1. Due to issues with external spam filters, QQ is currently unable to send any mail to Microsoft E-mail addresses. This includes any account at live.com, hotmail.com or msn.com. Signing up to the forum with one of these addresses will result in your verification E-mail never arriving. For best results, please use a different E-mail provider for your QQ address.
    Dismiss Notice
  2. For prospective new members, a word of warning: don't use common names like Dennis, Simon, or Kenny if you decide to create an account. Spammers have used them all before you and gotten those names flagged in the anti-spam databases. Your account registration will be rejected because of it.
    Dismiss Notice
  3. Since it has happened MULTIPLE times now, I want to be very clear about this. You do not get to abandon an account and create a new one. You do not get to pass an account to someone else and create a new one. If you do so anyway, you will be banned for creating sockpuppets.
    Dismiss Notice
  4. If you wish to change your username, please ask via conversation to tehelgee instead of asking via my profile. I'd like to not clutter it up with such requests.
    Dismiss Notice
  5. Due to the actions of particularly persistent spammers and trolls, we will be banning disposable email addresses from today onward.
    Dismiss Notice
  6. A note about the current Ukraine situation: Discussion of it is still prohibited as per Rule 8
    Dismiss Notice
  7. The rules regarding NSFW links have been updated. See here for details.
    Dismiss Notice
  8. The testbed for the QQ XF2 transition is now publicly available. Please see more information here.
    Dismiss Notice

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

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

Loading...
  1. Cherico

    Cherico Connoisseur.

    Joined:
    May 12, 2017
    Messages:
    14,374
    Likes Received:
    1,763,552
    Honestly I would want to read about the universe where paul is the only male super that sounds like fun.
     
  2. Darko

    Darko Connoisseur.

    Joined:
    Nov 20, 2019
    Messages:
    22,134
    Likes Received:
    320,293
    She does still have a relationship with some of the other members of the Alliance, like Amalak, who she gave some mystical protections to.

    Plus there's also the renown she and the Omega Men most likely acquired from destroying the Psions and the Gordanian Empire.

    Vega is probably going to become much more safer, and wealthier, now, so the aristocrats will probably want to get a slice of that action, and letting her take control, but still let them have a great say in matters, is an excellent way for them to keep power, while letting her have power.

    Euphorix may not be all that popular due to hiding from the Citadel and the rest of the threats, and not contributing anything to their destruction,so if they want to get into the action, then they're going to have to give up some things.

    And the Crown Imperium was also apparently considering making an arranged marriage for her to gain some influence in Vega
     
  3. Flightless Man

    Flightless Man Versed in the lewd.

    Joined:
    Aug 17, 2020
    Messages:
    1,207
    Likes Received:
    19,728
    I want to read a snippet of one where he appears with a Legion Flight ring instead of a Lantern Ring. He could take Booster Gold's role as future knowledge guy with the flight ring.
     
    Cuchulin, Vorian and moralrelativity like this.
  4. Senevri

    Senevri Not too sore, are you?

    Joined:
    Aug 17, 2015
    Messages:
    277
    Likes Received:
    1,059
    Heh. Such a show off. Kind of nice to see that paragon and renegade are of the same stock.
     
    TopHatWearer and moralrelativity like this.
  5. Darko

    Darko Connoisseur.

    Joined:
    Nov 20, 2019
    Messages:
    22,134
    Likes Received:
    320,293
    Or maybe it's all of those.

    Enjoying what you do is probably a necessity for an Orange Lantern.

    Ehh, depending on Euphoriaxian culture it is possible that leaving the office like your predecessor did, or those above your social station, like royalty, is seen as a sign of respect.

    Hey, Pren wouldn't be the first person that has changed their name due to some cause.

    The various Roman emperors, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, Malcolm X, all changed their names or added things to them, and we practically revere a lot of them.

    Their choice to change their name may have been seen as somewhat silly in their own time, but you can't deny that they all left some big and powerful impressions.

    If you want to talk about edge lords changing their name to reflect their stupid edge lord self then just go to Apokalips.

    Darkseid is basically the king emo.

    Maybe the New Gods do.

    Or even the Reach, since mass mind control seems to be their thing.

    He may be prejudiced against the name, but maybe outfits are something he's okay with.

    Or is planning to see how he can still keep most of his power.

    Or she may decide to work with him and learn everything she needs to know so she can govern in an effective manner.
     
  6. NightmareWarden

    NightmareWarden Versed in the lewd.

    Joined:
    Oct 14, 2015
    Messages:
    1,093
    Likes Received:
    5,097
    I’m pretty sure Paul still has a few magic metals in his ring. If he trades them away in exchange for necromancy services, what could a necromancer do with such a resource? I’m talking about the material capable of transmitting electricity without any loss and... mithral(?) which is almost impossible to alter once it fully cools into a worked shape.

    If we’re lucky the enterprising necromancer(s) will make a necroputer like Deep Rot (oh what fun that would be!).
     
  7. Mr Zoat

    Mr Zoat Dedicated ragequitter

    Joined:
    Dec 1, 2016
    Messages:
    14,695
    Likes Received:
    728,922
    "So what you're saying is, I should steal the bodies of thousands of people in order to make an inefficient and frankly unsanitary computer, rather than purchasing one that fits neatly on my desk. Why?"
     
  8. Sockmonkey

    Sockmonkey I trust you know where the happy button is?

    Joined:
    Dec 2, 2016
    Messages:
    579
    Likes Received:
    3,032
    I suspect they're going to drag their heels a lot because a god with exactly the skills they need, that doesn't make unreasonable demands, and is actually cool to have a beer with, has got to sound too good to be true.
     
    anirocks, Ardy, Cuchulin and 3 others like this.
  9. Prince Charon

    Prince Charon Just zis guy, you know?

    Joined:
    Feb 20, 2014
    Messages:
    9,737
    Likes Received:
    38,238
    1: Renegade knows that time travel works, having personally experienced it, so he probably can't be completely certain of that, even if you-the-author can.

    2: A regular pagan does not become a neopagan just because they're adding a new god (or a New God) to the list of ones that they worship (which is not necessarily the same as adding another god to their pantheon).
     
  10. DrThoth

    DrThoth I trust you know where the happy button is?

    Joined:
    Dec 3, 2016
    Messages:
    697
    Likes Received:
    2,975
    Why did the Psions never destroy the Euphorix planetary shield, either directly or at the behest of the Citadel? I can't imagine they lack the technical ability.
     
  11. Darko

    Darko Connoisseur.

    Joined:
    Nov 20, 2019
    Messages:
    22,134
    Likes Received:
    320,293
    They may have tried to, but maybe it was too powerful.

    Magic may have also been used, so they may not have known how to bypass it due to not having any experience with it.

    The Euphorians were also largely staying out of their way and not opposing them, unlike say Tamaran who fought them, so they may have thought trying to conquer the planet was a waste of time since they weren't in the way.
     
    Prince Charon likes this.
  12. DrThoth

    DrThoth I trust you know where the happy button is?

    Joined:
    Dec 3, 2016
    Messages:
    697
    Likes Received:
    2,975
    I suppose I just find it hard to think of the shield as too powerful for Psion technology to overcome; if they chose not to for some reason, I can accept that (provided I know what the reason was). I don't know anything about the history of the shield (though the DC Database entry says Euphorix developed it itself) which would convince me.

    We know magic doesn't play a part in the shield's construction from a few updates ago.

    The Citadelians seem to have been content with hegemony and partnerships and proxy rulers, and not outright direct rule over every planet/world in Vega, but that's not the case with Euphorix. I feel like they'd have tried at some point (I think the fic does mention that history at one point, but I'm not sure).

    What happened to that old Citadelian who surrendered after Paragon de-branded all his Citadelian forces back in Headhunting/Headhunted? I think Amalak offered those who surrendered employment, but I don't think he showed up again.
     
  13. Darko

    Darko Connoisseur.

    Joined:
    Nov 20, 2019
    Messages:
    22,134
    Likes Received:
    320,293
    The Psions may have eventually destroyed the shield, but they were killed before they could do it.

    I think that old Citadelian was one of the dozen that started working for Amalak after Paul had his 800 branded thralls killed.
     
  14. Steelplaza

    Steelplaza Custom Title

    Joined:
    May 12, 2015
    Messages:
    181
    Likes Received:
    946
    I don't know; it's been a decade, not generations. A decade isn't all that long really. The overwhelming number of people in positions of power were in positions of power back when the queen (or at least her family; don't recall the backstory) were in charge. Unless they were itching to get rid of her a decade ago, there are probably still plenty of loyalists around.
     
    Cuchulin likes this.
  15. Mr Zoat

    Mr Zoat Dedicated ragequitter

    Joined:
    Dec 1, 2016
    Messages:
    14,695
    Likes Received:
    728,922
    Alonza is loyal to the royal family, just not the current queen who he thinks is a feckless idiot. His medium-term plan is to install someone else on the throne, preferably after marrying them.
     
  16. Vaermina

    Vaermina Well worn.

    Joined:
    Oct 16, 2015
    Messages:
    5,518
    Likes Received:
    20,726
    I think Paragon found a new best friend.


    Understandable given she is a feckless idiot.
     
    Ngamer11 and Cuchulin like this.
  17. Stsword

    Stsword Versed in the lewd.

    Joined:
    Aug 7, 2017
    Messages:
    1,714
    Likes Received:
    9,865
    The Psions aren't really scientists, they are sadists playing scientists.

    "How to punch through a planetary force field" doesn't include torturing people, so it's not really something that interests them.
     
  18. Darko

    Darko Connoisseur.

    Joined:
    Nov 20, 2019
    Messages:
    22,134
    Likes Received:
    320,293
    True, some of their decisions, like X'hal and everything they did to her, were increadibly stupid.

    They're sadists first and scientists second.

    Still they may have been working on how to break through the shield, since then they have a new planet of torture victims, but they were killed before they got anywhere.
     
    OrigamiPhoenix, Ngamer11 and Cuchulin like this.
  19. Vaermina

    Vaermina Well worn.

    Joined:
    Oct 16, 2015
    Messages:
    5,518
    Likes Received:
    20,726
    If they really wanted the shield down they could have done it by simple dint of blocking out sunlight to the planet till the inhabitants caved in and lowered it themselves.

    Which means they probably didn't care.
     
    Cuchulin likes this.
  20. OrigamiPhoenix

    OrigamiPhoenix Getting sticky.

    Joined:
    Nov 19, 2018
    Messages:
    52
    Likes Received:
    201
    I just want to say I appreciate this. Was funny.
     
  21. Threadmarks: Back Seat (part 15)
    Mr Zoat

    Mr Zoat Dedicated ragequitter

    Joined:
    Dec 1, 2016
    Messages:
    14,695
    Likes Received:
    728,922
    4th July 2012
    21:28 EST


    This, this is not something I'm ever gettin' used to.

    On Oa. Not 'cause I'm gettin' trained, or gettin' some sorta bullshit health assessment, or gettin' yelled at in person. On Oa, wearin' the cape an' sash that comes with bein' on the Honor Guard… An' the couple a' other Green Lanterns I fly past 're actually lookin' impressed.

    It feels good, but it feels weird, too. Don't wanna get all 'self-sabotagy' or nothin', but I'm not sure… I'm not sure how t' deal with it. Random people tellin' me I'm great is nice but it's no big deal. These 're… Other Lanterns. Vets, some of 'em.

    I don't think I've earned this yet. Paul said somethin' about not having earned his ring when he got it, and… Yeah. I dunno about Hal, but I don't think I've earned my sash yet. Earned the ring, yeah. But the jury's out on the sash. But I'm here and Hal isn't, so maybe I'm closer than he is.

    I wave my right hand through the door sensor, then wait. Not at attention or nothin', but I doubt-. The door opens, and I walk inside. It's… Not as big as I thought it'd be. Yeah, there's a touch a' mad science lab, but there's a whole bunch a' museum pieces… Statues, stuff like that, all around the place like he put 'em down and forgot about 'em.

    "Honor Guard Lantern Gardner."

    Guardian Appa Ali Apsa smiles. Not a little polite smile, but like he's genuinely pleased to see me. He floats up from his platform desk thing and the mini-lantern in the middle of it and flies over to his little… Highchair thing. He points at the humanoid-size chair opposite.

    "Won't you sit down?"

    Talkin' to Guardians is… Kinda awkward. Most Lanterns call 'em 'Master', which… I mean, yeah, they're the masters of the Corps, but it always felt kinda weird.

    Wish I'd been there when John first heard it.

    "Thanks fer takin' the time t'meet me, boss."

    I walk-. Ah, pick my way across the room and take the chair. I guess for someone his size who's used t' flyin' around it's pretty easy, but fer a guy my size it's kinda awkward. An' I know Guardians are real busy and he's probably got about a thousand things he needs t' be doin' right now…

    "Not at all."

    Most Guardians are… Not cold. Not alla them. Ganthet and Sayd are okay. But… Impersonal. Like a doctor or somethin'. Not Appa. He learned some actual people skills sometime in the last million years.

    "What was it you wanted to ask me?"

    "It's about Mars."

    "There's not much I can add to the record you already have. I didn't personally take part. There were more of us-"

    He looks away for a moment, which is the kinda humanity the others don't do.

    -back then."

    "Right. See… I talked with Paul one time… He told me that he knew things about our friends that they didn't know themselves. One of them had a kid he didn't know about, another one accidentally killed someone… When I asked him what I didn't know about me… Turned out someone I really admired was actually about five different people, an' they used t' swap 'em out after the last one died."

    He nods.

    "Like a child's hamsters."

    And then there's stuff like that, where a guy older than mammals remembers stuff about your culture. I barely remember stuff about Californian culture.

    "Yeah, kinda like that. I guess after that, and the Ophidian and Vega, I should have thought about it more, but he kinda implied that he knew stuff about the Green Lantern Corps that isn't in the ring database."

    "Yes, he's a curious individual, isn't he? Did he mention this before he made contact with our Controller cousins?"

    Did he? I don't really remember the details, just that there was some sorta insinuation. Early on, that wasn't what I was payin' attention to. Nah, can't remember.

    "Ah..? Think so?"

    "Hm. So?"

    "So? Is there more? I mean, we let loose that Malvolio guy, an' I'm pretty sure you're gunna send the Honor Guard after him." I shrug. "An… How come I didn't know about him? I'm on the Honor Guard. We're the guys you have t' deal with stuff like that."

    "Guy, the Green Lantern Corps has existed for just over three billion Earth years. During that time it has done a huge amount of good. However, on some occasions, mistakes have been made. Or, simply hard decisions taken where there was no good answer to be had. In the case of Larfleeze, we enacted a policy of containment which saw him restricted to an area of space which at the time contained no life."

    "My Sector's got some life in it."

    "And did Paul do it any harm?"

    "Not ex-. No."

    "Forcing the issue would have risked making him the enemy of the Corps. If he fought us, I believe that the Corps would have won, eventually, but the damage would have been considerable. And with the Corps unable to fulfil our other commitments and with new recruits trying to protect their Sectors, the damage spreads. As it was, we felt that giving him some room was for the best."

    That-. Huh.

    "And Malvolio?"

    "We allowed him to keep his ring as part of an experiment to see how your species interacted with a power ring. And given how his adopted Sector fell apart without him, I doubt that we'll be rushing to contain him."

    "Did I..? Miss some part of the handbook?"

    "Hm." Appa folds his hands across his lap. "When I was on Earth, Oliver Queen tried explaining the rules of Ice Hockey to me. I even bought the complete rulebook while I was there."

    Still kinda pissed I missed out on showin' a Guardian around.

    "Yeah?"

    "And yet, nowhere in the rulebook does it mention what a 'smart penalty' is. I doubt that young humans being introduced to the game for the first time are told 'if it looks like the other team are going to score, hit the person with the puck with your stick'. Are they?"

    Uh… Canada

    "Doubt it. But-."

    "Three billion years, Lantern Gardner. We have made many mistakes in that time. Some of them… Devastating. Krona's was the worst, but there were others not far off. The most common are relatively trivial, when a Lantern misassigns blame for a violent conflict and intervenes on the side of the belligerent party. Thaal Sinestro earned his repudiation but in the grand scheme of things the actions which led to it weren't that great. But taken as a whole, such things represent perhaps a billionth of a percent of the sum total of the Corps' deeds. Did Paul tell you why the Controllers separated from the Guardians in the first place?"

    I shake my head.

    "Before the Green Lantern Corps, before the Halla, we at first attempted to spread universal law and order through the use of specialised androids. They were called the Manhunters. We Guardians pride ourselves on both our rationality and our selfless service to the wider universe, and we foolishly assumed that one led to the other. That a purely rational species would relate to the universe in the same way that we do, without the need for introducing convoluted value systems. We chose a Space Sector in which to test them before a galaxy-wide implementation and a few hours later they killed nearly every living thing in it. Burned the whole place down to the bedrock."

    Shit.

    "That was the second worst thing we've ever done, surpassed only by Krona's misdeeds. And afterwards… A little under a third of us left, forming the Controllers. And.. that is why I'm the Guardian I am today. That oversight made it painfully apparent to me that embracing pure cold rationality left holes in our ability to understand the universe. In the way beings other than us think. So-"

    He looks around.

    "-this. I embrace other cultures, other points of view, because I do not want to ever have anything like that ever happen again because we didn't consider something we should have done. And while we don't advertise that one billionth of one percent, we can't forget it."

    He nods at his mini-lantern.

    "As a member of the Honor Guard you have access to our unabridged records. A full accounting for everything that has ever gone wrong would take a few years to go through, but I've loaded in a summary. And if you've got any questions, I'll do my best to answer them."

    He sighs.

    "Though I can't promise that either of us will like all of the answers."
     
    Last edited: Jan 15, 2021
  22. hance1986

    hance1986 A pitiful excuse for a man.

    Joined:
    Dec 31, 2015
    Messages:
    1,113
    Likes Received:
    11,921
    Will Appa ever get to meet Paul? That could be an interesting conversation.
     
  23. Mquz

    Mquz Versed in the lewd.

    Joined:
    Apr 5, 2018
    Messages:
    2,117
    Likes Received:
    8,238
    Nice to see him displaying his knowledge of earth culture and ability to speak soundless languages such as ASL. Though why he chose now to demonstrate his abilities is a mystery.
     
  24. Darko

    Darko Connoisseur.

    Joined:
    Nov 20, 2019
    Messages:
    22,134
    Likes Received:
    320,293
    I thought Hal also became an Honor Guard.

    'points'

    maybe 'it always'

    'or something'

    I always thought he was one of the more assholish ones.

    Though that may be because of the animated series.

    Well, Earth mammals.

    I thought it was just a million, given what renegade said during an interview.

    'have been'

    maybe 'nowhere'

    'taken'

    Well five survived.

    maybe 'beings'
     
  25. DrThoth

    DrThoth I trust you know where the happy button is?

    Joined:
    Dec 3, 2016
    Messages:
    697
    Likes Received:
    2,975
    Technically they've met, but it was a collective conference with the Guardians, not one-on-one. I hope someone can organize a Maltusian diplomatic conference or whatever their closest equivalent to a party is at some point, seeing all the factions interact more would be fun. The Devlos/Anti-Monitor stuff can probably justify it at some point in the future, even if that's not as light-hearted as I'd like.

    Great update. Nice to see non-SIs taking initiative and growing.
     
    Last edited: Jan 6, 2021
  26. Darko

    Darko Connoisseur.

    Joined:
    Nov 20, 2019
    Messages:
    22,134
    Likes Received:
    320,293
    They did meet during Paul's adventures in space.

    It was after Paul recruited Ranx and brought half of an Indigo ring to them, as well as an assimilated Guardian.
     
    Gilhelmi, Ardy, Prince Charon and 5 others like this.
  27. Darko

    Darko Connoisseur.

    Joined:
    Nov 20, 2019
    Messages:
    22,134
    Likes Received:
    320,293
    This should either be '5th' or you should put this over the spoiler with the link.
     
    Mr Zoat likes this.
  28. transhumansage

    transhumansage Versed in the lewd.

    Joined:
    Nov 12, 2016
    Messages:
    1,098
    Likes Received:
    2,942
    i thought the controllers were a group of maltusians that used the orange light of averice instead of the green light of will. didnt they form back when all the factions were still on maltus?
     
    BartlettMagic likes this.
  29. Darko

    Darko Connoisseur.

    Joined:
    Nov 20, 2019
    Messages:
    22,134
    Likes Received:
    320,293
    I remember Hinon once mentioned that she used to be a Guardian, so they probably split up after some philosophical disagreements.
     
    Ardy and Relyt33 like this.
  30. Mr Zoat

    Mr Zoat Dedicated ragequitter

    Joined:
    Dec 1, 2016
    Messages:
    14,695
    Likes Received:
    728,922
    Thank you, corrected.
    Harold didn't think to ask these questions.
    Thank you, corrected.
    Yes. Comic Appa was nothing like that.
    I don't remember what the Renegade said, but Appa probably knows better than he does.
     
Loading...