Plot Bunnies to a good home (May be rabid)

[RavynousHunter]

Why is there so little mention of ritual magic in Harry Potter? I mean, we have the ritual of...resurrection? Reincarnation? I dunno, whatever chicanery Voldermort pulled to get his body back. Personally, I think that's how the Statute of Secrecy came to be in actual effect: a bunch of wizards from the world over held a massive magical ritual that affected the world's muggle population, and their records, causing them to no longer believe in magic, and by extension, the magical world and to lose all definitive proof of its existence. I mean, the mundane population isn't stupid and there's little doubt in my mind that all it'd take to reveal the magical world, had they simply disappeared off the face of the Earth (thus leading to a "I wonder where these guys got off to..." moment), would be a couple of researchers studying a given point of history and maybe making family trees or somesuch. I'd love to see more of multiple wizards pooling their power to cast one MASSIVE spell of incredible power, it'd just be awesome.

This made me smile thinking about the Tri-Wizard Tournament.

I knoooooooow. That ritual has to be one of the coolest moments in the whole series, even if it does mean the return of Wizard Hitler, Jr. Its one of the reasons Blood Magic is one of the only magic mods for Minecraft that I can tolerate.

[jgkitarel]

Except that the ritual magic done now isn't awesome, but mundane. You want something truly spectacular, well, the survivors of Atlantis would like to have a word with you on why that is a bad idea. So bad, that the laws and metaphysics of magic spontaneously changed themselves to make it not only not happen again, but never happened at all.

Hmm, that's an interesting idea. Magic cosmically retconning itself to make some truly awesome feats of magic impossible. It doesn't matter if there are records.

It. Never. Happened. EVER...

[Phht]

Except that the ritual magic done now isn't awesome, but mundane. You want something truly spectacular, well, the survivors of Atlantis would like to have a word with you on why that is a bad idea. So bad, that the laws and metaphysics of magic spontaneously changed themselves to make it not only not happen again, but never happened at all.

Alternately, the ritual magic that hid the Wizarding World completely... damaged Magic itself. Magic was not meant to be hidden away like it was, and by doing so, the wizards permanently lessened Magic, rendering it absolutely incapable of the truly impressive feats of ritual magic (such as, say, reversing the ritual magic that hid away the wizarding world and damaged Magic). Think of Magic as a link between certain beings/plants and the planet itself. The ritual essentially severed part of that link in order to hide the link and link users' existence from those that could not touch it. The repercussions would be felt everywhere. Without the higher Magic limits, the magic keeping Atlantis afloat and safe was no longer possible, and it sank beneath the waves, forever hidden. Dragons that were once highly intelligent suffered mental damage from the lessened Magic. And so forth. Not only that, but the damage to the link is slowly increasing, further severing the connection.

Eventually that is discovered and a way is devised to send several people back in time to some point before the ritual, where they come up with a piece of ritual magic that stores magic like a battery, so millennium in the future, that accumulated magic can be used to power a ritual to undo the damage done and un-hide the magical side of the planet.

[RavynousHunter]

I've got an interesting one for Dragon Ball...what if, after Future Trunks was killed by Cell when the latter revived after blowing himself up, Vegeta ascended like Gohan did and ended up being the one to kill Cell? Gohan might not be as confident in the future, but Vegeta would have finally had something on Goku, helping to assuage his long-wounded pride. He might not have even felt the need to fall to Babidi's spell and become a Majin just to equal Goku, and he might have even been the one chosen by Supreme Kai to pull the Z sword, since he'd have been the strongest person around when Majin Buu turned out to be damn near unstoppable.

Hell, it might have even delayed the release of Buu, since he wouldn't be a Majin when fighting him (which we all know he would, Vegeta's obsessive like that) and, thus, wouldn't be feeding the power he expends in the fight to hasten Buu's awakening, maybe even resulting in a significantly weaker (in the beginning, at least) Buu from canon.

Also, the idea of Mystic Vegeta is just plain awesome.

[jgkitarel]

Also, I seriously doubt Shin would take Vegeta along to train and go Mystic, though I agree that a Mystic Vegeta would be awesome. Vegeta's too much of an anti-hero, at best, to be acceptable to the Kais.

[RavynousHunter]

I always thought Eastern Supreme Kai judged Gohan solely by his power and desire to NOT have the universe be killed by a pink bubblegum monster; since he was the strongest person there that wasn't either brainwashed or dead, it made sense that he was chosen to pull the Z sword. If that were the case, a more secure-in-himself, non-Majin Vegeta would also qualify and might even be a better candidate considering he's got more combat experience than anyone else on the planet except maybe for Goku. Supreme Kai might even make it a King Arthur-style contest between Gohan and Vegeta, in that case. Both are good candidates, and Vegeta might be less likely to blow himself up as a sacrifice since, if he beat Cell, he'd likely not feel as great a need for atonement and also would likely never be taken over by Babidi.

Plus, if he's on the world of the Kais, instead of blown up on Earth, then even if Gohan was the one to take the Z sword, then he'd still have an opportunity to maybe train with Goku and achieve SSJ3. Might not be enough to take down Buutenks or Buuhan by himself, but could you imagine the kind of shit-wrecking power a SSJ3 Gogeta would have? Especially if Vegeta's personality shifted a bit after the Cell Games to make him less likely to screw around and, thus, make a much more competent fusion that won't do like what SSJ4 Gogeta did against Omega Shenron and screw around so much that he ended up not finishing the job.

[jgkitarel]

Not really. Vegeta's own history would speak against him, regardless of how reformed he may be, which wouldn't be much. It wasn't hard for Babidi to turn him, mostly because Vegeta didn't require much convincing in the first place. Babidi could still manage it, though not as easily. Also, just because Vegeta got more powerful doesn't mean he beat Goku. He still wants that rematch after all.

[RavynousHunter]

Aye, I wouldn't change his core desire to best Goku. I feel that the main reason he turned Majin so quickly was because he honestly believed it'd give him the edge he needed to finally one-up Goku. If he'd achieved something Goku hadn't (in this case, SSJ2 during the Cell Games), then he'd be more secure in himself and would be less likely to take shortcuts like what Babidi offered; he'd want to do it himself because it'd be more satisfying.

Also, I don't think Supreme Kai was aware of anyone's history, hence why he was surprised at how powerful a Super Saiyan was. If he'd have been paying attention, then their power wouldn't have left him gaping like it did in the anime. If he doesn't know of their power, then it'd stand to reason that he'd know next to nothing about them as people. He might be able to sense the darkness inside canon Vegeta, but one that'd been working to reform himself wouldn't have as much inside him, thus leading to fewer doubts about his allegiance.

[jgkitarel]

That same darkeness would still be there. Take a closer look at Vegeta's reasons for accepting Babidi's offer. It was less power, which he had plenty of, then it was not having the moral shackles he had placed on himself when he decided to settle down. While Babidi was able to also use Vegeta's own insecurities to tempt him, it was also the man's own pride, which is his primary flaw, which Babidi exploited for all it was worth.

It wasn't until late in that arc where he finally was able to give up his pride, mostly because he finally learned that it wasn't worth it, considering what his pride cost him.

[RavynousHunter]

That's a very good point you bring up. However, if Vegeta had a more altruistic reason for ascending, like Trunks' death, then he might learn that morals are less shackles that bind and more a set of rules...and a list of acceptable targets. Vegeta isn't a stupid man; in fact, if it weren't for his bullheaded, selfish arrogance, then I'd easily place him as almost equal to Piccolo in terms of intellect. I also differentiate between pride and arrogance for a very important reason: pride, in moderation, is a good thing. It allows one to recognize and enjoy their achievements and promotes a positive self-image. The problem is when that pride is corrupted by either an over-inflated ego or a massive inferiority complex (which I feel is closer to Vegeta's situation) into arrogance. Basically, Vegeta's own pride in himself is turned sour by his chronic Short Man Syndrome, so he overcompensates for his feelings of inferiority by giving off the impression of having a massive ego when, in reality, his ego's likely the most fragile part of his psyche. His arrogance had cost him plenty before the Buu arc: it caused him to be defeated by a warrior he felt was inferior, got him beaten nearly to death by Recoome, killed by Frieza, beaten to a pulp by #18, and leading to his son getting killed by allowing Cell to reach his Perfect form. My idea just kinda...shifts that tipping point a little earlier.

[jgkitarel]

Actually, Vegeta's motivation wouldn't be based on altruism. In fact, Trunks' death would simply enrage him, like it did in canon. That he ascended this time is immaterial, his motive would be simple rage and revenge. His reformation would have started at that point, if the series had ended as Toriyama originally intended, which was when Goku passed the torch to Gohan. Instead, executive meddling made us deal with the farce that is the Saiyaman Saga, as well as undoing a lot of character development, before Toriyama decided to give the series an epic send off.

Vegeta had the most character development of any character besides Gohan. We see every aspect of his development from being an arc villain, to ally of convenience and necessity during Namek, to a grudging ally on the same side of the heroes. Vegeta was still firmly entrenched in the anti-hero camp by the end of the Cell Games. The Buu Saga basically undid a lot of his character development, for plot reasons and then proceeded to deconstruct and reconstruct his character, allowing him to become a hero, something the post-Cell Games Vegeta really couldn't do. Mostly because he really didn't have too many firm attachments, though they were beginning to form.

Simply put, the reason his character reformed so much during the Buu Saga is that he had to learn, in brutal fashion, what his pride had finally cost him, and then willingly admit that his pride wasn't worth it.

[RavynousHunter]

True that, true that. I think my main reason for thinking the way I do is that, deep down, Vegeta really does love his son, both his present one and his future counterpart. Its just one of those instinct things, ya know? Even if his motivation was purely revenge, he'd still be wanting revenge because someone had killed his son, not because they'd caused him grievous harm or insulted him personally, but because they'd killed one of the few people about whom he cares. Hell, even if he weren't his son, they'd killed one of the few people that didn't treat him like a ticking timebomb just waiting for any excuse to go off and murder everyone. Granted, you can't really blame the Z warriors for behaving that way towards him, since he'd been one hell of a bastard for quite a while. Trunks gave his father the respect he so desperately craved and likely helped kickstart his path toward, for lack of a better term, growing up.

[jgkitarel]

He does love his son, he just doesn't know how to show it. The Z Fighters are understandably wary of him, something he not only doesn't blame them for, but would likely be highly insulted by if they didn't. Goku is something of an exception, but he also falls into the spheres of rival and worthy opponent. It also doesn't hurt that the two understand each other in ways that none of the other Z Fighters can.

[RavynousHunter]

Aye. I have to say, seeing them working as homies at the end of Z was actually really cool.

[jgkitarel]

This got inspired by the Naruto x HP crossover Masks and Redemption, where in the latest chapter, Kakashi runs into the Mirror of Erised. While it is much more sinister in many respects than in canon, it does raise an interesting question: what would a character from any series see, and what effect would it have on him/her?

[RavynousHunter]

Garrett would probably see him robbing the Baron himself, lol.

[jgkitarel]

An Epic way to kill a dragon...

Accio FOOF!

[RavynousHunter]

An Epic way to kill a dragon...

Accio FOOF!

Accio dragon heart sans dragon!

[Nitramy]

Funny crossover idea: right after A's, Nanoha, Fate and Hayate take up a hobby to work off stress from school and TSAB work.

Six months later, the world is shocked as three elementary school girls leave a swath of destruction through the Under-19 Gunpla Battle Japan Team Championship.

Spoiler: show

Nanoha uses a Hi-Nu Gundam with a GN Sword II Blaster and GN Sword Bit edges to the Fin Funnels, allowing them to cut targets.

Fate uses a Deathscythe Hell with a GN Drive and the Epyon's Beam Sword.

Hayate uses a black-and-white Reborns Gundam with the Large GN Fin Fangs upgraded to Large GN Atomic Bazooka Fin Fangs.

[TraceReading]

An Epic way to kill a dragon...

Accio FOOF!

Accio dragon heart sans dragon!

Why not just transfigure its saliva into nitroglycerin or something? So when it goes to breathe fire, BAM! Instant headless dragon.

[jgkitarel]

Or do a double transfiguration. Ground nearby gets turned into Hydrogen Sulfide and its' saliva gets turned into an energetic fluoride like Chlorine Triflouride or Dioxygen-diflouride (aka FOOF), and let the two mix. Harry might want to get behind something real solid, strong and anchored to the ground first, though, or make sure he has a way to get far, far, far away. Both do not react well to sulfides and both have been known to do things like set glass on fire (or explode depending on the type of glass).

After all, if we're going to transfigure things into explodium and/or burnium, then we might as well do so in a way for maximum boom short of a nuclear explosion.

[RavynousHunter]

An Epic way to kill a dragon...

Accio FOOF!

Accio dragon heart sans dragon!

Why not just transfigure its saliva into nitroglycerin or something? So when it goes to breathe fire, BAM! Instant headless dragon.

Or just summon the skin off its bones. Brutal and messy, but effective.

[Tempest Kitsune]

mainly because dragons are heavily implied to be nearly impervious to direct affects from magic?

[TraceReading]

The skin maybe, but that, like everything else, tends to get exaggerated in fanfic.

[Tempest Kitsune]

Yes, and to get at most of the targets you've all listed, the magic has to bypass the skin first.