What's going on with me (Patreon)

So, my productivity has been kinda crap recently. That's mostly down to reality and life kicking me around a bit and not letting me have as much free time as I would like. Add into that my muse constantly throwing ideas to write at me and it's a bit distracting. No, seriously it is.

I've got half a dozen ideas for other MHA stories with various different Quirks for the MC to use. Some examples?

Example 1

Quirk: Shonen Protagonist

Description: This Quirk is a rather unique Transformation-type. In everyday normal life the user is just a regular person doing regular things. However, once the user enters any situation related to being a Hero, they undergo a startling transformation. First, the users physical appearance changes in subtle, yet obvious, ways. For example, though the user might normally have a sharp chin and high cheekbones, once transformed his face becomes softer and more rounded, looking slightly childish.

The changes don't end there though. Once Transformed the user's mentality is also changed being driven by sheer willpower to achieve his dream, becoming the next greatest hero. While transformed the user's strength, speed, stamina, durability, combat awareness, combat adaptability, and further esoteric metrics are greatly enhanced. The user is even capable of emulating witnessed feats using sheer willpower and ingenuity.

Everything the user experiences while transformed is used to grow stronger. This especially applies to anything learned during combat but also applies heavily to training. The user has limitless potential when training. As long as the user has the willpower to continue moving forward and pushing himself, he can improve.

In the same manner the user can experience the tropes associated with being a shonen protagonist including, but not limited to, the power of friendship, stock rival!, 'I lost? I'll just train harder and win!,' Mr. Fanservice (neck down), random bullshit power up, and so on.

Lastly, the user has a massive appetite and requires copious amounts of food at every meal in order to keep up with the demands of his body. Oddly, the act of eating hastens the users recovery from any recent events. This translates into a healing factor that directly corresponds to the amount of food eaten, regardless of the actual caloric intake.

Example 2

Quirk: Cardokinesis

Description: A form of telekinesis limited to playing cards specifically. The user can mentally control any kind of playing card. Anything larger than a standard playing card in size is excluded from the Quirk. Multiple cards and even decks can be used at the same time. The cards can be maneuvered around, locked in place, hardened, and even used to lift other things on their surface (a card flat under a book could lift the book but if the card was tilted the book would fall off).

Example 3

Quirk: Artillery

Description: Allows the user to transform portions of their body into a gun form. The user has multiple options for projectiles. They can use standard mass produced ones. They can take raw materials into their body through their hand and transform the material into a projectile. Lastly, they can touch someone and, with their permission, gain special ammunition based on the other persons Quirk. Quirk based ammunition is limited and can only be fired from an appropriate weapon. Additionally, the same Quirk can only grant ammunition once per day, though the amount stacks and never expires.

Example: Bakugo's Explosion Quirk would require the use of a grenade launcher or other similar explosive launcher. Kirishima's Quirk would fire rock-like projectiles.  Aizawa's would fire tranquilizer type darts that temporarily shut down Quirks.

See what I'm dealing with in my brain? Those all seem like interesting ideas to me! Especially Cardokinesis since it's full potential is kinda interesting to think about. Add in some support items and it could be pretty awesome. And, unlike Biokinesis, it has some real weaknesses that could be used against the MC. Weaknesses like, if he has no cards nearby he is essentially quirkless, like fire burning the crap out of his paper playing cards. See?

I'm not sure I'm good enough to write the Shonen Protagonist Quirk though. It could, potentially, be hilarious if done right. Artillery would be weaker than Biokinesis but still pretty goddamn strong. Just stack ammo from other peoples Quirks on a daily basis to save up for future events. Even if he only got 5 rounds per day each, a week is enough for 35 shots, per Quirk.

But it's not just MHA ideas bugging me. The other issue is with Fabricator. I love the concept of the story but I feel like I completely fucked up on it. The MC is essentially god-like already and it kills any tension or motivation in the story. I've been working on the latest chapter the entire time I've been writing Biokinetic. I've rewritten it a half dozen times and never gotten past a few hundred words. I want to move onto the Riser arc but I can't think of anything interesting to do!

Like, Riser shows up, the challenge is issued, Rias is given a week or so to train, Junichiro takes everyone into his time dimension door and they train for MONTHS and all come out able to bitch slap Kokobiel without effort. Like... That basically makes everyone below the Satans, dragon gods, some other gods, and the strongest members of every faction worthless as enemies. Like, everyone in the hero faction but Cao Cao is trash to them.

So I'm thinking I need to rewrite that story and make Junichiro not so instantly OP. As I was thinking that, I came across an Essence CYOA and googled in curiosity. I thought it might be fun to combine two of the essences I found on a large list. Namely, Essence of the Blank and Essence of the Artificer. BTW Artificer was my favorite D&D class back in 3.5.

For those unfamiliar with Essence, here's what they both do.

Essence of the Blank

Your potential becomes limitless. You can learn any discipline or skillset, even if you shouldn't be capable of it, without forgetting it, and practice them into mastery, no matter how many you learn. Any abilities you have from other Essences will increase where possible, and develop in ways beyond their initial purpose.

Essence of the Artificer

• Craft items out of various materials, though your innate skills are at apprentice level.
• Imbue the items you create with mystical properties, the effects growing in power through the items material and your own skill.
• The ability to swiftly craft your creations.
• You can work without actual tools, creating shimmering versions of tools out of arcane energy when necessary.
• You can harvest/create magical items for your creation.
• Ability to learn new crafting methodologies.
• Artifacts you create grow stronger over time, leading to even the weakest of them growing to legendary proportions with enough time.
• Artifacts made in a set gain synergies, creating unique abilities when used together.

Both have limitless potential, but take effort to get to that potential. No instantly OP Omnifabrication to make limitless anything on day one. No instantly making anything he can imagine, but instead would have to put in some actual effort to get stronger. He'd actually start out rather weak so joining Rias' peerage would make some actual sense. Not only that, but he'd need resources, he couldn't turn random junk into OP power gems with a wave of his hands. Which, honestly seems like a more interesting story to me.

Though he'd have to have the Essence of the Blank in a potion vial or something until after he was turned into a devil. Limitless Potential would make it impossible for him to be turned since the Evil Pieces take potential into account. Otherwise Issei would only take 1-2 pawn pieces pre Boosted Gear awakening. Not sure if the Essence would technically count, but I say it does. Essence of the Artificer is less concerning since there's bound to be crafter-type devils in peerages.

But there's more. The other day I was putzing around on YouTube and came across a bunch of videos on mercury (the element not the planet) and how weird it is. Like, did you know that steel ball bearings FLOAT on puddles of mercury? Or how about the fact that mercury is heavier than lead? Seriously! All of these nifty things about it got me thinking, 'What if there was a Suisei Suisei no Mi (Mercury Mercury Devil Fruit). Like... OMFG that would be awesome! And that sent me down a massive rabbit hole of research into the metal...

Name: Suisei Suisei no Mi

Type: Logia

Description: This Devil Fruit turns the imbiber into a Mercury man. As such, the individual has complete control over all the forms of the metal mercury including its states as a solid, liquid, and gas. Mercury actually has a higher specific gravity than lead, making it heavier. Meaning 1 liter of mercury weighs 13.5 kilos, while 1 liter of lead would weigh 11.3 kilos. Although some forms of mercury are more dangerous than others, all are toxic. Depending on the type and amount, exposures to mercury can damage the nervous system, kidneys, liver and immune system.

As a gas, mercury vapor is invisible and odorless. Breathing mercury vapors can harm the nervous system, lungs and kidneys. Mercury vapors can pass easily from the lungs to the bloodstream. Elemental (also known as metallic) mercury, the shiny silver-white liquid, is most dangerous when inhaled and must be handled with care.

Dimethylmercury ((CH3)2Hg), also known as Mercury dimethanide, is an extremely toxic organomercury compound. A highly volatile, reactive, flammable, and colorless liquid, dimethylmercury is one of the strongest known neurotoxins, with a quantity of less than 0.1 mL capable of inducing severe mercury poisoning resulting in death, and is easily absorbed through the skin. Dimethylmercury is capable of permeating many materials, including plastic and rubber compounds. It has been described as having a slightly sweet odor, although those who have reported its smell were exposed to harmful amounts.

The user also has complete control over their body in any of the three states of matter that mercury can easily be changed into. By compacting the Mercury of their body the user can make it into a solid that can attain hardness on par with high grade high carbon steel. This allows the user to easily make weapons in any shape they wish or simply harden their fists to a massive degree. Control over the liquid, natural, state of Mercury gives the user nearly unlimited shape shifting ability. Although, any shape other than the natural shape of their body will be the natural silvery sheen of mercury so this cannot be used as a method of disguise. On the other hand, it can be used to expand, contract, stretch, and otherwise distort the body of the user. Anything created by the user that is detached from their body and not recovered will revert to the most natural state of mercury. In other words, constructs that have been created, solidified, and detached sill quickly melt back into the normal liquid state in anything but freezing weather. In the cold the Mercury will solidify but be extremely brittle. Lastly, and possibly most impressively, the user can create and control mercury gas, even turning themselves into gas. As a gas the user in intangible to anything but haki, can fly, and can easily squeeze through the smallest of gaps.

At first, I thought it would be a Special Paramecia similar to Katakuri's but turning into a gas is clearly Logia territory. Just imagine the T-1000 from Terminator 2 as a Devil Fruit and laugh. Sure, he'd be pretty untouchable until the end of the first half of the Grand Line, but there's a counter to that. As soon as the World Government finds out he has a WORLD ENDING power, they'll be after him with a vengence. Seriously, he could kill everything on the plant. He'd just need to start dumping metric tons of mercury into the ocean and that's it. Game Over. Everyone eventually dies of mercury poisoning.

But... yeah, researching all of that took some time and I Just. Couldn't. Stop. Until I knew enough to make it viable. Probably have him start out in the North Blue or something shortly after the War of the Best, so just before the time-skip. So two non-canon years to do whatever in, then mebbe meet the main cast in Dressrosa or something.

Also. Silver Surfer impression. Just saying.

So, yeah, that's why my productivity has been a bit down. I've been distracted by life and ideas that wont leave me alone.

If any of those ideas seem like something you would enjoy reading, sound off. And for everyone who likes Fabricator, how does a less OP rewrite sound to you?