I need some ideas to spitball at me

[WonderingSword5]

So i decided that I'm going to save my monster/mythological academy school idea as a different story. And my homeless MC martial arts/animal spirits story as another one.

But here's the problem, I came up with teo scenarios for the martial arts and animal spirits idea.

One is the MC was left on the streets or failed to get where he wanted in life becoming a loser, right after high school because of the bad mentor he had. By age 23 it's now 2007, he witnesses bullies attacking victims and he saves them. Old new mentor takes hom in. Trains him to be a fighter and unlock his animal spirits. By age 34 he opens his own dojo, pre-covid, meets the bad mentor again and in the future, the drug companies for this tournament take over.

Other idea is MC is homeless by age 36. After high school having the bad mentor, he ended up with low pay jobs, even lived at home with his family. While still living on the streets at age 45 (post-covid) he witnesses bullies attack victims. He steps in to save them. Good mentor finds him and trains him and by age 50 makes him a great fighter, unlocking his animal spirits. At age 55 he opens his own dojo and the bad mentor returns in his life, and then thr drug companies get involved on the story with the tournament test.

They are very similar but big age differences. The stories are alike. How can I combine both into one? Or just make them both separate stories?

 

[WooHooMan]

Well, like, what’s the point of either stories? Like, why are you invested in either stories or why should the reader care about either?

If the answer is the same for both stories: combine them. Otherwise, keep them separate.

 

[WonderingSword5]

The point is overcoming an abusive bad mentor, bullies and finally standing up to them. While also unlocking the animal spirit within, which is used to battle against an enhanced drug performance company scheme.

 

[Saigonnus]

Does the story have to be modern? I could see a dark medieval sort of set up, where the MC is homeless on the street after his supposed "protector" in the "insert organization who "cares" for the homeless here" bullies him so much that she/he leaves. As he gets older, she/he realizes that those people that had been her/his friends, are taking homeless off the street and sending them to a slave market, where a "insert bad mage here" is using his/her dark magic to force otherwise untrained urchins in fights to the death. So, a mentor finds her/him out on the street after the MC him/herself is accosted and trains them up to unlock her/his spirit animal to take on the bad mage.

 

[WonderingSword5]

I really like this concept! I think I can work something out of this setting with the MC in dealing with a bad mentor/protector that's dealing with magic and spirit animals with the whole fantasy aspect, thanks!

My only other question now is, since I planned on splitting up some of the ideas, I'll still save the drug pharma company idea for a more sci fi story, since I now figured out what I can do with a story about magic and animal spirits. How can I use this concept with a corrupt mentor, MC abused or bullied, gets out of it and left with nowhere to go, corrupted drug pharmaceutical companies using enhanced performance drugs to sponsor top modern athlete warriors, etc? Basically like the dark medieval concept with magic, only this one a sci fi version with the bad protector and pharma companies, without the magic stuff?

Then I can make them both separate stories.