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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. Doccer

    Doccer I trust you know where the happy button is?

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    Repeated words.

    Give him a a "I ♥️ Orange Lantern!" Shirt.
     
  2. mastermenthe

    mastermenthe Mint Thistle

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    Which is where and why almost every comic deconstruction of secret ID heroes go wrong.
     
  3. szypty

    szypty Getting some practice in, huh?

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    I was thinking, it would be pretty cool if we end up with Zod getting a trial for his interplanetary crimes. It gives us so many things just from the storytelling and worldbuilding perspective: it gives us a look on how exactly such trials go and gives an opportunity for Amalak to get closure and let go of his hatred of all Kryptonians, and Superman to see his birthworld in a different, more objective light.
     
  4. Windona

    Windona Beetle Queen of Crackshipping

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    Zod can be really fun as a villain. I like his portrayals where he's charismatic and may have a point, but definitely is a dangerous supremacist.
     
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  5. Khornelius

    Khornelius Overlord of the Underworld

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    Unless they pull off a Star Trek and fuse into a single gestalt entity for a period of time. I’ll consider that mistake a positive on the sheer coolness of the idea.
     
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  6. 1moleman

    1moleman Know what you're doing yet?

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    Wait, what if this is a cunning plot of Paul to have a second seduction target for Spider Queen.... :O instead of Paul having to cheat on Jade with his one true love of spider princess, Clark Kent can act as a temporary companion until Jade's pesky mortality runs out and Paul is free to be the Spider-Daddy he wishes.
     
  7. Silveraith

    Silveraith Argent Phantasm

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    Too.
     
  8. Mr Zoat

    Mr Zoat Dedicated ragequitter

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    The next work didn't start with a vowel until he reconsidered it.
    Thank you, corrected.
    They don't publically know each other.
    Correct. I didn't.
    I'll change it.
    Thank you, corrected.
     
  9. Bud-E

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

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    Mr Zoat random question are Green Lanterns still forbidden to enter Vega now that Larfleeze is taken care of?
     
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  10. Ngamer11

    Ngamer11 Experienced.

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    Guy mentioned to Paul that the restriction was lifted after the Psions got wiped out.
     
  11. Darko

    Darko Connoisseur.

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    Probably not.

    But did Zod's actions against his species lead to him being imprisoned?

    If they imprisonedhim because of the genocide then Amalak may be pleased, but if it wasn't because of that then he won't be.

    Unless you released him on a planet with a red sun and surrounded him with all kinds of kryptonite.

    It also wasn't particularly smart since the prisoners don't age and the potential for them escaping centuries later is high.
     
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  12. Darko

    Darko Connoisseur.

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    Paul does that all the time.

    That's possible.

    Granted, the snowballs may have sharp rocks in them or grenades.
     
    Chojin Patriarch likes this.
  13. Stsword

    Stsword Versed in the lewd.

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    Zeta beam accidents tend to be less the Fly and more turn people into chimerical body horror fusions.

    However a post Death Metal story had Hal's ring fuse Superman and Batman into an amalgamated being with green lantern energy that looked like this

    [​IMG]

    So if it comes up that Paul ever really wants Superman's powers there is precedent for a Dragon Ball Z fusion dance.
     
  14. mastermenthe

    mastermenthe Mint Thistle

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    A who in a what now?
     
  15. Lord Ernest

    Lord Ernest At the End...

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    I think that's another of DC's reboots, crisis without the name, whatever you want to call it. The one that came after the Evil Batmans, I believe?

    After the end of DC, i.e. Flashpoint, there have been like a dozen or more.
     
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  16. Doccer

    Doccer I trust you know where the happy button is?

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    Thought of a better one "I Avaricious Orange Lantern!"

    Badass.
     
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  17. Vaermina

    Vaermina Well worn.

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    Um... I was more talking about how large Zeta arrays are anti planet weapons...
     
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  18. Ardy

    Ardy I trust you know where the happy button is?

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    So Zoat we never confirmed what you meant a few posts back about Amalak not getting Vran “back”. You said she quit after Paul got exploded by Qwa matter but what happened if she didn’t go back to amalak?
     
  19. Stsword

    Stsword Versed in the lewd.

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    DC's latest cosmic reboot- Multiverse with no hard limit, with new universes springing forth from Elseworld and dying at Omega.
     
  20. rdfox

    rdfox Know what you're doing yet?

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    Paul, don't say "shirtless" or Lois will find a way to kill you in your sleep. And no, offering the threesome won't work, she's a one-man kind of woman.
     
  21. Stsword

    Stsword Versed in the lewd.

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    Although considering in "Whom Gods Destroy" bringing another woman in might be a discussion.

    Cause Supes, Lois as Wonder Woman, and Lana as The Oracle (Greek mythology, not computer hacking) really looked like a throuple in that Elseworld.
     
    Vorian likes this.
  22. Threadmarks: Uncomplicated Good Works (part 14)
    Mr Zoat

    Mr Zoat Dedicated ragequitter

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    18th December 2012
    20:35 GMT


    I can tell from the way Kal-El's eyes are focusing that he's taking in the damage on the planet below.

    "I never asked how you felt about Ms. Lane getting augmented."

    He blinks, clearly experiencing a violent change in mental gearing.

    "Ah. I like that she's safer and will live longer. The.. Danner Formula has a history of reliability, and I know if there was a problem you'd work at it until it was fixed."

    "Yes." I sigh. "There might be a problem."

    He stops in the air, giving me his full attention.

    "The Accala… They all have the Danner Formula. There's actually a ceremony when an expectant mother gets the injection to augment her foetus. Because… Just like how it's not easy to nurse a super strong baby with normal breasts… They're not sure how safe it is to give birth to a normal child with super strong vaginal muscles. I mean, I don't think humans and kryptonians can breed naturally anyway-."

    He relaxes a little. "But Lois would need a C-section."

    "That would be a good idea. Unless your child could absorb solar power in-utero, which seems unlikely. And would be very bad."

    "But Lois would be okay, wouldn't she? Her womb's tougher, too."

    "I think -and this is an impression I have based on what I know about Danner babies, not something I've got actual research on- that she'd be fine with the foetus moving or kicking, I'm… Just not sure what happens with heat vision."

    "Would they have heat vision?"

    "I have no idea. Humans can breed with things we biologically shouldn't be able to because the Earth's thaumosphere is firmly of the opinion that sex makes babies, but I don't know what that does for the baby's biology."

    "I don't have a lot of luck when it comes to magic."

    "I suspect that's mostly because you weren't born here. Or it could be that kryptonians aren't evolved to use magic in the way that humans are." I shrug. "The only way to find out in advance would be to try and teach Mitchell magic, and he hasn't shown any interest."

    "What would happen if they did have heat vision?"

    "Whether it would kill Ms. Lane or not would depend on the angle and energy output. All but the weakest shots would boil the amniotic fluid and cause a miscarriage or.. at best a premature delivery. And the child might be killed due to their brain not being able to handle the power discharge."

    "Dear Lord."

    "I'd suggest either growing a child in a tank, or spending the whole pregnancy off Earth and away from yellow suns. Second suggestion would be to give Ms. Lane an environmental shield set to filter out the wavelengths which empower kryptonians."

    He nods, clearly relieved. "That sounds like the smart option."

    "And without wanting to be crude, if you're trying for children then she needs to wear it from the start and at all times."

    He breathes appreciably easier. "And… How does it work with you?"

    "If you're relying on a magic mechanism, in-vitro fertilisation-."

    "No. I mean, if you and Jade try and have children. I know you said that you didn't have a soul when you came here, and it sounds like magic plays a big part in the process."

    "If Jennifer-Lynn Hayden and Todd Rice are anything to go by, any child I have has a fifty percent chance of coming out orange and with an innate connection to the orange light. There's no record of Ms. Canton having a difficult labour, and… Miss Hayden's abilities didn't come in until adulthood. If Jade and I had children and they did have a strong connection to the orange light, then I would be able to moderate it and communicate with them by it. More or less."

    "Don't other Lanterns have children?"

    "Yes, but none of the human Lanterns have, and most of the Lanterns who have children aren't as far into their light as I am. Enlightened Green Lanterns usually aren't interested in anything not associated with the Corps."

    "Guy doesn't seem to have that problem."

    "Guy is a special case. And he met Ms. Olafsdotter before it happened, which probably helped. Ah!"

    I lead the way down towards ground level, where humanoids of various species are working at clearing rubble.

    "These people were The Spider Guild's trading partners. Pirates and slavers of the blackest stripe. Now-."

    His face stills.

    "Now they're slaves."

    "Now they're prisoners with jobs, which I'll remind you is entirely legal in the United States of America. And this was an alternative to the death sentence they were going to get from every civilisation in the region. At best, the Green Lantern Corps might have marooned them somewhere to spend the rest of their lives as hunter-gatherers with no doctors."

    "What do they do when this job's finished?"

    "Depends. None of the Guild's neighbours want them to go free. Once the initial clear up is complete, those with specialist skills can get work using them, and it's not as if the Spiders care about their people-trafficking history."

    "And those without?"

    "They worked on board spaceships. They've all got at least basic astro-engineering skills, as well as combat experience. Amalak will probably offer them jobs eventually, if they stick with it, and then they're out of the region and gainfully employed."

    His eyes rest on a squad of armed overseers in the uniform of Amalak's organisation.

    "How are they treated?"

    "Pretty well for people-gastronomes?"

    Clearly not what he meant. Reminds me of a meaningful quote at the start of an episode of Andromeda. Something about the best way to judge the morality of a society being to look at how it treats its weakest: the elderly, children and prisoners. Which is nonsense. The elderly are your parents, people who've done their time maintaining your civilisation. Children are your civilisation's future. Prisoners -assuming that they're guilty of things it's reasonable to call crimes- are a drain on your society, unwilling or unable to work within it and draining its resources by existing. I prefer to fix that by rehabilitation so that they can start contributing, but plenty of civilisations don’t have the resources to invest in the chance of that sort of thing working.

    "I have concerns that the system in which they have no rights could be open to abuse."

    "Amalak's people are professionals, and a good chunk of them are ex-slaves themselves. There are very clear rules for prisoner-guard interactions and constant remote monitoring. And while the prisoners aren't paid, they are rewarded with better conditions if they perform well, so they're motivated to keep at it."

    "And if they don't?"

    "Then there's a brief hearing, and then the suspended sentence of death is carried out. Want to talk to some of them?"
     
    Last edited: Sep 20, 2022
  23. Handlewithcare

    Handlewithcare Versed in the lewd.

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    It always feels weird to have Supes in such horrible situations.

    He actually IS the boyscout he protrays himself to be, so this always feels oddly cruel. Like telling a kid Santa isn't real.
     
  24. Chojin Patriarch

    Chojin Patriarch Veteran Lurker

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    Heh, just skipping over what he's wearing, huh? I'll choose to imagine a t-shirt-style super-suit top, then. I always prefer Superman wearing short sleeves anyway. And that is something we haven't heard about in-story, is it? How he feels knowing his lady love is almost as powerful as he is, physically at least?

    Yeah, always a bit of a mental swerve when OL spouts his usual non-sequitor conversations side-tracks. Probably how people felt when talking to Commander Shepard...

    What kind of problem? The kind that gets Superman mad at you, or...

    ...Ew. :confused: That went in a direction I was not expecting. Nor particularly want to consider...

    There's tough, then there's kryptonian tough. I don't think Lois is anywhere near the latter.

    ...I mean, you didn't have heat vision as a baby, did you? Then again, born on Krypton. Maybe the Zod VI has some advice on Kryptonian natal development under yellow sunlight conditions?

    Well, OL knows the real reason, but as always, it's not something he can casually mention to anyone...

    Hmm... Isn't Earth like the fifth world the Maltusians have housed the Life Entity in (in this universe, anyway) since they discovered it? I wonder if its presence in other worlds left them with a similarly overpowered aspect... :sneaky:

    Don't worry, I'm sure OL is just trying to press home how dangerous it could be without proper preparation...

    Well, as long as it's reliable. Honestly, the ex-utero option might be the safest, if the most impersonal.

    ...Pretty much the same as any other human, really. Tab A, Slot B, rub vigorously. :p The Kents did give you the Talk, didn't they?

    ...Oh, right. Yeah, I can't imagine having a big old snake of GIMME for a soul, never mind all the other things it's sucked up via his tattoos, would make for a conventional offspring.

    Well, that would be a little scary. Kids able to make Orange Light constructs? Or worse, Identity Theft anything or anyone that upsets them? OL would have to keep a tight rein on that sort of thing. Hopefully they'll work more like the usual sort of 'inherited powers' deal, as OL points out about Jade.

    Admittedly, there are few examples of Enlightened Lanterns to draw upon, anyway. Even with the records of Karax.

    Ah, let me guess. Some of the Spider's suppliers?

    Fair's fair. But I doubt OL would be that petty. Or allow it in his associates.

    Not that I expect they'll see any of that pay, unless they can be really lucky at the end of all this.

    ...Invitations to dinner for with the Spiders? :p

    Admittedly, they'll probably never advance to far within the organisation, at least until memories fade...

    Such an awkward term, but the obvious 'cannibal' is mostly wrong. Spiders don't generally eat their own kind, after all. o_O ...Anthropotarian? Eh, awkward. and not all advanced sapients are human-shaped...

    And sometimes the people they imprison aren't really capable of rehabilitation... I suppose it'd vary be culture...

    And what better carrot is there besides better living conditions, after all?

    ...And there's the stick. :rolleyes:

    Heh. Easing Clark into the messy, morally muddy side of the good fight, eh? Let's hope none of that mud sticks, though. Perhaps Clark will try all the harder to stick to his code, having seen how dark things could get. At any rate, there's still a meeting with Amalak to look forwards to. We can but hope that he doesn't take one look at the Superman outfit (El shield or no El shield) and go, "That's old Kryptonian fashion. Who are you?"
     
  25. Pinklestia

    Pinklestia Well worn.

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    No, that's either Superboy or Captain Marvel.

    Superman is a nice guy but unlike Batman he doesn't have a no killing rule, he just leaves killing as the last option.

    Flash, more so Wally West, tends to be more caring and compassionate that Superman. Superman does a whole lot and has good intentions but he is never quite sure if he is doing the best he could do without going insane.

    He is not human and he is aware of that, he knows Luthor is partly right, that if he did everything then humanity would grow too dependent on him.

    The Flash is the heart, Billy is kindness, without them, the JLA falling is a lot more likely.

    That's why I hate Flashpoint, it was the start of "The Flash tries to abuse time travel to solve his problems."
     
  26. Duke Long

    Duke Long Glomerulus

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    ‘C-section’, according to the NHS.
    ‘in-utero’, I think. In vitro would be a test tube baby, and while that is talked about later in the chapter I don’t think it was talked about here.
    ’want’
     
  27. Vaermina

    Vaermina Well worn.

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    LePaul needs to stop...

    Because all that stuff about pregnancy risks was literally just him talking out his ass to scare Superman given he knows there isn't a single universe where those things were a risk.
     
  28. NightmareWarden

    NightmareWarden Versed in the lewd.

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    I want to discuss the “which is nonsense” conclusion, BUT I just read this line from your link:
    -and I’m feeling a great deal of revulsion and frustration. This isn’t the first time I’ve read about that setup (children of prisoners growing up with no hope of escape), but it still presses ALL of my buttons. It is even worse than what Zeus did to Diana a few arcs ago.

    Right, right- I think you’re right that those three groups are not the best indicator of a society’s morality. Setting aside caste-based cultures, I think the best indicator for a society’s morality involves how people (in a position of seniority, such as a customer and staff situation) treat those that are unable to help or please them. The elderly, children, and prisoners can fall into those categories at times. Generally our society agrees on the merits of helping the elderly (including strangers) with simple tasks like crossing a street, looking out for children who might put themselves at risk (walking out in front of a moving car), and donating goods like socks and books to prisoners. Obviously we disagree about larger endeavors which take up significant amounts of government funds. So those three categories can fit into the larger category I described, and when a society is healthy we have more positive interactions than we do negative (break-in attempts against the elderly, verbal abuse against children, or cruel and unusual punishments against those convicted in a court of law).

    If you look at how a society treats those three vulnerable groups, you can find symptoms of larger problems. And those symptoms might be easier to recognize with these groups since the power dynamics are more obvious than workplace discrimination for example. I think that covers it.
     
  29. Mr Zoat

    Mr Zoat Dedicated ragequitter

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    Thank you, corrected.
    [Looks at Australia]
     
  30. RichardWhereat

    RichardWhereat Aia airëa Fëanáro.

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    Santa is real, he's the neighbour of Supes himself at the North Pole.
     
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