Mr Zoat
Dedicated ragequitter
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She's got it a little more under control than that. Mostly because Diana made it clear that if she kept it up around him then she'd support Rama Khan taking full custody.
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With This Ring (Young Justice SI) (Thread Fourteen)
- Thread starter Mr Zoat
- Start date
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- Tags
- self insert young justice
Chaoswind
Lord of nonsense
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Looking at the Wiki, Gamenae comics arc involved a lot of time travel bullshit and Time Trapper Paul changed the rules of the universe where every major change in the timeline spawns a new universe ergo there are fair odds Gamenae is from a different alter earth 16 and she is pretending to be the racist Atlantean archmage (hence why "his" wards kill observers trying to find "his" true nature) and why the exam 'he' did on Paul and his soul had so much "gay energy".
Old Knife
I trust you know where the happy button is?
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.... 4th wizard fight before Ahri'ahn?
Supnautica (part 41)
Mr Zoat
Dedicated ragequitter
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7th May 2013
09:22 GMT -6
I did not want to come here ever.
As far as I've been able to tell, the Aztecs only narrowly lose out to the Dahomey in the contest for being the most evil functioning pre-20th century human civilisation ever. Then the socialists happened and I'm not sure exactly how the two compare, but as a superhero and a space soldier it's sobering to realise that if they existed today fighting them would be worth my time. And it's sobering to remember that they were killed not by Spain but by their neighbours with a little Spanish guidance because they were demanding a tribute of human sacrifices from them and everyone hated them.
Really, the best you can say about them is that they genuinely believed that the human sacrifice was necessary to replenish the gods, as opposed to the Dahomey who just did it for fun.
Dr. Balewa has gotten ahead of me, and my environmental shield is dimming.
"You did not recover theh armour?"
"No. No one knew exactly where it was, and I certainly didn't want to draw anyone's attention to the magic power of ritual sacrifice. Plus it's not even that good."
"There is nothing to be gained by lying. I can see the disgust written on your face."
"I was justifying my decision strategically. I'm not denying that I hate it. The League of Ancients weren't heroes in the modern sense. Not as a group. Some of them would pass muster, but…"
"I understand your disgust at Tezumak, but why do you so dislike the others? Including Rama Khan and your friend Teth Adom."
"Remember how I went off on one at the League after I killed Nabu?"
He makes an expression of earnest enquiry. "No, it has entirely slipped my mind."
I sniff. "I understand that slavery has been normal for most of human civilisation. Adom's Kahndaq had slavery. Fine. It would be completely unreasonable for me to condemn them for something that was completely normal. I might judge them based on how they treated their slaves, but that's it. But Tezumak's people raided and murdered by the bushel and the other members treated him as a fellow noble hero. Sela was… I can't think of anyone like her in the modern era. A super powered berserker who fought and killed for fun and only joined up with the League for better fights. I suppose you could argue that it was better to keep her inside pissing out than outside pissing in, but I think that killing her would also have served perfectly well."
"And the others?"
"Anointed One was raised by the Is-. By the Hebrews before the Kingdom of Israel was destroyed. Back when they were genocide-happy, and all the rules that came from Moses were just polite suggestions. They probably weren't objectively much worse than everyone around them, but that's not saying much when everyone around you is like that."
"And you will not excuse the others for working with them as you will not accept the Justice League tolerating Nabu."
"Y-es. And you heard Rama Khan; he was regretful that he didn't warn them soon enough to save their lives, not about any of the other stuff they got up to."
"It was a long time ago."
"I consider Adom a friend because he's reformed. Mister Cantrell and Ms Parker retained their current life's morals when they got their memories back, and since they're not exactly the same people regret is superfluous. But I'm marking Rama Khan down."
"Have you considered that he believes in reincarnation?"
"So? That just means that he was fine with his comrades in arms being reincarnated as dung beetles for their cruelty." I look down. "Have you found it yet?"
"Yes. Still… I em interested in what you think of me."
"If I didn't think you were a good choice for the Justice League you wouldn't be on the Justice League. Any crimes you committed were at the dawn of civilisation, and you wouldn't repeat them. As far as your attitude to superhumans goes, I.. mostly agree, which is why I've been trying to get other people to do things rather than just building a city of the future myself and inviting the new Eloi to live in it."
He frowns faintly. "Who are the Eloi? That was a proper noun, I think."
"Read 'The Time Traveller' by H.G. Wells. Or watch the films; they explain the concept reasonably well."
"I will. Still, you are the one who used it."
"Human pets, beautiful but incapable of caring for themselves." I pointedly look down. "Can we go?"
"The area is still solid rock. For the most part. It may be easiest if I go alone."
"Not unless there's an excellent reason. Going alone is not a good idea. I can phase or teleport to you once you arrive."
"Then follow me."
He shimmers and fades, and I wait.
When they killed Queen Gamemnae they wanted to make sure that it stuck. So they opened a cavern in Tezumak's city and sacrificed her to the Aztec gods. I really hope that it's still there, but I know perfectly well that the Aztec afterlife was a mess during the Anti-Life period and that just about anything could have happened. Of course that doesn't explain why we're dealing with Ahri'ahn rather than Gamemnae, unless he's a clay zombie or she's using an illusion or… I don't know. We're not reenacting the Obsidian Age storyline, not entirely, but if King Orin has been turned into some sort of water elemental…
Maybe Robert could find him? Or at least check.
And why would he get turned into…
Authority. He's the king. If she killed him and turned him into a clay zombie, he wouldn't have the authority any longer. Then Artur inherits, and then… Ah, Atlantis isn't strictly hereditary, so I imagine that Queen Mera would take the throne? I suppose she just decided that this way was more efficacious.
And there he is. I
step out and walk towards the white glow,
emerging into a-.
Construct barrier up as the cloud of ghost crows swarms towards me, link the barrier to my tattoos and-. Yep, they're hitting a good deal harder than actual birds, but it's nothing that I can't cope with. Can't immediately see Dr. Balewa and something here is throwing off my scans.
No prizes for guessing who the problem is.
"Manitou Raven, I don't know what you think we're here for, but we just want to make sure that Queen Gamemnae is still dead. I know that you can hear and understand me."
He doesn't respond, if he's even here. He… Isn't immortal, or rather he wasn't in the comics. He just used an existing rift in time to skip the intervening time to the present. Don't know what happened here-.
A pair of glowing eyes appear in the flapping cloud of birds in front of me.
"She is gone. Slipped the bonds of the fallen gods."
"Right. We're working on that. If you like, I can take you and Dawn to Teth Adom's home while we plan the next stage?"
"He lives?"
"A great deal has happened, and lashing out without knowing the whole story isn't going to help anyone." I drop my barrier and hold out my right hand. "So how about it?"
09:22 GMT -6
I did not want to come here ever.
As far as I've been able to tell, the Aztecs only narrowly lose out to the Dahomey in the contest for being the most evil functioning pre-20th century human civilisation ever. Then the socialists happened and I'm not sure exactly how the two compare, but as a superhero and a space soldier it's sobering to realise that if they existed today fighting them would be worth my time. And it's sobering to remember that they were killed not by Spain but by their neighbours with a little Spanish guidance because they were demanding a tribute of human sacrifices from them and everyone hated them.
Really, the best you can say about them is that they genuinely believed that the human sacrifice was necessary to replenish the gods, as opposed to the Dahomey who just did it for fun.
Dr. Balewa has gotten ahead of me, and my environmental shield is dimming.
"You did not recover theh armour?"
"No. No one knew exactly where it was, and I certainly didn't want to draw anyone's attention to the magic power of ritual sacrifice. Plus it's not even that good."
"There is nothing to be gained by lying. I can see the disgust written on your face."
"I was justifying my decision strategically. I'm not denying that I hate it. The League of Ancients weren't heroes in the modern sense. Not as a group. Some of them would pass muster, but…"
"I understand your disgust at Tezumak, but why do you so dislike the others? Including Rama Khan and your friend Teth Adom."
"Remember how I went off on one at the League after I killed Nabu?"
He makes an expression of earnest enquiry. "No, it has entirely slipped my mind."
I sniff. "I understand that slavery has been normal for most of human civilisation. Adom's Kahndaq had slavery. Fine. It would be completely unreasonable for me to condemn them for something that was completely normal. I might judge them based on how they treated their slaves, but that's it. But Tezumak's people raided and murdered by the bushel and the other members treated him as a fellow noble hero. Sela was… I can't think of anyone like her in the modern era. A super powered berserker who fought and killed for fun and only joined up with the League for better fights. I suppose you could argue that it was better to keep her inside pissing out than outside pissing in, but I think that killing her would also have served perfectly well."
"And the others?"
"Anointed One was raised by the Is-. By the Hebrews before the Kingdom of Israel was destroyed. Back when they were genocide-happy, and all the rules that came from Moses were just polite suggestions. They probably weren't objectively much worse than everyone around them, but that's not saying much when everyone around you is like that."
"And you will not excuse the others for working with them as you will not accept the Justice League tolerating Nabu."
"Y-es. And you heard Rama Khan; he was regretful that he didn't warn them soon enough to save their lives, not about any of the other stuff they got up to."
"It was a long time ago."
"I consider Adom a friend because he's reformed. Mister Cantrell and Ms Parker retained their current life's morals when they got their memories back, and since they're not exactly the same people regret is superfluous. But I'm marking Rama Khan down."
"Have you considered that he believes in reincarnation?"
"So? That just means that he was fine with his comrades in arms being reincarnated as dung beetles for their cruelty." I look down. "Have you found it yet?"
"Yes. Still… I em interested in what you think of me."
"If I didn't think you were a good choice for the Justice League you wouldn't be on the Justice League. Any crimes you committed were at the dawn of civilisation, and you wouldn't repeat them. As far as your attitude to superhumans goes, I.. mostly agree, which is why I've been trying to get other people to do things rather than just building a city of the future myself and inviting the new Eloi to live in it."
He frowns faintly. "Who are the Eloi? That was a proper noun, I think."
"Read 'The Time Traveller' by H.G. Wells. Or watch the films; they explain the concept reasonably well."
"I will. Still, you are the one who used it."
"Human pets, beautiful but incapable of caring for themselves." I pointedly look down. "Can we go?"
"The area is still solid rock. For the most part. It may be easiest if I go alone."
"Not unless there's an excellent reason. Going alone is not a good idea. I can phase or teleport to you once you arrive."
"Then follow me."
He shimmers and fades, and I wait.
When they killed Queen Gamemnae they wanted to make sure that it stuck. So they opened a cavern in Tezumak's city and sacrificed her to the Aztec gods. I really hope that it's still there, but I know perfectly well that the Aztec afterlife was a mess during the Anti-Life period and that just about anything could have happened. Of course that doesn't explain why we're dealing with Ahri'ahn rather than Gamemnae, unless he's a clay zombie or she's using an illusion or… I don't know. We're not reenacting the Obsidian Age storyline, not entirely, but if King Orin has been turned into some sort of water elemental…
Maybe Robert could find him? Or at least check.
And why would he get turned into…
Authority. He's the king. If she killed him and turned him into a clay zombie, he wouldn't have the authority any longer. Then Artur inherits, and then… Ah, Atlantis isn't strictly hereditary, so I imagine that Queen Mera would take the throne? I suppose she just decided that this way was more efficacious.
And there he is. I
step out and walk towards the white glow,
emerging into a-.
Construct barrier up as the cloud of ghost crows swarms towards me, link the barrier to my tattoos and-. Yep, they're hitting a good deal harder than actual birds, but it's nothing that I can't cope with. Can't immediately see Dr. Balewa and something here is throwing off my scans.
No prizes for guessing who the problem is.
"Manitou Raven, I don't know what you think we're here for, but we just want to make sure that Queen Gamemnae is still dead. I know that you can hear and understand me."
He doesn't respond, if he's even here. He… Isn't immortal, or rather he wasn't in the comics. He just used an existing rift in time to skip the intervening time to the present. Don't know what happened here-.
A pair of glowing eyes appear in the flapping cloud of birds in front of me.
"She is gone. Slipped the bonds of the fallen gods."
"Right. We're working on that. If you like, I can take you and Dawn to Teth Adom's home while we plan the next stage?"
"He lives?"
"A great deal has happened, and lashing out without knowing the whole story isn't going to help anyone." I drop my barrier and hold out my right hand. "So how about it?"
Last edited:
Darko
Connoisseur.
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And given that this setting has magic that was probably true.
"make"
If there were magical Aztec defenses then they were probably broken when Mannheim ate the gods.
Cernunus mentioned that magic connected to the Aztec belief system would be destroyed.
Wonder why they stuck her there.
Maybe it was because they killed her on their territory, or the gods of the other pantheons weren't strong enough.
Maybe she awake when Atlantis came back, or Ahri'ahn brought her back because he found her useful.
Heck, they could have been planning this for millenia.
Yeah, when they found him he was basically skin and bones.
Lord Ernest
At the End...
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So the fall of the Aztec or mesoamerican afterlife due to the Anti-Life plot allowed Gamemnae to free herself. And then she found or was found by Ahri'ahn, changing whatever original scheme there was to its current form, just like in the Renegade the presence of humanoid Nabu produced that Dream-influenced plan.
NightmareWarden
Versed in the lewd.
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So is Ahri'ahn working for Gamemnae, enchanted by her, or some sort of fleshy disguise for the witch herself? Two archwizards to fight is different than one.
Also, given that we saw that Zatanna and the Sharkbros making progress, I wonder if Diana will come up with a contribution. Poseidon should have recovered from his injury at Oceanus' hands, so what information or tool could make a difference here? FRANKLY, Superman got a moment to shine against demon-possessed Superman and Batman helped break the anti-life curse. Wonder Woman could use an epic feat, beyond bouncing back a wicked spellcaster's magicks with her cuffs.
Also, given that we saw that Zatanna and the Sharkbros making progress, I wonder if Diana will come up with a contribution. Poseidon should have recovered from his injury at Oceanus' hands, so what information or tool could make a difference here? FRANKLY, Superman got a moment to shine against demon-possessed Superman and Batman helped break the anti-life curse. Wonder Woman could use an epic feat, beyond bouncing back a wicked spellcaster's magicks with her cuffs.
Agumentic
I trust you know where the happy button is?
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Wouldn't Tezumak be from a civilization way before Aztecs if he is from five thousand years ago? I suppose maybe time travel of some kind was involved, or Mezoamerican history was very different on Earth-16. Also, looking for that in the story-only, Gamemnae's grave was in the different place before.
Chojin Patriarch
Veteran Lurker
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Moral standards change, and with them the standards by which past civilisations are judged. But in some cases, there were some nations who just pissed off everyone around them and got their asses handed to them for it...
That's worrying. Him losing focus, or just some manner of dampening power?
It was powerful enough for its time, certainly. But he has access to better technology, not powered by the blood of forsaken children...
We can dislike something without hating it, and we can hate something while still tolerating it. Humans are complicated things, full of hypocrisy.
It's certainly hard to forget. But in this case, I think he wants to see if OL's thoughts on the matter have changed any.
Though it would have been a difficult fight, especially if her combat abilities scaled with the quality of her foes.
Yeah, Old Testament God and the Hebrews of the time didn't fuck around.
Because as far as he was concerned, their actions were normal... At the time.
I'm sure he's heartbroken about your opinion of him...
Simply freeing men's souls to follow their karma. The art of turning men into ghosts was a common thing in those times.
Even if he sometimes feels like he's having to yank people by the collar to get up and do it themselves...
Heh. A good demonstration that long lives do not always mean cultured lives. Or at least cultured by western enlightenment ideals.
Presumably leaving the element of the Morlocks for him to discover, I see. Though I imagine he'd equate them to the criminal and the obstructive.
True, always a bad idea to split a party, even one of two.
Ah, the joy of waiting for a safe chance to teleport to teammate...
It's entirely likely that she escaped during the whole affair, especially after he fought that deity of sacrificed dead that was attacking Themyscira.
That was a strange part of the Obsidian Age, though it did make for an amazing scene where the League cut a canal to take water-Aquaman to the sea proper where he powers up big-time..
And takes him out of the equation as a potential threat... Until he gets set loose...
Appropriate. Wonder if he saw a bright light the last time he died?
Ah, hello, Manitou Raven. Standing guard over Gamemnae's bones, I suppose.
A hefty risk, given Balewa might be curious as to how he knew it was Raven, but he could probably claim it was a guess based on information about the ancient league.
And that is the sort of thing that would be enough to drive off lesser men than OL or Balewa.
So, she is at liberty in unlife.
A gesture with some meaning to Raven. To offer friendship even as he is being attacked? He is either wise or brave.
So, then. Confirmation that Gamemnae's spirit is out there somewhere. What part she's played in Atlantis' second raising will become clear soon enough, I bet. And gaining the aid of Manitou Raven should be a significant thing for the inevitable battle for the fate of Atlantis. At least he's not a foe to begin with here. and that's three of the ancient League reunited. I wonder if any others will appear...
GhostKing 666
Know what you're doing yet?
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And the Hebrews were an Iron Age culture, but that doesn't stop the Anointed One from being a thing too. Comics Book writers know shit about history, in other news scientists have discovered that fire is hot.
Ngamer11
Experienced.
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That should say 'He'.
I'm really enjoying Paul's conversations with Balewa. Balewa's ideas are so different from the norm that Paul's own strange ideas are more comprehensible to him.
Wasn't expecting to see Manitou Raven. At least now there's more confirmation on who the big bad is.
Darko
Connoisseur.
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I think that when they met him, he mentioned that he was from a previous civilization that eventually evolved into being Aztec.
Darko
Connoisseur.
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Heck, even if he considered their actions abhorrent, he may have still been okay with them.
Remember that at Adom and Adrianna's wedding, he mentioned that they united to fight a great threat and fought a hundred other foes.
They probably saved each other's lives dozens of times.
That would lead them to accepting their fellows actions.
Killing a child for power is evil, but the rest may have found it okay since he's using that power to protect the world.
Zoat mentioned that he apparently only recently learned English.
Paul is friends with Adom, so it wouldn't be unusual for Adom to tell him about his former teammates' powers.
BR549
This is filth! FILTH!!
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I think the answer is right here:
'Do Not Want'.
WereDragon
Bookwyrm
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So how is that Weaponer that Paul deliberately set out to recruit? You know, the guy who genuinely wants and actively works towards the total annihilation of all existence?
Lord Ernest
At the End...
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Supposedly, he would be from some undefined Mesoamerican culture that eventually progressed to diversify into the Nahuas, just like the Mexicas (aka Aztecs) considered the Toltecs their predecessors.
Also, this:
Mr Zoat
Dedicated ragequitter
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Nope.
Thank you, corrected.
They're probably technically proto-Aztecs.
Sephtian thought it was, yes.
The Morlocks are the productive members of society. Engineers, labourers and... Farmers. They don't look pretty but they're the ones doing anything worthwhile. It would be easier to fix their diet than get the Eloi to work.
Huh.
He's fine, thank you for asking. He's also not doing any of that, and is starting to notice.
Ngamer11
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Does this mean he's going to "act out" or tender his resignation in order to devote more time to universal destruction?
Agumentic
I trust you know where the happy button is?
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That one actually does more or less work with the original timeline of ~1000 BC, though. It's just particularly egregious with Aztecs, since they emerge in, like, Late Middle Ages, so it would be like Anointed One being a Knight Hospitaller, which is the kind of thing the fic usually lampshades a bit.
PDV
Revelation That Uncertainty Is Itself An Answer
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Sometimes I think Zoat dances on the edge of Rule 8 like a ballerina along a wooden fence, just because getting banned again without another forum lined up is the only acceptable reason to stop writing WTR.
Most of the time I just think he enjoys it as an exercise in trolling. And who among us does not, really?
So. Unforeseen consequences to the rampage that freed Themiscyra.
...Worth, tho.
Most of the time I just think he enjoys it as an exercise in trolling. And who among us does not, really?
So. Unforeseen consequences to the rampage that freed Themiscyra.
...Worth, tho.
Mr Zoat
Dedicated ragequitter
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What did I do this time?
NightmareWarden
Versed in the lewd.
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Probably. Or work some backup project for if his return to the Qwardian world fails to meet his standards. So, a long term project. Remember that Kalmin is a true believer in the Anti-Monitor, and he refuses to be a weapons merchant. I suspect he will not eliminate the peers he has made, but he will do something controversial.
Ideally something that really stings the Controllers.
Prince Charon
Just zis guy, you know?
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For myself, I suspect that whatever it is, is enough of a stretch that you're unlikely to get in trouble.
xSieg
Getting sticky.
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huh. That seems ominous, though I'd imagine Kalmin isn't going to jump ship as he's a true ideologue of the Anti-Monitor and would never bow to Darkseid or the Reach.
Maybe he found the Devlos armor fragment logs that the Controllers researched and didn't keep a tight enough lid on?
Cuchulin
Versed in the lewd.
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From what I have read and heard? Mesomerica had a strong cultural continuity going back further than 1,000 BC. The Aztecs may have been relative newcomers, but a religion that ran on spilling human blood and wars capture people to offer to the gods wasn't. Also, the Mesoamerican ball game where the losing team may have lost literally everything goes back about that far.
Last edited:
Supnautica (part 42)
Mr Zoat
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7th May 2013
17:33 GMT +2
"It's not that you can't go outside-" Dawn Raven looks decidedly unhappy with me, and while I doubt that's due to my actions I'm certainly the proximate cause. "-Missus Raven, it's just that I think it's a bad idea until you've had more time to get used to your new environment."
Adom actually broke off a meeting about expanding Kahndaq's railway network into its new territory in order to meet Manitou Raven. He actually hugged him, something which seems to have rather surprised Manitou. Given the man's generally unkempt appearance and Adam's perfectly tailored 'power wardrobe', the image was actually quite amusing, like a powerful head of state embracing a random crazy homeless person.
"There is nothing for me to do here, and I remember what Kahndaq looked like."
Rama Khan activated his jar of dirt, and Mister and Missus Cantrell are heading this way now, so that's nearly enough for a full reunion. Just Gamemnae herself left, really.
"It-. Ah… It doesn't look like that anymore. It's been-."
"Many years. I know."
"And if we weren't in the middle of a crisis I'd be happy to bring you up to speed. It's what I did for Adom. But right now there are a handful of places on the planet that wouldn't be completely overwhelming in their strangeness, and no one there would speak your language."
I could pry into her psyche, but I don't know what sort of protection or detection spells she's got running on her, and it would be rather rude even if she didn't. But from what I do remember about her from the comics...
She married Manitou mostly because no one else in their tribe would put up with her, he married her because he didn't want her to be made an outcast but focused exclusively on his job resulting in them never really getting close. She had an affair with Kyle Rayner because he actually paid attention to her while acting as her modernity tutor, and Manitou's reaction was 'I'm not really surprised' and then he died.
I'm probably skipping a few things.
The point is that she hates being contained, having people tell her what to do and not being in control, and while I'm doing the first two the third is firmly her husband's fault. I'm not sure why he brought her to the future with him… Frankly, it seems like it would have been better for him to handle that duty himself and suggest that she spend the rest of her life in Jarhanpur. But here she is, completely unprepared for the 21st century. And the thing is, if this had happened 200 years ago she could probably handle 1800s Kahndaq just fine.
"I could take you to Themyscira, if you like? There're a couple of women there with universal language comprehension? Or I could assign you an aide?"
"What is Themyscira?"
"It's an island in the Ag-. Off the coast of G-. Ah. An island in the land of the Hellenes? I'm a citizen, and I'm on good terms with most of their rulers."
She looks me over suspiciously. "You are.. like them? Like my husband?"
"More like the Whaler, if you remember him. As I said, we-."
She darts… To my right, towards a… Curtain-covered window-.
I lamely reach out with my right hand. "I don't think-."
She tugs the curtain aside and stares out at the Shiruta skyline. And she doesn't flinch or cringe or scream in panic, she just sort of blinks uncomprehendingly.
"You see-."
She clenches her fists, and dives at the window in.. what is actually an impressive display of athleticism. Naturally the modern hardened glass-
"Akgh!"
-survives and her hands get the worst of it.
"Our glass is much better than it used to be. Would you accept me healing you?"
"I am not injured."
"Not seriously, but that's going to hurt for a while."
She glares at me for a moment, then goes back to looking out of the window, her hands rubbing each other in front of her.
Ring, contact Lantern Son of Great Mother and ask him to come here.
Compliance.
And… Ugh. Dawn-. This is me trying to be a good person, but the fact is that I'm not going to prioritise her. I'm just giving Teth Adom and Rama Khan enough time to bring Manitou Raven up to speed without crowding him before we move onto the next stage. And I-.
Incoming communication.
From?
Zatanna Zatara.
"Excuse me."
I take a step back and raise my left hand to my ear. "Orange Lantern here."
"Does the name 'Joy' mean anything to you?"
"The nurse in the Pokémon games?"
"Is she a magical nurse?"
"No-. Probably not, but it's never really explained why there's a copy of her in every Pokémon Centre."
…
"Has Dad been talking to you?"
Huh? "Ah. Not recently? Why?"
"Oh. N-. Never mind."
"So where did you get 'joy' from?"
"The fish eaters found a group of clay zombie wizards working on a giant rune-" Send it to her. "-on one-. Yeah, just like that. Apparently it's the rune for 'joy', but I can't think of any 'joy' association that would have anything to do with Atlantis rising out of the water."
"Because it would make the people joyful?"
"No, it-. Someone could gather power through joy, but the rune would need to focus that energy and this just… Doesn't."
"But the focus could be somewhere else, couldn't it?"
"I.. think so? You'd still need some sort of mark to link them."
"Ahri'ahn used a group of triangles as his personal emblem, but… I think that the Ahri'ahn we're seeing is another clay zombie. I think the person actually responsible is Queen Gamemnae."
"Isn't she dead?"
"They sacrificed her to the Aztec gods. You know what happened to them."
"Does that change anything for us?"
"It might make removing the mental effect easier if we can dramatically blow her cover. I… Guess she's pretty joyful about the return to the surface?"
"I'll… Keep looking. Zatanna out."
I nod, lower my hand-.
There's a flash of orange as Lantern Son of Great Mother appears. Dawn turns around, knife in hand.
"I am ready to serve."
"What is that?"
"Lantern Son of Great Mother will be your escort. He can take you anywhere and tell you anything. Excuse me."
17:33 GMT +2
"It's not that you can't go outside-" Dawn Raven looks decidedly unhappy with me, and while I doubt that's due to my actions I'm certainly the proximate cause. "-Missus Raven, it's just that I think it's a bad idea until you've had more time to get used to your new environment."
Adom actually broke off a meeting about expanding Kahndaq's railway network into its new territory in order to meet Manitou Raven. He actually hugged him, something which seems to have rather surprised Manitou. Given the man's generally unkempt appearance and Adam's perfectly tailored 'power wardrobe', the image was actually quite amusing, like a powerful head of state embracing a random crazy homeless person.
"There is nothing for me to do here, and I remember what Kahndaq looked like."
Rama Khan activated his jar of dirt, and Mister and Missus Cantrell are heading this way now, so that's nearly enough for a full reunion. Just Gamemnae herself left, really.
"It-. Ah… It doesn't look like that anymore. It's been-."
"Many years. I know."
"And if we weren't in the middle of a crisis I'd be happy to bring you up to speed. It's what I did for Adom. But right now there are a handful of places on the planet that wouldn't be completely overwhelming in their strangeness, and no one there would speak your language."
I could pry into her psyche, but I don't know what sort of protection or detection spells she's got running on her, and it would be rather rude even if she didn't. But from what I do remember about her from the comics...
She married Manitou mostly because no one else in their tribe would put up with her, he married her because he didn't want her to be made an outcast but focused exclusively on his job resulting in them never really getting close. She had an affair with Kyle Rayner because he actually paid attention to her while acting as her modernity tutor, and Manitou's reaction was 'I'm not really surprised' and then he died.
I'm probably skipping a few things.
The point is that she hates being contained, having people tell her what to do and not being in control, and while I'm doing the first two the third is firmly her husband's fault. I'm not sure why he brought her to the future with him… Frankly, it seems like it would have been better for him to handle that duty himself and suggest that she spend the rest of her life in Jarhanpur. But here she is, completely unprepared for the 21st century. And the thing is, if this had happened 200 years ago she could probably handle 1800s Kahndaq just fine.
"I could take you to Themyscira, if you like? There're a couple of women there with universal language comprehension? Or I could assign you an aide?"
"What is Themyscira?"
"It's an island in the Ag-. Off the coast of G-. Ah. An island in the land of the Hellenes? I'm a citizen, and I'm on good terms with most of their rulers."
She looks me over suspiciously. "You are.. like them? Like my husband?"
"More like the Whaler, if you remember him. As I said, we-."
She darts… To my right, towards a… Curtain-covered window-.
I lamely reach out with my right hand. "I don't think-."
She tugs the curtain aside and stares out at the Shiruta skyline. And she doesn't flinch or cringe or scream in panic, she just sort of blinks uncomprehendingly.
"You see-."
She clenches her fists, and dives at the window in.. what is actually an impressive display of athleticism. Naturally the modern hardened glass-
"Akgh!"
-survives and her hands get the worst of it.
"Our glass is much better than it used to be. Would you accept me healing you?"
"I am not injured."
"Not seriously, but that's going to hurt for a while."
She glares at me for a moment, then goes back to looking out of the window, her hands rubbing each other in front of her.
Ring, contact Lantern Son of Great Mother and ask him to come here.
Compliance.
And… Ugh. Dawn-. This is me trying to be a good person, but the fact is that I'm not going to prioritise her. I'm just giving Teth Adom and Rama Khan enough time to bring Manitou Raven up to speed without crowding him before we move onto the next stage. And I-.
Incoming communication.
From?
Zatanna Zatara.
"Excuse me."
I take a step back and raise my left hand to my ear. "Orange Lantern here."
"Does the name 'Joy' mean anything to you?"
"The nurse in the Pokémon games?"
"Is she a magical nurse?"
"No-. Probably not, but it's never really explained why there's a copy of her in every Pokémon Centre."
…
"Has Dad been talking to you?"
Huh? "Ah. Not recently? Why?"
"Oh. N-. Never mind."
"So where did you get 'joy' from?"
"The fish eaters found a group of clay zombie wizards working on a giant rune-" Send it to her. "-on one-. Yeah, just like that. Apparently it's the rune for 'joy', but I can't think of any 'joy' association that would have anything to do with Atlantis rising out of the water."
"Because it would make the people joyful?"
"No, it-. Someone could gather power through joy, but the rune would need to focus that energy and this just… Doesn't."
"But the focus could be somewhere else, couldn't it?"
"I.. think so? You'd still need some sort of mark to link them."
"Ahri'ahn used a group of triangles as his personal emblem, but… I think that the Ahri'ahn we're seeing is another clay zombie. I think the person actually responsible is Queen Gamemnae."
"Isn't she dead?"
"They sacrificed her to the Aztec gods. You know what happened to them."
"Does that change anything for us?"
"It might make removing the mental effect easier if we can dramatically blow her cover. I… Guess she's pretty joyful about the return to the surface?"
"I'll… Keep looking. Zatanna out."
I nod, lower my hand-.
There's a flash of orange as Lantern Son of Great Mother appears. Dawn turns around, knife in hand.
"I am ready to serve."
"What is that?"
"Lantern Son of Great Mother will be your escort. He can take you anywhere and tell you anything. Excuse me."
Last edited:
Whenever Possible
Versed in the lewd.
- Joined
- May 19, 2016
- Messages
- 2,371
If joyboy shows up and makes this a one piece crossover...
Shadowj6480
Know what you're doing yet?
- Joined
- Oct 12, 2021
- Messages
- 116
...Huh. Now that I think about it, none of the "Meanwhile in universe X" snippets have taken place in an anime setting. At least as far as I'm aware. Honestly kind of interesting. I feel like a version of OL would have an interesting time applying his usual desires for improving places.
I'm reminded of a quote from a fic I can't remember that went along the lines of "[Anime character name] can toss people across cities? Why the hell isn't she working for Nasa?! She could be making so much more money doing that!". Which I think would just be his whole vibe lol.
Ngamer11
Experienced.
- Joined
- Jan 28, 2019
- Messages
- 3,778
For a moment there I thought Paul was going to be self-aware enough to realize he might end up in Kyle's position.