Basically what the title says. Does anyone else think it would be interesting to have comics/stories where Yukkuri aren't actually so utterly helpless, and have more actual survival mechanisms? That way, it provides slightly more conflict or tension before a satisfying resolution, or a twist happy ending, or something new to exploit as a side-effect of their new abilities?
I sometimes get tired of when they're so ridiculously fragile they die without any effort or suspense, and the appeal of "lamest possible way to die" also gets old. Like I was tossing around some ideas, not to use all at once, but just in general...
1: House yus being more like bugs in injury reaction... Big pain tolerance, small wounds just seal up, less leaky paste, etc.
2: Because yukkuri bodies are simple and magical, they actually all regenerate very fast, at the cost of shrinking/ quickly using up excess paste/ etc. Yukkuri escaping injury but having to shrink so small it has to struggle to adapt/ care for family/ etc?
3: A comedy where an anon finds out it's not actually as easy to exterminate a yukkuri as he thought.
4: Yukkuri still mostly dumb, but having unexpectedly high social intelligence as a survival mechanism. Groups and families are much more stable and loyal, and don't self-destruct over every little character flaw and bout of stupidity. The numbers becoming more frustrating to deal with when combined with the fact that the yukkuri are more organized and look out for each other better.
5: Yukkuri can't die from poison or nasty tastes, because they're just paste. They can also retain it as protection... Which could then lead to a story where some yukkuri think they need to gorge on an excessive amount of gross stuff for their safety, basically putting them through a lot of non-fatal misery for nothing.
6: Kos actually have the proportionately thickest skin, and are very chewy and rubbery for safety. Could be in a bullying thing where they get used as bouncy/stress balls, being unhappy but ultimately surviving.
7: Only previously weakened/wounded Yukkuri being weak to water, while healthy ones actually have some kind of sealant or repellent.
Updated