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

Reader mode
Say, what happened to the Greek harpies from the start of the story? Are they citizens of Greece? And how does their population compare to the population of gnomes? Because it seems like bringing them in would be a very wise decision.
 
Mr Zoat said:
...his ears are pointed and extend to level with the top of his head...
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...his ears are pointed and extend to be level with the top of his head...
(As is, it was awkwardly phrased.)

"The dragon ate most of them. The rest were amongst the first to be transformed and had longest to grow. Um. So you and the witch girl probably killed them."
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Ah, promotion by elimination. Common result of combat...

I nod. "I'm sorry for you loss. Our original plan was to sneak in...
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I nod. "I'm sorry for your loss. Our original plan was to sneak in...

Elmen nods, still downcast. "No one knew what the dragon could do. If we'd known what she could do we wouldn't have woken her up. We remembered that she was strong, and forgot what her being strong meant for everyone else."
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Yes, no-one ever thinks about that when they're using Summon Bigger Fish...

"Then gnomes who survived fighting you said...
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"The gnomes who survived fighting you said...

A lot more would have died if you haven't, so…
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A lot more would have died if you hadn't, so…

"What do we do, what do we do?"
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Hmm... Wonder how many other gnomes are suffering through the same feelings.

"We have a concept of making a trade. I-give-you-thing-you-give-me-thing?"
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Heh. Is that a direct translation of their term? ;)

"Then I'm afraid that someone need to step forward...
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"Then I'm afraid that someone needs to step forward...

Good to see the gnomes aren't having too much trouble after the Dragon's death. Hopefully the Genomorphs can help them find a new place in the wider world.
 
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Ngamer11 said:
Now I'm imagining Dubbilex as being the spokesperson of every non-human community who lives on Earth and wants recognition and a place in the global community. Or maybe a consultant or something like that. What has Dubbilex been doing as head of CADMUS Mr Zoat?
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I mean, as a natural-born telepath he has a certain ability to understand others that most people lack, and he's been on the side of being a slave, even if he wasn't being physically abused, so it makes sense that he's happy to help other non-humans who are having issues with interacting peacefully with humans.
 
Mr Zoat said:
But the reason why they're bringing in civil servants is that the gnomes are being issued with identity cards and all of the related paperwork that comes with modern nationality. Because while Greece can't claim Themyscira due to the threat of divine intervention, absolutely nothing was going to stop the Swiss claiming the interior of a mountain that is already part of their country.

And while they're not blaming the gnomes for the dragon, they aren't exactly happy about nine hundred years of petty theft.

I think there are citizenship classes in their future. Interestingly, I think this means that once they're finished Switzerland will have the largest official non-human population of any country on Earth. Certainly in terms of percentage of the total population they're leading by a mile.
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If nothing else, they can relocate to Zurich, maybe go into banking...

I don't know if anyone else pointed it out already, but I just made the "gnomes of Zurich" connection, so I had to.
 
> I think this means that once they're finished Switzerland will have the largest official non-human population of any country on Earth. Certainly in terms of percentage of the total population they're leading by a mile.

I think Atlantis still has more nonhuman citizens especially as percentage of population
 
Bomaz said:
> I think this means that once they're finished Switzerland will have the largest official non-human population of any country on Earth. Certainly in terms of percentage of the total population they're leading by a mile.

I think Atlantis still has more nonhuman citizens especially as percentage of population
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I think that the Atlanteans would still consider themselves human, and consider you racist for thinking otherwise.
 
Chojin Patriarch said:
...his ears are pointed and extend to be level with the top of his head...
(As is, it was awkwardly phrased.)
I nod. "I'm sorry for you loss. Our original plan was to sneak in...
I nod. "I'm sorry for your loss. Our original plan was to sneak in...
"Then gnomes who survived fighting you said...
"The gnomes who survived fighting you said...
A lot more would have died if you haven't, so…
A lot more would have died if you hadn't, so…
"Then I'm afraid that someone need to step forward...
"Then I'm afraid that someone needs to step forward...
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Thank you, corrected.
"We have a concept of making a trade. I-give-you-thing-you-give-me-thing?"
Heh. Is that a direct translation of their term? ;)
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As much as I'd like to say 'yes', he's speaking Swiss German.
Yog said:
Say, what happened to the Greek harpies from the start of the story? Are they citizens of Greece?
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Legally, yes.
And how does their population compare to the population of gnomes?
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The population on that island is smaller than the number of gnomes in Europe.
ElvishPresley said:
Also, thank you Zoat for a very charitable depiction of our military ;)
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You're welcome.
Bomaz said:
> I think this means that once they're finished Switzerland will have the largest official non-human population of any country on Earth. Certainly in terms of percentage of the total population they're leading by a mile.

I think Atlantis still has more nonhuman citizens especially as percentage of population
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No, there aren't all that many Saremites and the rest are altered humans.
 
Mr Zoat said:
But the reason why they're bringing in civil servants is that the gnomes are being issued with identity cards and all of the related paperwork that comes with modern nationality.
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This is the essence of With This Ring in a single sentence.

w34v3r said:
Ok Gnomes and G-gnomes ... this will either end in screaming or fire, and I'm not sure which is worse.
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If the fic were still on SB or SV; on QQ there's a possible third option.
 
Gilhelmi said:
Then he was more angry with himself than with Paul or Zatanna because he "allowed" them to go on (yeah, like he could have stopped them. ha). Let's face it, he was more mildly annoyed with Paul in the Batcave.
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I have absolutely no doubt Batman could have stopped Paul from killing Nabu. It would have only taken a conversation. Once Paul knew Batman was looking into options to get the helmet off of Zatarra the respect between them would have been restored, at which point Paul would likely have listened to him. But, of course, that didn't happen.
 
Siskulous said:
I have absolutely no doubt Batman could have stopped Paul from killing Nabu. It would have only taken a conversation. Once Paul knew Batman was looking into options to get the helmet off of Zatarra the respect between them would have been restored, at which point Paul would likely have listened to him. But, of course, that didn't happen.
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Paul would have resumed his preparation once it became clear that Batman was either not doing anything or was being utterly ineffectual. Remember, in canon Nabu is still on Zatara's head. Whatever Batman was doing was of no practical value.

The best that you can say is that Paul might have involved Batman in the planning, maybe, but more likely Batman would have told him "this is a league matter, leave it to me, etc etc etc" and Paul would have proceeded to give that assertion exactly as much respect as it deserved. Maybe a bit more actually, since I doubt he would have printed it onto toilet paper.
 
ElvishPresley said:
Not at all! Foreigners are - at worst - surprised that we have a military in the first place ;) Swiss people tend to not take it very seriously though.
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There are people who haven't heard of the Swiss Guard?

_105301670_gettyimages-687544696-594x594.jpg
 
Siskulous said:
From what I've heard the Swiss Guard may look ridiculous what with their court jester themed uniforms and pikes and whatnot, but you would NOT want to screw with them. Then again, that's only what I've heard. It could be wrong.
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Definitely not. Their polearms can produce any of 45 other weapons, including a bottle opener.
 
Wing and Dagger (supplementary, Renegade Option)
19th January
19:02 GMT +1

"…not expecting any visitors from Mars in the medium term." Queen Clea's expression makes it clear that she isn't sure what to make of the situation. "Which is a little disappointing, but I suppose that they have more immediate concerns at present. Is there any chance that they will join us in the future?"

I shrug. "Impossible to say. The situation on Mars is… Salvaged, but those Sorcerer Priests who are prepared to work with King J'emm-" Technically inaccurate, but actually pretty accurate. "-are busy removing the Guardians' restrictions from each other and their fellow citizens as a show of good faith. And the rest are either isolating themselves or hunting for Karmang. J'emm doesn't place any blame on me, and has stated that he would like more contact with Earth…"

"But nothing concrete."

I shake my head. "No. And.. he rebuffed my offer of help with the restriction removal, either personally or by hiring human magicians."

Circe arches her right eyebrow. "Would it be worth my time to go hunting for this… Karmang?"

"No." Adom leans forward slightly. "I understand the position of King J'emm. It does not do for a ruler to appear too tied to foreigners. His task now is to convince people that they are safe from Karmang and from one another. There will already be suspicion at his survival of the attack which slew his peers. Grayven retaliating for an attack against his person is one thing, but for J'emm to be shown depending on foreign aid to hunt down a criminal would undermine him."

I nod. "I tend to agree. Unless you or-" I look at Richard. "-Richard could do it so easily that we could say we were just being good neighbours or if he threatens Earth… I'd say 'no' for now."

"A sorcerer even older than myself?" Circe shakes her head. "I doubt that it would be easy."

Richard removes his glasses and looks at the left lens for a moment. Then he pulls his handkerchief out of his jacket pocket and wipes it. "I'm rather… Out of the criminal-killing business. Unless no humane alternative presents itself. Has Karmang been seen since your exercise in capriccio geology?"

"Not by anyone in communion with either the Martian government or the White Rights movement." Richard stops wiping and looks at me. "And I haven't spotted him either."

"Then if you'll excuse me, I think I'll give it a miss." His handkerchief returns to its pocket and his glasses to his face. "Entertaining as it might be."

I nod. "Very well. And in any case, in my analysis, there's little risk to Earth. Little extra risk, I should say."

Lex's monitor blinks. "I have concerns about members of one of their more violent extremist groups acquiring spacecraft. The Earth is the only other inhabited world in the region."

I shake my head. "I see where you're coming from, but while the Martians have 'spaceships', they don't have faster than light travel. And given their need for strong telepathic contact, their ships would have to undergo a major refit in order to incorporate animation suspension units, and.. then they'd be sitting ducks for the entire journey. I have sensor nodes throughout this system, and unless they have an unusually skilled magic user who also has the capacity to endure the absence of other conscious minds I don't think the risk is significant."

"Unt zhe zeta rays? Or teleportation?"

Circe shakes her head. "Planet to planet teleportation is exceedingly hard. Merely seeing us use it wouldn't be enough without a sound grounding in the theory behind it. And naturally I have already placed wards around the Earth to inform me whenever anyone travels here using such a technique. It's quite distinctive."

I nod. "And it would be very difficult to generate zeta rays with Martian biotechnology. If someone did, we would have less warning, but my sensors should detect that as well." I look around. "Any other questions on the subject of Mars?"

No one replies.

"Very well. On to happier news, then. Richard." He makes a demi-bow from his seat. "Congratulations on your appointment."

He smiles. "Yes, I got your bouquet. And-" He looks around the semicircle. "-those of our other colleagues as well. And I'm proud to announce that so far none of my fellow Justice League members have died on my watch."

"Glad to hear it. Keep up the good work. Adom? Your new accommodations meet with your satisfaction?"

"It is a little extravagant. My tastes are somewhat simpler than those of leaders of the previous regime." He smiles. "But the location is excellent."

"Black Manta's people performed as expected."

He nods. "They are capable men. They cut communications to the Heliopolis Palace as directed. No alert was sent out before I entered the building, nor during my attack. The criminal pretenders who ruled my country are dead."

Lex's screen blinks again. "While there is a certain clarity in hanging their bodies from the walls, I feel obliged to point out that… For the international media, the optics were… Not ideal."

"That image was for domestic consumption. I want my people to see that my justice is swift and absolute. And given the trade embargos which Kahndaq is under, I do not believe that my purification of government will worsen life within my country."

I nod. "How is the power consolidation process going?"

"Slow but steady. Your g-gnomes have been invaluable in allowing me to divine who is worthy of their office and who is not, who is criminal and who is merely misguided. Those parts of the country furthest from Cairo were most eager to treat with me. Central government officers were a.. little slower, though that was mostly due to them going into hiding."

Clea raises her eyebrows slightly. "Is there any danger of a civil war?"

"Any senior army officers who might have felt inclined to fight me have already been dealt with. So long as I provide strong and clear leadership, it is now only a matter of time."

I smile. "Good show. Let us know if you need any further support. Once things settle down, I'll start working on President Horne." He nods. "Circe?"

She smiles. "I've managed to retain the services of a number of ex-SHADE employees." I shift uncomfortably in my seat. "Though a little… Frustrating, it has allowed me to create a curriculum more appropriate to the needs of law enforcement officials than the general one I have produced for trainee magicians. Mister Constantine has been surprisingly helpful in creating practical exercises."

I sit back slightly. "SHADE?"

"They've already been cleared of any wrongdoing. Formally, at least. Understandably, their host organisations aren't best pleased with them."

"Then I'm glad that they've found a new home. When will you start taking students?"

"I've started casual demonstrations already. Classes for law enforcement officials are being filled now, while I envisage our first students of the arcane will begin attending over the summer. Unfortunately, the American public are simply too ignorant of magic for it to be worth trying to teach anything beyond the most basic lessons. Once I know whether any of the summer school students have any promise, I'll know what sort of teaching schedule to create for the next scholastic year."

"Unt for zhe regular subjects?"

"I'm… Torn. Clearly, few parents would be prepared to send their children to a school which teaches magic and nothing else, but by the time they reach college age it's a little late. I suspect that I will be spending years teaching police during the day and adolescents at night, at least until a generation with some skill reach college age."

"We have a school in Aberrance. We could… Extend zhe day? Zhey study science unt mathematics wizh us, unt magic wizh you..?"

"Thank you Cranius. That is a most generous offer, but it's simply too early for me to commit to anything. How is your own work doing?"

"Zhe first generation wizh zhe enhanced liver are doing well. No side effects, no rejections unt zhe poison unt disease immunity works as intended. General Lane has been most effusive in his praise. I am already designing new bio-augmetics based upon zhe demands of zhe market, unt Janus is meeting wizh zhe insurance companies regarding offering our product to zheir customers."

I nod. "Excellent news. To finish up then: Lex's first factory is nearing completion and LexPower have finished transitioning over to cosmic power generation. Their share of the energy supply market in the US is nearing sixty percent, and will probably reach eighty before the end of the year. Doctor Metcalf's team has completed designs for the corvette and destroyer vessels, and work will begin on building the first generation of ships early next month. Work is still ongoing on the plans for the battlecruiser, and I doubt that construction will begin much before August."

I smile. "All in all, I'd say that things are going pretty well. Any matters arising?"
 
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