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. Vaermina

    Vaermina Well worn.

    Joined:
    Oct 16, 2015
    Messages:
    5,517
    Likes Received:
    20,694
    Pretty sure his name in English is Alexander.
     
    Cuchulin likes this.
  2. Stsword

    Stsword Versed in the lewd.

    Joined:
    Aug 7, 2017
    Messages:
    1,714
    Likes Received:
    9,865
    Yes, which I know, which you would know if you had bothered to read the literally very first sentence in my post instead of getting distracted in your eagerness to correct an imaginary mistake.

    It's not even a long sentence. "A TTG comic had a picture so I presume the Teen Titans League lineup is basically the same."

    You somehow got bored and wandered off after reading the first third of the first sentence.

    A truly impressive lack of follow through. Kudos.
     
    Cuchulin likes this.
  3. Chaoswind

    Chaoswind Lord of nonsense

    Joined:
    Jan 27, 2019
    Messages:
    1,168
    Likes Received:
    7,085

    Because you were arguing I point I didn't make and honestly do not care about. The league lineup doesn't matter, the circumstances that gave form to their organization does. Raúl and Black Fire were Titan affiliated before the League was made and that is going to carry more weight into this job interview than the current membership of the league.

    The league is going to have Superman, Batman, Flash, and Wonder Woman by default. Aqualad being a Titan likely means Aquaman is also a member, same with Speedy and Green Arrow.

    Considering their sidekicks made the Titans because they were dissatisfied with their mentors and their effectiveness and the sore point of most of the adults failing to deal with Trigon, I don't see the league reject Raúl and black fire outright, they will have reservations, but that is all it's going to happen because the league gets more than two murder hobos if they recruit them.
     
    Lord Ernest likes this.
  4. Whenever Possible

    Whenever Possible Versed in the lewd.

    Joined:
    May 19, 2016
    Messages:
    1,954
    Likes Received:
    28,491
    So it's been several years for Raul, three years since the last time we saw him, iirc, not sure exactly how many years since he was dropped into TT, which might be why he's more... calm? stable? settled? than other Pauls.
     
  5. BrotherofaStudio

    BrotherofaStudio Know what you're doing yet?

    Joined:
    Jan 27, 2022
    Messages:
    130
    Likes Received:
    265
    Oh well
    Alright then
    Hmm, that's an unfortunately good point about the Central Power Battery. But I question it being uplift-proof.
     
    Bud-E and Cuchulin like this.
  6. Mr Zoat

    Mr Zoat Dedicated ragequitter

    Joined:
    Dec 1, 2016
    Messages:
    14,694
    Likes Received:
    728,906
    I'm pretty confident about the uplift-proof thing. To say nothing of Mon Montha gleefully turning the New Republic back into a dictatorship.

    It might be kind of interesting to try tracking down the time machine that brought the first human colonists to the setting, however.
     
  7. Cuchulin

    Cuchulin Versed in the lewd.

    Joined:
    Jan 25, 2019
    Messages:
    1,976
    Likes Received:
    7,717
    Lobo is an Arsehole that doesn't play well with others and killed every other member of his species. Raul is a Rage enlightened Red Lantern and father who wants make the world a better place, while Blackfire has calmed down a lot and is somewhat reformed.

    Nah! Have Robin and Starfire do it instead.
     
  8. BrotherofaStudio

    BrotherofaStudio Know what you're doing yet?

    Joined:
    Jan 27, 2022
    Messages:
    130
    Likes Received:
    265
    I don't agree with your opinion of Mon Mothma turning the New Republic into a dictatorship, while it is true I haven't familiarized myself with all of Legends after Endor, I don't recall ever hearing about something like that other than Garm Bel Iblis being worried at first only to join up again during the Thrawn campaign. However I don't feel like getting into another argument like we did with Kuvira and agree to disagree instead. As for the time travel thing, as I recall that was never considered canon since the story wasn't actually published. But if you ever do change your mind I do have a suggestion of how Paul could gain power for his ring, though it is admitedly a long shot, drain power from Abeloth directly, siphon it out maybe.
     
  9. Chaoswind

    Chaoswind Lord of nonsense

    Joined:
    Jan 27, 2019
    Messages:
    1,168
    Likes Received:
    7,085
    Paul could go the Nihilus route and charge the ring by consuming souls, force sensitives would provide more charge and he can probably learn to drain ambient energy.

    But the premise can be altered, Paul it's not obligated to start with an orange ring, the one in star wars could start with a blue one as blaul did. Giving the local Paul a super weapon, with stringent charge limits.
     
    Cuchulin likes this.
  10. Mr Zoat

    Mr Zoat Dedicated ragequitter

    Joined:
    Dec 1, 2016
    Messages:
    14,694
    Likes Received:
    728,906

    I never read the stuff with the Abeloth.
     
    jonasquinn, Chojin Patriarch and Ardy like this.
  11. Darko

    Darko Connoisseur.

    Joined:
    Nov 20, 2019
    Messages:
    22,134
    Likes Received:
    320,293
    If it isn't in New York then I guess it's possible to add various characters or factions from the wider TMNT universe, like the Utroms, Triceratons etc

    Granted, I'm mostly familiar with the 2003 TMNT, so I don't know all that much about the wider universe in the other shows.

    You could just go the route of using the Force to charge the ring the same way your Warhammer SI's use the Warp.

    As for it being uplift-proof, there are various planets, species and cultures that could use help, do that's not necessarily true.

    Also I'm kinda seeing a version of Paul helping Force users better balance themselves so that they don't go the crazy Sith route.
     
  12. Ardy

    Ardy I trust you know where the happy button is?

    Joined:
    Dec 30, 2017
    Messages:
    640
    Likes Received:
    3,463
    Why would Paul care about force users? They can't meaningfully help anything save as diplomats (sometimes), assassins, and countering other force users. If he just wants to uplift things with non-slavery based droids and post-scarcity stuff like Dyson Shells they're pretty much useless.

    It's a bit like Named in a Practical Guide to Evil. During a big war you can send them out to kill particularly dangerous foes, but they don't hold ground, grow more food, ship that food, or make more soldiers. In peacetime they're law enforcement at best and that's where Paul wants to actually do stuff.
     
  13. Assblaster5000

    Assblaster5000 I trust you know where the happy button is?

    Joined:
    Jun 7, 2020
    Messages:
    738
    Likes Received:
    4,308
    The Force can be used to do a lot more than hit things good or hypnotize people. The first hyperdrives in the galaxy were made by enchanting some machines with The Dark Side after The Rakatan Infinite Empire saw some spacewhales go FTL, which is the tech everyone else used to figure it out, and before that a group of Light Side users set up what basically amounts to a Stargate network. The Force can also be used to help grow crops, lets you see the future, literally timetravel, alter the genetics of things to an absurd degree, and so, so much more.

    It's just magic, but in space, something Paul has expressed a lot of interest in from every timeline we've seen. And the impressive stuff you can do with it is damn near main-line comic level for both DC and Marvel. Thinking of The Force as anything other than the single most versatile, potent tool in Star Wars (and honestly a lot of fiction) is doing it a massive disservice.
     
    Vorian and Darko like this.
  14. Windona

    Windona Beetle Queen of Crackshipping

    Joined:
    May 9, 2022
    Messages:
    330
    Likes Received:
    1,103
    Fun fact, since TMNT is owned by WB, they could cross over with DC easily. Though then again the Turtles do share an origin with Matt Murdock.

    Eh, I just take it that Zoat isn't interested in Star Wars like that.
     
    Xmaster3000, Ardy and Bud-E like this.
  15. BrotherofaStudio

    BrotherofaStudio Know what you're doing yet?

    Joined:
    Jan 27, 2022
    Messages:
    130
    Likes Received:
    265
    I completely agree with you on that on the matter of Paul getting interested in Force powered technology. As for Mon Mothma Mr Zoat... Okay I will admit you have a point but that would be a good reason for Paul to step in and help the Rebel Alliance/New Republic/Galactic Alliance not fall into that trap though I don't categorize Mon Mothma or the majority of the Rebels as being villains. As for the matter of Abeloth, do you at least know who and what she is even if you haven't read any books where she appears?
     
  16. Bud-E

    Bud-E Stand up so I can push you down!

    Joined:
    Jan 31, 2020
    Messages:
    879
    Likes Received:
    4,051
    Did you not know about the several volumes of comic crossover and an animated movie of them together?
     
  17. Windona

    Windona Beetle Queen of Crackshipping

    Joined:
    May 9, 2022
    Messages:
    330
    Likes Received:
    1,103
    I do, I was referring to the continuity of this fic.
     
    Bud-E likes this.
  18. jonasquinn

    jonasquinn I trust you know where the happy button is?

    Joined:
    Dec 27, 2016
    Messages:
    983
    Likes Received:
    2,826
    Honestly I feel like the most interesting point in Star Wars history for Paul to be dumped into would be the Clone Wars

    Its’s the most morally complex conflict in the setting, Paul would be able to interact with both the deeply corrupt Republic as well as the unfortunately manipulated Separatists and an argument can be made that the structure of the Empire that Palpatine started to put in place around this time is actually better than the Republic
     
    Cuchulin likes this.
  19. Ardy

    Ardy I trust you know where the happy button is?

    Joined:
    Dec 30, 2017
    Messages:
    640
    Likes Received:
    3,463
    how about this continuity?
     
    Bud-E likes this.
  20. Darko

    Darko Connoisseur.

    Joined:
    Nov 20, 2019
    Messages:
    22,134
    Likes Received:
    320,293
    We have seen versions of Paul help people overcome their issues just because he seems to like doing it.

    We saw that future version of him help Tai Lung and Azula, even though by your definition they wouldn't be able to meaningfully help with anything.
     
    Cuchulin likes this.
  21. Someguy Somewhere

    Someguy Somewhere The Critical Fumbler

    Joined:
    Jan 26, 2019
    Messages:
    590
    Likes Received:
    3,905

    Never actually stated, and there isn't currently an EU or Canon version of where humans popped up in universe. Humans don't have an excepted homeworld or evolutionary history, but have been around since at least 25,000 years back or so from the films. There's some in universe guess that the Zhell were humans that warred with the Taung (precurrers to what would become the Mandolarians) and Corcuscant was once their world before it got paved over.

    In the old EU and like a number of other races humans got slave traded around by a more advanced species, rebelled and reverse engineered hyperdrives from them to get out in the universe, see the old KOTOR storyline for more on that.

    The earliest humans you can point out are those that ended up on Tython around 36,453 BBY with all the other force users that some ancient alien pyramid ships abducted to meet up with all the other alien force users to make up the precursor to the jedi.

    There was however a start of a draft of a story back in 94, before much of the EU got going, that would have been an origin for a lot of the galaxy at large, and it covered how humans got to the Star wars Galaxy from the milky way...and also was a real strange connect the dots of Lucas's other film work, all making it a strange shared universe with American Graffiti and THX-1138. Something something Colony Ship from Earth, Something Something Hyperspace wormhole through time and space yadda yadda.

    So no time machine, so far as we know.
     
    Vorian, Relyt33 and Cuchulin like this.
  22. Threadmarks: Feasibility Study (supplementary, Renegade Option)
    Mr Zoat

    Mr Zoat Dedicated ragequitter

    Joined:
    Dec 1, 2016
    Messages:
    14,694
    Likes Received:
    728,906
    20th November 2012
    19:21 GMT -6


    I watch the Senate votes as they're tallied, closing my eyes and taking a deep and happy breath as the Bill is finally voted into law. Now it just needs Jon to sign off on it -which he will- and that'll be one piece of madness that no one will ever have to deal with again.
    Structural Reform Sublimation
    Human-form Luna looks at the screen, then at me, then at the screen. Then she frowns and goes back to looking at me.

    "We do not understand."

    "I have no reason to doubt your claim and accept it as provisionally true."

    I feel her rolling her eyes. "They tally ballots, and that creates new law."

    "That is one of the many steps that turns a proposed law into an actual law, yes."

    Luna shifts on the settee so she's facing me rather than the screen.

    "You have implied frequently that Our sister's centralisation of power is a weakness in the Equestrian state. We suspect that you will enjoy explaining this… Scrum, to Us."

    I grin.

    "Ah, dear heart, you bring out the pedagogue in me."

    "We are not a hart. We are a pony mare, as well you know."

    "Well done for spotting the pun opportunity, but I'm wearing a translator. Have you been studying?"

    "Linguistics and cultural symbolism are areas with which we are well familiar. In Our youth, the Equestrian language was far less unified than it is today."

    "Oh?" I raise my eyebrows in curiosity. "My ring's translation causes me to hear you as speaking an older form of my language at times, but that's all."

    "We have the printing press to thank for that. The form of Equestrian spoken in the central regions of the country encompassing the Old Capital, Canterlot and modern Ponyville became the standard form." She looks mildly perturbed. "We dread to imagine Our fate if Mountain Equestrian had become the standard form."

    "Still, that's surprisingly little change for a thousand years."

    "We have learned in Our time here that ponies are naturally more staid than humans. Mayhap that is why We have been able to make Ourself understood to those who are not historians or linguists. Not that We are complaining. Now: the scrum."

    "The 'scrum' on display in the Senate; the smaller of the two legislative bodies of the American government."

    She frowns. "They have two legislative bodies."

    "Yes."

    "Why?"

    "That's a bit complicated. Originally, the United States of America was conceived as being an alliance of constituent States. They would have certain principles in common and recognised that some things would have to be done centrally, but the governments of the various States were supposed to be the main unit rather than the Federal Government in the centre. Originally, Senators were appointed by the governments of the States rather than being directly elected by the people of that State as Congressional Representatives are. That was changed as part of the Federal Government's efforts to centralise power by bypassing State governments. Which means that there are two bodies that do the same thing, rather than the two doing slightly different things."

    "We… See."

    "As is often the case in situations like this, certain parts of the system don't make sense but they're not bad enough to force those involved to agree how to fix them. Now, a couple of weeks ago there was a Presidential Election which returned the sitting president -Jonathan Horne- to office."

    "Your ally."

    "Yes. But America limits Presidents to two terms of office, and while that law could be changed, he'd… Have to be a lot more popular than he is-"

    Even now.

    "-to get that to happen. That sort of things looks very self-serving, for obvious reasons."

    "Eight years, at most."

    "Yes indeed."

    She snorts. "We now understand how Our sister's reign seems so strange to the people of this land."

    "Having a compulsory departure date means that new ideas have to rise to the surface. It also means that it's easier to get rid of people who make a mess of things without needing some sort of civil war. And since they know that they're going to go, there's a limit for the level of corruption they can get involved in because the next person will probably have a vested interest in ferreting it out and bringing it to wider attention."

    "A system built on discord."

    "A system which assumes discord. Of course, the system has the problem that as a President approaches the end of their time in office everyone else knows they're on the way out as well, which effectively strips them of a lot of their power. Anyway, Horne's in and has the reins of power for four more years."

    And about halfway through that people who want to be President next are going to come to ask for my support… Have to see how it goes. The Democrats won't let anyone like Jon near the nomination papers ever again and the Republicans… I've got no idea who they might nominate now that Knight's missed his shot.

    "So what is this ballot in aid of?"

    "The passing of the Detention Failure Emergency Act. Essentially, if a prisoner either convicted of a crime which potentially carries the death penalty or a patient held in a mental institution by court order who has been ruled not guilty by reason of insanity on a criminal charge which potentially carried the death penalty escapes custody, they are to be killed. No effort will be made to recapture them, only hunt them down and kill them. It also indemnifies officers who kill such people against prosecution in states which don't have a death penalty."

    Wink wink. Nudge nudge.

    "Why is such a law required? Are such feats of escapology so common and such crimes so common that this remedy is needed?"

    "No, it only applies to a small proportion of the criminal population, but they're so disproportionately murderous that it is actually a problem. Same reason we don’t just 'build better prisons'. Some of the people we lock up are just too good at escaping. Imagine… Trying to imprison a pony whose special talent was escaping, and also likes eating pony brains. They're clearly mad and need hospitalisation, but no decent ruler would let them go back to eating their preferred diet as an alternative to killing them."

    "That is… Somewhat morbid."

    "Okay, imagine that King Sombra managed to pull himself back together and attacked Equestria, conjuring up his umbral buddies to possess random ponies. Do you order the guards to try arresting him, or do you send the bearerherd to Element-blast him back into oblivion?"

    "The second."

    "And I don't remember anyone saying that Nightmare Moon deserved a chance to live independently. The plan was 'wait one thousand years, then rainbow cannon to the face'."

    "We are not Our sister, driven weak-stomached by a millennium of peace. We are aware that Our sister took no efforts to capture 'her' alive." I nod. Fair enough. "You would have her live?"

    "No." Uh. "Maybe. The Obsidian Deeps have no light. She could have been happy there, perhaps. But I wouldn't have risked freezing Wilson to death to do it. And now, American law enforcement won't have to either."

    "It seems strange to Us that such a thing needs to be codified, though We suppose it flows from having a weaker sovereign. Tell Us more of this land's politics, Our swain, that We may amuse Ourself with their foolishness."

    I smile.

    "You're going to love the court system."
     
    Last edited: Mar 28, 2023
  23. Darko

    Darko Connoisseur.

    Joined:
    Nov 20, 2019
    Messages:
    22,134
    Likes Received:
    320,293
    No, you don't, but that's politics for you.

    Even politicians barely understand them.

    'so strange'

    Not sure because of her way of speaking, but maybe "amuse"

    Oh boy.
     
  24. Silveraith

    Silveraith Argent Phantasm

    Joined:
    Oct 22, 2016
    Messages:
    148
    Likes Received:
    471
    They.
     
  25. PepeTheFrog

    PepeTheFrog Not too sore, are you?

    Joined:
    May 8, 2021
    Messages:
    364
    Likes Received:
    4,841
    Hmm. Escaping a super prison or asylum now carries the problem of giving up your right to live. That will curb the escapist's sane enough to reformed while eliminating those insane enough to escape. A perfectly Darwinian solution.
     
  26. Mr Zoat

    Mr Zoat Dedicated ragequitter

    Joined:
    Dec 1, 2016
    Messages:
    14,694
    Likes Received:
    728,906
    Thank you, corrected.
     
  27. Chojin Patriarch

    Chojin Patriarch Veteran Lurker

    Joined:
    Jan 27, 2019
    Messages:
    2,149
    Likes Received:
    33,427
    Heh. Yes, it's something of a madhouse, isn't it? Such is the modern democratic system. When it works, shit gets done. When it doesn't... Well, discussion of that might run foul of Rule 8. Let's just say that when it doesn't work, it tends to get messy.

    In other words, 'care to explain what doesn't make sense to you?'

    Better to take their time and get it right the first time, than rush blindly and have all manner of legal conflicts later.

    Well, she is technically a dictator, albeit a benevolent one. What she says goes, albeit with a polite acknowledgement and steady dissemination rather than heralds rushing off to proclaim her decisions to the commoners.

    Ah, bullshit, Renegade. You just love to hear yourself pontificating on things.

    In case you missed it: 'hart' is an archaic name for some breeds of deer. Mainly those in good old Europe.

    Better than ye old Old English. Seriously, just look at the Beowulf bit in the article there. Hard to believe that evolved into modern English.

    Which is surprising. Even simple slang can change rapidly over the years, as one generation misuses or makes up words to annoy their elders. :p

    Though you did have some trouble adjusting to modern volume. Seriously, the old Canterlot days must have been like old comics, with everyone shouting loudly...

    It seemed like a good idea at the time? And everyone else was doing it...

    And yes, that has been as much trouble as you'd imagine it would be, miss Luna.

    Ah, good to hear. Something of a forgone conclusion, wasn't it? We can but hope it's not gone awry somewhere, though.

    Like, close to 90 percent approval or more, I should think. And he couldn't put it forwards himself, because...

    ...Yes, that. It's amazing how speculative fiction goes to town with that sort of idea, though.

    Well, to an eternal like you, of course it looks like a game of musical chairs.

    ...Let's not name any recent names, shall we? :oops: Rule 8, remember. And leave the conspiracy theories to the tinfoil-hat brigade...

    Why do I get the feeling a 'President Lex' plot is going to pop at at some point? Or at least be teased? :p After all, the next election will likely be beyond the scope of this fic...

    ...So you're getting a law passed which will annihilate Joker Immunity? Nice.

    It's more that the universe itself loves to see some jackasses out in the wild. No offence to any donkeys.

    And now I'm picturing a Ponified Hannibal Lecter. Adorable, but horrifying.

    Which, it's worth noting, is what happened when he did return. Though I wonder if that's been butterflied a little because of Renegade...

    Pfft, no. She tried to cause the end of the world. I doubt she even cared that her 'eternal night' plan would have destroyed the ecosystem, as long as she got her way.

    Ooh, is she feeling a bit naughty after hearing all this? Well, whatever floats her boat, so to speak. :p

    What's the bet her reaction involves rolling on the floor laughing, or facepalming in bemusement?

    Good to see Renegade again too. Wonder how things are going elsewhere in his universe? And with such an amusing discussion of American political systems, and his little arrangement to fuck over people like the Joker. I mean, I'd be impressed if he managed to escape in the shape he's in right now (Quadruple amputee, wasn't he?) but you never know. Better to make the ones that can get out realising they won't have an easy ride than have to run about catching them again.


    Luna shifts on the settee so she's facing me rather than the screen.
     
  28. Citizen

    Citizen Well worn.

    Joined:
    Feb 2, 2016
    Messages:
    6,495
    Likes Received:
    14,334
    "Hey, boyfriend. Come cuddle with me and talk shit about human politics."
    "Don't threaten me with a good time."
     
  29. Jack of Olives

    Jack of Olives Knows just enough to be dangerous.

    Joined:
    Apr 27, 2014
    Messages:
    1,552
    Likes Received:
    21,190
    Is it wrong that I still find the 'Wilson'-thing hilarious?
     
  30. KaiKolo

    KaiKolo Know what you're doing yet?

    Joined:
    Jul 17, 2020
    Messages:
    162
    Likes Received:
    4,136
    Hey Princess Luna is back. It'll be fun to see her make sense of the chaotic order that modern governments bring. Similarly, it would be fun to see people with idealistic views of democracy try to inspire republicanism in a place where the two monarchs literally keep the planet from dying.

    I very much understand why this bill would be needed in a world where supervillains breaking out of prisons and insane asylums are a common occurrence, that being said heros like Flash, Superman, and Batman aren't going to like this.

    In addition to the effort he goes through to not kill people when he stops them, Batman has been shown to be against the government killing people without due process. Considering that Gotham PD used to be very corrupt before Jim Gordon took over, and the US government is no better at times, distrusting the government no not refrain from abuses of power is a solid policy.

    Aside from trying to kill him every once in a while, Flash has had more of a 'friendly' relationship with his rogues gallery.

    Maybe if it were limited to allowing police to respond with lethal force when presented with escaped inmates, rather than mandating that they "Put Down the Rabid Dog," more heros would be onboard.
     
Loading...