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

Ngamer11 · Mar 5, 2024

KaiserDrgn said:
Have the events of Sandman happened in this setting? Is Dream still Morpheus or is he Daniel? Paul referred to him as Morpheus in his mind, but I don't know if that's indicative or not.

Paul confirmed that the part where Dream died and was replaced didn't happen.

Chojin Patriarch · Mar 5, 2024

Mr Zoat said:
30th March 2013
03:42 GMT +2?

Melinoë leads me out onto a… Landing pad? Her gaze rises to the… Cloud-wracked sky as a bat-winged horse swoops down towards us.

"You could probably get a real one."

Heh. Perhaps it's a dream of the Thestrals. Then again, 'Horse with bits tacked on' isn't an uncommon magical image. And it's more efficient than simply walking or running about in search of their allies.

"I am not asking Uncle Poseidon to have sex with a bat. A steed of bound-together dreams will-" It lands just in front of us and she climbs onto it. "-suffice."

"Okay, we're looking for hope, Alan, or a giant blue bird called Adara. Can you find them?"

Asking for the big one just in case, eh? Then again, the Embodiments probably appear in the dreams of mortals...

"We cannot leave this to chance."

"Sure, ideally, but I don't know how to make this-."

Indy Ploys are not OL's strong suit. He's much more of a planner than a 'fly by the seat of his pants' fellow.

"So we will consult with the master of this realm." The horse's wings flap and it rises into the air. "You can explain."

"Hgghuuuhahahahaha!"

Yeah, there's only one person that laugh could belong to...

Napier grows out of the tower, pushing down on the wall to lift up his legs and crouch on it. Then he reaches towards his flower with his right hand and triggers the bulb, acid spraying out and making the stone smoulder and melt.

I close my eyes, focus my mind on the sensation of flight in all its forms and sort of pull the associated ideas to me. Nothing like as fast as I'm used to flying, but then we're not flying to a particular corporeal location. "Why him?"

Because he could roll the Anti-Life into a newspaper and bap Ahklys over the head with it? The being is all powerful within his set-forth rules in this place...

Melinoë leads the way, leaning close to her steed as it flaps for height. "How many willing servants do you think that the Goddess of Nightmares and Madness has?" Her eyes narrow. "Or did you expect me to keep myself for you?"

"No, of course not."

I mean, that ship has sailed, at least for the remainder of Jade's mortal life.

She looks up at the rapidly-approaching clouds. "He knows the basics of the art of dream manipulation. He will hold her longer than either of us could."

"Is there going to be a long-term problem with Jack 'the Joker' Napier knowing how to do that?"

Ideally, a quick memory-wipe that turns this into a mere dream in Joker's mind? Pretty sure he's not here in the flesh anyway, given his shifting back there.

"Not if we do not contain the Anti-Life."

"I seem to remember Dream being a bit… Temperamental."

Depends on the incarnation, really. And whether he's just got out of a relationship...

"Are you worried that we are going to see one of the few being in existence who can hold you to account?"

"Yes. Plus the fact that Desire seems to like me and the two of them don't get on. Ah, as I understand it."

Heck, I bet Dream could easily say that OL has provided some fascinating sources of nightmares for some people.

"Desire has spoken to you?"

"Twice. Apparently I'm a 'delightful mess'."

Ah, he does kind of remember that first visit. Kind of fuzzy on the details of his second encounter, though...

"Fooooooooour!"

I glance down as Napier draws a golf club from… Nowhere, and swings it at a tower which changes into a golf ball a moment before the club hits.

At least he's having fun in all this.

"I bet you've never suffered like that before!"

"Can he-?"

"I cannot imagine him winning, but he can hold her attention. Now, ready yourself to-"

So even Melinoë thinks Joker can't win. let's hope not, or they'll have a worse time on their hands.

We punch through the clouds, and there's a castle of ridiculous towers standing on rock fingers rising out of the clouds, buildings perilously perched and inadequately braced. Thin walkways link some of the towers, without rhyme or reason in their directions or orientation. The clouds below are dark grey, and the sky all around is pale blue-grey, not cloud or mist but reality with nothing printed onto it.

"-grovel."

To be fair, the Palace is probably as mutable as Dracula's Castle in Castlevania. Ever-changing at the maker's whim, and free of limitations like gravity or material durability... And always possessing a few consistent locations.

"Does he know we're coming?"

"Yes."

"Then at least the grovelling will be efficient."

Which I'm sure the busy being will appreciate.

A wing-flap from her steed and we're nearly there, another and she's coming into land, touching down on the top of a battlement with no visible way off. I drift down and land next to her.

"Is there a way to get an emergency meeting? I realise that he's a sovereign and a busy man-."

I'm pretty sure he recognises Anti-Life loose in his realm, and has cleared his calender for the duration.

"But he recognises patterns well enough to know-"

I turn, and see… That small turret wasn't there before, and neither was the door it in. Morpheus… I'm assuming that that is him, but what I'm seeing-. I know he can look like just about anything, but what I'm seeing right now is a black… Blob with a white mask with a sort of simplified human face on it at roughly the level a face should be.

Ooh, rude.

You caught him in a transitional state between perceptual adaption.

"-that leaving one such of you alone in my domain would be ill-advised."

Melinoë mimes a curtsey. "Dream Lord."

I suspect calling him Oneiros, a name he used in ancient Greece, might be a reminder of how things went bad there...

I perform a shallow bow as he approaches, his body… Refining itself into something more human-looking as he does so. The blob takes on a suggestion of robes and hair, the face more definite features. Eyes shining with tiny stars shimmer under heavy brows.

I incline my head. "Dream."

So, still Morpheus, I see. I'm guessing this incarnation has had a somewhat lighter load to deal with, and less of the deep depression that led to the Vertigo version 'refreshing' himself...

"Goddess of Nightmares and Scholar of Avarice. You have brought Anti-Life into my kingdom."

"Yes, and if you'll help us find Blue Lantern Alan Scott we'll deal with that immediately. And I'll pay you back for the insult and intrusion but please, we're in a hurry."

Ooh, a blank cheque? That'll come back on him later.

His robe becomes a coat and trousers, and he gains visible arms. "You do not intend to claim that I owe you for freeing Sanderson Hawkins?"

"I don't know how you value the two things and don't have time to argue. I'm a hero; if I can pay a price to prevent something terrible happening, then that's what I'll do."

He has a good point. Consequences are not something Heroes consider very much.

"Very well then. A favour for a favour. Alan Scott is trying to find passage from Baghdad. But it is a simple matter-"

"…a single place.. where-."

Alan steps out from behind the turret, looking around in surprise.

...I hope whoever he was talking to isn't too put out by his sudden displacement.

"-to move him from one part of my realm to another.

"Thank you. Alan, did Diana explain what's going on?"

Hmm... If he was in dream Baghdad, she might not have found him yet...

He blinks, then shakes his head. "No? I haven't seen her. I just thought Sandy might have some kinda dream portal, or a way to get through the Dream so we could get into Erebos that way."

"Good idea." I turn to Morpheus. "Thank you, you know how to reach me when you want me. Come on!"

Heh. A bit rude, again, but this is an emergency, and courtesy can be set aside for the sake of urgency.

I rise into the air. Alan tries to follow but doesn't get anywhere. Melinoë pulls him towards her horse and then boosts him up onto its back before mounting it herself.

"Okay, I'm missing something. What's going on?"

Now, how soon until he's facepalming and sighing disappointedly after OL fills him in...

So, then, they have who and what they think they need to 'fix' Ahklys. Let's see if they can pull it off. And then deal with the Joker running loose in the Dreaming. Because I doubt the master of the realm will be too happy about such a chaotic guest in his domain. ...Not that he's generally happy most of the time anyway, but...

B00ki5h · Mar 5, 2024

Has the Corinthian been captured yet or is he still playing serial killer?

Ngamer11 · Mar 5, 2024

Chojin Patriarch said:
Ah, he does kind of remember that first visit. Kind of fuzzy on the details of his second encounter, though...

Desire interrupted Paul while he was helping a fleet negotiate a Spider Guild sept's surrender. He got Desire to go away by telling them what happens when a member of the Endless dies. Though I don't remember what episode that happened in.

Duke Long · Mar 5, 2024

Mr Zoat said:
"-that leaving one such of you alone in my domain would be ill-advised."

'such as you'?

Chaoswind · Mar 5, 2024

moralrelativity said:
Nice to know Dream can be so accomodating. I do wonder about what it's going to cost Paul somewhere / somewhen.

Technically Paul already paid up. Paul did Dream a solid favor before, so this could be interpreted as Dream getting even.

Mr Zoat · Mar 5, 2024

Ngamer11 said:
Unless that's on purpose, that should say 'Fooooooooore'.

Thank you, corrected.

KaiserDrgn said:
Have the events of Sandman happened in this setting?

Some of them. Others either haven't happened or they've been averted.

Is Dream still Morpheus or is he Daniel? Paul referred to him as Morpheus in his mind, but I don't know if that's indicative or not.

Morpheus. We've met Daniel Hall.

B00ki5h said:
Has the Corinthian been captured yet or is he still playing serial killer?

I am not familiar with the character, but since Dream got free in the Eighties I'm going to assume that that's been dealt with by now.

Duke Long said:
'such as you'?

Thank you, corrected.

B00ki5h · Mar 5, 2024

Mr Zoat said:
I am not familiar with the character, but since Dream got free in the Eighties I'm going to assume that that's been dealt with by now.

First scene in Sandman issue #10 in the second story arc The Dollhouse. The Corinthian is a nightmare that inhabited the Dreaming and one of several of Dream's personally made subjects who took his imprisonment as an excuse to leave for the mortal world.

Ardy · Mar 5, 2024

Ngamer11 said:
Desire interrupted Paul while he was helping a fleet negotiate a Spider Guild sept's surrender. He got Desire to go away by telling them what happens when a member of the Endless dies. Though I don't remember what episode that happened in.

More specifically, he got desire to go away by telling then what he remembers happens when an endless dies. He was misremembering though, and desire found a prophet who thinks he's accurate but only right half the time fun enough they left him alone.

Steelplaza · Mar 5, 2024

Mr Zoat said:
"Is there going to be a long-term problem with Jack 'the Joker' Napier knowing how to do that?"

"Not if we do not contain the Anti-Life."

Meaning that if they do contain the Anti-Life it might indeed be a problem.

Heh. Problem for the SI of course, but I have to admit as a reader I wouldn't mind too much seeing the Joker get powered up enough to be a proper menacing villain in this universe. Orange Lantern has been pretty open about how easily contained he finds "clown with a small talent for chemistry" but evil dreamwalker Joker might at least make for a bit more of a challenge. After all, if you give Batman a power ring, might as well let Joker dream the death star.

Mr Zoat · Mar 5, 2024

Steelplaza said:
Meaning that if they do contain the Anti-Life it might indeed be a problem.

Heh. Problem for the SI of course, but I have to admit as a reader I wouldn't mind too much seeing the Joker get powered up enough to be a proper menacing villain in this universe. Orange Lantern has been pretty open about how easily contained he finds "clown with a small talent for chemistry" but evil dreamwalker Joker might at least make for a bit more of a challenge. After all, if you give Batman a power ring, might as well let Joker dream the death star.

More like 'okay, time to put a bullet in the clown's head, we know afterlives are real and I think his original personality would thank us for it'.

Vaermina · Mar 5, 2024

Mr Zoat said:
More like 'okay, time to put a bullet in the clown's head, we know afterlives are real and I think his original personality would thank us for it'.

Given his last attempt to negate Joker as a threat just seems to have made things worse, I'm not sure why he would think that's a good idea.

Especially given the very real possibility that Destiny is in play and only Batman can put down The Joker for good.

RoninSword · Mar 5, 2024

So I'm not sure ifbpeople are just blanking, but Dream wqs 'even' with Paul when Dream told Paul to find and help Sandy in return for having Melinoe returned to the mortal world when she got sucked into the Dream when examining the Star Mother.

I find it odd that Dream would bring up helping Sandy as if there was an uneven debt/owed between the two when there specifically isn't.

Mr Zoat · Mar 6, 2024

30th March 2013
03:45 GMT +2?

Is it insulting to tell a veteran superhero that you're impressed by his lateral thinking when he decides on his own to do something you were going to tell him to do? Maybe, but I should anyway. Best not leave things unsaid.

"Good thinking, realising you could get here like that."

"Wouldn't have, if it wasn't for Sandy."

Clouds part before us and the… The mausoleum is rubble and ruins, slowly sinking into the black march beneath it. Black vapour rises up and tries to wrap itself around the giant form of Mr. Napier as he crouches on a too-small cloud. His clothes… And his features are melting, running like soft wax, a melting that worsens as more black mist catches up to him.

"If this was happening to someone else, I'd find it hilarious."

He lifts his right hand and watches the tips of his fingers drip off. His left hand reaches up to push his dripping hair out of his eyes, and ends up… Deforming his entire head.

Where's Akhlys?

"You left me with this fool in the Dream?"

A great black hand lifts itself out of the mire, turns and lays palm-down on the now solid surface. Another hand… Some way away does the same thing. And then…

"Do you want me to spread the Anti-Life?" Alan looks up as Akhlys pushes her inky black torso out of the inky black liquid, looking up at us. And then down at us. "I had assumed not, but perhaps I misunderstood."

"That… Dream attraction thing. I guess she can do it too?"

Melinoë nods. "Yes."

"That seems like something that she's probably had practice with."

"Yes. But Paul speaks well of you."

Alan glances my way. "Thanks."

"You work on that, I'll rescue Mister Napier."

"I don't-. I don't even know where to begin."

"You are a hero, Alan Scott. You have inspired people across the world throughout your career."

"I know how to make people hope, but this is a whole lot more abstract."

"You have felt hope yourself. Begin with that."

I fly towards Mr. Napier's cloud as he seems to rally, pulling free of the mist-strands and standing upright. Stones from the ruin float upwards and then stop, creating stepping stones for him to run along to get away-. Stagger away, really. If it were anyone else I'd worry about whatever this is doing to his psyche, but in his case I hardly see how it could make things worse.

I reach out for desires for escape and sudden winds that blow a fire away, and the wind comes, pushing the grasping mists away from his retreat. I draw on desires for safety and protection and the stone bricks double and triple, forming a floor and walls around him.

Mr. Napier leans against the wall, smearing it with his sleeve, his elbow bending in a 'U' shape.

"What happened to you?"

"Oh… Heh. She's been pulling apart my self-concept. Which is a riot, because it isn't even mine!"

"I'm not your psychiatrist. Do you require assistance, or can you wake up on your own?"

"Oh, heh. Waking up like this would be a terrible idea! The world doesn't need two of me. And I don't need the embarrassment of him calling me a tribute act! Just…" He sags further. "Hoo. I'd studied him, you know? He was just down the hall, and it's not as if he ever shuts up. Heh. Thought this would keep the Anti-Life off, but it means I'm covered in him."

"You're not The Joker?"

"Disassociative identity disorder isn't so hard to understand. People normally behave differently in different situations. Ugh. Ah… I think I could do with a hand. I don't want Debbie seeing the real me."

I float closer, until I'm next to the increasingly glutinous surface of his chest. Then I twist, sticking my right arm into… Into him, and reaching around for something-.

There. Something solid. Grab on and pull!

The Joker figure collapses almost at once, white and purple and green gunge falling to the ground. And in my hand…

"Doctor Crane. I take it that you and Melinoë continued your correspondence?"

He reaches up to his glasses and adjusts them. "It's been such a relief to be able to feel again. And the Dream, the collective unconscious! Amazing! There must be fears here that even I can't imagine! Just as long as Akhlys doesn't see me."

"You're afraid of her?"

"Justifiably cautious. I didn't enjoy the Anti-Life either. But I think that you should probably confront her before she decides that you aren't going to try. She's very keen on overcoming obstacles to her new 'truth'."

"Alright. Hold tight here-. Hey, did you once prank the Arkham Asylum guards by pretending to hang yourself?"

He blinks, focusing on me completely. Then he smiles. "Yes, how did you hear-? They took so much effort to make sure that I couldn't get access to chemicals, you see. I needed to prove it wasn't the only way I knew how to work. The chemicals make people conjure up their own fears, it's so… Useful, but… Easy."

"Any advice on beating Akhlys?"

"She destroyed my Joker persona by drawing upon the self-destructive impulses contained therein. While I can't be certain, I suspect that it is her hope that will prove most efficacious."

"But she doesn't feel hope any more."

"But, fortunately, we are in the Dream. All the hopes she once felt are in here, somewhere." That… He should be r-. "Go."

I fly upwards, completely unsure what-. I mean, she says that she doesn't want things, but by that standard-.

"I had hoped for more."

Alan's glowing blue, which is good. Blue mist is precipitating out of the air around him, which is also good.

But it's all completely overwhelmed by the black.

"I intended to crush the universe's hope. Can you not conjure more than this?"

Akhlys hoped. Akhlys wanted.

I can't see her wants now, because she's an emotional void.

But her dreams…

Oh dreams of desire, show me what she wanted.

Darko · Mar 6, 2024

Mr Zoat said:
rises up and tried

"tries"

Mr Zoat said:
catches up to his.

"him"

Mr Zoat said:
free if the

"free of"

Mr Zoat said:
If it were anyone else I'd worry about whatever this is doing to his psyche, but in his case I hardly see how it could make things worse.

Can't break what's already broken.

Mr Zoat said:
Though this would keep

"Thought"

Ngamer11 · Mar 6, 2024

Mr Zoat said:
"You are a hero, Alan, Scott. You have inspired people across the world throughout your career."

That comma should be removed.

Mr Zoat said:
I fly towards Mr. Napier's cloud as he seems to rally, pulling free if the mist-strands and standing upright. Stones from the ruin float upwards and then stop, creating stepping stones for him to run along to get away-. Stagger away, really. If it were anyone else I'd worry about whatever this is doing to his psyche, but in his case I hardly see how it could make things worse.

That should say 'of'.

Mr Zoat said:
"Doctor Crane. I take it that you and Melinoë continued your correspondence?"

He reaches up to his glasses and adjusts them. "It's been such a relief to be able to feel again. And the Dream, the collective unconscious! Amazing! There must be fears here that even I can't imagine! Just as long as Akhlys doesn't see me."

"You're afraid of her?"

"Justifiably cautious. I didn't enjoy the Anti-Life either. But I think that you should probably confront her before she decides that you aren't going to try. She's very keen on overcoming obstacles to her new 'truth'."

This was a nice twist. And I'm glad that Scarecrow is doing fine, as I was worried after Batman mentioned that his new doctor thought his association with Melinoë was detrimental to his "recovery".

Chojin Patriarch · Mar 6, 2024

Mr Zoat said:
30th March 2013
03:45 GMT +2?

Is it insulting to tell a veteran superhero that you're impressed by his lateral thinking when he decides on his own to do something you were going to tell him to do? Maybe, but I should anyway. Best not leave things unsaid.

"Good thinking, realising you could get here like that."

"Wouldn't have, if it wasn't for Sandy."

Well, Sanderson is more attuned to the Dream, if only by conceptual association with the 'Sandman' name. Especially after his previous meeting with Morpheus. Guess the idea to use Dream Baghdad came to him in a vision.

Clouds part before us and the… The mausoleum is rubble and ruins, slowly sinking into the black march beneath it. Black vapour rises up and tried to wrap itself around the giant form of Mr. Napier as he crouches on a too-small cloud. His clothes… And his features are melting, running like soft wax, a melting that worsens as more black mist catches up to his.

"If this was happening to someone else, I'd find it hilarious."

To be fair, he was turning himself into a giant duplicate. I'm surprised a tiny normal-sized version isn't burrowing out his back or something as an escape route.

He lifts his right hand and watches the tips of his fingers drip off. His left hand reaches up to push his dripping hair out of his eyes, and ends up… Deforming his entire head.

Where's Akhlys?

The danger of facepalming when your physical structure is busy being malleable.

"You left me with this fool in the Dream?"

A great black hand lifts itself out of the mire, turns and lays palm-down on the now solid surface. Another hand… Some way away does the same thing. And then…

Ah, is Ahklys copying his trick? Much easier here than in the waking world.

"Do you want me to spread the Anti-Life?" Alan looks up as Akhlys pushes her inky black torso out of the inky black liquid, looking up at us. And then down at us. "I had assumed not, but perhaps I misunderstood."

"That… Dream attraction thing. I guess she can do it too?"

Nice to see she didn't fall for OL's seeming 'Go on, do it, then' trick.

Melinoë nods. "Yes."

"That seems like something that she's probably had practice with."

Aw, adversity is the best teacher, Alan. I'm sure you'll get the hang of it easily enough.

"Yes. But Paul speaks well of you."

Alan glances my way. "Thanks."

Not sure if he's thinking well of OL for that, or cursing his tendency to talk his friends up...

"You work on that, I'll rescue Mister Napier."

"I don't-. I don't even know where to begin."

...When in doubt, giant fist?

"You are a hero, Alan, Scott. You have inspired people across the world throughout your career."

"I know how to make people hope, but this is a whole lot more abstract."

No, no it is not. You inspire hope, stories of overcoming difficulties by belief and will. Use that to defeat her story of submission and misery...

"You have felt hope yourself. Begin with that."

I fly towards Mr. Napier's cloud as he seems to rally, pulling free if the mist-strands and standing upright. Stones from the ruin float upwards and then stop, creating stepping stones for him to run along to get away-. Stagger away, really. If it were anyone else I'd worry about whatever this is doing to his psyche, but in his case I hardly see how it could make things worse.

And hopefully shrinking back down to a more face-to-face scale in the process... If nothing else, he's a smaller target that way.

I reach out for desires for escape and sudden winds that blow a fire away, and the wind comes, pushing the grasping mists away from his retreat. I draw on desires for safety and protection and the stone bricks double and triple, forming a floor and walls around him.

Mr. Napier leans against the wall, smearing it with his sleeve, his elbow bending in a 'U' shape.

And if he were flesh, that would hurt like hell.

"What happened to you?"

"Oh… Heh. She's been pulling apart my self-concept. Which is a riot, because it isn't even mine!"

...Oh? Is someone borrowing the classic act? No wonder I was seeing the classic DCAU Joker instead of YJ.

"I'm not your psychiatrist. Do you require assistance, or can you wake up on your own?"

"Oh, heh. Waking up like this would be a terrible idea! The world doesn't need two of me. And I don't need the embarrassment of him calling me a tribute act! Just…" He sags further. "Hoo. I'd studied him, you know? He was just down the hall, and it's not as if he ever shuts up. Heh. Though this would keep the Anti-Life off, but it means I'm covered him him."

...I know Mr Zoat's not about to pull a 'Three Jokers' plotline. So this has to be someone smarter...

"You're not The Joker?"

"Disassociative identity disorder isn't so hard to understand. People normally behave differently in different situations. Ugh. Ah… I think I could do with a hand. I don't want Debbie seeing the real me."

...Well, smart enough to be able to do this, but not so smart they would stop and think 'Should I do this?'

I float closer, until I'm next to the increasingly glutinous surface of his chest. Then I twist, sticking my right arm into… Into him, and reaching around for something-.

There. Something solid. Grab on and pull!

Quite literally pulling a crunchy center out of the squishy pudding.

The Joker figure collapses almost at once, white and purple and green gunge falling to the ground. And in my hand…

"Doctor Crane. I take it that you and Melinoë continued your correspondence?"

Ah, yes. Who else would be this proficient with this sort of esoteric environment, able to take action without dropping into full insanity from exposure.

He reaches up to his glasses and adjusts them. "It's been such a relief to be able to feel again. And the Dream, the collective unconscious! Amazing! There must be fears here that even I can't imagine! Just as long as Akhlys doesn't see me."

"You're afraid of her?"

Hard to be afraid when you're dwelling on such misery.

"Justifiably cautious. I didn't enjoy the Anti-Life either. But I think that you should probably confront her before she decides that you aren't going to try. She's very keen on overcoming obstacles to her new 'truth'."

"Alright. Hold tight here-. Hey, did you once prank the Arkham Asylum guards by pretending to hang yourself?"

I think I remember that incident. From a 'Sandman' book, maybe? An incidental moment as Doctor John 'Doctor Destiny' Dee escapes using the power of Morpheus' Ruby? Interesting that OL thought of that right now.

He blinks, focusing on me completely. Then he smiles. "Yes, how did you hear-? They took so much effort to make sure that I couldn't get access to chemicals, you see. I needed to prove it wasn't the only way I knew how to work. The chemicals make people conjure up their own fears, it's so… Useful, but… Easy."

"Any advice on beating Akhlys?"

Ah, he did it as a point of professional pride. And to be fair, chemical aid is the easiest way to mess with people's heads. Mere psychological horror stuff, even the potent stuff you might find in a foreign horror movie, would be tricky. Artisanal, individually tailored to each subject's particular primal fears...

"She destroyed my Joker persona by drawing upon the self-destructive impulses contained therein. While I can't be certain, I suspect that it is her hope that will prove most efficacious."

"But she doesn't feel hope any more."

That doesn't mean it's not there. It's just buried, smothered under the ashfall of the Anti-Life...

"But, fortunately, we are in the Dream. All the hopes she once felt are in here, somewhere." That… He should be r-. "Go."

I fly upwards, completely unsure what-. I mean, she says that she doesn't want things, but by that standard-.

But her drive to spread the Anti-Life, as much as she claims it comes from the infection, is hers...

"I had hoped for more."

Alan's glowing blue, which is good. Blue mist is precipitating out of the air around him, which is also good.

Well, off to a good start. Pity he's having to try this in such trying circumstances.

But it's all completely overwhelmed by the black.

"I intended to crush the universe's hope. Can you not conjure more than this?"

Sadly, i doubt this is difficult enough to force him to induce Enlightenment.

Akhlys hoped. Akhlys wanted.

I can't see her wants now, because she's an emotional void.

More like a drain. Everything pours down it, presumably to never be seen again... But any drain can be backed up by too much input, or a particularly awkward lump of stuff...

But her dreams…

Oh dreams of desire, show me what she wanted.

Ooh, this is gonna get quirky.

Hopefully this gets sorted out before a giant Alan has to try and physically wrestle the super-sized goddess in a giant pit of black mud. A gentleman like him would be so embarrassed. And that's a damn clever trick, calling forth the memories of Ahklys' desires within the Dreaming. After all, some say dreams are merely memories being randomly interpreted by the sleeping brain. Even memories we haven't seen yet.

Duke Long · Mar 6, 2024

Mr Zoat said:
Though this would keep the Anti-Life off, but it means I'm covered him him."

Nor sure what the end of this sentence is supposed to be.

Ngamer11 · Mar 6, 2024

Duke Long said:
Nor sure what the end of this sentence is supposed to be.

The Scarecrow's psyche is now covered in a mess made up of the Joker's various psychoses. It's possible that if he wasn't a follower of Melinoë, that it might have had an adverse effect on his mind.

Duke Long · Mar 6, 2024

Ngamer11 said:
The Scarecrow's psyche is now covered in a mess made up of the Joker's various psychoses. It's possible that if he wasn't a follower of Melinoë, that it might have had an adverse effect on his mind.

I got that, I just think there's a grammatical error and I'm not sure what the correction should be.

SemiAnarchist · Mar 6, 2024

Duke Long said:
I got that, I just think there's a grammatical error and I'm not sure what the correction should be.

I get the feeling it should read as this instead:

Though this would keep the Anti-Life off, but it means I'm covered in him."

Lord Ernest · Mar 6, 2024

So that was Scarecrow? Well, for some reason that makes more sense, he's definitely more predisposed to be Melinoe's agent/follower and we had precedent that they were communicating.

It came to my mind that having Alan have to mainline the Dream's Hopes of the collective conscious to hit Akhlys with it could help in getting him enlightened already. He is, after all, partially elemental and has generally the right mindset.

SemiAnarchist said:
Though this would keep the Anti-Life off, but it means I'm covered in him."

First part of the sentence also seems to be missing something, so maybe:

Thought this would keep the Anti-Life off, but it means I'm covered in him."

Mr Zoat · Mar 6, 2024

Darko said:
"tries"
"him"
"free of"
"Thought"

Ngamer11 said:
That comma should be removed.

Duke Long said:
Nor sure what the end of this sentence is supposed to be.

Thank you, corrected.

Darko · Mar 6, 2024

Lord Ernest said:
So that was Scarecrow? Well, for some reason that makes more sense, he's definitely more predisposed to be Melinoe's agent/follower and we had precedent that they were communicating

Plus there was that mention about him knowing how to manipulate dreams, which seemed weird for the Joker, but not for Crane, who was probably taught by Melinoe.

RoninSword · Mar 6, 2024

So last we heard, Crane's doctor took away the idol binding him to Melinoe. So this is him lucid dreaming but is he still having nightmares.

Mr Zoat · Mar 7, 2024

30th March 2013
03:48 GMT +2?

Make it all go away.

Yeah, that's a pretty understandable desire for someone whose own divine nature caused them seven thousand years of every form of suffering that it's possible to experience.

An orange construct hand appears and punches through the black… Face that Akhlys has conjured from Anti-Life-aligned dreams, grabs and pulls.

"Alan, how's it going!?"

"Not great, but it looks like you've got it handled!"

"No, I don't! You need to destroy the Anti-Life fragment! I literally can't do that!"

"Got any advice?!"

"Remember when you asked if there was a hope Honden and we did those exercises?"

He looks… Blank. Alan… "Yeah? Kinda?"

"Like that! Imagine a web of hopes which-!"

My hand dream-construct explodes as Akhlys… Opens her arms and tears it apart from inside.

"Those are my old dreams of desire, aren't they? Were you lying to me earlier?"

"Strictly speaking, no. It's just that Joker is out of commission and now I need to distract you."

She raises her right hand, mists swelling and surging to envelop the hand I made, which… Evaporates.

"And now no one need dream that foolish dream again."

Ahhhhhhhh, fiddlesticks.

"Can she actually do that?"

I glance over to where Alan's blue ball isn't much bigger. "I don't know! I don't come here regularly!"

I mean… Anti-Life destroying dreams? Sounds perfectly plausible to me. Strike and dismiss it is. And I doubt that she's the only one who's wanted illness or injury to go away.

I form two construct hands… Slowly, as Akhlys lands on her slumped Anti-Life torso and begins reforming it. Her head still visible I shove the hands forwards, fingers first with palms together. The mists follow, but-. Pull apart and then dismiss!

The torso splatters over our fighting area, Akhlys reduced to standing on the black ground.

"She hoped to be cured, Alan! Try focusing on-."

"Yeah, I spotted that one!"

Or-. Wait.

"And lots of people hoped to be free of the Anti-Life! Combine them!"

"Because that's so easy!"

Akhlys spreads her arms wide. And… Nothing happens. No, clearly something's happened, it's just…

The black comes down, destroying the clouds which had topped this… Zone. And… It's harder to tell, but I think that the walls are closing in as well.

Melinoë breathes in sharply. "If there is aught that can be done to aid you, name it."

"Yes, Alan Scott. Dream of Rose. Dream-."

"You don't-! You don't get to mention her."

"Dream of Molly Mayne, of the life you could have had together. Dream of-"

Dream of a gag made of your own fantasies that you could stop whimpering.

"-mph."

"Alan, you're good at focusing. Stay focused."

"Yeah. Okay, I-." The blue ball grows. "I think I'm getting the hang of this."

Akhlys tears off the gag and then points at him, and-.

I hit her with a hammer of all the times she dreamed that she was suffering because she deserved it.

"Ah."

And she tanks the hit because she's Anti-Lifed and doesn't care about things like that, but it disrupted her.

And Alan… Alan is using that.

"Before this whole Anti-Life mess started-"

Akhlys gestures to send the mist after him, but I block it with her desire for suffering to end.

"-I used to visit hospital wards. Terminal cases, people who were desperate… Giving up, in some cases. Can't say I've ever been down quite that far myself, but I know what it looks like. And after I fixed them up, heck, it didn't even cost me any ring power. They got back into hoping right away. They got their lives back. Everything they could have done with their lives if they'd been healthy, they could do again. I know what that feels like. So-"

The black ceiling drops on him. And… Bends around him, unable to withstand the… Light of the Blue Lantern.

"-I'm not angry, Akhlys. I just wanna help."

The glowing blue ball expands, until I can't… See him, or… Anything, really. Normally I'd be worried but this… Actually feels pretty nice. I could live without hope, just doing the best I could and accepting what I couldn't change, but I'd struggle to deny that this is better.

"And sometimes, people need their arms twisted before they'll take it."

Blue strands, blue winds, blow past me. I see tiny pieces of… Uplifting scenes, families, friends generally embracing life, the dying getting off their sickbeds…

And then it passes, and the graveyard from our first visit is back, and Alan is hugging the blue-glowing Akhlys in the middle of it.

Darko · Mar 7, 2024

Mr Zoat said:
Slowly, as Akhlys land on

"lands"

Silverias · Mar 7, 2024

I am imagining Grayven seeing this scene and just...raging at his own circumstances. He got to dodge a lot of the bad stuff that P!OL has gone through, but oh boy, he's lost stuff too.

Chojin Patriarch · Mar 7, 2024

Mr Zoat said:
30th March 2013
03:48 GMT +2?

Make it all go away.

Yeah, that's a pretty understandable desire for someone who's own divine nature caused them seven thousand years of every form of suffering that it's possible to experience.

But surely she felt other things, in the brief moments of respite she could find here and there... Even a deity cannot be bound to one thing alone for long. Those are the things OL and Alan need to dredge up to break her out of this madness.

An orange construct hand appears and punches through the black… Face that Akhlys has conjured from Anti-Life-aligned dreams, grabs and pulls.

"Alan, how's it going!?"

So, did he recharge at some point, or is he merely pulling on the Dreaming? And is there really a difference either way at this point...

"Not great, but it looks like you've got it handled!"

"No, I don't! You need to destroy the Anti-Life fragment! I literally can't do that!"

It does align more with the warm end of the Spectrum, doesn't it? Rage and Want and Fear... All tools the Anti-Life can use.

"Got any advice?!"

"Remember when you asked if there was a hope Honden and we did those exercises?"

It's easier to reach for it here, though whether he can touch the reality of it...

He looks… Blank. Alan… "Yeah? Kinda?"

"Like that! Imagine a web of hopes which-!"

Since Alan is a lot further up the Spectrum Warrior skill tree than the Shaman that OL chose...

My hand dream-construct explodes as Akhlys… Opens her arms and tears it apart from inside.

"Those are my old dreams of desire, aren't they? Were you lying to me earlier?"

Still so polite, even though they're fighting her. But then, she believes she has inevitability on her side...

"Strictly speaking, no. It's just that Joker is out of commission and now I need to distract you."

She raises her right hand, mists swelling and surging to envelop the hand I made, which… Evaporates.

Symbolic, but futile.

"And now no one need dream that foolish dream again."

Ahhhhhhhh, fiddlesticks.

Hopefully that doesn't mean she destroyed that dream concept, merely shredded it...

"Can she actually do that?"

I glance over to where Alan's blue ball isn't much bigger. "I don't know! I don't come here regularly!"

This is only what, his third visit? More than most anyone on Earth in his circle of associates. Kind of makes him the de facto expert...

I mean… Anti-Life destroying dreams? Sounds perfectly plausible to me. Strike and dismiss it is. And I doubt that she's the only one who's wanted illness or injury to go away.

I form two construct hands… Slowly, as Akhlys lands on her slumped Anti-Life torso and begins reforming it. Her head still visible I shove the hands forwards, fingers first with palms together. The mists follow, but-. Pull apart and then dismiss!

I see he's not willing to take the risk that it's anywhere near permanent, then. Sensible, if deliberately weakening himself.

The torso splatters over our fighting area, Akhlys reduced to standing on the black ground.

"She hoped to be cured, Alan! Try focusing on-."

At least she's not protected by any sort of ablative armour now.

"Yeah, I spotted that one!"

Or-. Wait.

Let's hope whatever you think you might have missed isn't going to bite you...

"And lots of people hoped to be free of the Anti-Life! Combine them!"

"Because that's so easy!"

Ah, yes. One deity's hopes are strong, but a billion people's are stronger still.

Akhlys spreads her arms wide. And… Nothing happens. No, clearly something's happened, it's just…

The black comes down, destroying the clouds which had topped this… Zone. And… It's harder to tell, but I think that the walls are closing in as well.

Ah, altering the battlefield. A nasty boss tactic...

Melinoë breathes in sharply. "If there is aught that can be done to aid you, name it."

"Yes, Alan Scott. Dream of Rose. Dream-."

Oh, hell no. That's not cool, bringing up lost loves like that.

"You don't-! You don't get to mention her."

"Dream of Molly Mayne, of the life you could have had together. Dream of-"

The first Harlequin, before anyone asks. In other worlds, she could have been Alan's wife, the mother of his children.

Dream of a gag made of your own fantasies that you could stop whimpering.

"-mph."

Nicely done, OL.

"Alan, you're good at focusing. Stay focused."

"Yeah. Okay, I-." The blue ball grows. "I think I'm getting the hang of this."

Will and Hope in unison are stronger. And if there's one thing Alan has, it's lots of Will.

Akhlys tears off the gag and then points at him, and-.

I hit her with a hammer of all the times she dreamed that she was suffering because she deserved it.

Ooh, critical hit.

"Ah."

And she tanks the hit because she's Anti-Lifed and doesn't care about things like that, but it disrupted her.

Unsurprising. Anyone will flinch if you smack them in the face, emotional element or not.

And Alan… Alan is using that.

"Before this whole Anti-Life mess started-"

Cue the hero theme, Alan's lighting this up!

Akhlys gestures to send the mist after him, but I block it with her desire for suffering to end.

"-I used to visit hospital wards. Terminal cases, people who were desperate… Giving up, in some cases. Can't say I've ever been down quite that far myself, but I know what it looks like. And after I fixed them up, heck, it didn't even cost me any ring power. They got back into hoping right away. They got their lives back. Everything they could have done with their lives if they'd been healthy, they could do again. I know what that feels like. So-"

Indeed... And OL had a lot to do with that. The power of a legacy...

The black ceiling drops on him. And… Bends around him, unable to withstand the… Light of the Blue Lantern.

"-I'm not angry, Akhlys. I just wanna help."

And he's going to help you even if you go kicking and screaming. because sometimes, that's what it takes...

The glowing blue ball expands, until I can't… See him, or… Anything, really. Normally I'd be worried but this… Actually feels pretty nice. I could live without hope, just doing the best I could and accepting what I couldn't change, but I'd struggle to deny that this isn't better.

"And sometimes, people need their arms twisted before they'll take it."

Sometimes, they're too deep in their own problems to see the helping hand being offered. Or, like Ahklys, they think their rage and pain needs to be shared with others...

Blue strands, blue winds, blow past me. I see tiny pieces of… Uplifting scenes, families, friends generally embracing life, the dying getting off their sickbeds…

And then it passes, and the graveyard from our first visit is back, and Alan is hugging the blue-glowing Akhlys in the middle of it.

...But in the end, everyone wants help. No matter how they refuse to admit it to themselves.

Ah, tough love. Ahklys' Anti-Life infection seems to be purged, or so I hope. But there can't be any certainties yet. The Anti-Life is tricksy, and even that much of one of it's strongest weaknesses might not have been enough to drive it out completely... And one hell of a showing from Alan. Just about every time he shows up, you know something great is in the making...

Lord Ernest · Mar 7, 2024

Silverias said:
I am imagining Grayven seeing this scene and just...raging at his own circumstances. He got to dodge a lot of the bad stuff that P!OL has gone through, but oh boy, he's lost stuff too.

I mean, Grayven personally suffered a lot, but in general I would take his world over this one any day of the week. And honestly, for what he has lost, he has gained a lot as well; the Jade break up was bad, for example, but he's way better now in relationship terms.

I hope this is the last of the Anti-Life left on Earth, that Alan's blue explosion extended enough to destroy any remnants or whatever. Not only because I wish for this Earth to properly start rebuilding and there's still a lot of other stuff to deal with, but also because this arc kinda overstayed its welcome. I certainly enjoyed more than a few parts of it but I felt it dragging too much; I was definitely enjoying the Stargate Paulmon segments more lately.

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