope that someday someone will realize this idea as a story. My Vault of Excellence is found wanting until that day.
A Natsu is Exiled story, where it's for something HE ACTUALLY DID!
Genre: Adventure
Characters: Team Natsu, Natsu Dragneel
Pairings: Author's Choice
Starting Point: Varies/Author's Choice
Ending Point: Varies/Author's Choice
Just as this sounds, a story wherein Natsu is exiled because for a change, he genuinely screwed up. Some stories do this, there was one that had him be exiled for taking the Galuna Island job, and most did protest to this, but Natsu took it in stride. I don't remember what story that was, if I find it I'll cite it here. Good or bad.
Anyway, I do want to say that that story had the issue of changing him too much, too fast, and skipping over much of his development. But anyway, moving on!
The Galuna Island Arc is a good time to do something like this I think. Laxus taunted Makarov about the prospect of exiling Natsu for taking the job, so perhaps this is something that can constitute that extreme a punishment.
With this in mind, Natsu is exiled as punishment for flagrantly defying Guild Rules, and not only endangering his own life, but the lives of Lucy, Erza, Gray, and Happy. How Natsu takes this is up to you, but show there is a great deal of reluctance and even sorrow in Makarov for having to do this.
Natsu can be appalled, even pissed off or distraught at this, but don't make him burn bridges with Thermite at the news of this, and say he hopes Makarov gets sent to Hell, and something disgusting, edgy and despicable. I'm running out of material...
Anyway! He could be angry, or understanding, however you want to handle it, but have both be within reason. No burning the guildhall down, no acting like a Buddhist Monk to this news. He leaves, with or without Happy at your discretion, and sets out on his own for the first time since Igneel left him.
His mood should kind of be sour after a while, as he realizes the place he called home for so long is no longer his home because of this. He could become bitter as he contemplates it more, Natsu or not, I imagine most if not all of us would be to some extent.
But, after a while, he does realize he brought this on himself. He remembers what happened to Lisanna, and how Mira took her and Elfman on an S-Class Job. Mira WAS an S-Class Mage, and they still barely survived, Lisanna 'didn't'. He wasn't, and yet he drug Lucy and Happy along on a mission? And for what? Just to prove some asshole like Laxus wrong?
Natsu may be as dense as Osmium, but he realizes he really did screw up, and this is what Makarov was trying to teach him. Taking this as a challenge to change his ways, Natsu rises up and decides to prove that he can change himself for the better.
After that? Natsu goes about everything by himself, or maybe with a few canon friends or minor OCs that he happens to meet, who tag along on his journey of self-improvement. We see how his story is just unfolding, and how much he accomplishes as he wanders Fiore alone or with some new friends. There are of course darker times, especially when he has to adapt to being alone once again, but for every fall, he rises and triumphs once again.
Meanwhile on the Fairy Tail front, the general atmosphere is darker and moodier than usual, fights do occur, but not as frequently, and people just feel... down. NOT to the point where you can hear Katatonia's "Ambitions" playing in the very atmosphere, as the patrons try to invent the Internet so they can visit... yeah I'm going to stop that right there.
Team Natsu have to learn to adapt to Natsu's absence after everything is said and done. Phantom Lord doesn't attack until a few days after Natsu is exiled, and he doesn't hear about it or any other arc happening until its far too late for him to have done anything. While the focus should be on Natsu's adventures alone, spare some scenes and thoughts to how Team Natsu adapt.
Show what they may do to compensate for his loss, and how arcs may change for better or worse without him. Lucy for example may not jump from the tower, and be sent back to her father's while Phantom Lord deals with Fairy Tail. She has to escape Jude's place, or Team Natsu have to storm the mansion and threaten Jude with horrific disembowelment if they ever try anything again.
Natsu's absence from Tower of Heaven could lead to Erza being presumed dead, because she forcefully merged herself with the tower to stop it from exploding. Making her absence only hurt the guild further, and once they realize there is a chance she is still alive, finding her a top priority. That or she could just die period. Whatever floats your boat.
So anyway, at the end of the story, they find Erza once again, and Natsu is allowed to return. His long journey is over, and he has a place to call home once again. His absence caused a great deal of change in the storyline, and he changed himself for the better... to an extent. OR, it could end in a way where they still don't know where Erza is, but Jellal escapes capture and gains his senses once again. He could tell them she is still alive, somewhere, and the story ends with them setting out to find her once again, Natsu in tow.
OR
Natsu is exiled at another time for another reason, or he simply DOESN'T return to Fairy Tail. This could go one of few ways I suppose. Either he finds a new calling, a new place to call home, and he feels that those ties tether him there, and prevent him from simply abandoning them to rejoin Fairy Tail, or a great deal of strife is borne during his adventure, and he slowly loses that passion he once had, and becomes rather embittered towards Makarov for throwing him out.
Either can work. But if you want to do this, I personally highly recommend recommend the former. He could end up somewhere where he is needed more than at Fairy Tail, and really make himself a God-Send to that place. When faced with the prospect of returning to his old friends and damning his new friends, and the people who need him, the choice is a difficult but resolute one. He stays with the new place he is at. He can visit Fairy Tail every so often, after all.
Though I suppose that will only work if Natsu is there for years, or they truly need him to survive, and leaving would damn them. And Fairy Tail is thriving even without him.
Option #2 could be that aforementioned bullshit he faces during these times hardens him. He goes through a lot of pain and misery because he was thrown out, and thus became more of a prime target for anyone seeking retribution against Fairy Tail for starters. That, or he just sees more and more cruelty of the world around him.
For this to work, as I will always say, we need to see him slowly lose his way during this time, and we need to see what he sees. Much of what Makarov tried to protect him and the others in the guild from, he now sees unfiltered. On top of what he personally suffers, he starts to begrudge Makarov for his actions, justified or not.
His adventure goes from a light-hearted romp, to a darker deconstruction of Natsu's core beliefs and viewpoints on life. The end result could be that he finds another guild like Sabretooth to join, he starts his own guild, he remains a rogue mage for the rest of his days, or he just moves on and leaves Fiore, deciding to start anew elsewhere entirely.
If he does rejoin Fairy Tail, he finds it rather hard to fit back in after everything he'd seen and done, and it being a long period of time (at least a year or so). There are quite a lot of possibilities for this idea, if handled correctly.
Furthermore, have sanguine times with this still. Don't make it nothing but misery and pain, have him see that even in the darker times, people still maintain hope, have compassion and empathy, and even find joy in their lot in life, no matter how bleak. This puts the bad times into context, and helps Natsu retain some of what he once was.
IF Team Natsu try to bring him back, for God's sake, HAVE THEM USE WORDS! It CAN come to violence if you want, but have this build up to that. They try to reason with him at first, the situation escalates because of short-fuses on both sides and words said, and soon someone throws the first punch. After that? The situation is unsalvageable. Natsu doesn't just shit-stomp them either, but after a while he pulls away, Erza makes them stop, or something ends the fighting.
Finally, Natsu doesn't hate all of Fairy Tail, but just doesn't want to return anymore for one reason or another.
Whether you want to do the light-hearted romp where he learns to try and better himself, or Natsu sees some of the darker aspects of the world and starts to lose himself to it, keep the changes to moderate levels, and develop them with proper pacing. Natsu shouldn't be a Mavis level tactician (not saying much honestly), much of what I said in my Darker Natsu Rant, or more powerful than Saitama with BFG9000s for hands after only a few months, or a few time-skips. No matter what however, even IF you show 'development' and pace it out, devolving Natsu into a monotone flat and lifeless caricature of edge is, and always will be, horseshit. So even if he is darker, DON'T make him into a brooding twat.
Both could serve as deconstructions to an extent, if you decide you want to go that route. During his times in exile, Natsu could revisit some places like Hargeon or other towns and locations he and his team unfounded during missions. There, he could learn some of the consequences of their reckless destruction, and start to see WHY the Council hates them so much.
This idea comes from a discussion I was having with a good friend of mine on here. One of us (I forget which) made the point that the running gag of them destroying buildings, city-blocks, houses dockyards, entire cities, etc. could all have serious, real-life consequences about them, if one were inclined to portray them in such a manner.
I don't mean wherein people are actually killed as collateral damage either, though that is certainly a possibility; a little too dark for what I am portraying here. What I mean is that you could have Natsu learn of how many people are hurt and affected by the sheer scale of destruction they carry out on routine missions.
People lose their homes, their jobs, their very livelihoods because of what they do. Mementos and items that the people who are affected hold dear could be utterly destroyed because of their actions, and people could very well have their lives ruined because of what Team Natsu and other members of Fairy Tail do.
People could end up injured as well, it is certainly a possibility. There IS relief from the Monarchy itself, and from Council forces dispatched to carry out relief efforts for those effected, but there would still be those who fall through the cracks, or those who cannot find the stability they once had.
All of this could cause discontent, and even hatred towards Fairy Tail, Natsu more than likely being one of the bigger targets they hate. The infamous Salamander, who has to destroy half the city to take out a pickpocket.
Natsu during his times of exile would see first-hand the consequences of his actions, and WHY the Council hates him and his guild to the extent that they do. Not only that, but we, the readers would be able to see this isn't a black and white issue. Fairy Tail is not the perfect guild the canon likes to portray them as, and while the Council is bloated, overbearing, and even corrupt at times, they still have their justified reasons for their hatred, and have to clean up the messes Fairy Tail leaves behind. They still do good for the people of Ishgar, this could be explored in this type of story.
Of course a balance would still have to be found. Reasons for why they are not disbanded (especially if post Tower of Heaven), and there should also be stories and examples of how Fairy Tail has done good aside from what we have seen. Times where Makarov has helped people get their lives straight for starters.
But, there is that elephant in the room. Fairy Tail's gag of mindless destruction has consequences, that Makarov likes to ignore and simply say "WE DON'T NEED YOU BITCHES ON OUR STREET, SAY IT WITH ME! FUCK THE COUNCIL, FUCK THE COUNCIL, FUCK THE COUNCIL!".
Personally however, I vastly prefer option #1, wherein Natsu returns after having changed his ways considerably. He learns to not be so reckless in his destruction, and even tries to instill the same aspects into his teammates, knowing that every building they needlessly destroy could put innocent people out of homes or work.
Some Stupid Laxus x Lucy Garbage I came up with
Genre: Romance/Angst
Characters: Lucy Heartfilia, Laxus Dreyar, Raijinshuu Tribe
Pairing: Laxus x Lucy
Starting Point: Let's say a week or two prior to Edolas
Ending Point: Author's Choice
Why DID I write this one down? Why'd I even CONSIDER it? I don't like either of these characters, I sure don't see the basis for LaLu, so why? Questions for later I suppose.
Some insipid LaLu tripe I thought about when looking over Chapter 3: So you want to pair Laxus and Lucy together for... some reason. Okay then, how do you get them together? Lisanna's back and now she gets booted off Team Natsu? Please imagine a parrot with a British Accent saying this: Fuck off.
The idea I'd considered was that she became ill, and thus unable to really do much for a few days, so Team Natsu went without her at her insistence, not wanting her sickness to hold them up; only to later realize that, oh deary dear! Her Rent is DUE soon! And of course they took the longest, hardest job on the board at Natsu's insistence.
When she is well again, she quickly goes to take a job by herself, and heads off, as Team Natsu are not back yet. While on her way to the job, during it, or after, she at some point runs into a destitute genetic monstrosity borne from DNA cells taken from Heinrich Himmler's cancerous left testicle himself, Laxus Dreyar! Let's say for this example it took place in a more arid and inhospitable part of Fiore, and she finds him dehydrated, and wandering about aimlessly.
This acts as a catalyst for their eventual dating, and hedonistic plowing like farming-cult animals. Regardless of the stage she is at in this point, Lucy forgets all about paying her rent this time around, and instead shifts her focus towards helping Heinrich Himmler's Cancerous Testicle Growth out during his darkest hour.
The extent of which Laxus is left high and dry is ultimately up to you. Just, please, DON'T put Funeral Doom Metal lyrics in the story, and give vivid depictions of how Laxus has to consume the ashes of cremated orphans for sustenance during the siege of Leningrad. It should be rather bad, and can be rather bad, but don't go overboard, or make it seem minute and not enough to justify Lucy trying to really help him.
Lucy would of course try to get him to go back to Fairy Tail for help, or at least offer to let them know that he is in a bad place. Laxus however, completely refuses this, as he knows he spent years alienating and pushing those same people down, and he was a complete cock to everyone. Plus... he's just that stubborn and prideful. He only barely let Lucy help him, and that was because he was really in a bind when she showed up, or she is easy on the eyes. Either works.
He FORCES her not to tell anyone, but she refuses to back down about she herself helping him at least somewhat. So she starts to contrive reasons for heading out alone, and starts to keep in touch with him in person, and via Comm-Lacrima. Of course eventually the cat is out of the bag, Team Natsu could find the two of them together, and immediately become suspicious, even apprehensive towards him. 'Cept for Natsu, who just wants to challenge Laxus to a rematch.
Lucy tries to vouch for him and his plight, but Team Natsu are understandably not too receptive of his plight. He DID turn Mira and the others to stone, laughed about Makarov being on death's door, tried to blow up the town, laughed his ass off when he thought he killed Natsu, etc. etc. etc. he really earns his asshole reputation, and distrust. How you handle this from there, up to you.
A recurring theme could also be that people generally react with contempt or even open hostility to Laxus. He was/is a cock-hole, it isn't impossible to believe that his actions go much deeper than what we see. He could have a reputation as a blow-hard, a bully who walked all over those beneath him, and constantly ran his mouth and swung his dick around for everyone to see while in public.
On top of rumors and hearsay of what he may have done during Fantasia, people have no use or tolerance for him. Few would openly tell him to fuck his mother, but many make it clear he is not welcome by their tone of voice, or the stares they give him. many places even refuse to give him work, or serve him. As he travels from place to place, some glimpses of what he'd done in the past could shine through.
People he berated and belittled, places he wrecked for one petty reason or another, even people he attacked for one perceived slight or another. He earned his reputation as an asshole, and now that even Fairy Tail have had enough of him, it only makes him all the worse in their eyes.
Lucy tries to help him fix this. Openly defending him sometimes, not really accomplishing much but at least trying, and maybe convincing him to try and make amends somehow. Some people he can specifically recall he hurt, apologize to them and find a way to make it right, or just try and do some good deeds to sway public opinion of him for the better.
All the while, they start to grow closer during all of this. Laxus goes from thinly veiled annoyance and contempt, to something that tentatively could be called warmth, even joy and kindness when in her presence. Masked by stoicism and what remains of his pride.
Of course Lucy herself could start to become less tolerant of bullshit, and a touch more crass while spending more time with Laxus. Showing that she herself is also changing in subtle ways from their times together. That way, it isn't her changing the other person like putty, while she herself remains the exact same person she was.
If you want to resolve Raven Tail in a way that isn't anti-climactic, Ivan could try to make his move during this time. Seeing that Laxus is starting to care for Lucy, and using her against him. She gets kidnapped like with Phantom Lord, and Laxus is told to surrender himself, or she will suffer. If he goes to Fairy Tail, she dies. Laxus hesitantly complies, and Lucy is indeed set free. She has to rush to get to the Raijinshuu Tribe, and it plays out from there.
Trade Wars Story:
Genre: Action/Tragedy
Characters: OC, Mavis, Yuri, Precht (MAYBE),
Pairing: Blades x Flesh, Bullets x Important Organs
Starting Point: Months prior to 2nd Trade Wars
Ending Point: Aftermath, formation of the Council
Since this is such an unexplored gap in Fairy Tail world-building (of which there sure as Hell ain't much); there are so many different possibilities for how you could take a story of this setting. The idea I personally put forth was an Original Guild story. This was the war wherein mages were drug into the war, and it caused a cataclysmic casualty count because of it, and brought on the creation of the Magic Council.
So! First and foremost, this is more than likely going to be a downer of a story idea. Alright, I'm going to pitch several angles this time around, but a universal fact of them all should remain: it's a war. This is a war, and thus there should be a lot of casualties to keep with the canon, and really, a lot of atrocities and senseless violence. It's war, it's dark, it's fucked up, and totally worth writing about!
Also! No matter the angle, show the precluding events leading up to this war breaking out, the people involved, and why they were involved. Is this a civil war, or is it a war between two nations over trading issues?
The first and most obvious idea for this one is that you could show how Fairy Tail got roped into this war, and the extent of which they went through with this. They are certain to have had casualties because of this war, and Yuri and the others were surely forced to kill others to protect themselves, and the people of their guild.
You could fill in the gaps from what little we've seen, and show how Mavis became a tactician, and how much fighting they did, and more importantly: why. Why was a newly formed guild like Fairy Tail forced into this senseless war? Taking this route should show how Mavis came to be seen as a brilliant tactician (I personally believe it's misinformation and people mis-remembering what REALLY happened), and even how their part in the war may have solidified Fairy Tail's reputation as a guild to be reckoned with.
If you want to explore Precht's character some more, you could use this as a means of exploring more of why he fell from grace, and became Hades. All the senseless slaughter and violence could have pushed him to begin researching the one true magic. Hoping he could bring about a world wherein its a Mageocracy, and the people like the ones who started this war would be subjugated and exterminated like the filth they are. If nothing else, at least prevent such a thing from happening again.
The second idea I had was the Original Guild story idea. This also has multiple ways of doing it, but for some semblance of brevity, I won't write down absolutely every nuance of them that comes to my tiny mind.
Since mages were utilized heavily during this war, it stands to reason that guilds were also drug into this situation. You could create an original guild during this time and have them full of your standard sent-in OCs, but NO DRAGON SLAYERS! They don't exist at this time! That out of the way, explore what they are like, and their role in all of this.
First and foremost, how they got wrapped up in this. A feudal lord or something conscripted them, hired them, or otherwise forced them into the war on his behalf, their town and people were threatened, and so they went to war to defend what is theirs, bring about peace, make a name for themselves, or just let loose in cruelty and the lack of humanity created by war.
For brevity's sake, I'm going to stick to an example wherein your guild is a well established, powerful guild. Alright then, show how they fit into this, and their lot in life during the war. Which side they fight on, and how they conduct themselves during times of war. Do they fight with some form of honor, or are they opportunists that use this as a means of profiting, and many of their members will fight with a resounding lack of empathy?
Establish your guild's motives, and show everything from their perspective. How much they may suffer if they lose this war, why they are fighting, and what they hope to achieve. What happens to this guild throughout the war? They WILL lose people, but how many, and how do they handle this? Do they start off fighting out of necessity, and usually do so honorably, only to start fighting out of retribution, and with cruelty? How does this all end for them?
Are they exterminated to the last man? Do so few people survive that they disband and scatter to the winds? Do they survive long enough to begin rebuilding and mending of wounds? Give some thought to these questions as you build your guild and their story. Remember: be realistic. There's no chance that everyone will make it out unscathed, unbloodied, broken, or beaten. Your guild could be ground into the dust during the war, and have only a handful of people, if even that, survive. They see the end of the war, and realize how fucked they truly are, and how the guild they called home is no more.
Then give one final chapter to what they do, and end it there. If you wanted to do a sequel, you could have one of these people have a descendant (or descendants), that one day try to rebuild the guild, and carry on its legacy. They found a guild with the same name and insignia, or with some minor modifications to denote a new era, and a new day for the guild. The historical events of the past that were shown in the first story being mentioned in the 2nd story.
People who were descendants of those people share stories that were passed down through them. Each person having a different recounting of the events that we personally saw, skewed and warped by being passed down orally, and from the perspectives of the people we saw. Valorous moments we saw becoming somber tales of woe, some members having their roles minimized or embellished, all that good stuff.
I have never seen such a story before, and I feel it could be something interesting. Showing a historical event like the Trade Wars developing through the people who were effected by it, and showing their legacy a hundred years later. How people remember the actions of the original members, good or bad.
One of the last ideas I have is from Phantom Lord's perspective. How THEY got their start, and how the leader used this as a way to recruit, capture, blackmail, intimidate mages into bolstering his ranks, and absorbing other guilds. Sort of like Fairy Tail's, but with a lot more OCs, and some more kitten-veal steak eaters.
Finally: an omnipresent exploration of the Trade Wars from a broad perspective. No focusing on the perspectives of one guild or one person, instead, showing it across all fronts, and the atrocities that come with it. A full, thorough, unabridged exploration of the war and why it happened, how it happened, and the immediate consequences. Fairy Tail are shown, but are only a small part in a bigger event.
Instead of focusing on a narrow point of view with a particular guild or the likes, we instead see everything from behind the scenes, and on the battlefield. Some people's stories are told for some time, but they will eventually die like in Game of Thrones.
And now for a bonus from an upcoming reworking of the 2nd Rant:
***BONUS! - Chapter Three Redux: "One-Year Timeskip"***
"Jesus Hymen-Rupturing Christ, how many of these stories that deal with the One-Year Time-Skip are going to show Lucy as some kind of frail broken girl that was cast aside by Judas Fucking Dragneel?! SERIOUSLY! Natsu watched Igneel DIE! He watched his father, who he spent years trying to find, DIE IN FRONT OF HIM! Not even just die peacefully, no, he was torn apart by Acnologia!
So for probably the first time in the entire series, he puts himself before everyone else, and goes off on a training trip to sort out his personal issues, and come to grips with the fact that he watched his father die, and everything he did to find him is now pointless. He'll NEVER get to ask him all the questions he wanted to ask, he'll NEVER get to tell him all that he wanted to tell him.
His father is DEAD, D.E.A.D., cadaverrific! Yet most of the stories that I see of this type portray Natsu as some kind of sewage encrusted rapist that threw Lucy aside in her darkest hour, and left her sharing drinks with Bill Cosby, Kobe Bryant, and ISIS Commanders! Yes, it may have been a dick-move for Natsu to not tell anyone that he was leaving for a year.
Yes, it may also have been a dick-move for him to not check on Lucy before leaving, but WHAT did I just talk about in the past few sections? That's right! Stories where Lucy leaves Fairy Tail for the exact same reasons, sans her actually losing someone close to her like Natsu did! She just ups and decides "I need to become stronger!" and off she goes, often times without even TELLING anyone. And what's the general consensus from the same people who think Natsu should be raped by a thousand Honey Badgers, all of whom consumed Bath-Salts and have Tridents for Dicks? "AHHHHHN MAH GAWD THSI IS THE BSEAT ASTAEASD EVARAE!". Can anyone here say double standards?! Come with me, sing with me! "DOUBLE STANDARDS!" YEAH!
Aquarius' key, will come back! It was established, that it can, and HAS come back! She just has to find the key! She can go VISIT the Spirit Realm, and TALK to Aquarius! Hell, she can use her other spirits as proxy to talk to her. What about Natsu? Nope, nothing like that. Nil. Natsu's hopes and dreams are dead and scattered to the winds.
Before anyone says it, yes, I am aware that it was the key that her mother left for her when she died. But that still doesn't change the fact that Aquarius is NOT dead. She lives on the Spirit Realm, perfectly fine. Lucy was able to GO to the Spirit Realm, and could more than likely visit her!
Oh, and let's not forget that Natsu had ZERO idea that Fairy Tail was disbanded! As far as he probably knew, she could rely on the others at Fairy Tail for help while he was working out his own issues! Oh, and he was there for her when she found out her father was dead. We may not have really seen much, but it is easy to believe he helped her through that. He didn't just run along and do whatever he wanted when she was going through that, he was there for her.
Last time I'll drive this point home, I swear. IGNEEL IS DEAD! Natsu doesn't have the ability or the option to talk to him like Lucy can with Aquarius. The other Dragons died, but they just vanished peacefully, Igneel died abruptly, and horrendously. All that time Natsu spent was wasted, all he wanted to say to his father, he can no longer do ever again.
Natsu has more than enough justification for putting himself first for probably the first time, and trying to resolve his own issues and shattered dreams. Any story that portrays him in the wrong for this, because how DARE he not put Lucy first, can fuck right off the burning depths of Hell for all time.
This shit is the END trope of Lucy Fics. You know my opinions on END fics, and I say this is on-par with them. So many potentially interesting ideas and situations to explore with this time-skip, and people ALWAYS have to gravitate towards how Lucy is a poor broken and betrayed little girl, and Natsu is driving his German Panzer IV, blasting Aryan Kommando 88 while getting road head from VARG VIKERNES! I extend my middle finger to these stories.
*Sigh* alright, look. I know I said people can be selfish bastards in the past to justify some forms of OOC. This can still apply here. Lucy can to SOME EXTENT, have anger towards Natsu. It's undeserved in my opinion, but human nature and canon. The issue I have is the fact that so many authors seem to take this five steps further, and do what I said above. If you want to show Lucy as angry, fine. Whatever. But also show SOME understanding and even sympathy. She should harbor some of both for him, at least before he ruins her current career by being a jackass. Now THAT she can have anger about, and be perfectly justified in it I feel.
Because you know what I said above? She would know about that! Even if she were pissed, she would understand that he lost so much more than she did, and in a far worse manner. She knew how much Igneel meant to him, and this is his fate? Of course Natsu wouldn't take it well. She would also know that he wasn't malicious in his actions, he just needed time to himself to sort out his issues.
Remember this: she forgave Minerva (when she shouldn't have), why in the Hell would she hold a grudge towards Natsu for trying to deal with his own shattered dreams and problems after going through something far worse than she did? If she is more pissed than usual, show her as in the wrong for this, at least partially. She isn't infallible in this regard. Give them both a fair shake in this situation. Some part of her could deep down hold resentment and anger for the situation, and it could take time for her and Natsu to patch things up. This can be rather tricky to convey, but try to show that she does not want to hate him or hold a grudge, but some things are just hard to look past, even if you know that person has justification for what they've done.
Fuck me I'm not doing a good job at explaining this. Just... don't go for an asinine amount of bashing against Natsu, m'kay?
Well now... that was a thing. This was Part One of Svane's Story Ideas. Like I said, they're the last-second additions to Assorted Awfulness, but I did expand on them massively, so maybe that justifies a new chapter? I dunno. Either way, it's done, pt. 2 will come in a few weeks I guess, or something. I've been hitting this so hard lately, I'm taking a break for a while. Technical Aspects was redone, I'm trying to draft up a Lucy Fics Rant to replace the Lucy Leaves Fairy Tail Rant, and planning out how to expand Personality & Character Traits from OC Rants Pt. 2 in light of recent ideas and complaints.
Pt. 2 of this will contain 'new' (I use new loosely 'cause they're based off of general tropes with different twists and ideas, or may have already been done without my knowledge) ideas that weren't from Assorted Awfulness.
Now about the upcoming Lucy Fics Rant: Yes sirree, I am finally getting to that rant. I'd realized over the past few months that while I took one of the worst archetypes of Lucy Fics in this fandom, I kinda left out the other fun ones! Lucy storms off to become stronger, and the abundance of stories dealing with the One-Year Time Skip that HAVE to focus on Lucy alone, and demonize Natsu as much as humanly possible!
Also might take on Lucy the Dragon Slayer and Dragon Queen Lucy. Though Minipa already did that, sooooo, gonna have to take it on a way that doesn't rip him off. If you got any ideas or suggestions about that, please let me know, and I will give you credit for the idea when (or if) the rant comes out.
That is all, I hope you enjoyed this, and I hope you have a Happy Easter Sunday. Unless you're not religious or just don't care, then have a good weekend, or happy whatever holiday you celebrate that I've never heard of.
-Lorgar Aurelian