I'm new here and just found out you can post original english light novels here in baka-tsuki. Right now I have three candidate story ideas and I need your opinion on which of them makes for the best and most interesting light novel.
Here we go~~~
1. Sky of Ice
Comedy, Romance, Harem (think Date a Live)
Spoiler! :
The first one (and for me, this looks like the most promising) is about a boy who despises God.
The story starts out the day before the <<Apocalypse>>, or atleast as predicted by a considerable part of the population (like Dec. 2012). Jin is living together with his older sister in her apartment, has one childhood friend, and a fondness of cats, yet despite leading a seemingly content life, he actually hates himself so much. He believes humans are low beings, that they are filthy and everything they do is filthy. Even being born human is a filthy sin.
His dream is to surpass being human and one day join the ranks of God and other higher beings, though he has already come to terms with himself that something like that will never happen. Or so he thought.
One lunch, a girl with cat ears suddenly comes up to him and asks him to eat a potato, claiming it is the last chance to save humanity. Surprised by this sudden absurd request, add more the fact that he has no idea who the girl is, he dashes off but fails to lose the girl. In the end he gave up and ate the potato, just to get the girl off his back.
Later that evening, he is suddenly awoken by a very bright flash. He was all the more surprised to see his sister sleeping with him naked. He instinctively crawls out of the bed and frantically asks his sister what's happening, to which she just responds with a blank stare. It's almost as if she does not understand him. She was acting weird in more ways than one, walking on all fours instead of with her two feet.
Jin scrambles out of the apartment to find that, not just his sister, but everyone else had been acting the same. There's also some sort of blue light eminating from down the road. He runs towards the source of the light, (trying hard not to get distracted by the fanservice around), and finds the girl who made him eat a potato. Clothed, unlike the others.
She proceeds to explain that this is the prophecized <<apocalypse>>. It's not one where mountains crumble, seas rise and meteorites fall. The <<apocalypse>> is when humanity loses the things that make them human and are reduced to being mere animals, or rather, the things that are inherent only in humans (example, wearing clothes, bipedalism, language, etc). However, they were not lost. They merely took human forms and are scattered all over. She is, in fact, one of those very forms, but she might be special (because she was summoned one day earlier than the apocalypse and was able to talk to Jin at school). As for the reason, she does not know herself, or why Jin is the only sane person left. She attributes it that maybe God 'chose' Jin.
The protagonist is now the only person who has his humanity still intact, and to stop the <<apocalypse>>, he now has to properly name the human trait in front of him and establish a social connection with her. One of the connection rituals is eating a meal together (reference to the last supper in the bible), so since the protagonist already ate the potato, now he only has to name what lost human trait the girl in front of him is representing. Each wrong answer will bring horrible consequences.
She stresses that whatever her "name" is, it should be something the protagonist "has so much of" or "strongly exhibits" that even in the face of the <<apocalypse>>, he can never run out of. Jin answers proudly that it should be "Dream", or the ability for humans to have ambitions, because his ambition himself is to rise the ranks of beings and surpass being human.
He answers correctly, and gives everyone the "ability to dream" again (though since they cant speak fluently for some reason, it didn't make that much of a difference). The world should return to normal by tomorrow, but the <<apocalypse>> will still happen, once a week at first, and then gradually becoming more and more frequent, until it becomes permanent. The protagonist has to find all the traits before time runs out (and they all happen to be girls or course)
The story starts out the day before the <<Apocalypse>>, or atleast as predicted by a considerable part of the population (like Dec. 2012). Jin is living together with his older sister in her apartment, has one childhood friend, and a fondness of cats, yet despite leading a seemingly content life, he actually hates himself so much. He believes humans are low beings, that they are filthy and everything they do is filthy. Even being born human is a filthy sin.
His dream is to surpass being human and one day join the ranks of God and other higher beings, though he has already come to terms with himself that something like that will never happen. Or so he thought.
One lunch, a girl with cat ears suddenly comes up to him and asks him to eat a potato, claiming it is the last chance to save humanity. Surprised by this sudden absurd request, add more the fact that he has no idea who the girl is, he dashes off but fails to lose the girl. In the end he gave up and ate the potato, just to get the girl off his back.
Later that evening, he is suddenly awoken by a very bright flash. He was all the more surprised to see his sister sleeping with him naked. He instinctively crawls out of the bed and frantically asks his sister what's happening, to which she just responds with a blank stare. It's almost as if she does not understand him. She was acting weird in more ways than one, walking on all fours instead of with her two feet.
Jin scrambles out of the apartment to find that, not just his sister, but everyone else had been acting the same. There's also some sort of blue light eminating from down the road. He runs towards the source of the light, (trying hard not to get distracted by the fanservice around), and finds the girl who made him eat a potato. Clothed, unlike the others.
She proceeds to explain that this is the prophecized <<apocalypse>>. It's not one where mountains crumble, seas rise and meteorites fall. The <<apocalypse>> is when humanity loses the things that make them human and are reduced to being mere animals, or rather, the things that are inherent only in humans (example, wearing clothes, bipedalism, language, etc). However, they were not lost. They merely took human forms and are scattered all over. She is, in fact, one of those very forms, but she might be special (because she was summoned one day earlier than the apocalypse and was able to talk to Jin at school). As for the reason, she does not know herself, or why Jin is the only sane person left. She attributes it that maybe God 'chose' Jin.
The protagonist is now the only person who has his humanity still intact, and to stop the <<apocalypse>>, he now has to properly name the human trait in front of him and establish a social connection with her. One of the connection rituals is eating a meal together (reference to the last supper in the bible), so since the protagonist already ate the potato, now he only has to name what lost human trait the girl in front of him is representing. Each wrong answer will bring horrible consequences.
She stresses that whatever her "name" is, it should be something the protagonist "has so much of" or "strongly exhibits" that even in the face of the <<apocalypse>>, he can never run out of. Jin answers proudly that it should be "Dream", or the ability for humans to have ambitions, because his ambition himself is to rise the ranks of beings and surpass being human.
He answers correctly, and gives everyone the "ability to dream" again (though since they cant speak fluently for some reason, it didn't make that much of a difference). The world should return to normal by tomorrow, but the <<apocalypse>> will still happen, once a week at first, and then gradually becoming more and more frequent, until it becomes permanent. The protagonist has to find all the traits before time runs out (and they all happen to be girls or course)
2. Shiki
Comedy, Romance, Supernatural
Spoiler! :
This second one is about a boy who smokes.
Yuzuru Yoshino, though just in high school, is already afflicted with a bad habit of smoking. He's actually kind. He's not a delinquent, but he smokes, and as a result, he has always been the target of prejudice. He does not have many friends, and is often associated by the others with dark criminal activities. Even parents and teachers have labeled him as bad influence.
Little do they know, though, that the thing Yuzuru smokes are not actually cigarettes, but spiritual talismans.
Yuzuru is the son of a shrine maiden spiritual medium. When his mom was young, she had a dream vision where she would give birth to four girls and they would success her in protecting the shrine. She does "everything in her power" to make it happen (if you know what I mean) and successfully gives birth to a girl firstborn. The next were twins, but one was a boy (Yuzuru). She gives birth to another girl, but at that point, her husband can no longer take the pressure and divorces her. She's distraught, not because he left her, but because Yuzuru turned out a boy and wasn't born a girl.
One day Yuzuru accidentally breaks a vase in their storage room and out comes the spirit of a little girl, Yurumi. She falls in love with Yuzuru and follows him wherever he goes, but she also gets jealous easily. When Yuzuru so much as talks to a human girl, Yurumi will get jealous and cause bad things to happen to that person. It gets increasingly dangerous as time goes on.
To prevent Yurumi from causing trouble in Yuzuru's everyday life, his mother gave him a talisman shaped like a cigarette. For as long as he smokes that, Yurumi can't materialize and can't do anything dangerous with physical objects. It's also perfect since the talisman runs on emotions. The stronger Yurumi feels, the stronger the talisman gets, meaning the more jealous or angry she gets, the more she can't interfere with the physical world.
That's why he's always smoking around school, to keep every girl that talks to him safe from Yurumi's wrath. The talisman only loses effect once it's doused, used up or Yuzuru wills it.
Yurumi was the fourth girl in the dream.
Yuzuru Yoshino, though just in high school, is already afflicted with a bad habit of smoking. He's actually kind. He's not a delinquent, but he smokes, and as a result, he has always been the target of prejudice. He does not have many friends, and is often associated by the others with dark criminal activities. Even parents and teachers have labeled him as bad influence.
Little do they know, though, that the thing Yuzuru smokes are not actually cigarettes, but spiritual talismans.
Yuzuru is the son of a shrine maiden spiritual medium. When his mom was young, she had a dream vision where she would give birth to four girls and they would success her in protecting the shrine. She does "everything in her power" to make it happen (if you know what I mean) and successfully gives birth to a girl firstborn. The next were twins, but one was a boy (Yuzuru). She gives birth to another girl, but at that point, her husband can no longer take the pressure and divorces her. She's distraught, not because he left her, but because Yuzuru turned out a boy and wasn't born a girl.
One day Yuzuru accidentally breaks a vase in their storage room and out comes the spirit of a little girl, Yurumi. She falls in love with Yuzuru and follows him wherever he goes, but she also gets jealous easily. When Yuzuru so much as talks to a human girl, Yurumi will get jealous and cause bad things to happen to that person. It gets increasingly dangerous as time goes on.
To prevent Yurumi from causing trouble in Yuzuru's everyday life, his mother gave him a talisman shaped like a cigarette. For as long as he smokes that, Yurumi can't materialize and can't do anything dangerous with physical objects. It's also perfect since the talisman runs on emotions. The stronger Yurumi feels, the stronger the talisman gets, meaning the more jealous or angry she gets, the more she can't interfere with the physical world.
That's why he's always smoking around school, to keep every girl that talks to him safe from Yurumi's wrath. The talisman only loses effect once it's doused, used up or Yuzuru wills it.
Yurumi was the fourth girl in the dream.
3. [No title yet}
Comedy (and possible romance?)
Spoiler! :
This third one is about a comic take on art.
There's a girl who's so good at drawing named Enjelia. And there's also a boy who's very good at drawing named Red.
When Red finds out of Enjelia's talent from the local school comicon, he falls in awe of her amazing talent. He is fully convinced that she is the best, absolutely the BEST artist in the whole world, to the point of eventually asking to be her art apprentice. Enjelia was flattered by this comment, but as it later turns out, it might do more bad to her than good.
This chronicles the adventures of fellow art club members Enjelia and Red, how Red gets Enjelia into constant troubles and how Enjelia takes care of Red's mess.
Example:
Red comes across a random graffiti artist on the road. He acknowledges the artist's skills, but then criticizes his work and tells him how his 'master' could do so much better. He insults it as a pathetic excuse for art, and that his master (Enjelia) would easily mop the floor with such a crapload of a...
And so he comes to the art clubroom one afternoon to tell Enjelia that she has a showdown with some stranger she's never even met three days from now. I imagine she would give Red a good smack in the head following this. Red would beg her on bended knee, and she would incidentally be unable to back out of the showdown since Red bet a lot of money or a family heirloom or the art club's rights or whatever.
All in good faith
There's a girl who's so good at drawing named Enjelia. And there's also a boy who's very good at drawing named Red.
When Red finds out of Enjelia's talent from the local school comicon, he falls in awe of her amazing talent. He is fully convinced that she is the best, absolutely the BEST artist in the whole world, to the point of eventually asking to be her art apprentice. Enjelia was flattered by this comment, but as it later turns out, it might do more bad to her than good.
This chronicles the adventures of fellow art club members Enjelia and Red, how Red gets Enjelia into constant troubles and how Enjelia takes care of Red's mess.
Example:
Red comes across a random graffiti artist on the road. He acknowledges the artist's skills, but then criticizes his work and tells him how his 'master' could do so much better. He insults it as a pathetic excuse for art, and that his master (Enjelia) would easily mop the floor with such a crapload of a...
And so he comes to the art clubroom one afternoon to tell Enjelia that she has a showdown with some stranger she's never even met three days from now. I imagine she would give Red a good smack in the head following this. Red would beg her on bended knee, and she would incidentally be unable to back out of the showdown since Red bet a lot of money or a family heirloom or the art club's rights or whatever.
All in good faith
