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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. Darko

    Darko Connoisseur.

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    Maybe 'uncountried, various'

    Add a ,
     
  2. transhumansage

    transhumansage Versed in the lewd.

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    wait grayven is the prime minister of uk now?
     
  3. Darko

    Darko Connoisseur.

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    No, he was addressing the other guy there, who is the Prime Minister, and an ally of his.
     
  4. Chojin Patriarch

    Chojin Patriarch Veteran Lurker

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    Ah, from one Enlightened Lantern to another. There's just no getting away from the coloured quotes, is there, Mr Zoat? And that's the name of the Enlightened fellow that I keep forgetting! From embittered Police Detective to amazingly-restrained Prime Minister, all because of Grayven busting a secret society of devil-worshippers...

    Good luck getting that past all the regulatory groups, somewhat-curtailed political opposition and nutcase conspiracy theorists. :V

    Given the situation... Very?

    Not any more, though. With Cosmic Energy Collectors, everybody gets to be happy!

    The old 'if it ain't broke, why fix it?' logic eh? Bury your head in the sand and the problem will go away on its own... Guess that isn't working out so well now, is it?

    I wish I could comment, but so many of my ideas would run straight into Rule 8...

    Ah, name recognition. A solid case of 'better the devil politician you know...' Presumably by the next proper election all the incumbent replacements will have established themselves...

    Logical enough. Someone's got to provide a voice to say 'Is that a good idea?'

    I bet that makes matters awkward. Matters you can't discuss with non-Members and all that...

    :V Ha!

    Checking in on her work, eh? Making sure he hasn't gone total berserker yet? Despite the quite obvious provocation he gets every day...

    That would be an interesting trip to explain to Parliament... "Right, I have to go into another universe to take care of a medical matter..."

    Bit late for that, isn't it? His natural environment would be the detective's office of the Yard, or local pubs...

    Things are that unsettled still, eh? Good luck, Lantern Talbot...

    'Socialist Labour party...' Yeah, that doesn't raise all manner of red flags... Hopefully they turn out to be something of a paper tiger...

    Well, his only rivals in that field in this universe might be Adom, Orin, and maybe Rama Khan. Tapping into the larger multiverse brings in President Superman.

    Ah, his old-fashioned heroic approach to regime change upset a few international agreements, didn't it?

    Unfortunately, the world as it is now can't be ignored so easily, Adom. Ultimately, unless the New Light can head such things off, I foresee it ending poorly, like in the 52 Limited Series, following Infinite Crisis. Some neighbour will get it into their head that they can take him, trigger a war and Adom decides to get Biblical in his retribution...

    I suspect the general atmosphere in the UN Security Council is 'Oh god, not again. What did Kahndaq do this time?'

    I suppose that might be one way to develop a workforce for his Spacefleet without divided loyalties...

    Good to see the New Light doing things the old Light never would. Because they were supervillains.

    Well, then...

    "Cheeky bastard..." Grayven does like tweaking his allies' noses, doesn't he?

    Ah, Sunset's been visiting home, eh? Has she gotten around to seeing her parents, or is she still putting that awkwardness off?

    She's probably used to him casually popping out of Hush Tubes by now...

    You were expecting her to be upset about something?

    :oops: Ah... Yes, that would probably qualify as potentially upsetting...

    Without trying to kill each other? Progress! Let me guess, teaching her about being an Alicorn?

    Why do you sound almost surprised? Yes, she has problems, but Celestia is a thousand years old, she's no slouch in the socialisation department.

    Yes, that did sound a bit... Yes. It's what comes of her being more-or-less isolated from all concept of peers for so long, after Luna's exile. Given that even the highest-ranked nobles sort of defer to her like an almost religious figure...

    And that's an amusing symmetry: Twilight and Sunset, both transitions between Day and Night... If events on Equestria turn out anything like canon (they should be in season Four right now, aye?) The two of them will likely end up being a new Diarchy.

    :V Don't think she's not still annoyed at you about it, though.

    A pleasant little catch-up on the England situation that some of us might have forgotten about, and Sunset mostly getting along with her former mentor? I'm almost looking forwards to whose viewpoint pops up next...
     
  5. Prince Charon

    Prince Charon Just zis guy, you know?

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    Also, who really doesn't want to be, which is one of the things that makes him great for the job.
     
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  6. Stsword

    Stsword Versed in the lewd.

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    More specifically, he's talking to the cop he gave a red power ring to.

    So the UK prime minister spits acidic napalm-like substance that is in fact liquid rage.
     
  7. Prince Charon

    Prince Charon Just zis guy, you know?

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    To be fair, he's one of the saner variety of Red Lanterns, and so probably doesn't do that very often. What I found impressive about him is that he (IIRC) already had Rage Enlightenment when first introduced.
     
  8. Mr Zoat

    Mr Zoat Dedicated ragequitter

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    Thank you, corrected.
    I think that's okay.
    I'm dreading the day when the two of them speak to each other, and I have to use different shades of red in the speech marks.
    What regulatory groups? This isn't America. Britain only gimps government power if the politicians don't want to be seen making a decision.
    They're not even that.
     
  9. Darko

    Darko Connoisseur.

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    To be fair, after what happened with the previous government, those conspiracy theorists may feel extremely confident and justified in their beliefs.

    Except the oil, coal and other energy companies.

    More like planet.

    Renegade mentioned Myand'r, and seeing as the OLC is on Tamaran in the renegade side, the Weaponer is probably there.

    And maybe Hyppolita.

    Depending if her being a demigod has given her certain powers.

    And morons.

    Though I guess the two go pretty well together.

    As I mentioned in a previous post, the renegade is an equal opportunity asshole, to friends, enemies and complete strangers.

    One of her chief characteristics seems to be bitchiness, so it's understandable if he expected that.
     
  10. Assblaster5000

    Assblaster5000 I trust you know where the happy button is?

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    And nothing of value was lost.
     
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  11. Mr Zoat

    Mr Zoat Dedicated ragequitter

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    On the contrary: a great deal of value was lost.
     
  12. Stsword

    Stsword Versed in the lewd.

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    I imagine they don't run out of his favorite biscuits though.

    Not after the first time anyway. :)
     
  13. Handlewithcare

    Handlewithcare Versed in the lewd.

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    I mean, if I were british I'd vote for him.

    "Guy literally so angry about corruption it makes him fly and shoot blood" is a pretty good promo tagline

    "Talbot. The Angry Choice"

    I bet when he shouts ORDAH! People listen
     
  14. Rebu

    Rebu hey, little Anna, you're the one

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    *opens mouth*

    *Looks at the forum rule banning discussion of modern politics*

    *sighs*

    *closes mouth*
     
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  15. Mr Zoat

    Mr Zoat Dedicated ragequitter

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    No, no, the person who shouts 'order' is the Speaker, not the Prime Minister.
     
  16. Cuchulin

    Cuchulin Versed in the lewd.

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    Some one who can give a voice to peoples rage can be very popular when you have a lot of people that are angry and feel like they been forgotten/left behind by their government, just look at who came to power during the 1930's.
     
  17. Someguy Somewhere

    Someguy Somewhere The Critical Fumbler

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    Full of himself mostly, I honestly don't know why he was so particular about it. He was a lefty shooter though, maybe he thought having to grab it a certain way to get it out fast...which was pointless due the Sane and Legal side of things demanding a trigger lock during transport ( I'd prefer a chain lock thru the action for pump guns). He was never just gonna snatch it from the rack and start blasting because he'd have to unlock it. If he Did want to leave it unlocked and loaded, again, pointed at the back of drivers HEAD in a box full of loose tools driving on bumpy roads. He was the one driving that truck most of the time, but even riding shotgun (ha HA) with him I don't want his head evaporating when we hit the next pothole.

    Of course after his later run ins with the conservation officers, he thought he'd solved his problems with long guns by switching to carrying a pistol. Which in the states isn't a huge issue, but up here? Nigh impossible to carry legally. There are exceptions for those that do prospecting, or run a trap line in the north. He paired up with a trapper and did some work on a line. Come with a LOT of restrictions on where you can carry, but it let him get away with things for a while. Problem with it came a year or two later when the trapper forgot to re-up on his trapline license. No Trap Line, means not a Trapper, means no permission to carry for either of them.

    He's STILL fuming over that.
     
    Last edited: Mar 20, 2021
  18. Dur'id the Druid

    Dur'id the Druid Know what you're doing yet?

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    Mr Zoat - I'm confused here. Why the red quotes on the first half of the chapter, then regular on the second half? I thought we were back with red !Paul at first, then Grayven and ponies were mentioned.
     
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  19. Rafin

    Rafin Not too sore, are you?

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    Does anyone remember if PM Talbot had any relations with the wider Light other than just Grayven?
     
  20. Darko

    Darko Connoisseur.

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    This was a renegade chapter, not a Raul chapter.

    The red quote marks belong to Geoffrey Talbott, a former British policeman who wanted to bring down Britain's corrupt government.

    He achieved red enlightenment, I think when he was killing some guy that helped the government.

    He later allied with renegade in bringing down the government and renegade had that female Weaponer, Lysis I think, make him a red ring.

    He's now the Prime Minister of Britain and is allied with renegade.
     
  21. Ardy

    Ardy I trust you know where the happy button is?

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    i think you’ll find that in this case the Prime Minister absolutely can
     
  22. Mr Zoat

    Mr Zoat Dedicated ragequitter

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    ...

    Because Geoffrey Talbot -the man speaking with them- is in an office in London while Grayven is in Challenger Mountain.
    I actually remember that one!

    Only with Lex via Grayven.
    He achieved enlightenment after all of that, when he was stuck working out what he was going to do with himself for the next thirty years, knowing full well that the people ultimately responsible for what happened were going to get away with it.
    If you want to be like that about it, someone in the observers' gallery could just shout out 'order'. But bringing the House to order is the Speaker's job, and they generally do it by saying 'order, order'.
     
  23. Ardy

    Ardy I trust you know where the happy button is?

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    Yes but in this case who are they more likely to listen to?
     
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  24. Darko

    Darko Connoisseur.

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    And who is going to try and stop Geoffrey if he decides to do it.

    Michael McDoesntexist?
     
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  25. Mr Zoat

    Mr Zoat Dedicated ragequitter

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    Since the Speaker is in theory neutral while the Prime Minister is generally hated by half the country? The Speaker.
     
  26. Darko

    Darko Connoisseur.

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    Maybe, but other Prime Ministers can't exactly claim the status as being the ones that helped destroy a satanic, cannibalistic, pedophilic cult, so Geoffrey may have a lot of love now from the people.

    And also possess an extremely powerful weapon on their fingers.
     
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  27. PDV

    PDV Revelation That Uncertainty Is Itself An Answer

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    Was John Bercow in on the pointlessly evil conspiracy? Just curious given his reputation as a gadfly who pissed off the government for some mixture of principle and lolz.
     
  28. Pinklestia

    Pinklestia Well worn.

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    Same the other way around.

    Red rings are powered by blood magic aka sacrifice magic and Adom would be a great sacrifice.
     
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  29. Mr Zoat

    Mr Zoat Dedicated ragequitter

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    John Bercow was one of the people who doesn't exist, given the changes in history.
     
  30. Threadmarks: The Other Half (part 8)
    Mr Zoat

    Mr Zoat Dedicated ragequitter

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    12th July 2012
    16:38 GMT


    I cut the connection to Grayven's mountain and sit back in my chair. Hard-etched instinct causes me to scan my office for threats, but there's no one here. Prime Ministers don't get a lot of time to themselves, but I generally chivvy people out for this sort of secure telephone call. Grayven's got an impressive network of contacts, but I rather imagine that he'd rather it didn't come to wider public attention.

    MI5 is another matter. The secret squirrels we didn't get rid of are going out of their way to make themselves useful. Damn close thing between keeping them on and firing the whole lot of them and building a new intelligence service from scratch. But I don’t like punishing people who didn't personally commit the crime, no matter what the back of my head's saying about guilt by association. That's not how Joint Enterprise works.

    I don't feel bad about using the intelligence service to obtain information on him. I might have done, before Joanie. Now it's just clearly necessary. Anyone in power needs someone watching 'em, and I can't do that personally all of the time.

    My desk phone rings and I pick it up. Back to the grind.

    "Talbot."

    "Prime Minister, you have a call from a Mister.. 'Doom'?" Ernest, my secretary. My actual secretary, as opposed to the civil service mandarins. "He's on the priority approved list, but-."

    "Yes, yes, I know the man. He's a wizard. Put him through."

    "Yes sir."

    Good man, Ernest. Grandparents on both sides came over on the Windrush and put up with the terrible reception to make a life for themselves, he graduated with a First in Business Administration from LSE. And rather than go into industry with it he decided he'd rather work for the government. People like him are why I didn't just burn Downing Street down and piss on the ashes.

    "Prime Minister."

    "Mister Doom. Any trouble?"

    "Perhaps. Several of my worldwide wards have been tripped."

    "World wide?"

    "That's not as significant as it sounds. The Earth's thaumosphere forms a natural boundary. Setting a spell to notify the caster when something crosses a boundary is a simple business. Setting them to notify the caster when something occurs within the boundary is only a little more taxing."

    "Alright. What triggered it?"

    "After a number of… Incidents in the recent past, I set a ward which would inform me if a locus of significant power suddenly became active. Loci.. in this instance referring to either an artefact or individual which had previously been inert. An artefact which could grant an individual tremendous power, an eldritch abomination breaking into the world or an ancient magician who had been hibernating."

    "Is that common?"

    "Common? No. Twice a decade, perhaps. We still don't know where Dracula is."

    "Alright. Which is it?"

    "I don't know. As I said, the ward simply alerts me to an event. I've been trying to scry the location of whatever it was for several hours, but I haven't been able to locate it. That implies either an object designed to conceal itself and its user, or a magician of considerable skill and finesse."

    "The Justice League hasn't sent out an alert."

    "Giovanni Zatara's skills are dissimilar to mine. He hasn't ever had to learn subtlety in the way that a jumped up street magician like myself has had to. And to be honest, 'something is happening, somewhere, probably' isn't much to go on. It might not even be a problem."

    "Do you honestly believe that?"

    "Not for a second. I'm going to keep looking, but you may wish to pass my alert on to them."

    "Thank you. I will. Let me know if you make any progress."

    "I will. Thank you, Prime Minister."

    I put the phone down. Blast. Grayven didn't say anything, and he's usually fairly good about letting me know when something catastrophic is happening. Or when there's an advantage to be gained. Which means that he isn't aware of it.

    I dial Jasmine's number. With a fairly limited number of experienced parliamentarians to draw on, the top government jobs more or less assigned themselves. She got the Home Office, which means that if things were running normally Doom would be phoning her. But they're not, and I haven't forgotten that she knew how bad things were and didn't try to raise the alarm until we forced her hand.

    I don't think that life imprisonment without the possibility of parole is an appropriate punishment for moral weakness. But I'll be more content if she joins Boris once some of the new intake have a little experience under their belt.

    "Prime Minister?"

    "Cursitor Doom just contacted me." A light appears on my desk and I press the button that lets my entourage know that they can't come in just yet. "Apparently, something big and magical just activated and is now hiding itself. Please pass that along to the Justice League."

    "Does he have any more details?"

    "No, but he's going to keep looking."

    "I'll have my department send out the alerts."

    "Thank you. Goodbye."

    I put the phone down, and then I dial Professor Larissa. It's nine in the morning over there so she should be awake but classes shouldn't have started just yet. Grayven gave me her number as an expert magic consultant, and I suspect that she has a little more oomph than Doom does. With that Sunset girl of his, he simply wouldn't trouble himself with her otherwise.

    "Hello?"

    "Professor Larissa? This-"

    "Yes?"

    "-is Prime Minister Geoffrey Talbot."

    "Ah, of course. I'm afraid that I have a ring-back system for world leaders."

    "Quite sensible. Speak to you in a moment, then."

    I put the phone down, and a moment later it rings again.

    "Mister Prime Minister. How can I be of service?"

    "The British government's chief magician just gave us a vague premonition of doom. Supposedly, something magically powerful recently became active and is now hiding itself. Our capacity for magic investigation is somewhat limited, and Mister Grayven suggested that I contact you."

    "Did he say how powerful?"

    "A twice-a-decade event."

    "Hm. I haven't noticed anything, but I'll look into it and get back to you."

    "Thank you. I appreciate it. Goodbye."

    "Goodbye Mister Prime Minister."

    I put the phone down, then press the button to summon my staff. I've still got a legacy to obliterate.
     
    Last edited: Apr 19, 2021
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