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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. Impatient_Quill

    Impatient_Quill I trust you know where the happy button is?

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    And those who think that stronger ties with the outside world are detrimental. The regressionists.

    Also, not sure how the traditional viewpoint meshes with the fact we have yet to hear the fetus's gender, which would determine if they every get shipped to the male side of the family, what ever that currently means.
     
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  2. jonasquinn

    jonasquinn I trust you know where the happy button is?

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    Im pretty positive that there already are, either Medina ignored it completely, it didn’t specify the importance of ensuring both you and your partner are on the same page or it did and Medina kind of just underestimated the importance of that part and assumed she’d done well enough
    Not just better relations but avoiding a much worse relationship and potentially losing the option to meet men from the outside world, this whole program is in its infancy and if it makes headlines back in the US that it has already resulted in a custody case where the Themysciran government has refused to grant the father any rights it’ll die in its cradle
     
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  3. Ngamer11

    Ngamer11 Experienced.

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    Mr Zoat, I'm just going to ask some questions about things that I think might be interesting to see here because I'll probably forget later if I don't do it now. With Paul trying to do more uncomplicated good deeds, could he try to look for people with powers in bad spots but aren't quite criminals yet in order to convince them to use their abilities for a profit by doing good? The only example I could think of is Black Alice, the magic leech. She could maybe learn a few things from Cornwall Boy, as they are both thaumavores, though she's probably more powerful since she can actually use the magic she absorbs instead of just converting it to pure magical energy to use for whatever she could already do like the latter does.

    Can we see Tillettit in the future? I just want to see more places that are in awe of Paul, in contrast to how Earth still mostly sees him as the Cake Man. Sidenote, I want Paul to say in an interview that Earth is the Gotham/Arkham of the universe, just to explain to normal humans just how crazy the rest of the universe sees Earth.
     
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  4. Cuchulin

    Cuchulin Versed in the lewd.

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    Well, yes. But everyone knows about the Habsburgs.
    Also the Fugates are American and much more recent.
     
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  5. Threadmarks: Uncomplicated Good Works (part 20)
    Mr Zoat

    Mr Zoat Dedicated ragequitter

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    22nd December 2012
    17:08 GMT +3


    Kal-El and I turn our heads to look each other in the eyes for a moment. Then he takes a breath, and gives Medina his full attention.

    "Perhaps you could explain to me how it worked before the Amazons came to this island? That way I'd know what you were expecting."

    "We weren't…" Medina looks around at her wives, but she's clearly being given the floor. "We didn't live in the Old City. We lived in a village east of there. The Old City was women-only, except for the princes and foreigners who had business there. In Merbakades, where we are from, men and women lived… Separately, but in the same settlement."

    Kal-El frowns. "If so many women lived in the Old City, wouldn't that mean that the rest of the country was mostly men?"

    "Yes." She nods. "I still find it a little strange, sometimes, that things are different here."

    "After three thousand years?"

    "It…" She glances at Karyne, who nods sympathetically. "It doesn't feel like three thousand years, sometimes."

    Keep doing the same thing and time can fly by, I suppose.

    "So if there were a lot more men than women… How did that work?"

    She snorts. "We did not sport ourselves with all of them, if that is what you mean. Men who wished to sire children travelled to the City for the Festival, and we…"

    Rina nods. "We hadn't been together all that long when… When the City was invaded. None of us had children."

    Chloe smiles. "Which isn't to say that none of us attended the Festival as well!"

    "But men and women… Didn't… I mean, outside of this… The festival…"

    Medina shrugs. "It probably happened, but they kept it quiet. It wasn't normal in Themyscira. But there was no… We did not have slavery, as the Cities of Men did. Anyone who was unhappy could leave if they wanted. The men were happy enough with one another, so far as I remember."

    Oh my goodness me Kal-El's actually blushing a little. Yes, Old Themyscira was homosexual central, and not just the women. Adult men, unlike the Athenians far to the south.

    "So have any of you had children before?"

    Four nods, but Medina shakes her head. "I did not, which is why my darlings allowed me to go first this time."

    "But… Weren't men and women living together when the Island was settled? Didn't that..? Change how they related to one another?"

    "Of course! But the men didn't… I mean, the villages…" She appears to be struggling to work out how to explain something that must be so obvious to an Amazon. "The city women just lived like we village women. The Festival was… Much the same, a time for getting with child."

    "But weren't the children living closer to their fathers?"

    "I…" Medina frowns as she tries to remember. "Perhaps? It was a long-"

    Rina nods. "Yes."

    "-time ago and how do you remember that?"

    Rina frowns. "How do you not? The chaos of our first planting seasons is still as fresh in my mind as it was then. And no, it did not change our families overmuch. Boys still went to their uncles once they were weaned, and girls stayed with their mothers."

    "Their uncles?"

    "Their mother's brothers. Or one of them." She shifts in her seat. "Things were… If there was no uncle, things could be different. I had two daughters, so I did not have to deal with it myself."

    "So what did you plan on doing if Medina had a boy?"

    Medina shrugs. "The Princess has two sons. I'm sure that we could raise one in a civilised manner."

    How modern.

    "You said that, back in the Old City, if a man and a woman wanted to marry one another, they could leave the country. So you are aware that other countries handle relations between men and women differently."

    Four nods, and Rina waits to see where we're going.

    "Do you remember how that worked?"

    "Their women were chattel of their fathers and husbands." Medina shakes her head. "I know that is not how things are now."

    "Alright, but who raised the children?"

    "I… Don't know..?"

    Rina spots Medina becoming uncomfortable, and interjects.

    "The fathers?"

    "In most societies, children are raised jointly by their father and mother, with input from the extended family. The structure that Amazons use is… Unique, as far as I know. The closest I can think of is Sparta-."

    They all glare.

    "Exactly. Is that the comparison you want?"

    Medina drops her eyes for a moment.

    "So… Felix thought that… We were courting, as if we were to be married."

    "Yes."

    "And he was willing to have sex with me because he believed that we would raise the child together."

    "Ah, actually, he thought you were using a medicine that would stop you conceiving, but-" She frowns. "-assumed that if you did conceive that you would raise the child together."

    Karyne shakes her head. "Medina, did you not even mention that you were trying to conceive?"

    "I-." She blinks, probably trying to recall the precise conversation. "I said that I wanted children. But I… Suppose that he might have thought that I meant 'at some time, after we are… Married', and not 'this is why I am having sex with you'. I… I think I owe him an apology."

    Karyne nods. "Yes."

    "But… What does that mean for..?"

    "Ideally, the two of you discuss things and come to an agreement- and please bear in mind the cultural differences and don’t assume things- and we present that to the forum as the correct way of handling the issue. If you can't, well… Then you state your positions to the forum and hope for the best, which isn't the best approach."

    "No. Ah. If I… Cross through the portal again, will-?"

    "I'll ask Princess Diana to invite him to the embassy in New York for the talks."

    She nods, slightly relieved.

    "Now, are you aware of any other women outside of your marriage group planning something similar? I'd like to get ahead of the problem."
     
    Last edited: Sep 26, 2022
  6. Darko

    Darko Connoisseur.

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    "heads"

    Sadly it still occurs in some places.
     
  7. Mr Zoat

    Mr Zoat Dedicated ragequitter

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    Already doing that with Ted Kord. There isn't much he can add by showing up to the office, though you can assume that he's putting in at least some time off panel.
    She's probably a lot younger than the Team in this setting.
    If I can think of a reason for him to go there, maybe.
     
  8. Chojin Patriarch

    Chojin Patriarch Veteran Lurker

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    And in the process, give us readers the same education concerning this universe's Amazons, eh? Got to love being able to work exposition like that into the story without an 'As You Know...' moment. :rolleyes: Sometimes those are as subtle as a brick to the soft parts of the foot... A LEGO brick.

    Well, that depends on the make-up of those smaller villages, I guess. But it's safe to say some of them had a lot higher mix of men to women.

    The human brain is just not built for long-term storage, really. That's why we remember significant things more easily.

    Yep. Routine things like the daily farming jobs just blur together.

    I suppose it made it easier to manage timing of births, if nothing else.

    Oh, I'll bet, honey. Given the way your partner reacted to Kal there...

    Quite the progressive paradise, I guess. Especially compared to some of the other city-states of the era.

    Just a gay old time, huh? :p ...As long as everyone involved was consenting, of course.

    Closer proximity, of course. But generations of established culture won't disappear overnight... Not without some divine dickery, anyway.

    Well, that depends on what sex they were, after all... But a girl could probably run across the island to visit Papa, or a son, his mother.

    Memories brought to mind by the current state of things, perhaps?

    Some people do simply have better memories than others...

    Handy. Could still be an issue here, depending on Medina's luck.

    Even though he'll someday grow old and die, assuming he doesn't choose to leave the island?

    Hmm... An interesting line of questioning. Trying to determine if she knew better or simply didn't care?

    ...Because ignorance of a custom does not excuse the breaking of it. It might mitigate the penalties...

    Well, she's not completely ignorant of things. Will she realise how she screwed up, or...

    One for all, all for one, eh? A good partner in action.

    ...Ooh, bad idea to bring that up. They'd be like the eternal opposite of the Amazons, especially with their 'descended from Herakles' claims.

    ...He's got a point. Some people probably think of Themyscira as a perfect little resort town with hordes of beautiful women just laying around sunbathing or playing beach games... Others probably look at it and go 'A nation of warrior women? Must be like an army camp!'

    Ah, the obol drops, I see. Yes, you did rather go into things with the wrong idea, didn't you?

    Not quite, but I doubt she'd grok the expected idea of 'chastity before marriage.'

    Though it'd be a rare case where it's not the bride's family pushing them to marry...

    Ah, light dawns. Yes, you've rather made a mess of things, young lady. All because you assumed he'd understand your intentions without explaining them...

    And let's hope proper communication can settle things, then.

    Quite the bonus for him, then.

    Because I have no doubt that one or two others did the 'go look for a handsome man for a few days of canoodling' but went with a more casual hook-up.

    Ah, the joy of getting someone to actually look at things and think. And realise that no, not everyone has the same cultural assumptions. Now, let's see if the prospective parents-to-be can work something out. If nothing else comes of this, I suspect women planning to travel outside Themyscira will be given a much more in-depth rundown on cultural differences. One less headache for the Palace, then.
     
  9. goricnac

    goricnac I trust you know where the happy button is?

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    I love how the arc called Uncomplicated Good Works has the fucking family court dispute
     
  10. Sordid Snake

    Sordid Snake (Verified Viper)

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    Today any ok looking females among them could have made a career in cosplaying.
     
  11. Mr Zoat

    Mr Zoat Dedicated ragequitter

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    He tried.
     
  12. w34v3r

    w34v3r Versed in the lewd.

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    OL has become his own sub-genre, he can't escape.
     
  13. BR549

    BR549 This is filth! FILTH!!

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    And the universe ensured that things were quite trying.
     
  14. Old Knife

    Old Knife Not too sore, are you?

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    Hilarious subtext. Lex will be dealing with a more thoughtful superman who has long term planning outside of "save the day". Changing and shaping the world they will one day leave behind.

    Will this mark the start of a different sort of rivalry or will they work together?
     
  15. Karmic Acumen

    Karmic Acumen The long-suffering one

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    You're joking, right?
     
  16. LiteraryChangeling69

    LiteraryChangeling69 A lover of good literature.

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    Family court as it is overcorrected. The solution is as simple as both parents have equal rights in the child. Now if you go into the weeds with surrogacy it gets more complicated because of contract law involved as well.
     
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  17. Old Knife

    Old Knife Not too sore, are you?

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    Of course. This lex isn't nearly as obsessed as the other ones normally are.
     
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  18. rkyeun

    rkyeun Cabbitus Maximus

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    Hey now, it hasn't gone to court yet. If they can work this out for themselves just by actually talking to each other like adults, avoiding family court is, unambiguously, an uncomplicated good work.
     
  19. Pez

    Pez Spaceman

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    Medina = Zero Two confirmed!

    [​IMG]
     
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  20. Radix

    Radix Not too sore, are you?

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    Do they have equal rights? I can't see the forum saying that the father can force the child from Themiscyra.

    I can certainly see a right to visitation, or potentially even for the father to live nearby outside the city as the men of old did and possibly be more actively involved in the child's upbringing.

    But given the reason for their paradise, and their shared cultural trauma of children, I just can't see them agreeing to a child being "taken" away from them back into man's world.
     
  21. DbDRAKE

    DbDRAKE Possibly some sort of Actual Dragon?

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    I love the polticis and social dynamics arcs; they are always fun.

    Take comic DC setting conciets and play them out seriouslt, type of thing.
     
  22. Cuchulin

    Cuchulin Versed in the lewd.

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    No. Lum.

    Because Lum = devotion and Urusei Yatsura is getting a new Anime.
     
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  23. Threadmarks: Uncomplicated Good Works (part 21)
    Mr Zoat

    Mr Zoat Dedicated ragequitter

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    24th December 2012
    10:13 GMT +3


    "Forum wrangled?"

    Kon nods, glancing down towards it from the edge of the palace plaza. "Eventually. Grandma's meeting up with a guy from the State Department to… Start the process of writing up a treaty."

    I frown. "I thought they already had one."

    "Yeah, but you know it was written for Mom and the occasional visitor."

    I shrug. "Sure, numbers are up, but it's not exactly a flood of Amazons."

    "I dunno then. They wanted a meeting, and Grandma thought it was a good idea."

    "Is this..? After the presidential handover, or before? Horne's still in charge until next year, but I doubt a career bureaucrat is going to enact the old boss's policy when the new boss might just reverse it."

    "I guess. But it's like you said, Themyscira's not that big. I guess there's a lot of stuff that the President doesn't need to get personally involved in."

    "Yes. Though it would be a nice way for Horne to finish his term."

    Kon frowns. "Is Knight being President going to change anything?"

    "It might be slightly easier to improve American defence policy. And he gave the impression that he plans on spreading taxpayer cash around the place, so if you've got any investments it would be a good time to review them."

    "I mean, about Themyscira. Or Brazil, or Atlantis."

    "I don't think so. Brazil, maybe. He made a few noises about thinking that Horne didn't deal with Swamp Thing's attack on Gotham particularly well."

    That was how his fairly mild statement was portrayed, anyway. And that's something that he understands and that I've noticed Horne doesn't. But Horne can retire knowing that he did an okay job in trying times, which is all most of us can hope for.

    Kon smiles. "I guess as long as he's not planning on attacking any more cities it shouldn't be a problem."

    We look at each other for a moment.

    "I'll check today." / "You should probably-."

    Kon smiles, nodding. "How come he isn't in Brazil?"

    "Because he likes Louisiana. Or.. because he thinks that Euanthe and Doctor Isley have it covered. I don't know."

    "So, what are you doing for Christmas?"

    "Jade couldn't get the time off work, so Alan, Guy and me are flying to the Reach periphery to spend the day there. Her whole squad's going to try eating traditional Earth food, so I'm.. packing extra sick bags. Paula's spending it with the Allen family. You?"

    "Grandma decided that… Ah…"

    "Themyscira isn't doing Christmas after what happened last year."

    "Yeah. So Mom and me are going to spend it with M'gann and Mister J'onzz. M'gann got fed up with him always taking console duty on Christmas."

    "So who's on duty?"

    "Doctor Mist and Red Rocket. Kinda surprised, but apparently Red Rocket doesn't celebrate Christmas."

    "The Soviet Union used to take atheism seriously. And I guess that being posted to Siberia meant that he's used to not getting home all that often. Oh."

    I take his present out of subspace and hand it over.

    "Happy Christmas. Oh, and-"

    An orange shimmer.

    "-this one's for Wolf."

    "Thanks! I've-" He crouches down and pulls a wrapped box out of his satchel. "-got yours here."

    Hm. Cube, about five centimetres along each side. No sound when I rattle it-.

    "You gonna open it?"

    "No, of course not. Christmas day is tomorrow, that would-."

    Kon looks a little guilty as the paper falls off my present to him.

    "Though naturally, Themyscira has different customs."

    "A.. book? In kryptonese. Ah… Collection, before Vrang, stories? Kryptonian folk tales?"

    "The Daxamites weren't using it."

    He looks a little awkward. "Did you steal this?"

    "As I understand the Daxamite religion, they consider owning information on pre-exodus society as heresy. So no, because it's-"

    He smiles, shaking his head.

    "-legally unowned."

    "Thanks. I'll tell them that when they come and arrest me."

    "No, Kon. You say 'I've never seen this before, but some really suspicious Orange guy was hanging around here earlier'."

    "Yeah, I'll do that. Have a great Christmas with the Reach."

    He hesitates, but I walk towards him instead and we embrace.

    "I'll see you when I get back. Have fun with M'gann."

    I

    step out, homing in on the odd feeling of Swamp Thing's emotions before

    appearing in Louisiana.

    24th December 2012
    02:17 GMT -5


    "Merry Ch-."

    He's sitting amongst a series of plants I don't recognise, vines running from them to his spinal area. It's dark, but the area is dimly illuminated with bioluminescent plants.

    "Christmas, Swamp Thing."

    "Hello, Orange Lantern. What brings you here?"

    That was a surprisingly normal couple of sentences.

    "President-Elect Knight made noises about being unhappy about Gotham. I thought that I'd check in with you just in case you had other problems you were getting annoyed about."

    "No, I'm fine, Tefé is fine, and so is Abigail. Thank you for checking."

    "Um."

    "You're wondering about this? I once made a bio-computer to try and work out what to do about Sprout. But I didn't know much about magic. Doctor Isley helped me design this. Thinking is far easier, now. I know I should keep my head down. Don't worry about it. Merry Christmas."

    I nod, and

    vanish.
     
    Last edited: Sep 27, 2022
  24. Assblaster5000

    Assblaster5000 I trust you know where the happy button is?

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    Missing quotation mark.
     
  25. Ngamer11

    Ngamer11 Experienced.

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    I'm now excited by what an intelligent Swamp Thing can do. Also, he'd be an even better emergency call for Paul than he was before, if he ever needs it.
     
  26. Z000

    Z000 If this is trash, then find me in the dumpster

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    so all this time he needed a hardware update to run his old human software

    no wonder he was so wack before
     
  27. Sceptic

    Sceptic Critical Irrationalist

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    3 in 1?

    [​IMG]
     
  28. Handlewithcare

    Handlewithcare Versed in the lewd.

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    Hehehe does Swamp Thing now have a...Lentil Inside?
     
  29. Cuchulin

    Cuchulin Versed in the lewd.

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    That was a horrible pun!
    Have a like!
     
  30. Mr Zoat

    Mr Zoat Dedicated ragequitter

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    Thank you, corrected.
     
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