Unfinished Smurfs

Chapter 16: Notes And Plotline

Here are a ton of different notes and ideas I have for this AU, though not everything will necessarily make it to the final draft.

Once upon a time, there were two Smurfs named Alchemist and Warrior, a married couple. They were Redcaps, coleaders of a Smurf village called Blossom.

Alchemist was very intelligent, while Warrior was very brave, and the two worked together to lead and defend their people from the immortal sorcerer Gargamel.

Smurfette is rescued/adopted by the Smurfs when she's biologically a young teenager/preteen, having quick-grown over a period of months but not yet reached the point where she could seduce the Smurfs. She's mentally a teenager as well.

Gargamel made an immortality potion with the intention of selling it to get rich, testing it first on Azrael, then on himself. Afterwards, something caused the formula to be destroyed and Gargamel couldn't remember how he did it. Part of the reason he chases the Smurfs is to find out the secrets of their long lives. (He is not interested in eating them, however, because I am very very VERY against cannibalism)

There are other Smurf villages, with their own leaders and ways of doing things. Leaders are typically the only ones who wear red hats, so they're called Redcaps.

Alchemist is Papa Smurf. His son is Brainy, but he goes by 'Glasses Smurfling' for a while. Warrior/Rory is a retired warrior based partly on Smurfwillow.

Chapter Ideas (out of order):

1) Clumsy meeting/befriending a Firescale Dragonfly and learning how to ride it, discovering a hidden talent with it (OMS, How To Train Your Dragon Fly!). This references that one movie where he turns out to be good at riding fire breathing dragonflies.

2) Hefty and Brainy meeting, probably with Hefty protecting Brainy from something.

3) Hefty and Brainy bonding ("You're like my little brother!" "I'm older than you..." "Only by, like, two years.") (I'm actually going to make it so Hefty is older than Brainy and that line won't make it into the final draft, but it was funny so I wrote it down)

4) When young Brainy breaks the rules and sneaks into his Papa's lab to prove he can make potions, he accidentally poisons a ladybug that wandered in. While a guilty Brainy nurses the mutating creature back to health, he finds a place in his heart he didn't know existed. Or: how Brainy gets his pet ladybug, Snapshot/Snappy Bug, and teaches her how to be a living camera/flashlight/voice recorder while as well beginning to learn higher empathy and care.

5) Brainy meeting Barista Smurf and drinking coffee for the first time. He's determined to impress the newcomer before his reputation ruins his chance, and ends up drinking something his research has told him he shouldn't (because of his highstrung personality, panic attacks, etc). Barista ends up becoming his friend anyways.

6) The first time Brainy calls Smurfette his sister and doesn't take it back/pretend he didn't.

7) Brainy facing his fear of failure and asking Handy for help with something, admitting he's better at building things than Brainy is. But he does it at night so nosmurf can overhear. Still, though, progress.

8) Brainy noticing that Grouchy always interrupts Philosopher's lectures, and saying some things that piss both of them off. Next time he himself gives a lecture/speech, he finds two hecklers in the audience... (Grouchy and Philosopher are close friends who love debating each other, it's just that almost nosmurf knows this because, well... they're always debating each other XD)

9) Brainy trying to go by Knowledgeable Smurf and instead getting derisively named Brainiac. He hates the mocking name until Clumsy reacts happily to it, sincerely saying that he's the 'Brainiest Smurf' there is. Smurfette is one of the few that tries to call him by the name he chose before he gives in to being called Brainy, making them bond a little more.

10) Other Smurfs realize how little respect they give to Brainy and decide to fix it, starting by acknowledging his original choice of name. Brainy is touched, but soon runs into an issue — he's so used to being 'Brainy' that he doesn't want to go by 'Knowledgeable' anymore. Brainy is who he is, now. But can he tell the others that without losing the tentative respect he's earned?

11) Brainy standing up for Smurfette for the first time when she's bullied for being a false Smurf. He himself didn't like her and the fact that she was a false Smurf at first, but her personality and kindness towards him changed his mind. He remembers kind moments between them from various other chapters.

12) Brainy realizing that he will never be like Papa Smurf. He's horrible at potions, isn't patient, and tends to get stressed out when actually given the chance to lead. He's bummed out for a bit, but eventually realizes that it's okay — all this time he's been trying to copy Papa, when he should've been trying to be Brainy. So, of course, he goes full mad scientist!

13) How Brainy becomes the town's (reluctant) librarian.

14) Jokey has been pranking Brainy a lot, causing hatred between the two. When they both are lost and Jokey gets hurt in the woods, it's up to Brainy to get them back home. Jokey expects Brainy to say he deserves it, dreads rough treatment until he's safely back with the other Smurfs, but is instead met with Brainy's own peculiar brand of kindness. Bonding happens.

15) Hefty meeting Smurfette for the first time. I don't believe in love at first sight, but, well...

16) When Gargamel captures some Smurfs, Warrior leads a rescue party – coming home with a mysterious cloaked Smurfling with grey skin. (Smurfette comes to town).

17) Berserker or Boxer throws Glasses out of the village for the first time (he barely gets hurt due to Smurfy durability, though). When his friends ask who did it, he pretends he didn't notice (he doesn't always pay attention to things like that), fearing that Hefty (who is close to the offending party) will choose their side over his. As the years go by and being tossed out of the village becomes so normal his friends don't even ask anymore, Brainy wonders if he should've told somesmurf when it first began. Because as much as it doesn't seem to phase anysmurf anymore, it upsets him – but even his family are too used to it to care. Will those closest to him realize what's going on, and what will happen once they do? (I'm still unsure how much his family will know or not, but they'll definitely be at least mostly unknowing towards what happens. Maybe featuring Brainy assuming they know when they actually don't...)

18) Brainy running across Jokey after he's been beat up for a prank, and reluctantly bonding to him as Jokey vents some long-held frustrations. Later, Jokey saves Brainy from Gargamel/wolves/whatever with his pranks and parkour. Features Brainy not paying attention to others' emotions until he sees something that makes him worry, and insecure!jerk-but-not-cruel!Jokey.

19) Somesmurf that's never hurt Brainy (Papa Smurf? Historian? Barista? Mental?) tells him to 'Shut Up, Brainy!', either playfully or in anger. Due to how many times he's been told that before being thrown/kicked/hit, he flinches, worrying the other. Brainy just thinks it's normal, so he either casually goes back to what he was doing or quietly apologizes and asks to not be thrown out (depends on whether he figures out they aren't going to hurt him or not). This worries the other further.

20) Mental Smurf moves to town, bringing all sorts of strange ideas with him. When Brainy has a panic attack (probably doing with his fear of failing and/or being wrong), his parents make an appointment with the new town therapist. With words like 'anxiety' being thrown around, Brainy is convinced that the man's a quack – after all, only broken Smurfs get anxiety, right?

Plot notes:

• Brainy as a baby, discovering outside for the first time and getting his glasses

• Brainy's first attempt at making friends... and meeting Jokey

• Brainy and Clumsy become friends

• Brainy and Hefty become friends

• Smurfette comes into the picture

•Brainy starts trying to get a name

• Brainy gets Snapshot

• Brainy tries to go by knowledgeable Smurf, but ends up as Brainy

• Hefty's tattoo

• Brainy vs Smart

Brainy starts getting bullied but doesn't tell anysmurf. Eventually it just becomes so normal, nosmurf really cares.

Brainy meets a historian Smurf that starts to open his eyes to the possibility that, just maybe, he doesn't want to be exactly like Papa

Brainy's parents make him see a therapist, named Mental. Poor, poor Mental...

Brainy meets Barista

Brainy meets Phil

Brainy and Jokey reconcile... mostly.

Running gag with Jokey exploding him.

Brainy confesses that he doesn't want to be exactly like Papa Smurf. He hates potions and leading stresses him out... Oh! Him failing to be in charge a few times before this.

Brainy and Clumsy get together.

Hefty becomes a good leader. Smurfette's name changes. Clumsy invents Firescale Riding. Jokey becomes the world's most whimsical warrior. Grouchy and Vanity's relationship develops, and Grouchy adopts Baby. Ryder's creation, departure, and return. Most of this is in the background.

Ideas for other long-form fics in the same world but focusing on other characters than Brainy:

• Fire's Grace: Clumsy's Story

• Too Much Pink: The Tale Of The False Smurf

• Heart On My Smurf: More Than Just Hefty

• That's Not Funny: The Life And Times Of Jokey Smurf

• Dismal Reflections: An Unsmurfy Love

• Stalker With A Cause: The Secrets Of The Newssmurfs

• Mental's Patients, Music Notes, And Other Smurfy Stories

And then something that stars the Smurflings, probably. Oh, and maybe a story for Dreamy's crew...