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

Discussion in 'Creative Writing' started by Mr Zoat, Jan 27, 2019.

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  1. Shotiegun11

    Shotiegun11 Know what you're doing yet?

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    So that thing the SI saw along with seeing Bleez had better human like movements than the hawks. Was that him noticing that she was an operative trying to seduce him for the thangaran empire?
     
  2. Siskulous

    Siskulous Know what you're doing yet?

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    Aphrodite? For Thanagar? I fail to see your logic. Care to elaborate?
     
  3. DrThoth

    DrThoth I trust you know where the happy button is?

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    I’ll have to reread the episode to be sure, but like the above poster I do think Bleez’s motivations would be apparent to Paul’s empathic vision; I think he did go a little deeper than just a superficial one.
    Regarding the Justice Leagues’ Hawks change of heart, I like that development in theory but I don’t think it was really set up well in story- there was no indication they were really anything but loyal Thanagarian agents willing to play by local rules of engagement, unless no one else (from Earth) actually knows how they currently feel about their homeworld, which is plausible.

    I’m obviously not the original poster but essentially earlier versions of Aphrodite were far more warlike than the pop culture version (Areia is her epithet in Sparta, meaning warlike), and the evidence suggests she derived from a Semitic goddess (Astarte, who is also connected to Ishtar, goddesses who include both love and war in their domains) whose cult spread to Greece possibly in the Dark Ages. Overly Sarcastic Productions has a pretty interesting YouTube video on the subject, which is the main source for my points besides browsing Wikipedia. As a tangent, it makes Rick Riordan’s Heroes of Olympus a little ironic, seeing as one of the main characters is a combative daughter of Aphrodite and this is treated as pretty subversive and shocking in-universe.
    Some posters were discussing Ares, and I remember Mr. Zoat mentioning he had plans for him, which I’m looking forward to (I imagine it’ll be a job consultation similar to Hera). I’m not really a fan of having the Greek and Roman versions of the gods being entirely distinct entities in the setting (which I know is something from DC comics canon) but at least there’s a good role model for Ares in the form of Mars. In real life mythology, Ares gets bad publicity, but I believe that’s mainly because a lot of our accounts come from Athens, rivals of Sparta with their own war-oriented deity, so you can’t expect entirely objective accounts. Ares is pretty much always villainous in DC comics canon though, so that might not really matter.
     
    Last edited: Apr 25, 2019
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  4. Stsword

    Stsword Versed in the lewd.

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    Actually Diana cured Ares of his insanity in Wonder Woman, so there was a chunk of time in which his hobby wasn't tying Nell to the train tracks.

    He rebranded himself as the god of conflict instead of war.

    Heck, he even sided with Wonder Woman and Athena when Athena took over the throne of Olympus.

    He highlandered Hades to become the god of death, which saved Wonder Woman's life, which led to Wonder Woman being granted her vision back by Athena, and as the god of death granted Wonder Woman's wish that a boy whose parent worked at the embassy be restored to life after being turned to stone by Medusa.

    So with Hades dead, Zeus gave up on gaining his throne back, and his other brother Poseidon was convinced by Ares "You know I'm sure we could find another god who'd like dominion over the seas if you want what Hades got, capiche, uncle?" to give up his political concerns.

    I understand that Aphrodite became the third member of the new Trinity of Olympus, so I imagine Aphrodite would have become the new goddess of the oceans if Poseidon didn't decide to play ball.

    He also became Cassie's patron.

    Then he went back to evil, so Wonder Woman murderized him with an ax to the head.

    But then Ares' ghost decided to be troublesome.
     
  5. DrThoth

    DrThoth I trust you know where the happy button is?

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    I was going off popular knowledge of Wonder Wonan canon, so thanks for the correction, and for the familiar feeling of ‘...only in comics...’ as well.
     
  6. PDV

    PDV Revelation That Uncertainty Is Itself An Answer

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    tidied

    Interesting that Bleez is an operative, unsurprising that Paul's prediction was accurate. Paul's cheat codes for turning enemy operatives don't seem particularly applicable here, so I'm curious to see if she defects when she learns his pessimism about the leadership was well-founded.
     
  7. Mr Zoat

    Mr Zoat Dedicated ragequitter

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    Thank you, corrected.
    Thanagar has actually managed to avoid a cult of personality. One of the reasons why the current High Mor is hanging on is to avoid regurgitating this mess down his successor's gullet.
     
  8. PDV

    PDV Revelation That Uncertainty Is Itself An Answer

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    I think I'm missing a Britishism. Do you mean no one wants to be his successor while this problem is ongoing? That he isn't switching course because of a sense of duty that he feels he'd be betraying by punting to his successor? Something else?
     
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  9. Citizen

    Citizen Well worn.

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    I think it's a play on how the Thanagarians are all bird people (well, the ones that are bird people at least) and mother birds vomiting worms for their young.
     
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  10. Caerwen

    Caerwen Know what you're doing yet?

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    I'd go with Sekhmet. Warrior and healing god and better parties ;)
     
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  11. Gilhelmi

    Gilhelmi Know what you're doing yet?

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    After reading the previous part where OL sent all the dead in space to Hades, I got to thinking. If Hades and Persephone had a child that became a "Philosopher King" (Like Hephaestus earlier said Hades wanted).

    That child could grow up to overthrow the lazy and corrupt Zeus.

    Persephone might not love Hades, but she might be willing to sire a child with him just to remove the real problem with the Pantheon. Heck, it could even be her idea (or Eris could be whispering bitter truth to her).

    This would of course lead to a war of Olympus (Olympus has Fallen) dragging Princess Diana, Paul, Kon, and a few others into the mess. Queen Hera could be the first to support the young "Philosopher King" which would force the Amazons to decide on staying neutral or overthrowing the bastard.
     
  12. Sad Machine

    Sad Machine Unshackled Unclaimed

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    Im waiting for the PaulRangers to unite to fight some multiversal threat...like Barbados? The true face of Darkseid? Injustice 2 superman? Any excuse to have more Pauls
     
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  13. Mquz

    Mquz Versed in the lewd.

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    Those are new, and Zoat only likes old comics DC. Old DC only really had the anti-monitor, and Time Trapper (Superboy), though you could make the endless / Black Lantern Corps multiversal. Red Queen Jade has also been introduced as a multiversal potential villain. Also, Injustice 2 Superman is not a multiversal threat, or even really a universal one. He took down Brainiac, but if he gets too confident, the GLC, or the Lords of order could stop him, if they wanted to. The Flash, Dr. Fate, etc... were all fairly heavily nerfed in the story of that game.
     
    Last edited: Apr 26, 2019
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  14. Threadmarks: Common Sense (part 2)
    Mr Zoat

    Mr Zoat Dedicated ragequitter

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    9th August
    20:05 GMT -5


    I frown for a moment as Red Arrow née Speedy vanishes to wherever he set the zeta tube to transport him to.

    [​IMG]

    "Ah..? Sirs? What fortified location that isn't a school in a civilian area are we moving Doctor Roquette to? I ask because if the location isn't ideal I can use this-" I raise my left hand. "-ring to maintain an untraceable internet connection from just about anywhere."

    9th August 2010
    22:54 GMT -5


    "How about a kiss?"

    !Really good!

    That sounds like something I shouldn't do. On the other hand, she isn't armed, she's tied to a chair and I have a power ring. And Batman… Well, Talia and Selina.

    The Hierarchy flashes through my head. This doesn't appear to be contrary to any other levels of Need. I've always been a bit reticent where this sort of thing is concerned. Maybe, now is a good time to change that.

    I lower the chair to the rooftop, and drop to the ground myself. "Are you sure? I wouldn't... I mean, I don't want to pressure…"

    "If you'd had to live with him, you'd understand."

    !Really good!

    I walk two paces forward, alongside the chair and her free forearm. I increase the height of the chair slightly, so her head is only slightly below the level of my own.

    Ring, she doesn't have a cyanide tooth or something, does she?

    No poison detected inside her mouth.

    [​IMG]

    Ring, come on. Is she carrying any poisons or other mind-altering chemical agents?

    Subject is wearing drugged lipstick.

    Was that so hard? Remove the drug.

    Compliance.

    A strobing orange light shines out to her lips from the ring.

    Task complete.

    Right then. Ring, drop armour.

    I lean forwards and across, head tilted slightly to the side. I tense slightly as her hand touches the back of my head, but I suspect that my inexperience is showing. She presses me forward gently, and I move with her, eyes scanning her face before settling on her eyes. Closer, and our noses rub against each other. Our lips come together. Soft, warm, and.. slightly damp? That's probably the non-poisoned component of her lipstick. She removes her hand and I take that as the sign that I should pull back. I run my tongue along my lips. Hm, biscuit crumbs.

    **Why are you KISSING the ASSASSIN?** Artemis is not amused.

    **Her idea. Miss Martian, getting anything good?**

    A pause.

    **Hello Megan! You were trying to distract her!**

    **I like to think I was keeping her attention focused at least a little, yes.**

    **Right! Um, I've got the location of a few League of Shadows safe houses and informants. Nothing that really applies to this mission though.**

    **Oh well, still useful. We'll pass it on to Batman.** Jade watches my face carefully. I suppose that me just standing here looks a bit odd. I smile at her. "Pleasant as that was, I'm afraid that I need to arrest you now. Though do feel free to look me up upon your release."

    Gotham City
    15th October
    22:15 GMT -4


    "Does this whole telepathic training thing seem weird to you?"

    "Everything on this planet seems weird to me. Including me."

    "Y'know what I mean."

    I shrug. "It's not like we can practise a major natural disaster in the real world. We'll know it's not real but it will seem completely real. And, hey, if it works we could get M'gann to do it again for fun."

    "What if something goes wrong?"

    [​IMG]

    "Well…" I look around the empty Gotham streets. "Not a lot seems to be happening here. Why don't we have a bit of a brainstorming session?"

    15th October
    10:22 GMT -4


    Mr J'onzz walks into the Mountain's dining area and Artemis and I come to our feet.

    He smiles faintly. "Batman informed me that you wished to speak with me."

    I nod. "Yes, thank you sir. Artemis and I were talking about this.. whole.. telepathic illusion thing yesterday, and.. we've got.. one or two concerns. They're.. probably not big problems, but I thought it would be worth checking with you anyway."

    "I will do my best to ease your worries."

    I nod. "Thank you. The first thing I noticed is that the Manhunter version of this process requires that additional trained telepaths be on standby in case there are any problems. You won't be running it like that."

    "No. As there are no other telepaths on the League, I have grown accustomed to running the exercises on my own. I have not experienced any great difficulty in doing so."

    "Right, except that M'gann is a telepath. Which links to our second concern. Manhunters have standardised assessments of their telepathic and telekinetic strength. I tried to look up M'gann's and it wasn't on her file? Obviously it wouldn't mean as much to me as it would to you, but it would give me some idea of relative ability."

    "M'gann is a Manhunter Auxiliary on paper only. I am not qualified to administer those tests, and as they are not required for work as a superhero on Earth I have not sought to return her to Mars to arrange for someone else to do so."

    "Okay, but that means that… If she saw something traumatising and had a telepathic surge… Not only do you not know how strong it would be and whether or not you could contain it… There wouldn't be any backup for you if you couldn't." He nods slowly. "And it wouldn't have to be a surge: sufficiently powerful telepathy could be a problem in itself. I also checked League records, and you haven't ever run a session with Giovanni Zatara as a participant. I couldn't find anything about Manhunters training attached Sorcerer-Priests in this way, but you certainly haven't done this with an active magic user before. And then there's me. While you have run sessions with Green Lanterns before, green power rings can't assimilate things. I could just take it off before we start, but I've been practising calling it to me remotely. It could well find its way to me part way through."

    "That is all true. What do you suggest?"

    "Excluding Kaldur, M'gann and myself would be the obvious choice, as the rest of the team have equivalents who have gone through this successfully before. But I'd feel happier if you spoke to Henry King Junior -Brainwave- about having him act as your backup. Though another martian would be better, he has substantial experience with telepathic illusions and could probably do just as well. And obviously you need to get a rough idea of how powerful M'gann is." Urgh. "And to be honest sir? If you're training her, that's something you should do anyway. Wonder Woman assessed my ability to strike and take hits in return before she sparred with me, much less sent me on missions."

    Mr J'onzz stands motionless for a moment, then nods his head. "I believe that your concerns are justified. I will speak to Kaldur about rescheduling the exercise until I can speak with Mister King."

    "Thank you, sir. I appreciate you listening to our concerns."

    "No. I thank you both for bringing this oversight to my attention."

    He nods, then turns and walks out of the living area.
     
    Last edited: May 23, 2019
  15. Buggy123

    Buggy123 I trust you know where the happy button is?

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    People using common sense, thinking things through, and discussing problems like reasonable adults?!

    Cmon, Zoat, this is ridiculous. Suspension of disbelief: broken.
     
  16. JeckJack

    JeckJack Mask Seller

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    Immensely satisfying.
     
  17. Bigking321

    Bigking321 Not too sore, are you?

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    Yay!

    Common sense! The greatest of all superpowers!
     
  18. Chojin Patriarch

    Chojin Patriarch Veteran Lurker

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    Ah, The days when he didn't have the propriety compulsion removed :D

    Unnecessary comma? Or done by choice?

    Missing Quotation mark beginning the sentence.
    Also, I'm amazed he didn't think to ask this originally anyway.

    Should this be a plural, or was it only applied to one lip?

    To be honest, the problem is she's got a hand free. Pressure points, anyone? Then again, environmental shields...

    Logical, but...

    Strike one.

    Strike two.

    Here's the pitch...

    Home run! Didn't think he was gonna hit, but that was clear on the sweet spot.

    Heh. Truly, Common Sense is the greatest superpower. So mighty, it can derail the threads of fate! Gotta wonder about the knock-on effects of all these butterflies...
    And tomorrow, we see 'Saul' and the Boys!
     
    Last edited: Sep 19, 2019
  19. doug89

    doug89 Versed in the lewd.

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  20. Mr Zoat

    Mr Zoat Dedicated ragequitter

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    Thank you, corrected.
    Choice.
     
  21. Vaermina

    Vaermina Well worn.

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    I like this guy.

    Can we get a whole chapter about him? :D
     
  22. w34v3r

    w34v3r Versed in the lewd.

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    It probably wouldn't be very exciting.

    Satisfying maybe, exciting probably not.
     
  23. Twilight666

    Twilight666 I trust you know where the happy button is?

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    I think the above two words (state and status) are supposed to match
     
  24. Massgamer

    Massgamer Not too sore, are you?

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    Is this going to be whole chapter about common sense what ifs?

    If so I approve and will enjoy
     
  25. Prince Charon

    Prince Charon Just zis guy, you know?

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    Going by the table of contents (see the first page) and Zoat's comment earlier, no. I'm hoping we do get one eventually, though.
     
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  26. Mquz

    Mquz Versed in the lewd.

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    He might be boring if he doesn’t get an actual superpower. OL has enlightenment, Grayven has new godhood, but this guy might not fuck up badly enough to get one of those, though he might find a way to be new god of common sense.
    Unfortunately, since common sense does not normally exist in DC, that might lead to him becoming some sort of monstrous abomination.
     
  27. AidanMorgan

    AidanMorgan Essentially Overworked

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    Common Sense AU makes me smile.
     
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  28. Cyguy7

    Cyguy7 Not too sore, are you?

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    Link or threadmark to Common Sense (part 1)?
     
  29. Mr Zoat

    Mr Zoat Dedicated ragequitter

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  30. Xelloss

    Xelloss Know what you're doing yet?

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    Didn't I already mentionned that Common Sense is way too OP as superpower to be given to a power ring user ? Feels like a déjà vu...

    Edit : indeed, I did. Thanks doug89 for the thread link.
     
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