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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. NightmareWarden

    NightmareWarden Versed in the lewd.

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    The only thing Alan is in danger of here is a timeshare sales pitch. That runner is going to take an aggravatingly long time is all, plenty of time for Alan to thoroughly look over Uns’ entire stock.

    …what happens if Alan brings a dream with him into the Tower of Fate, or through the Gate to the Underworld?
     
  2. Darko

    Darko Connoisseur.

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    They really should have tied a rope to connect them.
    Hey, Paul was the first that split.
    The end of the comic showed it as being a destroyed wreck.
    Now I'm reminded of the South Park episode with the ski resort and I'm thinking that this will turn out the same.

    Including the demonic salesmen.
     
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  3. m_d

    m_d Fascinated by storytelling

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    Darko, my reading was that Chojin was saying that the people of the present day wouldn't find 10th Century Baghdad as impressive as people then would have. The end of the comic is meant to represent modern day Baghdad, rather than the current state of the city in the Dream, I believe. So it's showing people in the present who can still be inspired by the Baghdad of the Dream. And the merchant is saying that the Caliph is keeping the city in the Dream connected to the waking world via its dreamers dreams, hence allowing for change. It's not the only plausible reading, but I think it's a valid one.
     
  4. Mr Zoat

    Mr Zoat Dedicated ragequitter

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    The material version was a destoryed wreck. The Dream version was at the apex of its glory.
     
  5. Silveraith

    Silveraith Argent Phantasm

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    Your
    Your.
     
  6. Mr Zoat

    Mr Zoat Dedicated ragequitter

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    Thank you, corrected.
     
  7. Windona

    Windona Beetle Queen of Crackshipping

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    Well, it makes sense they got separated. Though I am a bit worried for Alan, but you'd think the Caliph or city as a whole would have use for a superhero like Alan.

    Alan's genre savvy enough to know that unless it's an Elseworlds, the heroes always end on top in the end. And heroes prominent enough to last decades like him don't end up with their throats slit in an alley.
     
  8. Darko

    Darko Connoisseur.

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    Sadly for Alan his life isn't a story so he may have seen friends and colleagues that ended up killed by having their throats slit in an alley.
     
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  9. Ardy

    Ardy I trust you know where the happy button is?

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    Jordan: League! I've just received a transmission from Oa! They think they've found a link to Orange Lantern's home parallel, and even found a transmission that 'should explain why he thinks what he does about us'. Not sure what that means but let's watch it!"



    Jordan: So, creationism?

    Superman: Shut up Jordan.
     
  10. Darko

    Darko Connoisseur.

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    Wonder Woman: Your...counterpart didn't give the best impression, Hal.
     
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  11. Windona

    Windona Beetle Queen of Crackshipping

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    Was there a JSA member in YJ who died like that? I know his romance ended in tragedy, but I didn't think the others did.
     
  12. Someguy Somewhere

    Someguy Somewhere The Critical Fumbler

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    I think OL and Jade might have made an off the cuff breakdown about newly minted superheros dying in a host of less then dramatic ways.

    On the Toilet, in their sleep, car accidents. Some of them arranged by the League of Shadows. And some of them just....bad luck.
     
    Xmaster3000 likes this.
  13. Threadmarks: False Dawn (part 12)
    Mr Zoat

    Mr Zoat Dedicated ragequitter

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    November 8th, 2012
    Half Past Nine, I think?


    Oh golly. Oh golly. Oh golly.

    I don't think I'm ready for this.

    I think I was doing okay with the future. And with being able to turn into a sand monster. And with getting the equipment back into good working order. But I just spotted Green Lantern walking along a river that was flowing from the sky to the floor, and, and, and I could sort of ignore it while the other guys were around, but now I'm on my own.

    I feel like the mask is… Like it's holding my mouth shut so I can't breathe. I know it's not, but that's…

    What would Wesley do?

    Leave the mask alone, stay calm. Straighten up. They can't see your face, and people always find that intimidating. Humans, anyway. And these people are mostly-. Okay, that guy isn't, but most of them sure look human. Walk like I've got a purpose, like I know where I'm going.

    I don't know where I'm going.

    Green Lantern's been a super hero for… Seventy years now. He always knows what he's doing. Orange Lantern looked like a guy who always knows what he's doing too, even if it's something crazy. The negro wizard seemed like a fellow who can just go with the flow, and the demon is a demon.

    I'm pretty sure I never felt this unsure when I went out with Wesley. But now I've gotta make my own decisions…

    That building. People are going in and coming out, and I can hear loud talking. It could be a bar. No, wait, do moslems have those? Maybe a restaurant then. Whichever it is, there'll be people to talk to.

    I walk confidently towards the door, push through and take in… The scent of coffee? Oh, right, I think I remember something about moslems being big coffee drinkers. It makes sense that they would serve something like that here. I'm not sure that coffee gets people talking like liquor does, but I can give it a try.

    "Sir?" A fellow with a tray -probably a waiter- bows politely. "Your table is this way."

    They actually seat people at a place like this? Ah, okay, that helps with me not knowing how the locals place their orders.

    "Lead the way."

    I follow him across the main room, through another door and down a short corridor, out into a small garden. There's a fountain in the middle, a couple of benches and some plants that I… I don't recognize. That one's some kind of cactus, and it's flowering. I don't think I've ever seen one of them do that before.

    There's also a table, with a tray on it. On the tray are a coffee pot and a couple of small cups, and on the other side of the table…

    "I will leave you with your guest, sir."

    I see a wealthy merchant, but at the same time I don't. I see expensive clothes, but it's almost like they're floating around him rather than being worn by him. Not literally, but there's a sort of… Lack of connection between the accoutrements and man. And that man's got the same Mediterranean skin color as the other locals, but it's… Make-up, with… Pure white underneath. His hair is jet black and he… Both is and isn't wearing a turban.

    Oh. Orange Lantern told me about-.

    "Please, be seated."

    I walk towards the bench opposite him as he pours me a cup of coffee. "You're him, aren't you? Morpheus. Dream."

    "Those are two of my names. How do you take your coffee?"

    I frown. It's just the pot… And jars of sugars both are and aren't there, along with jugs of milk and cream. I'm not sure that taking anything from those is a good idea.

    "Thank you, but I'll just take it straight."

    "As you wish."

    I… I can't drink with this mask on. I'm not sure I should take it off-.

    "Sanderson Hawkins, most creatures wear many masks, but there is nothing you can do that will obscure your identity from me."

    Orange Lantern didn't say exactly what he is or what he can do, but he's supposed to be real powerful. This whole dream place is his. Which means that's probably true, and I can't think of any other reason to cover my face up. Not if he can just make anything he likes whenever he likes. I reach up, then take off my hat and mask and put them on the table next to the coffee pot.

    "Ah-. Thank you." He looks at me… I want to say 'blankly', but the floating… False face? Dream face? Makes it a little hard to tell exactly what his real expression is. "For telling Orange Lantern that I was still alive. I'd have stayed trapped for even longer if you hadn't."

    "It seemed appropriate. Your mentor was hurt when he touched my realm, and yet chose to aid others with what he learned. Even taking one of my sobriquets as his own in tribute."

    "That wasn't you? I mean, you didn't give that to him?"

    "I was indisposed. Had I been free to act, I would most likely have warned him off."

    "So do you not want people doing good in your name? Or are you annoyed that he was here without your permission?"

    "I have spent some time thinking about that. Personally, I care very little either way for sages who use the Dream to learn of the present or to try and divine the future. The Dream is a place of wonder, both wondrous joy and wondrous terror. If someone was using the Dream to injure others as your captors were then it would be a different matter, and I would personally act against those who took my domain for their own."

    "Wesley Dodds was in the former category, and came by his connection accidentally so I cannot even fault him for a mindful intrusion. I should however credit him for portraying the Dream in a positive light without thought of reward, even if that was not his intent."

    "Does that credit extend to helping us get into the Tower of Fate?"

    "The Tower of Fate? That would be outside of the Dream."

    "Yes, but we're getting in from the Dream. Doctor.. Mist made it sound like that's pretty dangerous, so if there's anything you can do to help us out..?"

    "When the Tower was created, the Lords of Order made a pact with me so that I would allow it to exist within the Dream. It would violate it for me to simply transport you inside."

    I nod. "I understand."

    "Why do you want to get inside from the Dream? It must be easier for you to get in through the entrance in the material world."

    "We think there's a guy called John Constantine trapped in there by the current Doctor Fate. We want to free him, and Doctor Fate's not exactly going to let us in the front door."

    "Constantine? Hm. Then perhaps there are things that I may do without breaking my word. Tell me, do you intend to take up your father's mantle?"

    "As a super hero?" Am I? I wasn't sure. But the moment Green Lantern asked, I couldn't get it on fast enough. Guess I couldn't even fool myself, even if I do need to get back in training first. "Not right now. But I probably will in the future."

    "Constantine spent some time in possession of a piece of my property. A bag of Dream stuff. Given how much exposure to the Dream you already have, it would be a simple matter for me to grant you the ability to feel it."

    "Okay. What's the down side?"

    "I would do so by binding narratives and stories to you. You would almost certainly begin sharing your father's prophetic visions, and I know those greatly pained him."

    "Oh."

    I look down at my gasmask again. It's Sandman's mask, but it didn't make me Sandman. And it didn't make Wesley Sandman. But those visions, and wanting to fix them, those kind of did.

    "Okay." I look back up at him. "Hit m-."

    He blows the sand right in my face, and then-.
     
    Last edited: Jun 29, 2022
  14. Handlewithcare

    Handlewithcare Versed in the lewd.

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    Oh Wesley. You brave, innocent, naive, idiotic fool.

    Making deals with one of the Endless? Big yikes.

    Also, I really wanted to hear Morpheus' opinion on Paul.

    Does the Ophidian dream?
     
  15. In search for story's

    In search for story's Fool

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    Getting more involved with the endless.

    If that’s not bad idea, I don’t know what is.
     
  16. thebishop8

    thebishop8 Umm, ackchyually...

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    "going" to "doing"
     
  17. Ciber

    Ciber Know what you're doing yet?

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    Next up: Drug trip chapter.
     
  18. Khettien

    Khettien Perpetually confused

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    You...do understand, everyone is already involved with all of the Endless, right? Even if by glaring absence.
     
  19. FreeGod

    FreeGod If you see a God on the road fuck it!

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    It's bad idea to do it on purpose, but if one of them seeks you out like this the best thing to do is generally to be polite and usually nod along.
     
  20. Darko

    Darko Connoisseur.

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    Oh, you have no idea how accurate that is.

    Is this a mistake or is he just ignorant.

    Ah, the latter.
     
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  21. NightmareWarden

    NightmareWarden Versed in the lewd.

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    Let’s count those who have popped up so far. Dream is here, very good.

    Destiny’s book has come up for one of Zatanna’s spells, but he has not.

    Desire visited Paul at the end of his first cuddle with the Ophidian.

    Despair could be connected to any use of black text in the story, but we do not have any confirmation. If she ever popped up or gave someone her attention, it may have been with Grayven after Darkseid’s visit.

    I don’t believe Delirium popped up during any instances of drug use or insanity, but she could be related to why that child wizard Timothy Hunter and his school have been missing (that is just speculation though) for the entire fic. She may pop up on Wilson at some point though.

    Death should have appeared when those amazons gave birth, but she did not show up when Theodore Adam died, nor when Paul died. She did not appear when any character was fixed up by a Lazarus pit.

    I don’t recall Destruction or any of his art popping up, but I don’t know which part of Earth he made his territory during his storyline. If he popped up, it should have been during Grayven and Artemis’ time in the future, despairing about the destruction of the rest of the universe.
     
  22. Ganurath

    Ganurath Apologizes For Nothing

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    Why would Doctor Mist go on a drug trip?
     
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  23. Chojin Patriarch

    Chojin Patriarch Veteran Lurker

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    Sanderson's turn, eh? No doubt worried and a little panicky at being separated from the veteran heroes. ...And the Demon. And his inexperience puts him at more risk of blundering into something bad.

    Perhaps OL can redesign it for you, after all this? If it's still modelled on the wartime style, I don't doubt it's awkward-feeling.

    Hmm... An elemental spirit, or one of their descendants, I wonder? At any rate, it's unimportant. Good to see Sand focusing on a goal...

    I know, he's a product of his time, but... I really hope you don't use those words in public, Sand. Some folks might take violent exception to them...

    Something like a restaurant, yes...

    Yeah, the Middle Eastern countries did like their coffee back in this Baghdad's day. Even if it's maybe a few centuries anachronous, the original version of Baghdad coming from the 8th century as it did...

    Let's hope this isn't a lead-in to trouble, then. It would be entirely in character to such a realm.

    Probably a dream of a Cacti, then, since they're not particularly common in the Middle East.

    Let me guess, his robes have a stylishly subtle flame-pattern motif? It is a recurring design motif of his...

    Ah, yes. The voice of an Endless. That subtle impression that you're not just hearing it with your ears, but also your soul...

    Interesting. I wonder what brought him here. Sanderson's arrival in the Dreaming?

    ...Probably a good idea. Mortal flesh and figments of Dreaming might no be as compatible as you'd think.

    Certainly, Morpheus himself has a natty helmet, but he doesn't wear it all the time. And i don't think anyone here is going to care who you are.

    To be fair, Morpheus' default expression is generally a mask of blank amusement (or bemusement) anyway. When he isn't changing appearance to match his observer's expectations, anyway.

    Certainly, he was better than fellows like Doctor John Dee (Who did, for a while, possess Dream's Ruby.) Not one of the nice ones, him.

    Morpheus cares little for what mortals do, I think. Few of them make any mark in the world anyway. At least, until they impact on him or his responsibilities...

    And when you're on Dream's good side, that's pleasant enough. Now, if you get on his bad side...

    And thus outside his area of concern. One thing Morpheus is big on is proprieties and boundaries... In his own series, that's ultimately responsible for his downfall, in a way...

    ...But providing a measure of aid in acquiring what you need to gain access yourselves, that's another story.

    Ah, yes, that's the rub. After all, if the Tower's owner doesn't want it being found...

    Ah, yes, another mortal to which he owes a debt. And Morpheus honours debts, no matter how small.

    Well, that would be quite helpful... What's the catch?

    A power he did eventually possess in the comics, no less. Though not a pleasant benefit...

    Well, don't complain later if this bites you in the ass...

    ...Because you did ask for it.

    ...I'm not sure if that counts as good or bad, but it counts. It's a big weight he's taking on his shoulders, nut I have the feeling he's strong enough to bear it. So, then. Only Doctor Balewa and the Demon Constantine left to check in on, I suppose. Though I doubt the good Doctor has let the latter out of his reach and doesn't plan to. It'll be fascinating to see what happens next, though.



    If someone was using the Dream to injure others as your captors were...
    Perhaps you meant 'binding'?
     
  24. Darko

    Darko Connoisseur.

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    I'm thinking this was the Demon's plan.

    Get them into the Dreaming and then have its eldritch nature separate them so that he can escape.

    It was said that they import dreams, so maybe they got some connected to coffee.
    Or generally blank, or broody, or pissed off.

    You don't wanna be on that side.
     
    Last edited: Jun 28, 2022
  25. Darth.Bill

    Darth.Bill Versed in the lewd.

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    Meanwhile, Paul's got a sleep-paralysis demon sitting on his chest.
     
  26. Citizen

    Citizen Well worn.

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    'captors' I think
     
  27. Mr Zoat

    Mr Zoat Dedicated ragequitter

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    Thank you, corrected.
     
  28. AmericanNumbers

    AmericanNumbers Not too sore, are you?

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    Hmm. Given that Infinity Inc. Is sort of in the past in this universe if i remember correctly then this should be the Daniel Hall Morpheus then. Unless I'm off. But multiple JSA legacy characters in this one.
     
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  29. dw7thdoctor

    dw7thdoctor Getting sticky.

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    didn't we see there son in thangar part the story
     
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  30. Darko

    Darko Connoisseur.

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    Daniel Hall is still human, or at least humanish.

    This is the OG Morpheus.
     
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