IdeasGuy

The Good Life: Showmanship (ch. 66)

Getting the jitters was a pretty normal part of life. No one was immune to it -- I sure wasn't. Back before it all began, before the ball really started rolling and I crossed the Rubicon, I had been anxious and uncertain about going through with being Heartless. I had taken over the gangs of New York, but I could have just taken the kick up and vanished without a trace. I hadn't been on anyone's radar at that point. The Seven had no clue I existed.

I had been excited at enacting a chil...

The Good Life: Cult of Curses (ch. 65)

As irritating as he found it, Sukuna knew from the very start that he would need to change his Tithe. For centuries, he had collected cursed energy in one of two ways -- the more reliable being from the terror, pain, and rage that he harvested from the peasants as he destroyed their lives for the sake of his own amusement. It was a paltry sum, but given his habits during the Heian era, it was a practical option. The other tithe that he collected was the cursed energy of sorcerers that he cons...

The Good Life: College Acceptance (ch. 64)

I felt like a kid in a candy shop with a no limit black card. The possibilities were endless, and I was almost left frozen from choice paralysis. In a way it was almost lucky that Rumi and Asami had helped point the way for me. Letting me go in a new and exciting direction. In a way, it was me returning to my roots. Revisiting the meticulous planning that had gone into my ascension as the crime lord of New York, giving me all the pieces that I needed to make the world tremble.

Subtlety...

The Good Life: Bet (ch. 63) (Arcane Start)

It was always fascinating to watch Law work, Robin decided as he grinned at Asami, who wore a polite and practiced smile of her own that couldn’t quite hide her intentions. Throughout her colorful life, she had encountered all sorts of villains -- the grand schemers, the thoughtless thugs, and the opportunity seizers. Law, somehow, embodied a bit like all three at once. An agent of chaos, as Yoruichi called him. It was rather fitting.

“There are other issues that have been brought ...

Legends Never Die: Foundations of the Future (ch. 98)

Hadi had a plan.

It wasn't an ideal one. Not even close. But, that was to be expected in his trying circumstances. If things were ideal, then he wouldn't be in this situation in the first place -- married to an ambitious and beautiful woman, a regent to a young Emir, and a close advisor to the Caliph himself.

It was awful. Every night, he went to sleep begging that it all be a dream and every morning he awoke to his greatest nightmare made manifest. Some days he wondered if the ...

Legends Never Die: The More Things Change (ch. 97)

Things hardly settled with our victory. It took time for the effects to ripple out across the Roman Empire, which found itself shocked by waves of news. First, that iconoclasm had been officially repealed by the Pope and Patriarch of the Faith. Then, at the same time, news that Bulgaria had been conquered spread alongside the repeal. As far as anyone could tell, it mostly had the intended effect -- people took it as a sign.

But not everyone did. Fanatical believers weren't so easily co...

Legends Never Die: Rebellion (ch. 96)

Michael Lachanodrakon was not a fool.

In my experience, most of Constantinople’s high nobility maintained their position purely because their peers were every bit as foolish as they were. That wasn't the case for Michael. He was a military man first and foremost -- he had a taste for battle, and proved his mettle against both the Abbasids and his peers when Iconoclasm was first established at the tip of his sword.

I suspected he foresaw the trap that he was being led into by I...

Legends Never Die: The Cusp of Change (ch. 95)

“He conquered Bulgaria? How entirely expected,” Morrigan replied blandly to the news she had expected since Siegfried left with Astrid.

She laid in one of the admittedly comfortable lounging chairs that the Romans favored, her eyes closed as she looked down upon herself through the eyes of Huginn. It was still a strange experience, to gaze through the eyes of another. Through a familiar. There were magics that could accomplish the same thing, but it was the first time Morrigan had ...

Risk It All (Potential Rewrite)

There is a larger AN at the bottom of the chapter, but I wanted to say this before anyone got their hopes up. Risk It All isn't back. This is me floating the idea of a rewrite to see how much interest there would be in one.

...

The stench of burnt rubber started to rise as I ran on the treadmill, staring blankly ahead as I sprinted at top speed. The smell wasn't that surprising considering I’d had it on max for the better part of three hours. My stride hardly broke as I lowered...

Best of Intentions: My Way (ch. 12)

“It's like these people have never even heard of safety measures. How exactly do you have an outbreak in the facility that's specifically dedicated to developing antivirals and countermeasures to the crap the other Hive is cooking up? I swear, I feel like I'm losing my mind here.” I groused under my breath, thoroughly unimpressed with the state of the other Hive. “The bar is so low it's in hell, and these people are still managing to trip over it.”

Hive II had fallen. I'm not e...

A Golden Path: First Steps 1.8 (ch. 8)

Skagos was a rough and barren land, Ned thought to himself as they arrived upon the island under a dense and heavy fog. The ride had been a short one, thankfully, but a tense one. Robert had braced himself against the railing in anticipation that they would strike an iceberg on the way. The trip was quite too, no one speaking with only the ropes creaking and waves lapping to fill the silence.

It felt like stealing away into the domain. As if they were trespassing. It grated at Ned's ne...

Best of Intentions: Welcome to the Jungle (ch. 11)

Things weren't great. Or even good, really. But, they weren't as bad as they could be. Because, simply put, as things stood there was about twenty floors that separated us. Mr. X was a whole ass problem, but he was a manageable one. What he did was compound an already existing issue, like being trapped in a pit with a super massive alligator.

“This is fine,” I said, earning a brief look of utter disbelief from Jill.

“It’s fine?” Jill echoed, looking at me like I was sp...

A Golden Path: First Steps 1.7 (ch. 7)

The issue wasn't settled, Rickard knew, days later as the festival continued on. Enough time for the story to settle, the excitement wearing off, and for the lords to start to think about everything that they heard. Most were content with the story and the perfumed fate of House Crowl. They didn't suspect that he, nor Brandon, had any reason to lie to them. Instead, they basked in what they hoped to be a greater future while taking the measure of Paul to determine if he was of any use to thei...

The Good Life: Cult of Curses (ch. 65)

As irritating as he found it, Sukuna knew from the very start that he would need to change his Tithe. For centuries, he had collected cursed energy in one of two ways -- the more reliable being from the terror, pain, and rage that he harvested from the peasants as he destroyed their lives for the sake of his own amusement. It was a paltry sum, but given his habits during the Heian era, it was a practical option. The other tithe that he collected was the cursed energy of sorcerers that he cons...

The Good Life: College Acceptance (ch. 64)

I felt like a kid in a candy shop with a no limit black card. The possibilities were endless, and I was almost left frozen from choice paralysis. In a way it was almost lucky that Rumi and Asami had helped point the way for me. Letting me go in a new and exciting direction. In a way, it was me returning to my roots. Revisiting the meticulous planning that had gone into my ascension as the crime lord of New York, giving me all the pieces that I needed to make the world tremble.

Subtlety...

The Good Life: Bet (ch. 63) (Arcane Start)

It was always fascinating to watch Law work, Robin decided as he grinned at Asami, who wore a polite and practiced smile of her own that couldn’t quite hide her intentions. Throughout her colorful life, she had encountered all sorts of villains -- the grand schemers, the thoughtless thugs, and the opportunity seizers. Law, somehow, embodied a bit like all three at once. An agent of chaos, as Yoruichi called him. It was rather fitting.

“There are other issues that have been brought ...

The Good Life: Desert (ch. 62)

Things had been settled up between me and Sukuna, less so with everyone else. After tossing Sukuna some clothing since his got wrecked, and I finished healing myself with positive energy, I took notice of the two sore losers. I had been a little too quick to dismiss them. And cursed energy, in hindsight. It still wasn't quite what I wanted it to be, but it had far more application than I initially acknowledged. Being able to heal such grievous injuries alone made it worth exploring.

�...

Legends Never Die: The More Things Change (ch. 97)

Things hardly settled the very instant that the victory happened. It took time for the effects to ripple out across the Roman empire that found itself shocked by waves of news. First, that iconoclasm had been officially repealed by the Pope and Patriarch of the faith. Then, at the same time, news that Bulgaria had been conquered spread alongside the repeal. As far as anyone could tell, it mostly had the intended effect -- people took it as a sign.

But not everyone did. Fanatical believ...

Legends Never Die: Rebellion (ch. 96)

Michael Lachanodrakon was not a fool.

In my experience, most of Constantinople’s high nobility maintained their position purely because their peers were every bit as foolish as they were. That wasn't the case for Michael. He was a military man first and foremost -- he had a taste for battle, and proved his mettle against both the Abbasids and his peers when Iconoclasm was first established at the tip of his sword.

I suspected he foresaw the trap that he was being led into by I...

Legends Never Die: The Cusp of Change (ch. 95)

“He conquered Bulgaria? How entirely expected,” Morrigan replied blandly to the news she had expected since Siegfried left with Astrid.

She laid in one of the admittedly comfortable lounging chairs that the Romans favored, her eyes closed as she looked down upon herself through the eyes of Huginn. It was still a strange experience, to gaze through the eyes of another. Through a familiar. There were magics that could accomplish the same thing, but it was the first time Morrigan had ...

Legends Never Die: Foolish Ambitions (ch. 94)

It was certainly a clever way to get out of Norland during the Christian debate, Jasmine acknowledged as she watched from a balcony as Siegfried and his army loaded up his fleet of ships with warriors to go off and conquer a foreign land in the name of the Romans. These Bulgarians weren't a name unknown to her, but every time she had heard of them she had been lacking context. But she knew her… father had supported them financially throughout the years, as had the Caliphs before him.

A Golden Path: First Steps 1.8 (ch. 8)

Skagos was a rough and barren land, Ned thought to himself as they arrived upon the island under a dense and heavy fog. The ride had been a short one, thankfully, but a tense one. Robert had braced himself against the railing in anticipation that they would strike an iceberg on the way. The trip was quite too, no one speaking with only the ropes creaking and waves lapping to fill the silence.

It felt like stealing away into the domain. As if they were trespassing. It grated at Ned's ne...

Best of Intentions: Welcome to the Jungle (ch. 11)

Things weren't great. Or even good, really. But, they weren't as bad as they could be. Because, simply put, as things stood there was about twenty floors that separated us. Mr. X was a whole ass problem, but he was a manageable one. What he did was compound an already existing issue, like being trapped in a pit with a super massive alligator.

“This is fine,” I said, earning a brief look of utter disbelief from Jill.

“It’s fine?” Jill echoed, looking at me like I was sp...

A Golden Path: First Steps 1.7 (ch. 7)

The issue wasn't settled, Rickard knew, days later as the festival continued on. Enough time for the story to settle, the excitement wearing off, and for the lords to start to think about everything that they heard. Most were content with the story and the perfumed fate of House Crowl. They didn't suspect that he, nor Brandon, had any reason to lie to them. Instead, they basked in what they hoped to be a greater future while taking the measure of Paul to determine if he was of any use to thei...

Best of Intentions: Spooky Scary Skeletons (ch. 10)

I had no idea who this lady was, I thought as Dakka took point with Jill behind her and me bringing up the rear. But that didn't necessarily mean anything. We were here days earlier than Jill and Carlos arrived in the game. So, it was entirely possible that there were a few survivors that had been holding out before then. I'd call it probable, even. Umbrella was filled with mouth breathing lobotomites, but some had to have recognized the danger of what they were creating.

It obviously ...

The Good Life: College Acceptance (ch. 64)

I felt like a kid in a candy shop with a no limit black card. The possibilities were endless, and I was almost left frozen from choice paralysis. In a way it was almost lucky that Rumi and Asami had helped point the way for me. Letting me go in a new and exciting direction. In a way, it was me returning to my roots. Revisiting the meticulous planning that had gone into my ascension as the crime lord of New York, giving me all the pieces that I needed to make the world tremble.

Subtlety...

The Good Life: Bet (ch. 63) (Arcane Start)

It was always fascinating to watch Law work, Robin decided as he grinned at Asami, who wore a polite and practiced smile of her own that couldn’t quite hide her intentions. Throughout her colorful life, she had encountered all sorts of villains -- the grand schemers, the thoughtless thugs, and the opportunity seizers. Law, somehow, embodied a bit like all three at once. An agent of chaos, as Yoruichi called him. It was rather fitting.

“There are other issues that have been brought ...

The Good Life: Desert (ch. 62)

Things had been settled up between me and Sukuna, less so with everyone else. After tossing Sukuna some clothing since his got wrecked, and I finished healing myself with positive energy, I took notice of the two sore losers. I had been a little too quick to dismiss them. And cursed energy, in hindsight. It still wasn't quite what I wanted it to be, but it had far more application than I initially acknowledged. Being able to heal such grievous injuries alone made it worth exploring.

�...

The Good Life: Feast (ch. 61)

Satoru made a sweeping gesture with his hands and a condensed ball of blue cursed energy entered my Room, revealing it to be a torrent of gravitational pull. Stone, dirt, and wood from the buildings around us were ripped up and flung to the central point of the blue ball. It was a neat technique, I acknowledged, a grin on my face. Sukuna didn't even bother to uncross his arms, leaving the ball for me to deal with.

I suppose I had already revealed this card to him, so I played it again ...

Legends Never Die: Rebellion (ch. 96)

Michael Lachanodrakon was not a fool.

In my experience, most of Constantinople’s high nobility maintained their position purely because their peers were every bit as foolish as they were. That wasn't the case for Michael. He was a military man first and foremost -- he had a taste for battle, and proved his mettle against both the Abbasids and his peers when Iconoclasm was first established at the tip of his sword.

I suspected he foresaw the trap that he was being led into by I...