With This Ring (Young Justice SI) (Thread Fourteen)

[Oglymogly]

there's a gateway to the Dream in my people's afterlife. We could sail there and then walk upwards to my home island

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Oh ho ho. I remember how excited Hades was for alien petitioners, so I wonder if he'll agree to be a trade hub in exchange for new worshippers. I mean, having a guaranteed afterlife that your queen personally vetted could be worth a lot to a random citizen.

 

[Darko]

Ooh, a good question. Do they count as 'unmanned' enough to not trouble the blessings?

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I Don think being male would disrupt the blessings.

I wonder how much effort that took Giovanni Zatara to work out? Since he was the league's only mage for so long

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He dies have an insanely versatile form of magic, so it may have been simple for him.

Pity Sephtian is busy back in Atlantis, or you could bring him here for a consultation and maybe a vacation...

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It could be an opportunity to walk with more human-like legs.

Assuming he didn't change back.

Though I have to wonder how Lord Hades will take people using his antechamber region as a transit terminal. Ah well, forgiveness and permission and all that.

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Maybe he'll also become a new god of travel.

 

[hkim]

I see that Operation: Divert Her To Alan is going swimmingly.

 

[boo600]

I'm surprised and a little disapointed that Paul is not empowering himself any more, specialy in regards to Magic (since it's one of his clear weaknesses as shown in the fight next to Doctor Mist), i get that his weird soul mean he has no magic tradition to learn and he would have to develop one for himself almost from cero but he has options.
He has acceso to super advanced tecnology and to a god of tecnology and doesn't have a magical armor and weapon, shame on him.
And this may get too close to the Renegade story but doesn't he have almost everything to become a new god of the orange light or of desire?: enlightment, a conection to the source from the orange light, new god allies to help as well as a goddes of Magic and a god of tecnology, and a bunch of high level mages.

Click to shrink...

He did consider it when on Witch World (Canis found a hidden thing effortlessly, while Ring Scans and empathic vision saw nothing). That was a year ago in-story; if he hasn't started investigating Awakening yet, I doubt he ever will.

It's the same problems with Superman, really. He could put on his anti-kryptonite shield (remember, the fortress had radiation shields on file that it could make; Paul just gave him a slighter smaller/better one). But he's already on top of the world! What if Batman got even more paranoid? What lunatic contingencies would he use then?

Until Paul pointed it out, and he went, "oh yeah, not being robbed of my powers every time a villain whips out a green rock would be convenient." Even if he could deal with it, even if kryptonite wasn't an effective countermeasure (on its own, at least), it was better to solve the issue… as long as he put no effort into finding it himself.

Because he's powerful, and he wants his conflict-derived XP, dammit. He's been waiting for a promotion at the Daily Planet, you see, and you can't get promoted until you buy the Resources and Backing backgrounds up to 5 dots, and his group is a real stickler for only getting Backgrounds by buying them for some reason.

More seriously… Paul isn't interested in raising his challenge rating anymore, at least not by preparing (barring crafting specialized countermeasures for specific foes). Ryuugi's notes in Sect actually reflect the why; remember when Felix Faust stuck him in a bottle? He didn't pull out his better Anti-Magic talisman; he used his Way (Avarice-port) and broke through the new trick with that. Why prepare and diversify when you can just specialize even harder, and get stronger in the stat that you use 99% of the time anyways?

https://forums.spacebattles.com/threads/worm-xianxia-sect.989803/post-89615045

Spoiler

As was mentioned, Peizhi used Wind techniques--or to be more precise, he'd learned a number of Wind techniques to deal with the fact that creating smokescreens had been used as a way to counter his Perception tricks before, so he'd found a way to literally clear the air whenever that happened, which is fairly common among Immortals. Not that example specifically, I mean, but more 'Learning Techniques to assist your Way' in a general sense, with sometimes odd and unexpected results. A Fire Immortals who hasn't reached the point where they can ignore the more general weaknesses of their Element might learn Wind Techniques to supply their Fire with oxygen even when people attempt to smoother it; a Water Immortal who hasn't figured out how to manipulate it outside it's liquid state might learn Fire Techniques to melt ice as a just in case measure*.

To a certain extent, these Technique's are inherently a crutch; the 'correct' solution to issues like that is to deepen your understanding of your way until they're no longer a problem in the first place--not to keep your vision from being obstructed, but instead to deepen your understanding of Perception until you can see in infrared or x-rays and see through the obstructions, or instead to learn to apply it to your other senses. Not to keep your flames from being smothered, but rather expand your definition of what burning is, until it doesn't require oxygen to begin with. To understand that water and ice are the same thing on a fundamental level.

But--well, it's easy to say that you should just alter your understanding of the Universe, but doing it in practice is another matter, especially when you might not even know where to start...water example aside, as sort of a softball. So it's pretty normal for Immortals to do things this way, learning certain Techniques to cover for their shortcomings to at least some extent, so that you have to think past at least the most obvious solutions for dealing with an Immortal.

You're not wrong, however, that Immortals tend to be extreme specialists, because they tend to benefit from being such--although, given the nature of Ways, 'specialist' may not be the best term in practice. What is true is that if it's a Technique that...let's say 'falls within' or 'resonates' with their Way, Immortals tend to be able to take it to a higher level than is possible for people for whom that isn't true. In some cases, if the Immortal is particularly skilled or it's something especially in tune with your understanding of your Way, you can even learn to touch upon techniques that normally require you to be of a higher realm, like both Taylor and Xifeng have shown. In practice, you'll still be limited by the power you have available, but they've both learned various applications of dimension fuckery pretty well ahead of schedule regardless. To go back to the Fire Immortal example for a different take, it would also be relatively limited in practice, but given the circumstances required to touch upon the understanding of such, it wouldn't be particularly out there for them to start wielding nuclear fission and fusion, as one way they could develop and care less about the normal properties of fire.

So a lot of Immortals tend to stay within their bailiwick, since it allows them to reach higher heights than if they went broader.

There is, however, an exception to this, although if it works, it can be hard to notice or differentiate from the other categories. The last common (Immortal) use of Techniques is to touch upon things that are outside of your Way, but still on the fringes of it, and use them as a vehicle for understanding the world better, and to tie them back to your Way thereby. If successful, uses of that Technique tend to become kind of nebulous. Going back to the previous examples, this would be stuff like a Technique for making types of electromagnetic radiation visible, or temperature controlling techniques for a Water Immortal, or something like the Annihilating Heaven and Earth Technique for the Fire Immortal, which serve as training wheels of a sort until they just get absorbed into the Immortal's Way as a whole**. In theory, this is the 'correct' way to do it, because also in theory, you're aiming to apply your Way to everything, but results may very.

Another way of saying it… Paul can eat magic with Feed Me. Orange Light can interact with magic already. With a power ring, Paul can effortlessly alter matter, scan things, create complicated tech for a moment (constructs) or permanently, and just directly manipulate minds/souls. Forget about assimilation. He should theoretically be able to do just about anything with Orange Light alone. Now, is this feasible at his skill level? Are there downsides to not balancing himself out, such as in how he thinks? Sure. But he doesn't care, because he likes being the Avarice Shaman, and he's roleplaying hard, guys. He keeps the railgun rounds and spell-eaters, at this point, because they're what he's used to using - a part of his self-conception. "I use these things, and I'm awesome, so they're awesome." Doylistically, him thinking differently could result in less interesting story. Watsonianally, Paul likes the Righteous Facepuncher. (See his reaction to the JSI)
He likes struggling instead of just effortlessly curbstomping everyone - it's satisfying, to actually need to think or talk to people occasionally. And changing further at this point would require effort, and he wants to live his life.

 

[Old Knife]

Huh? So you'll have Dike goddess of lesbians bless your severs to protect against penetration?

Click to shrink...

Google search says she's pronounced "Thee-kee"
And she's the goddess of Justice.


Probably unrelated to the goddess of lesbians.

 

[PJ739]

He did consider it when on Witch World (Canis found a hidden thing effortlessly, while Ring Scans and empathic vision saw nothing). That was a year ago in-story; if he hasn't started investigating Awakening yet, I doubt he ever will.

It's the same problems with Superman, really. He could put on his anti-kryptonite shield (remember, the fortress had radiation shields on file that it could make; Paul just gave him a slighter smaller/better one). But he's already on top of the world! What if Batman got even more paranoid? What lunatic contingencies would he use then?

Until Paul pointed it out, and he went, "oh yeah, not being robbed of my powers every time a villain whips out a green rock would be convenient." Even if he could deal with it, even if kryptonite wasn't an effective countermeasure (on its own, at least), it was better to solve the issue… as long as he put no effort into finding it himself.

Because he's powerful, and he wants his conflict-derived XP, dammit. He's been waiting for a promotion at the Daily Planet, you see, and you can't get promoted until you buy the Resources and Backing backgrounds up to 5 dots, and his group is a real stickler for only getting Backgrounds by buying them for some reason.

More seriously… Paul isn't interested in raising his challenge rating anymore, at least not by preparing (barring crafting specialized countermeasures for specific foes). Ryuugi's notes in Sect actually reflect the why; remember when Felix Faust stuck him in a bottle? He didn't pull out his better Anti-Magic talisman; he used his Way (Avarice-port) and broke through the new trick with that. Why prepare and diversify when you can just specialize even harder, and get stronger in the stat that you use 99% of the time anyways?

https://forums.spacebattles.com/threads/worm-xianxia-sect.989803/post-89615045

Spoiler

As was mentioned, Peizhi used Wind techniques--or to be more precise, he'd learned a number of Wind techniques to deal with the fact that creating smokescreens had been used as a way to counter his Perception tricks before, so he'd found a way to literally clear the air whenever that happened, which is fairly common among Immortals. Not that example specifically, I mean, but more 'Learning Techniques to assist your Way' in a general sense, with sometimes odd and unexpected results. A Fire Immortals who hasn't reached the point where they can ignore the more general weaknesses of their Element might learn Wind Techniques to supply their Fire with oxygen even when people attempt to smoother it; a Water Immortal who hasn't figured out how to manipulate it outside it's liquid state might learn Fire Techniques to melt ice as a just in case measure*.

To a certain extent, these Technique's are inherently a crutch; the 'correct' solution to issues like that is to deepen your understanding of your way until they're no longer a problem in the first place--not to keep your vision from being obstructed, but instead to deepen your understanding of Perception until you can see in infrared or x-rays and see through the obstructions, or instead to learn to apply it to your other senses. Not to keep your flames from being smothered, but rather expand your definition of what burning is, until it doesn't require oxygen to begin with. To understand that water and ice are the same thing on a fundamental level.

But--well, it's easy to say that you should just alter your understanding of the Universe, but doing it in practice is another matter, especially when you might not even know where to start...water example aside, as sort of a softball. So it's pretty normal for Immortals to do things this way, learning certain Techniques to cover for their shortcomings to at least some extent, so that you have to think past at least the most obvious solutions for dealing with an Immortal.

You're not wrong, however, that Immortals tend to be extreme specialists, because they tend to benefit from being such--although, given the nature of Ways, 'specialist' may not be the best term in practice. What is true is that if it's a Technique that...let's say 'falls within' or 'resonates' with their Way, Immortals tend to be able to take it to a higher level than is possible for people for whom that isn't true. In some cases, if the Immortal is particularly skilled or it's something especially in tune with your understanding of your Way, you can even learn to touch upon techniques that normally require you to be of a higher realm, like both Taylor and Xifeng have shown. In practice, you'll still be limited by the power you have available, but they've both learned various applications of dimension fuckery pretty well ahead of schedule regardless. To go back to the Fire Immortal example for a different take, it would also be relatively limited in practice, but given the circumstances required to touch upon the understanding of such, it wouldn't be particularly out there for them to start wielding nuclear fission and fusion, as one way they could develop and care less about the normal properties of fire.

So a lot of Immortals tend to stay within their bailiwick, since it allows them to reach higher heights than if they went broader.

There is, however, an exception to this, although if it works, it can be hard to notice or differentiate from the other categories. The last common (Immortal) use of Techniques is to touch upon things that are outside of your Way, but still on the fringes of it, and use them as a vehicle for understanding the world better, and to tie them back to your Way thereby. If successful, uses of that Technique tend to become kind of nebulous. Going back to the previous examples, this would be stuff like a Technique for making types of electromagnetic radiation visible, or temperature controlling techniques for a Water Immortal, or something like the Annihilating Heaven and Earth Technique for the Fire Immortal, which serve as training wheels of a sort until they just get absorbed into the Immortal's Way as a whole**. In theory, this is the 'correct' way to do it, because also in theory, you're aiming to apply your Way to everything, but results may very.

Another way of saying it… Paul can eat magic with Feed Me. Orange Light can interact with magic already. With a power ring, Paul can effortlessly alter matter, scan things, create complicated tech for a moment (constructs) or permanently, and just directly manipulate minds/souls. Forget about assimilation. He should theoretically be able to do just about anything with Orange Light alone. Now, is this feasible at his skill level? Are there downsides to not balancing himself out, such as in how he thinks? Sure. But he doesn't care, because he likes being the Avarice Shaman, and he's roleplaying hard, guys. He keeps the railgun rounds and spell-eaters, at this point, because they're what he's used to using - a part of his self-conception. "I use these things, and I'm awesome, so they're awesome." Doylistically, him thinking differently could result in less interesting story. Watsonianally, Paul likes the Righteous Facepuncher. (See his reaction to the JSI)
He likes struggling instead of just effortlessly curbstomping everyone - it's satisfying, to actually need to think or talk to people occasionally. And changing further at this point would require effort, and he wants to live his life.

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I don´t think that he going less comic book logic and more real common sense would make the story less interesting. In fact i (like many i guess) found his sensible actions regarding superheroing as one of the more interesting points for the fic: the interactions of a guy with common sense with the super idealist heroes throught not only action packed fights but conversations, plans, ect.
As for the whole specialization argument, in the god example, it´s not like he is going to stop using the orange light just because he becomes a god (old or new) or something, i mean, which other creature can do even half what a lantern can? He can use the power up for empowering his contructs and cover his weakness like in the renegade story.
It would open new interactions and interesting points of view; join the phantheon of Hephaestos and get worshiped, percive and deal with the magic side more directly for things like spells and politics of magic beings (he would be new and still need help from experts but he could learn from them while doing it), tend to his followers (which could be from others planets), loss his godhood, make a new religion, or just have a fun day as a god (or elemental, or whatever he turns into).
My point is that while he is continuing to change (improve?) the world like he wanted he is no longer improving himself which is what seems uncharacteristic of him from my point of view. When he sees a problem he tries to fix it but while the ring lets him match avanced science, for magic he is much more limited and while he has some counters the fact they haven´t worked on several ocasions and he is not creating new ones seems odd to me.

 

[Ardy]

Also: just realized. The effigies (the new ones) can't bring stuff with them because almost nothing is as tough as them, which is why they can't bring communication equipment to coordinate, so how do they speak to each other? From Effigy's POV they all speak English, including British English for Paul, did the controller stick a translator in them but couldn't find room for a radio?

 

[Mr Zoat]

My point is that while he is continuing to change (improve?) the world like he wanted he is no longer improving himself which is what seems uncharacteristic of him from my point of view. When he sees a problem he tries to fix it but while the ring lets him match avanced science, for magic he is much more limited and while he has some counters the fact they haven´t worked on several ocasions and he is not creating new ones seems odd to me.

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Basically, he's doing less to gain new power because he's spending all his time using the power he's got. His aim is 'fix things' not 'become as powerful as I can'.

Also: just realized. The effigies (the new ones) can't bring stuff with them because almost nothing is as tough as them, which is why they can't bring communication equipment to coordinate, so how do they speak to each other? From Effigy's POV they all speak English, including British English for Paul, did the controller stick a translator in them but couldn't find room for a radio?

Click to shrink...

Basically, they're manually vibrating the molecules around the target's ears. It's not something the consciously control, because that would have taken time to teach.

 

[Ardy]

Basically, he's doing less to gain new power because he's spending all his time using the power he's got. His aim is 'fix things' not 'become as powerful as I can'.

Basically, they're manually vibrating the molecules around the target's ears. It's not something the consciously control, because that would have taken time to teach.

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so do they know all their teammates languages so they can be understood or? That's what my question was, telekineses can let them create sound at short range, but I can't let them all speak English

 

[Mr Zoat]

so do they know all their teammates languages so they can be understood or? That's what my question was, telekineses can let them create sound at short range, but I can't let them all speak English

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It's not really something I've thought about, and it's never going to be relevant to the story. I guess they get a standard language uploaded into their brains or something?

 

[Ardy]

It's not really something I've thought about, and it's never going to be relevant to the story. I guess they get a standard language uploaded into their brains or something?

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Darn, no ring translation spirit dumped onto their heads…

 

[NightmareWarden]

Spoiler: Back and forth over possible correction

Based on this from a Renegade chapter:

"I.. started genuinely doubting that I was on the correct side. Needed M'gann to talk some sense into me. So. The loyal opposition." I wave my right hand and create constructs in the centre of our group. "The Brain, Vandal Savage, Queen Beatrice-."

"Beena."

I frown at Richard. "Her school records say Beatrice."

"Her birth certificate says 'Beena'. She anglicized when she started college."

"How the heck did you find..? No, fine, Beena.

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-Teth Adom should be using Beatrice. Wait, Paragon Paul would have counciled Teth on her... And Robin went on the mission that got Beena burned... Okay, I guess the same conversation happened on the Paragon side, and Teth was corrected by Paul.

Spoiler: Sir Cyril's sidekick

"Got it. Okay, other end of the problem. Heritage hired some pretty big lorries to get them out here, I saw the pictures in the guidebook. I can find them, and… You saw how the new stones looked like they'd been cut down to size?"

"Actually, I… Missed that."

"Oh yeah, some of them look like they'd been cut in half to make two new ones. And a couple had wear patterns that made it look like some of them had been resting on something, maybe in a trilithon? Since I saw a cut surface and a rough surface I can pretty much guess how big the stones were… Here we go: they were shipped from an address in London. Says twelve stones in the description." She looks up at me. "Chemical composition said they'd come from the same place, right?"

"Yes."

"So whoever bought them originally probably got them all from the same place at the same time. The sale happened eleven years ago, there's not a lot of demand for stones that shape… Found it!" Her face falls. "Oh no."

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Listen, maybe Squire is just doing normal detective things as a person with her mental abilities would, but this stood out to me.

Paul might have been off his game due to the removal of his rings during this adventure's intro, but this scene is a example of superintelligence I can understand and appreciate. Moreso than mastery of multiple fields of science or inventing some impossible schizotech. So I hope she winds up being a mortal confidant of Metis or catches something crucial during a major storyline. Maybe a Brainiac plot or hacking the most protected servers on Themyscira.

I reach forwards, snap shut the lantern case and take hold of it before standing up. Ring off, and… Ah. I brought a small torch with me, but it's going to be a bit annoying going back in the dark like this. Okay, sling the lantern case over my shoulder, torch out and turn it on.

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...or just use the lantern as a lantern. Ophidian has enough control to make the lantern emit a coke of light, Paul.
I hope we get to call someone else out for doing that in the future, stumbling in the dark with a cracked or missing ring I suppose. Wonder what color they'll be.

Spoiler: Neat magic terminology, unrelated to above

"It would probably be possible to set a spell to detect a particular type of power, but in general terms the phrase does not have an arcane meaning. At least, not yet. Threat does."

"The spell got Green Lantern once while he wasn't wearing his ring."

"I… It is possible that I am mistaken. I have been struggling to work out how a man with no knowledge of theoretical thaumaturgy could have created such a work… Without the opportunity to examine the spell it is difficult for me to determine exactly how it functioned."

I nod. "And that wouldn't have been possible without the Spear?"

"Not without using enough power to reshape the world. As you know full well, the soul resists outward attempts to change it. But, that is also true of the unshaped magics of the world. Creating a spell requires a magic user to fortify their work against abrasion by the etheric currents all around it."

"Which is why artefacts never really caught on. They need to be refreshed so often it was easier to just cast the spell."

"Not in all cases, but often, yes."

Click to shrink...

 

[Cuchulin]

Huh? So you'll have Dike goddess of lesbians bless your severs to protect against penetration?

Click to shrink...

THAT is very Discworld type joke, so much so that it was used in a Discworld fanfic with the Goddess of Justice becoming more the Goddess of lesbians or rather 'wall that keeps water from flooding low ground' due to a combination of hardly anyone having any faith in justice and the average person in Ahnk-Morpork mispronouncing her name as 'wall that keeps water from flooding low ground'.

Google search says she's pronounced "Thee-kee"
And she's the goddess of Justice.
Probably unrelated to the goddess of lesbians.

Click to shrink...

I thought it was pronounced Dee-kay.

 

[Mr Zoat]

13th December 2023
23:22 GMT -5

"You Peacemaker?"

Mr. Christopher Smith is currently wearing the white trousers, red shirt and silver helmet of his Peacemaker costume, the guns he usually wields as Peacemaker, and… A surprisingly large amount of silly string. I appreciate how he keeps his arms by his sides despite the fact that General Flag is confronting him while he's in the middle of some sort of vigilante mission in this… Disused shipping warehouse.

"Who's there?"

General Flag makes a point of deactivating the safety on his pistol.

"Richard Flag."

Is that..? Odd? I would have thought that a warehouse like this would be in operation 24 hours a day. But perhaps the demand just doesn't warrant it?

"What?"

General Flag takes a step closer.

"Rick. Flag."

"What? No, wait! Helmet, deactivate sonar mode!"

There's a beep from his helmet, and then a chime followed by three rapid low pitch chimes.

"Ah, come on!"

General Flag stops advancing. "Are you saying you can't hear because your helmet is blocking your ears?"

"I can't hear you!" Peacemaker shakes his head. "My helmet's blocking my ears!"

"Take it off, then!"

If the situation weren't so serious, I'd laugh at that.

Peacemaker… Twitches and squirms, as if-. Ah. That's special silly string, isn't it? Which suggests that either Joker or Trickster was using the place to store their equipment. Neither seems particularly likely. Joker seldom leaves Gotham and Giovanni Giuseppe is an F.B.I. agent. It could be a place for them to store their equipment long term, or they might have it manufactured in bulk somewhere near to here, or it might be here for someone else entirely. I'm not sure why Peacemaker would be interested in it, though I suppose he might have released it by some sort of improbable accident.

"I can't get loose! Hang on!"

Peacemaker tries to get his gun-. Oh no, why is he-?

Bang!

"OW! Fuck!"

Why is he pointing his gun at his own leg? Why did he shoot his own-? Alright, he managed to shoot a furrow through the layer of sticky string, but it's not at all brittle. The remaining mass is still stuck to itself and to him. He tries yanking his arms and legs, but he doesn't make any progress.

"God… Damn it." General Flag puts the safety back on his pistol and strides towards Peacemaker.

Peacemaker appears to realise that he's approaching with hostile intent and so, after making one final effort to raise his gun, tries hopping away. He makes two awkward jumps before landing on a plastic bag, which shoots out from under his feet and sends him crashing to the ground.

I wince in sympathy.

"Just let me get your helmet off!"

Peacemaker rolls onto his back, and tries to vault back onto his feet. Unfortunately, the bag is still there and all that happens is he falls onto his back and stuns himself.

"Stop! Jesus."

General Flag straddles his chest, takes a firm grip on Peacemaker's helmet and pulls.

"Agh!"

Unfortunately, the adhesive in the silly string has attached itself to his chin and neck. It's got some give in it, but not enough to get the helmet off his head.

"G-t-!" Peacemaker tries kicking General Flag, but he can't quite reach. He tries a headbutt, but Flag's holding his helmet and it's hard to get leverage in that position. "Gah!"

A quiet heavenly whistle from my lips, and the side door of the warehouse opens and I walk through.

"Oh Lord of Hosts, guide my steps as you guide my heart."

I feel a pull-. No, an impulse to step one way rather than another. And so I do, one foot in front of the other, as General Flag reaches for his knife to cut the silly string off and Peacemaker gets completely the wrong idea.

He jerks his head to the side, slamming the hand on his helmet into the concrete floor.

"Ow!"

And then he violently undulates, slamming his helmet into General Flag's chest.

Where the silly string makes it stick.

"Hah!"

"What'd you do that for?! Now we're both stuck!"

I pick up a spray can and walk down the gangway towards them, shaking it as I go.

Bang!

"Agh!"

"Stop shooting yourself, you idiot!"

I step out into the dispatch area, walk over to where they're struggling, stuck to one another. And then I hold out the can and spray them with the solvent contained therein.

General Flag comes free first, pushing himself off Peacemaker. "Ugh." Then he takes a step back. "Spray him again."

This time I hold the button down, covering Peacemaker to the best of my ability as he writhes on the ground for a moment before the string comes undone and he's suddenly free.

He stops moving in surprise and Flagg kicks his gun from his hand. "Now take your goddamn helmet off!"

Peacemaker sits up. "I can't hear you! I-. Oh." He takes off his helmet. "What!?"

General Flag takes a moment to calm himself.

"My name is Rick Flag. You killed my son. I want to know why. And how you're even still alive!"

"S-son? Huh?"

"Corto Maltese. Giant starfish."

"I-! I didn't want to! I thought if I-. Just-. Hit him, he'd stop fighting and I could complete the mission, but I hit him with a broken tile and it went right into his heart! I'm-. I'm sorry! I just-. I keep thinking about it, because he was the only guy on the whole team who wasn't a total dick, and I should have done something different and it's just going around and around in my head!"

"Right."

General Flag seems… Surprisingly calm, considering.

"So you're going to tell me exactly what happened, and then I'm going to decide what to do with-."

And then the pies start flying.

 

[Ngamer11]

This time I hold the button down, covering Peacemaker to the best of my ability as he writhes on the ground for a moment before the String comes undone and he's suddenly free.

Click to shrink...

That shouldn't be capitalized.

 

[john doe 777]

Didn't peacemaker smack the shard deeper once it was already imbedded?

 

[Ardy]

I don't remember this warehouse showing up in Peacemaker, did season 2 come out and I just didn't notice?

 

[Mr Zoat]

That shouldn't be capitalized.

Click to shrink...

Silly String is a brand name.

I don't remember this warehouse showing up in Peacemaker, did season 2 come out and I just didn't notice?

Click to shrink...

See it here first!

 

[Chojin Patriarch]

13th December 2023
23:22 GMT -5

"You Peacemaker?"

Mr. Christopher Smith is currently wearing the white trousers, red shirt and silver helmet of his Peacemaker costume, the guns he usually wields as Peacemaker, and… A surprisingly large amount of silly string. I appreciate how he keeps his arms by his sides despite the fact that General Flag is confronting him while he's in the middle of some sort of vigilante mission in this… Disused shipping warehouse.

Click to shrink...

And that costume is still kind of silly, mostly due to that helmet. I know, it has all manner of clever gizmos and is probably styled after some ancient style of Greek or Roman headgear... But dammit, it looks like a toilet seat...

Spoiler: Commentary spoilered for length

"Who's there?"

General Flag makes a point of deactivating the safety on his pistol.

Click to shrink...

Careful, Rick. Don't shoot him until after you interrogate him, yeah? Lan can work wonders, but even he can't make a dead man talk.

"Richard Flag."

Is that..? Odd? I would have thought that a warehouse like this would be in operation 24 hours a day. But perhaps the demand just doesn't warrant it?

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Goes with the territory of superheroics. There's always 'mysteriously disused' warehouses full of crates.

"What?"

General Flag takes a step closer.

"Rick. Flag."

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Somehow, I don't think this is Peacemaker playing dumb, easy as that sometimes is for him...

"What? No, wait! Helmet, deactivate sonar mode!"

There's a beep from his helmet, and then a chime followed by three rapid low pitch chimes.

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...And now I'm picturing a bootleg version of the Windows power down sound.

"Ah, come on!"

General Flag stops advancing. "Are you saying you can't hear because your helmet is blocking your ears?"

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Looks like it. Makes sense, if he's using sonar guidance, it would have to... Wait, no it shouldn't? What even..?

"I can't hear you!" Peacemaker shakes his head. "My helmet's blocking my ears!"

"Take it off, then!"

If the situation weren't so serious, I'd laugh at that.

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Well, John Cena does manage to play the right mix of comic and serious in the role...

Peacemaker… Twitches and squirms, as if-. Ah. That's special silly string, isn't it? Which suggests that either Joker or Trickster was using the place to store their equipment. Neither seems particularly likely. Joker seldom leaves Gotham and Giovanni Giuseppe is an F.B.I. agent. It could be a place for them to store their equipment long term, or they might have it manufactured in bulk somewhere near to here, or it might be here for someone else entirely. I'm not sure why Peacemaker would be interested in it, though I suppose he might have released it by some sort of improbable accident.

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Not impossible someone else stole their tech. Or it's something like Merry, the Girl of a Thousand Gimmicks.

"I can't get loose! Hang on!"

Peacemaker tries to get his gun-. Oh no, why is he-?

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That has to be extra-silly-looking, given the sheer ludicrous size of his guns.

Bang!

"OW! Fuck!"

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...Did he just try to shoot the rope with his Alucard-looking pistols?

Why is he pointing his gun at his own leg? Why did he shoot his own-? Alright, he managed to shoot a furrow through the layer of sticky string, but it's not at all brittle. The remaining mass is still stuck to itself and to him. He tries yanking his arms and legs, but he doesn't make any progress.

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Ah. Now we see why he survived: God smiles on fools and small children.

"God… Damn it." General Flag puts the safety back on his pistol and strides towards Peacemaker.

Peacemaker appears to realise that he's approaching with hostile intent and so, after making one final effort to raise his gun, tries hopping away. He makes two awkward jumps before landing on a plastic bag, which shoots out from under his feet and sends him crashing to the ground.

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And here we see that Peacemaker is definitely the former.

I wince in sympathy.

"Just let me get your helmet off!"

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This is almost embarrassing.

Peacemaker rolls onto his back, and tries to vault back onto his feet. Unfortunately, the bag is still there and all that happens is he falls onto his back and stuns himself.

"Stop! Jesus."

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...Scratch the almost.

General Flag straddles his chest, takes a firm grip on Peacemaker's helmet and pulls.

"Agh!"

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Normally, that would work quite easily, since it doesn't have any obvious straps.

Unfortunately, the adhesive in the silly string has attached itself to his chin and neck. It's got some give in it, but not enough to get the helmet off his head.

"G-t-!" Peacemaker tries kicking General Flag, but he can't quite reach. He tries a headbutt, but Flag's holding his helmet and it's hard to get leverage in that position. "Gah!"

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Okay, I can see him panicking a little, he has no idea if this is a friend or foe. Either way, he is not in a position of power...

A quiet heavenly whistle from my lips, and the side door of the warehouse opens and I walk through.

"Oh Lord of Hosts, guide my steps as you guide my heart."

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And save you from fools and horses?

I feel a pull-. No, an impulse to step one way rather than another. And so I do, one foot in front of the other, as General Flag reaches for his knife to cut the silly string off and Peacemaker gets completely the wrong idea.

He jerks his head to the side, slamming the hand on his helmet into the concrete floor.

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I'm guessing Flag told him to wait outside so as not to complicate things with peacemaker. Pity...

"Ow!"

And then he violently undulates, slamming his helmet into General Flag's chest.

Where the silly string makes it stick.

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...Because things look plenty complicated now.

"Hah!"

"What'd you do that for?! Now we're both stuck!"

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Man, Rick is going to give Peacemaker such a beating before he's through, isn't he? Just for being a dumbass...

I pick up a spray can and walk down the gangway towards them, shaking it as I go.

Bang!

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One guess what this is, if his 'intuition' guided him to take it.

"Agh!"

"Stop shooting yourself, you idiot!"

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At least it isn't hitting Rick.

I step out into the dispatch area, walk over to where they're struggling, stuck to one another. And then I hold out the can and spray them with the solvent contained therein.

General Flag comes free first, pushing himself off Peacemaker. "Ugh." Then he takes a step back. "Spray him again."

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Because of course there's a trick solvent to go with the trick string. No smart prankster would risk getting tangled in his own trick.

This time I hold the button down, covering Peacemaker to the best of my ability as he writhes on the ground for a moment before the String comes undone and he's suddenly free.

He stops moving in surprise and Flagg kicks his gun from his hand. "Now take your goddamn helmet off!"

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Ah, finally. They can skip the slapstick routine and get down to business.

Peacemaker sits up. "I can't hear you! I-. Oh." He takes off his helmet. "What!?"

General Flag takes a moment to calm himself.

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I applaud the mental fortitude he must have needed to not facepalm at that moment.

"My name is Rick Flag. You killed my son. I want to know why. And how you're even still alive!"

"S-son? Huh?"

"Corto Maltese. Giant starfish."

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I mean, it's not like he'd forget that. Probably just confused by the circumstances...

"I-! I didn't want to! I thought if I-. Just-. Hit him, he'd stop fighting and I could complete the mission, but I hit him with a broken tile and it went right into his heart! I'm-. I'm sorry! I just-. I keep thinking about it, because he was the only guy on the whole team who wasn't a total dick, and I should have done something different and it's just going around and around in my head!"

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Well, good to know he's not totally remorseless about it.

"Right."

General Flag seems… Surprisingly calm, considering.

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Just wait, he's probably letting the anger build up until Peacemaker really says the wrong thing and then, like a backdraft...

"So you're going to tell me exactly what happened, and then I'm going to decide what to do with-."

And then the pies start flying.

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...Okay, what clown decided to interrupt this clearly dramatic moment? Read the room!

Why do I foresee someone foolishly busting up the meeting, drawing both their ires and these two somehow bond over kicking their ass? Because all these gadgets had to come from somewhere, and Peacemaker was here for a reason. At least Lan can keep everyone alive once the bullets stop flying and the bodies have hit the floor...

 

[Darko]

Oh Lord of Hosts, guide my steps as you guide my heart."

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Translation: Get me the hell away from this nuthouse.

 

[Darko]

Well, John Cena does manage to play the right mix of comic and serious in the role...

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The part where he's told to be chill, only to start shooting everyone was my favorite part. Aside from the Vigilante parts, of course.

In fairness, he was told to be chill and he was calm while doing it.

 

[Duke Long]

Silly String is a brand name.

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In that case, shouldn't all the other instances of 'silly' and 'string' be capitalised?

 

[Mr Zoat]

In that case, shouldn't all the other instances of 'silly' and 'string' be capitalised?

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...

Yes.

Let's do the one that takes least work.

 

[iamnuff]

Does Peacemaker have an aura that makes everybody around him as stupid as he is?

It seems to be the only explanation to why he's still alive.

 

[Bud-E]

@Mr Zoat Random question: does Alan's blue lantern costume have a cape like his old one?

 

[Mr Zoat]

@Mr Zoat Random question: does Alan's blue lantern costume have a cape like his old one?

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Yes. The only difference is the colour of the lantern, because Alan is old.

Does Peacemaker have an aura that makes everybody around him as stupid as he is?

It seems to be the only explanation to why he's still alive.

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He is actually highly skilled in a narrow range of areas.

 

[iamnuff]

Yes. The only difference is the colour of the lantern, because Alan is old.

He is actually highly skilled in a narrow range of areas.

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That doesn't preclude him from having a stupidity aura.

The man shot himself repeatedly in this chapter.

 

[Mr Zoat]

The man shot himself repeatedly in this chapter.

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If you think you're about to be killed and the only way to free yourself is to shoot yourself, shooting yourself isn't stupid.

 

[PDV]

And then the pies start flying

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vs. "And then the murders began"

 

[Zig]

Didn't peacemaker smack the shard deeper once it was already imbedded?

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So he's a lying liar who lies?