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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. rdfox

    rdfox Know what you're doing yet?

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    You know, I see this line, and all I can think of is my single favorite Bond villain line ever:

    "Mister Bond is leaving..."


    (The picture has nothing to do with the audio.)
     
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  2. Darko

    Darko Connoisseur.

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    But somehow it just makes it better.
     
  3. Coda

    Coda Versed in the lewd.

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    Gee, with a comment like that you might attract a blue ring of your own. ;)

    Traditional Indigo is probably better compared to Anti-Green than Green in that regard. Indigo doesn't overclock to the same extent as Anti-Green, so it's not lethal, but the side effects on the user are a feature for the Indigo Tribe.

    That said, apparently Stewart was able to use an Indigo ring using his own compassion instead of being brainwashed. It took him some time before he was able to pull it off effectively, but by the end of his time wielding it he was able to use its ability to manipulate the other colors, which I assume isn't trivial.

    Probably misinterpreting "inversions" as meaning "reversed" instead of being the name of a group.
     
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  4. Darko

    Darko Connoisseur.

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    Thank you!

    But seriously I really hope she gets one.

    She deserves it and it will greatly help her out.

    Don't forget Kyle.
     
  5. Coda

    Coda Versed in the lewd.

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    I didn't forget Kyle, I think he's just not a good example. He never demonstrated any particular ability with Indigo beyond his Chosen One levels of "I can do everything".
     
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  6. Vaermina

    Vaermina Well worn.

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    Most of the side stories are still good, and Paragon itself is still interesting to read in a technical sense since the story itself peaked awhile ago.

    That said, being critical of specific things in a story doesn't mean you hate it, it means you are critical of those specific things.
     
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  7. Bramble Thorn

    Bramble Thorn Verified Silhouette

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    And also that this is the most personally powerful Orange Lantern, and 2nd in command of the OLC, who is casually dropping factiods about his homeworld into the conversation. A conclusion that he is not overly worried about his homeworld suffering Reach reprisals for one reason or another, and may in fact be trying to schmuck bait you into attacking a well defended location well beyond your usual supply chains and area of control, someplace that has been previously prepared against the Reach specifically.
     
  8. Maxx Crowley

    Maxx Crowley I trust you know where the happy button is?

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    Every Jade/Paul interaction always seems weird to me.

    It always feels like OL is navigating this really weird minefield with her and I don't know why. Like, none of the other girls give off that vibe. Not even the literal goddess of Nightmares.

    It's like...I blocked Vaermina after his goal-post moving shit where he asked for panels, I gave them, and he still tried to "Nuh uh" it.

    Even with that, I knew who this was for instantly.

    So I'll say...No, Vaermina takes issue with literally everything. Claiming over and over things are now going to happen, that of course, never happen.

    Like "Good Job OL, you did a THING. You fucking moron. Don't you know what happens when you do a THING? STUFF HAPPENS!"

    Part of me thinks Zoat takes joy in that. He should.
     
    Last edited: Dec 17, 2020
  9. Doccer

    Doccer I trust you know where the happy button is?

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    I don't get what nationality has to do with rings.
    Otherwise: Mr Zoat. Would Paul become smug enough to create a new Lantern corps of The Lanterns of Smugness? Just one Lantern at the very least?
     
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  10. Darko

    Darko Connoisseur.

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    It was a joke about the whole trope in anime of girls receiving powerful magical devices that are powered by love.

     
  11. Coda

    Coda Versed in the lewd.

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    I think it's because he actually cares enough about the relationship to want to not screw it up, so he's extra careful. And since he knows so much about her, he knows a lot of potential issues he might encounter, so he's heading those off before they have a chance to blow up on him.

    It feels pretty relatable to me. My wife has depression and its corresponding self-esteem issues. I love her dearly, more than anything else, but I also know about her history before she met me and about her insecurities. It doesn't take a whole lot of provocation for her to feel inferior and unworthy. Our strengths are in different areas, so her comparing herself to me on things I'm good at can trigger it. Trying to tell her she's not bad at stuff doesn't help, because when she has a depressive episode she sees any evidence that would refute her unworthiness as unimportant and insufficient.

    But what is meaningful is that I love her no matter how she feels about herself. That I didn't marry her just because she could live up to any specific set of qualifications. That she's valuable and meaningful to me for who she is, not for anything that she might struggle with when depression has her feeling helpless.

    So yeah, OL's behavior here matches what I would expect for his circumstances.
     
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  12. Threadmarks: Over Reaching (supplementary, Renegade Option)
    Mr Zoat

    Mr Zoat Dedicated ragequitter

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    3rd July 2012
    20:13 GMT -7


    "…seemed to get on well."

    Luna nods thoughtfully as we trot through the Canterlot palace.

    "We did not get much of a chance to speak with Circe prior to Sunset's ascension. It is… When We first spoke with our sister 'pon our return to Equestria, We were… Struck, by how she had changed. Though her outward aspect was as it had been when We.. left, her manner of speech-."

    "You-."

    "Not merely the words. Much as We might like if it the lexicon of ponykind had remained unchanged, We did not expect such stasis. E'en in Our youth, the manner of speech of the tribes varied greatly. An aristocrat from Unicornia might struggle to understand or be understood by a farmer from Puddingville."

    It's the way she says those names with a straight face.

    "Nay, it is the way she spoke, not the words she used. After a thousand years of life, t'was not merely the words which had changed. She is a very different pony. Yet, at times, she is not. When We speak of our youths together 'tis as if no time has passed at all, yet when I speak with her on some point of history she grows… Almost… Vacant, for a moment."

    "It's probably not that easy to remember a whole era without a reference."

    "She does something similar when We ask about a point of law or legal custom. No doubt she is casting her mind back to the situation which led to it arising, but it is… Strange to see. A face so familiar briefly becoming so unfamiliar."

    We pause on a cobbled veranda, looking out across the artfully arranged flowerbeds. It took the gardeners a little while to get it back under control after Sunset's floramancy test, but they've done sterling work.

    "I suppose we've both got that to look forward to." I shrug, and I actually manage it without flipping myself over. "I could ask Hippolyta if Circe does something like that, but they're both roughly the same age so I'm not sure if she'd notice."

    "It did not occur to either of us to ask Starswirl if becoming… We did not say 'alicorn'. That word meant something different in those days."

    "What did you call… What you are?"

    "Starswirl described what we would become to us as 'winged unicorns'."

    I frown. "So were you not meant to have Earth Pony attributes?"

    "No, t'was always the aim to grant us the magics of all three tribes. Rockhoof did query the name at the time. Starswirl stated that he chose it because the wings and horn would be the most outwardly visible sign of our change."

    "Aside from being more than twice the size of a normal pony."

    Luna smiles. "From what We remember of his expression, We do not think that he entirely anticipated that aspect of our metamorphosis."

    I raise my eyebrows. "Sunset was right about him not knowing what he was doing?"

    "We would not put it quite that way. He knew that combining the magics of the three tribes in a single individual would produce a change, and the fact that we survived indicates that he…"

    She stares impassively at my face.

    "You are wondering how many times he attempted it before us."

    "Little bit."

    "You have a most suspicious mind."

    "I-." … "Yeah, maybe. I'm not trying to say that he was just.. transforming you to show that he could or anything, but Sunset was pretty clear what could go wrong if the caster misjudged things. If he couldn't be certain exactly what would happen, a certain amount of trial and error might have been necessary."

    "It could." We both turn -Luna with more grace than I- as Celestia emerges from behind a tall bush. "But we lived in an isolated manor near a small village. If anypony had gone missing, we wouldn't have missed the hue and cry."

    I raise my eyebrows. "'Hue and cry'?"

    Celestia bows her head slightly. "Luna's way of speaking is rubbing off on me. It did use to be mine as well."

    "Sister." Luna walks over to nuzzle her. "How fare you this eve?"

    "I am…" She sighs. "Sunset has been spending time with Twilight."

    "Yes?" I shrug again. "She sees Twilight as a kindred spirit and fellow magic talent. She doesn't let the fact that Twilight's your student get in the way, and… Twilight doesn't let the fact that Sunset works for me get in the way."

    "Generous of her."

    "Either the law applies to everyone or there isn't a law, just degrees of privilege." I frown. "Where did Spike's egg come from?"

    Luna wing-prods me and I look away.

    "Question withdrawn."

    Celestia smiles at her sister. "Did you have a good time?"

    "We met many interesting humans, and together we valiantly 'muddled through' the pedagogical parts of the event. We found considerable relief in seeing such experts as out of their depths as We often are, and think that We would like to attend future such events."

    "I'm glad. And you, Grayven?"

    "Sunset's kept me up to date as she goes, and since I don't really use magic in the way Luna does it doesn't have the same impact for me."

    "Have you enjoyed your time in Equestria?"

    "Yah. Just the rest-cure I needed. And from what I've been picking up, Artemis feels the same way."

    "I'd glad that you feel that way. I.. have a request to make. I-."

    "Sorry, but I'm a one-mare stallion."

    "That-."

    "Though one of my brothers is single. Ah. We've been out of touch-."

    Her head rises and her eyes narrow. "It was you! You're the reason why my guards think that Twilight and I-. Luna, stop laughing!"

    Luna's mouth twitches spasmodically and she bangs her right forehoof on the cobbles in an attempt to bring herself back under control.

    "We-. We are sorry. We are sorry." Luna waves her right forehoof. "Pray, continue."

    Celestia takes a deep and calming breath. "I would like to try to reconcile with Sunset Shimmer once again. Since you-" I wince. "-are on good terms with her… Is there a problem?"

    "Your last meeting with her ending with her storming off wasn't enough of a clue?"

    "Sunset storming off was how a great many of our conversations ended before her… Time away. She always came to her senses-."

    "You mean 'acquiesced'. Look, I can accept that you genuinely care about her wellbeing and are just really bad at showing it, but… Do you genuinely not understand what she's angry about? The way you refused to either teach her or directly tell her that you weren't going to teach her? The way you concealed information and then acted like she was in the wrong when the whole reason she became your student was to learn magic from you? Am I getting through? Or has the millennia-long obsequiousness of an entire country reduced you to the point where you can no longer understand that you can be wrong?"

    Celestia regards me levelly. "If you do not wish to help-."

    "I want to help her, and I'm not going to talk her into talking to you again if it's just going to end up the same way it did last time, with her curled up under my wing and crying because you can't get your head around the idea that your living plush toy has thoughts and feelings of its own!"

    Celestia sits, eyes wide.

    "Yeah." I look away. "I'll mention it. And when this blows up in your face, maybe she'll do what I suggested and forget that you exist."

    Celestia's lips tremble, then she clambers to her hooves and turns to leave.



    [​IMG]

    "Though if you want my advice on an approach…" Celestia stops. "Don't talk about the past at all. Just do what she wanted from the start: teach her an actual magic lesson. Something she can't learn from anywhere else. I suggest teaching her how to control the sun, since my understanding is that you're the only pony who can do that. And think about what she's already told you."
     
    Last edited: Dec 17, 2020
  13. Darko

    Darko Connoisseur.

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    'did use to' or just remove 'did'

    'in seeing'

    maybe 'such future'

    Oh I bet she and he would just get along swimmingly.

    That was sarcasm.

    'are on good'

    What's the next episode called?
     
  14. Handlewithcare

    Handlewithcare Versed in the lewd.

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    Huh. I just realised that being Co-Ruler of an entire world for several centuries makes Grayven and Artemis equivalent to Luna and Celestia.

    And since Artemis is named after a moon goddess that clearly means Grayven = Celestia. QED.
     
  15. Mr Zoat

    Mr Zoat Dedicated ragequitter

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    Thank you, corrected.
    No, that's correct.
    At the moment it's called 'Back Seat'.
     
    Last edited: Oct 24, 2022
  16. Idkusername

    Idkusername Versed in the lewd.

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    Yeah, I can tell you that having an authority figure like how Celestia is portrayed here is not fun.
     
  17. Darko

    Darko Connoisseur.

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    Renegade really has the weirdest relationships with sisters, doesn't he.
     
  18. Chojin Patriarch

    Chojin Patriarch Veteran Lurker

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    Woof, my internet's finally finished it's yoyo impression...
    Now, are they talking about Pinkie and Artemis, or someone else, given the topics of previous 'Renegade' segments.

    Ah, I see, she's been visiting with some of Grayven's more long-lived associates. And I can see the issues in communication are still there for Luna...

    If it sounds unlikely, consider the shift in language between, say, Shakespearean English and modern. Not jsut the spelling of words, either. the very idioms the language is built on will shift over that time. For instance: 'Get thee to a nunnery' is basically the same as saying today :'You need to get laid!'

    Can you imagine trying to remember something that happened ten years ago? Not a significant thing, just some day-to-day occurrence. Now imagine the challenge of sifting through a century's worth of memories. A thousand? Ever heard of the trope called 'Time Abyss'? :confused: Yeah.

    Hmm... Sounds like Sunset's been investigating the limits of Earth Pony magical forms...

    Probably something closer to Nightmare Moon, eh? A monster to be feared, the existence of which has been forgotten in this era?

    Nice shout-out to the fandom's arguments before 'Magical Mystery Cure'...

    Heh. I suppose it would be kind of obvious.

    You're only going to pack so much magical energy into a certain-sized pony, after all... Even Twilight was larger when she was freshly ascended...

    ...But was that the first attempt at the spell? Would he have risked something untested on you two? ...Then again, he left a half-finished spell to switch Cutie Marks in his journals...

    And what happened to those previous subjects? The normal mind shudders at the prospect... "What we got back... Didn't live long."

    Eh, it's not really paranoia if someone's out to get you, after all...

    Who says Starswirl didn't do his work somewhere further away? Some Unicorns can teleport...

    She's probably enjoying using her old slang again. Troll a few nobles with confusing lingo... Maybe bring something back into fashion, even.

    I was wondering what the distant explosions were... Seriously, those two working together sounds as.. volatile as... Uh... Huh, I got nothing.

    I mean, does Twilight have any real reason to distrust you? ...Besides the whole accidental kidnapping and transmogrification bit...

    Tender subject, eh?

    Ah, changing the subject. A clever use of social-fu...

    Looks like Circe's arranging for quite the magical new stage in humanity's future...

    I mean, after getting slammed by the Elements like he did, I can see Celestia being at least a little nervous... She can probably pick up on his Godly nature, after all...

    Good to hear Artemis is feeling better. Probably not nearly as comfortable in her own world as she'd like to be, but getting there?

    Did she just throw a mental shoe? I mean, that's exactly the sort of thing I'd expect to derail her train of thought...

    So, how long has that little rumour been circulating by this point? Weeks? She is never getting rid of that...

    Heh, the pony equivalent of biting her knuckle, eh? If only cackling like a madwoman weren't so.. undignified.

    I'm sure it felt very familiar to her.

    Heh, thought so.

    Yeah, I can see where he's coming from.

    Yeah, Celestia didn't know about that, did she? Have to wonder how many times Sunset was left crying alone back then...

    Honestly, I'm not sure whether that'd be better for them or not. Those feelings will sit simmering deep inside... Better to get them out now before the pressure rises too high...

    Now, what would be an appropriate audio sting for that interrupt? You know, the same way ME2 and 3 had the paragon and Renegade sounds when you hit that mouse button/controller trigger?

    After all, Sun-butt... You're not planning on managing the Sun all your life, are you? You did want to retire someday? And what better way to show trust than to offer someone else the ability to do so?

    Well, a little late. But I see Celestia's finally trying to make amends for his earlier mistakes. I suspect some would say it's about damn time... And it's a chance the canon Celestia and Sunset Shimmer never got (to my knowledge...)


    Extra space.
     
  19. Darko

    Darko Connoisseur.

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    Plus Discord was running rampant and they needed to stop him.

    Or worse, it lived a long time, if you could call it living.

    Well Renegade did hurt some of her friends and emotionally hurt her.
     
  20. Mr Zoat

    Mr Zoat Dedicated ragequitter

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    Nearly getting Rarity arrested and nearly costing her custody of Spike?
    Thank you, corrected.
     
  21. Hell's Razer

    Hell's Razer Passive Member

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    Hell even if the memory is still there, given what we know of how human memory works in order to remember that might mean having to find the closest significant memory and go from there.
    Kinda like searching for a specific part in a VCR tape. (Wow I just dated my self... and lost roughly half the site with that reference.)
     
  22. moralrelativity

    moralrelativity Recovering pendant.

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    say -> says
     
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  23. Coda

    Coda Versed in the lewd.

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    While pedantically speaking you would be correct, "did used to" has been picking up acceptance in British English over the last couple of decades, and given the author's native dialect that might not actually be wrong anymore.
     
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  24. Mr Zoat

    Mr Zoat Dedicated ragequitter

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    Thank you, corrected.
     
  25. Stsword

    Stsword Versed in the lewd.

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    They got better.

    Sunset actually evolved past the obsessive power fixation that literally demonized her in the first movie and they made amends after Sunset actually achieved the emotional maturity Celestia was hoping for her in the first place, shown in one of the later movies.

    Unlike Renegade's Sunset, who as far as I can recall as done absolutely nothing to show she isn't one bad day from literal demonization.
     
  26. Slayer Anderson

    Slayer Anderson Orthodox Heretic

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    I see Sunset’s parents are still fighting.

    Hopefully, her mother will come to terms with why Sunset enjoys hanging out with her father more.
     
    Last edited: Dec 17, 2020
  27. Pez

    Pez Spaceman

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    *cough* Guardians of the Universe *cough*
     
  28. nick012000

    nick012000 Gone for Good

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    Gotta say, looking forward to the inevitable invasion of Equestria by Darkseid - or just a casual visit by him, which would amount to much the same thing.
     
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  29. Darko

    Darko Connoisseur.

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    The ponies better hide their furniture.
     
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  30. Pez

    Pez Spaceman

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    Celestial vs Darkseid... My money's on the pony. I think sun magic trumps Omega Beams.
     
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