IdeasGuy

See No Evil: Speak No Evil (ch. 64)

Batman was a tough person to track, when it was all said and done. Even when I had 'Concerned Citizen' drop a lead on where the Joker was, Batman came and went like a ghost. I had no idea if he was shadowing the Joker or not, but for a time, the two just glided past one another. Like two dogs running in circles, each one chasing the other, so neither of them gained any ground in their chase. Though, that was partly my design.

Time was a necessary component I needed. Yet, it was also som...

See No Evil: Final Farwell (ch. 63)

There were times that the mantle of Batman felt like a cruel curse that had been inflicted upon him rather than something he had chosen to become. In those times, the cowl became a suffocating mask that strangled every breath. It was a weight on his shoulders that was nearly impossible to lift. The knowledge that he had chosen the path -- that he chose to be Batman -- offered no comfort.

In those times, Batman wished that he could just be Bruce Wayne. He wished that horrible night had n...

See No Evil: Hazy Vision (ch. 62)

The streets were a mess, Miranda thought to herself. The prisoners from Blackgate escaping threw a wrench in everyone's plans for the city. They swept over the ruins of Gotham like a swarm of locusts, picking clean valuable resources like food, water, gas for generators, and warm clothing. But Blackgate had been overfull several times over. It was the kind of place where even the most innocent of criminals came back out as hardened killers, because anything less and you wouldn't survive.

Risk It All: Stacked Odds (ch. 28)

I was a bit floored to see Zatanna standing on the rooftop after my… fight with Kid Flash. My mind drew a blank for a second -- I wondered how much she had heard, when did she get there, how she got there, and if I was in imminent danger of Zatara putting a boot up my ass for being in the same city as his daughter. So, I don't think it was really my fault when I stared blankly at her for a second before forcing out a, "Hey?"

After the word left my lips, my brain shifted into a higher ...

Gone Native: Rulers (ch. 18)

I expected Superman to be the first to arrive now that I was back on Earth, but the sudden assault by Batman caught me by surprise. I heard a loud bang behind me, and by the time I looked over my shoulder, I saw a fist the size of my head racing towards my face. I reacted quickly, catching the blow with my forearms, but I was surprised by the power that I felt behind it. My feet dug into the ground, a long trench forming as I was forced back despite toughening the ground up in the hopes of ga...

Gone Native: Clash (ch. 17)

My fist slammed into Wonder Woman's face with a thunderous crack, sending her flying through the wall of the ship and blasting through the forest that surrounded us. The moment I punched her, the bitter and unfamiliar taste of defeat entered my mouth, and I was unable to feel any anticipation for the coming clash. It felt like we had tipped over the point of no return, the conflict that we had pushed back with each compromise was suddenly here.

Wonder Woman would do her duty to Earth. S...

Gone Native: Consequences (ch. 16)

Stress tests were a necessary evil. You ran the risk of breaking whatever it was that you were testing, but you also learned where it was weak. In an object, it was as simple as remaking it with the weaknesses in mind to make sure that they didn't reoccur in the next version. But things got vastly more complicated after that -- relationships, organizations… governments. As they often did, things became more complicated when you introduced people into the equation.

With people it wasn'...

Fool's World: The Chariot (ch. 7)

There were people in the halls, drawn to the unfamiliar sound coming from in front of the school gates. Teenagers stood by the windows looking out, all muttering questions under their breaths or to their friends. The teachers were ushering the kids to go back into the classrooms, but teenagers were stupid. They didn't feel like they were in danger, so they didn't take any precautions. But, that quickly changed with the sound of shattering glass.

A bullet tore through a window, and with ...

Fool's World: The Empress (ch. 6)

I had a brother.

Or, rather, I always had a brother, but first I forgot he existed, and then I learned that he was dead, only to find out that he was alive. My feelings were… mixed to be honest.

"It was easier when he was dead," I remarked to Nobara, who had been asking a silent question with her eyes, with her not so subtle glances every couple of minutes. "Simpler. He was a nonfactor on account of the whole 'being a corpse' thing. Now, not only is he alive, but he has a cataly...

Fool's World: The High Priestess (ch. 5)

After lunch, we parted ways with Kirei with our mouths burning and a promise to meet again while we were in town. I think I intended to keep that promise. Kirei was an interesting guy. He made me think. He was someone that was unafraid to share what he thought and he challenged me to form my own opinions.

I still left the meeting with the thought that a priest was the last thing he should be, but that didn't necessarily make him a bad person.

After lunch, we hunted down an inn to ...

See No Evil: Final Farewell (ch. 63)

There were times that the mantle of Batman felt like a cruel curse that had been inflicted upon him rather than something he had chosen to become. In those times, the cowl became a suffocating mask that strangled every breath. It was a weight on his shoulders that was nearly impossible to lift. The knowledge that he had chosen the path -- that he chose to be Batman -- offered no comfort.

In those times, Batman wished that he could just be Bruce Wayne. He wished that horrible night had n...

See No Evil: Hazy Vision (ch. 62)

The streets were a mess, Miranda thought to herself. The prisoners from Blackgate escaping threw a wrench in everyone's plans for the city. They swept over the ruins of Gotham like a swarm of locusts, picking clean valuable resources like food, water, gas for generators, and warm clothing. But Blackgate had been overfull several times over. It was the kind of place where even the most innocent of criminals came back out as hardened killers, because anything less and you wouldn't survive.

See No Evil: Seeing Red (ch. 61)

"Some of us have been doing a little better for ourselves than others!" I heard through the speakers, the observation punctuated with a mad cackle from a madman off-screen, the video zoomed in on a man in a chair, his back turned to the camera so it was impossible to make out who he was. "Some of us are a bit like cats and always land on their feet!" The Joker said as the camera began to move as if someone had picked it up.

I knew who it was. Deep in my gut, I knew exactly who was sitti...

Gone Native: Clash (ch. 17)

My fist slammed into Wonder Woman's face with a thunderous crack, sending her flying through the wall of the ship and blasting through the forest that surrounded us. The moment I punched her, the bitter and unfamiliar taste of defeat entered my mouth, and I was unable to feel any anticipation for the coming clash. It felt like we had tipped over the point of no return, the conflict that we had pushed back with each compromise was suddenly here.

Wonder Woman would do her duty to Earth. S...

Gone Native: Consequences (ch. 16)

Stress tests were a necessary evil. You ran the risk of breaking whatever it was that you were testing, but you also learned where it was weak. In an object, it was as simple as remaking it with the weaknesses in mind to make sure that they didn't reoccur in the next version. But things got vastly more complicated after that -- relationships, organizations… governments. As they often did, things became more complicated when you introduced people into the equation.

With people it wasn'...

Gone Native: Decisions (ch. 15)

Their triumphant return from the planet Craxus was rewarded with more work. They only had a small window of time to gather intelligence on Tarble's Empire, so they had to make the most of it. All of them kept notes of their observations and findings, but Tim's were by far the most expansive and detailed. That was simply his nature.

What was unexpected was that Elery decided to stick with them in an effort to stave off boredom, which she openly admitted.

"Can you transform?" Elery ...

Fool's World: The Empress (ch. 6)

I had a brother.

Or, rather, I always had a brother, but first I forgot he existed, and then I learned that he was dead, only to find out that he was alive. My feelings were… mixed to be honest.

"It was easier when he was dead," I remarked to Nobara, who had been asking a silent question with her eyes, with not so subtle glances every couple of minutes. "Simpler. He was a nonfactor on account of the whole being a corpse thing. Now, not only is he alive, but he has a catalyst we ...

Fool's World: The High Priestess (ch. 5)

After lunch, we parted ways with Kirei with our mouths burning and a promise to meet again while we were in town. I think I intended to keep that promise. Kirei was an interesting guy. He made me think. He was someone that was unafraid to share what he thought and he challenged me to form my own opinions.

I still left the meeting with the thought that a priest was the very last thing he should be, but that didn't necessarily make him a bad person.

After lunch, we hunted down an in...

Fool's World: The Devil (ch. 4)

Fuyuki City wasn't much of a city, I thought as we drove through the streets. Compared to the various villages Nobara and I drove through after we made our escape, choosing to stick to back roads to prevent anyone from following… Fuyuki City was still much larger in population than a village several times over, but compared to Mifune City, it almost felt empty. Like, at one point, it had been home to a lot more people, but now all there was were relics of the city it had once been.

Th...

See No Evil: Hazy Vision (ch. 62)

The streets were a mess, Miranda thought to herself. The prisoners from Blackgate escaping threw a wrench in everyone's plans for the city. They swept over the ruins of Gotham like a swarm of locusts, picking clean valuable resources like food, water, gas for generators, and warm clothing. But Blackgate had been overfull several times over. It was the kind of place where even the most innocent of criminals came back out as hardened killers, because anything less and you wouldn't survive.

See No Evil: Seeing Red (ch. 61)

"Some of us have been doing a little better for ourselves than others!" I heard through the speakers, the observation punctuated with a mad cackle from a madman off-screen, the video zoomed in on a man in a chair, his back turned to the camera so it was impossible to make out who he was. "Some of us are a bit like cats and always land on their feet!" The Joker said as the camera began to move as if someone had picked it up.

I knew who it was. Deep in my gut, I knew exactly who was sitti...

See No Evil: The Message (ch. 60)

Despite popular belief, it was actually pretty easy to not think about purple elephants. Even when you had someone actively trying to trick you into doing it, it wasn't even particularly hard. It was a simple trick -- when someone mentioned purple elephants, you thought about blue elephants instead. Or green tigers. Or gray monkeys. A topic that is tangibility related, but not the topic itself. The further from purple elephants the better.

So, when you were told not to think incriminati...

Risk It All: Folding (ch. 27)

I bought a guitar. With actual money instead of just using Prestige.

My videos were gaining some traction -- the most popular of them had half a million hits. Part of that was the algorithm, and part of it was that the quality of the lessons had been confirmed, so now those that wanted to learn various language tutorials were recommending them. And given that I had tutorials for several languages, in total, I had a few million views.

While the prestige grind was rather slow, I als...

Gone Native: Consequences (ch. 16)

Stress tests were a necessary evil. You ran the risk of breaking whatever it was that you were testing, but you also learned where it was weak. In an object, it was as simple as remaking it with the weaknesses in mind to make sure that they didn't reoccur in the next version. But things got vastly more complicated after that -- relationships, organizations… governments. As they often did, things became more complicated when you introduced people into the equation.

With people it wasn'...

Gone Native: Decisions (ch. 15)

The return from the planet Craxus was rewarded with more work. They only had a small window of time to gather intelligence on Tarble's Empire, so they had to make the most of it. All of them kept notes of their observations and findings, but Tim's were by far the most expansive and detailed. That was simply his nature.

What was unexpected was that Elery decided to stick with them. In an effort to stave off boredom, which she openly admitted.

"Can you transform?" Elery pestered Kar...

Gone Native: Choices (ch. 14)

There were few things more haunting than standing on a desolate planet. It was chilling and unnerving. Humanity loved movies of the post-apocalypse, but they would love it a lot less if they couldn't turn off the TV, take a hot shower and go to bed in an air-conditioned room after eating their fill. It was very different seeing a dead world in person.

The worst part of it were the signs of life. Trees that once stood proudly were withered and dead. The clouds above were nothing but pois...

Fool's World: The High Priestess (ch. 5)

After lunch, we parted ways with Kirei with our mouths burning and a promise to meet again while we were in town. I think I intended to keep that promise. Kirei was an interesting guy. He made me think. He was someone that was unafraid to share what he thought and he challenged me to form my own opinions.

I still left the meeting with the thought that a priest was the very last thing he should be, but that didn't necessarily make him a bad person.

After lunch, we hunted down an in...

Fool's World: The Devil (ch. 4)

Fuyuki City wasn't much of a city, I thought as we drove through the streets. Compared to the various villages Nobara and I drove through after we made our escape, choosing to stick to back roads to prevent anyone from following… Fuyuki City was still much larger in population than a village several times over, but compared to Mifune City, it almost felt empty. Like, at one point, it had been home to a lot more people, but now all there was were relics of the city it had once been.

Th...

Fool's World: The Hierophant (ch. 3v2)

"So, are you actually going to teach me anything, or nah?" I asked Touko, who sat at the desk, a heavy tome flipped open. The faded yellow pages were marked with a language that wasn't Japanese. It had been a few days since Touko showed up and in that time, she hadn’t left the workshop even to eat.

I would like to say that those few days were productive ones. That would be a lie, though. Nothing really was done. I found my wallet, which had my ID in it, which is how I found out that I...

Fool's World: The Magician (ch. 2v2)

I found myself sitting in the back seat of a fancy luxury car. Nobara sat next to me, her face pressed up against the window to look out at the city as we passed it by. Majima sat in the passenger seat, his feet kicked up on the dash. He had inconsiderately pushed his seat back enough that I had absolutely no legroom. In the driver's seat was a guy that I didn't know and who hadn't introduced himself. He hadn't said a word so far.

"Oh, so Mifune isn’t some local city! Hey, hey, eyepat...