Seriously, this would be such an ideal set-up because everyone knows the plot and it’s almost entirely set up to show off a group of characters and let them do a ton of badass stuff.
There’s a group of bandits led by a single charismatic leader who routinely raid a farming village and take a tribute of their crops, put your villains in there.
There’s a group of farmers including a plucky group that go to hire mercenaries to defend their village, put your less fighting-oriented heroes there.
Then there’s the samurai themselves, masterless badasses who come to town and fight for these peasants for nothing but all the rice they can eat and a chance for one last stand.
The samurai training the villagers, the bandits attacking and being scared off, the final battle scene where practically everyone dies, there’s SO MUCH here that makes for great creative fuel.
I mean, we’ve only got two au’s for this that I can think of:
Western AU
Everyone is Bugs AU
Although honestly that one’s amazing because it adds the twist that the “samurai” are actors, which is frankly brilliant. Also while I’m at it, we need more “everyone is bugs” aus.
But come on, fandom people! This is some highly exploitable awesome shit, who wants on this bandwagon with me?
