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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. Doccer

    Doccer I trust you know where the happy button is?

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    Couldn't Paul just make out of their genetics?
    The way that was phrased, and with what you just said right now, it sounds like Io could do it with what tech her god will be providing her she could have a son. Yet the most advanced omni-tool in the universe can't synthesize a Y chromosome?
     
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  2. Siiracai The Supernal

    Siiracai The Supernal Shadows and Balance

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    I feel the need to note that it is possible for a female human to be born with an X and a Y chromosome, so there could be Amazons able to have a boy through Paragon's method.
     
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  3. nobodez

    nobodez Bringer of Context

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    Also, there are men that have two X chromosomes. I mean, biology is pretty messy at the best of times.
     
  4. Ganurath

    Ganurath Apologizes For Nothing

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    It's speculated that the word used may have also... been a way of referring to a lesbian without explicitly acknowledging the orientation.
     
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  5. Coda

    Coda Versed in the lewd.

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    I think it probably COULD synthesize one, if he wanted it to. The problem is that the genetics of that chromosome wouldn't be derived from either parent. (And as a smaller side issue, only one parent would be contributing an X chromosome.) Given that OL wants to help the women of Themyscira have natural children, his process just throws together the chromosomes from the gametes without doing any other modifications. Substituting a Y chromosome would involve him making a choice about which X chromosome to keep as well as what genes to include on that Y chromosome, which means the child would be carrying genes that didn't come from his parents -- making him ever so slightly less the child of his parents.

    But if the parents employ advanced technology created by their own people, then the parents have that control instead of OL. Those decisions would be made by the parents instead of by a third party, restoring a piece of that sense of parentage that would have been missing.

    OL is, of course, also intentionally holding back, because he wants humanity to build their own technology. He doesn't want to withhold fertility support entirely, because he cares about the people of Themyscira and their ability to have families, but he's using the minimum necessary intervention. He's encouraging them to improve humanity's technological base if they want something more.
     
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  6. FourthPear

    FourthPear Frequent Flier. Muted

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    That makes sense. Why didn’t you say that the first time?
     
  7. Ganurath

    Ganurath Apologizes For Nothing

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    I wanted to go bed.
     
  8. Pinklestia

    Pinklestia Well worn.

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    It was a legal settlement?
     
  9. PDV

    PDV Revelation That Uncertainty Is Itself An Answer

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    Come on and slam, and welcome to SHAJAM!
    Historically, no one liked Ares. He symbolized everything awful about war, the kind of god where you pray "may [Olympus] bless and keep [him]... far away from us". Soldiers and generals would thank Athena or Apollo for success or ask them for guidance, never Ares. Not even Sparta wanted Ares around, and they had contempt for everything in life other than brutal hand-to-hand combat.
     
  10. Bramble Thorn

    Bramble Thorn Verified Silhouette

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    Ok, this and other things like it recently have been bothering me.
    Previously, you established godly domains and portfolios aren't jobs, or perks that come with the job.
    Which was the main reason Heph was not the god of technology, despite no one else having that position in the pantheon. Can't remember if it was him or Vulcan that was working as a high end car mechanic, but that didn't give him any additional abitities.

    Zeus wasn't the most powerful because he was king; he was king because he was most powerful.
    He couldn't control weather because he was the god of the sky; he was the god of the sky because he could control weather.

    It there a whole thing recently where they had to go through a whole bunch of hoops to 'change the station' of Heph, because divine portfolios weren't occupations you could get hired to or fired from.

    So like, WTF, dude?

    And the chapter before that, he wanted to remove the nightmare and madness muse as a judge of the dead because her divine portfolio didn't give her any special 'judgy' abilities? Which is sort of stupid idea to put in Hephs head, when he had personal experience a doing stuff beyond his portfolio. Centuries worth, and the cutting edge of technology marched beyond the portfolio he was born with.

    And also, you don't consider the ability to see that the nightmares of petitioners you are judging are? Or what their mental fracture points, or where they deviate from what is considered a 'normal, sane' psyche? I mean OL can and has gained a lot of insight into the character of a person from being able to knew their desires. I assuming being goddess of nightmares would give similar character insight from detection and analysis of what they are afraid of.

    Something very useful for someone sitting in judgment of that person. And who isn't going to be very popular among the usual living population.

    Again, WTF?

    EDIT:
    Ok. Lets just rip off the band-aid, admit that we think OL should be using that chance to perform a power-up on the infrastructure empowering the Marvel Family as long as they are tinkering with it, and go shopping for gods to full out a more 'syllabic' word.

    Shamalamadingdong maybe, or supercalifragilisticexpialidocious.

    Add in enough gods there is some redundancy, and allow more Marvels to be empowered without reducing their individual power to much.
     
    Last edited: Apr 20, 2022
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  11. Ryumancer

    Ryumancer Dragons Are Romance

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    And this is why the wizard doesn't want OL learning the spell and how it actually does what it does lol
     
  12. Darko

    Darko Connoisseur.

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    It was Vulcan znd he seemed to at least sense how cars functioned.

    It's possible that Heph could give Zeus's abilities to someone else on the same way he got his new powers.

    Maybe Heph just didn't think of that.

    He's sorta new to the whole ruling thing.
     
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  13. Mr Zoat

    Mr Zoat Dedicated ragequitter

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    I'm not completely sure what the question is here because what you wrote is a bit rambly, but I think it's 'how did Zeus stop being Weather God?'. That's simple: he currently isn't a god. Hephaestaean brute force disconnected him.
    Hephaestaean wants gods active in the areas where they have greatest skill. Melinoë can act as judge, but isn't really any better at it than a trained mortal.
    No, it's actually pretty narrow.
     
  14. Bramble Thorn

    Bramble Thorn Verified Silhouette

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    Ok, what?

    To my knowledge, in this story, what the layman calls a soul is what a Malthusan would call a 'Arcane Construct'
    A bundle of magic of various affinities shaped into a pattern that is you. As in (to quote Dresden Files) 'you wear your body; you are your soul'

    Zeus was a soul that was much larger and more complex than a regular humans soul. So much so that he doesn't really exist in the physical realm? Where gods don't have 'bodies' so much as they have 'avatars' which are more like remote relays on Earth remotely operated from the actual god residing in the thaumosphere. Which is why the avatars power is limited by Faith. More locally present worship acts as a medium for a better connection, allowing more power transmission?

    With that system (as I understand it from my read of past story events) being in place, 'brute force disconnecting him' just doesn't make sense, any more than those B movie Frankenstein movies I've watched on Svengali recently that talk about just swapping out his brain like it is no big deal.

    Disconnecting Zeus from his soul, when Zeus is his soul, WTF. I mean last episode be learned the first power-up (permanently taking arcane 'matter' from Aether to graft onto himself) sounded like some horrific soul surgery. Taking pieces of Aether's core being to staple onto Zeus. And dangerous enough it ended up killing the donor. Not something you can brute force at all.

    Maybe someone with a lot of knowledge and skill could some sort of Fringe (TV series) magical lobotomy on Zeus to cut away his powers but leave the remainder cohesive to still have a personality, but that sounds really out there.

    ...Or are you saying this sort of thing is easy because the power is actually some sort of magical MANTLE that can be taken off of someone and then tossed onto someone else like a coat? That Help took Zeus's MANTLE of divinity from him turning him into a regular human soul (arcane construct), and could then give that MANTLE to someone else, allowing them to MANTLE Zeus and become the new Greek Sky God?

    Is that really how we're rolling now, Future Zoat? Is this some plan to generate free power by making Past 'there are NO Mantles in WTR' Zoat spin in his grave at ever more ludicrous speeds? Explain to me what I'm missing here?
     
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  15. Mastigos2

    Mastigos2 Versed in the lewd.

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    I think Heph just sort of locked Zeus's avatar into "on" mode and took away Zeus's ability to interact with anything except the avatar. Kind of like an SAO nervegear type thing.
     
  16. BlueMangoAdea

    BlueMangoAdea Alive. For now.

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    Doesn't Zeus literally turn Poseidon and Apollo into mortals in the myths?
     
  17. Prognostic Hannya

    Prognostic Hannya Knight of the Yuri Crusade

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    Zoat do you have any pictures of Haphaestean? Bc otherwise I'm just going to keep picturing him as Mecha-Hermes.
    [​IMG]
     
  18. Signaller

    Signaller Know what you're doing yet?

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    Maybe what Heph did to Zeus is analogous to what the Qwa Matter explosion did to OL, separating his aspects into fragments?
     
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  19. Siiracai The Supernal

    Siiracai The Supernal Shadows and Balance

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    Hephaestean disconnected Zeus from the Titans powering him, and took over the position of king. Then he used his exponentially greater power, combined with his new title and the fact that he 'dominated' Zeus (like we have seen with the New Gods in the Renegade track) to lock the conscious part of Zeus into a mortal avatar, without access to his domain and greater powers. He is physically stronger and more durable than baseline humans, but is limited (by my understanding) to a strength similar to or lesser than what the Amazon daughters of Herakles can manage. Nothing was done to Zeus' core self, he was just set to what is effectively a child lock for a juvenile delinquent.

    Edit;
    I feel the need to note that this is all just my understanding of it, but the point is that it is still Zeus' power and self, he is just incapable of accessing the former.
     
    Last edited: Apr 21, 2022
  20. Vaermina

    Vaermina Well worn.

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    What happened with Zeus was an author hand wave.

    Don't try and make sense of it.
     
  21. Prince Charon

    Prince Charon Just zis guy, you know?

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    I think Paul may have been objecting to Io calling the world outside of Themiscyra 'Man's World,' or calling science 'the artifice of Man's World' (hence specifically reminding her that Paula Von Gunter was a woman), but I may be misunderstanding any he did mean that Io calling science a cult was annoying.
     
  22. Threadmarks: Regnancy (part 5)
    Mr Zoat

    Mr Zoat Dedicated ragequitter

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    28th October 2012
    17:42 GMT +3


    "Paul, sit down there-" Menalippe points to an upholstered chair in the small drawing room she's led me to. "-and take off your rings."

    I sit down, but hesitate on removing my rings.

    "I don't speak much Themysciran Greek, and your English isn't anything like perfect. Taking off my rings introduces an opportunity for miscommunication."

    "I understand. I want you to take them off anyway."

    Due diligence scans… Clear. I shrug, take off first Hinon's custom ring and then Larfleeze's first ring and then lean down to lay them both on the floor. And then I take a deep breath in through my nose. One of the nice things about Themyscira is that there hasn't been enough industrial development for taking off the rings to worsen the quality of the air I'm breathing. Some parts get a bit wiffy when they're cleaning out the sewers, but that's not a problem at the moment.

    "Are any gods dead?"

    She's got a strong accent, but she's clearly been attending language classes. Amazons have had time to learn more languages but they haven't really had the opportunity until recently. And the languages they have been learning sound very strange to speakers from other parts of the world due to linguistic drift and the lack of native speakers to communicate with.

    "No."

    "Have any titans been released?"

    "Yes, Metis."

    "Metis has been released from Zeus's body?"

    "Hephaestaean broke open his forehead."

    "And the roles of the gods. Has that changed?"

    "Ares has been removed from his position as God of War and is now God of Eunuchs. The position of God of War is now open. Zeus has been suspended from his position of God of Weather. Hephaestaean is now God of Technology and Artifice, which encompasses and expands upon his previous role. So far there have been no other changes."

    "Ritual observances. Have those changed?"

    Amazons don't pray to Ares.

    "I suggest making a bigger thing of the Hephaesteia. Use it as a time for teaching reluctant Amazons to use unfamiliar machinery."

    "Who will be the new God of War?"

    "Hephaestaean suggested Queen Hippolyta or Kratos."

    "Queen Hippolyta would not want it. Kratos may. I do not know."

    "How about Athena?"

    "Lady Athena is a strategist. She might be capable of fulfilling the role, but I doubt that she could ever have the bloodlust that Ares possesses."

    "Is that bloodlust essential?"

    "That, or something like it. Lady Athena speaks into the ears of generals as Goddess of Strategy. Ares rouses the blood of warriors. The outlook is quite different. Kratos was known for his willingness to use brute force for Zeus. Athena is different."

    No. If that's a requirement, she won't. And neither would Queen Hippolyta.

    "Why did you want to talk to me in private?"

    "Because we know that you bring chaos, that you love Prince Kon and Princess Diana, and that you are a deadly enemy. I was worried that you might have gone to war with all Olympus. Many Amazons were worried that you might do that. Now, I can calm them."

    "Okay, but why did you want me to take off my rings?"

    "They are a symbol of the avarice spirit. I think it proper that you not speak to her while we talk."

    "Ah, okay, but that wouldn't actually stop me. Our souls are bound together."

    "Then it just makes it clear to you. And it will remind you that you are mortal. What other changes can we expect?"

    I think this is something from Amazon culture that I don't understand. Move on. "Hephaestaean will have a more active role in the world."

    "When Io and Thana both left Themyscira at their gods' command, we knew that other gods might also make that command. We have accepted the idea."

    "Erichthonius and Io are turning Baroness von Gunther's old workshop into a new temple, and will probably expect more Amazons to make an effort with expanding their horizons."

    "I can work to encourage that."

    "Does Zeus have a cult here?"

    "Not any more. The few Amazons that prayed to him did so… In the hope that he would make them pregnant. That no longer happens."

    I nod. With the weather here guaranteed and with his moral lessons frankly dubious, there wasn't any obvious reason for one to exist. But it's worth checking. I get-.

    No. Wait.

    "How will this affect how Amazons feel about me?"

    "Most women don't know enough about what you have done today to have decided how they feel. We expect demigod heroes to do great things, but this…"

    I nod. "Right. That's fair." I stand, calling my rings back to my fingers. "If anyone wants to know where I am, I'm tracking down every Olympian in order to pass on a message from Hephaestaean."

    "What message is that?"

    "That he expects them to start pulling their weight. Excuse me."

    Hand to forehead and

    I'm standing in the forest of Themyscira, not too far from the first place I met Gaea. Quite some distance from the actual sacred grove that forms her temple, but she's the Titaness of Earth. I'm sure that she can manage.

    I kneel, laying the palms of my hands on the bare earth.

    "Gaea, mother of all that lives, I would really appreciate it if you could tell me where I could find the cyclopes. I need to commission some work from them, and they seem to have ducked everyone's detection."

    "And you hope that they kept me up to date."

    I bow my head as Gaea walks out of the greenery. Or rather her current human-seeming avatar does, I suppose.

    "Yes."

    "You do not seek conflict with them? You have gotten rather good at conflict."

    "That's not what I want from them. I mean, if it turns out that they've been grinding bones to make bread, there will be conflict."

    "No, they have not. You may find them on Mount Fuji. The Gods of Japan have taken to commissioning pieces from them."

    "Thank you. I shall remain peaceful if at all possible."

    "See that you do. And please, spend more time with Euanthe. She does not understand the power that she has won without you."

    "I will. Thank you again."
     
    Last edited: Jan 6, 2023
  23. Massgamer

    Massgamer Not too sore, are you?

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    Oh, will Paul finally be meeting members of other pantheons now? Wonder how they will take news of a more active Greek pantheon.

    Shinto is much more prevalent and has survived the years much more than old Greek worship, but still a minority compared to Abrahamic religions and rare outside of homeland. They might not mind the latter so much, but I am sure they would like it if the people of their homeland worshipped them more.
     
  24. Darko

    Darko Connoisseur.

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    You can probably just quickly create a universal translator.

    For mundane dangers, sure, but maybe not clear for magical ones.

    That will probably get a few laughs from the Amazons.

    Though they may now visit his temple to laugh.

    Hippolyta may be capable of doing it, though she'd probably try to make them more restrained.

    Yeah, Demeter may have probably handled the weather.

    'gotten rather'

    Well that cyclops that tried to become God probably did that.

    Though Lucifer killed him.

    Either they appreciate fine craftsmanship, or it's part of their whole acquiring things to make themselves powerful thing.

    Hopefully Paul doesn't have to visit them since I doubt he'd be willing to spend walking through a demon infested desert without his rings for several days.
     
  25. Bud-E

    Bud-E Stand up so I can push you down!

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    What does that mean? What does Euanthe think her new powers mean versus what they actually are?
     
  26. Vaermina

    Vaermina Well worn.

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    And Gaea bends over backwards for LePaul...
     
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  27. Darko

    Darko Connoisseur.

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    It's possible that Gaea is referring to how Euanthe doesn't fully understand her new role as a goddess.

    Not her actual raw powers, but more her new role.
     
    Last edited: Apr 21, 2022
  28. Massgamer

    Massgamer Not too sore, are you?

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    Was it bending over backwards just to ask where the cyclopes are? I mean, as far as we know its not like she was being bond not to share the information at all and only asked if he planned to seek conflict with them, believing him when he said no since he has given no reason to assume he would and she does think highly of him since he saved one of her daughters.
     
  29. Chojin Patriarch

    Chojin Patriarch Veteran Lurker

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    A very astute move, though it won't affect his mind much, if that's what she's thinking. Maybe she just wants to hear his replies without the rings over-dubbing her perception of his voice. I mean, sure, it may not look like a badly-dubbed movie, but still...

    On the other hand, it's good that she's been learning English. Probably to make it easier to talk to the princes.

    That's probably one of the annoyances of the environmental shield: no ability to stop and smell the air, at least not without dropping its' protection. And having the rings transmit the sensations into his brain just isn't the same.

    And, to some degree, the lack of a common linguistic basis. English is not much like Greek.

    Presumably wary of having to sound the alarm, I suppose.

    Bonus point: saving a woman from a man's tyranny and abuse. Well, a Goddess, actually, but would an Amazon sweat that detail?

    Take a seat, or you may fall on the floor laughing.

    Bonus point: Ares humbled and brought low. I doubt the Amazons are going to celebrate openly, but I suspect there will be private laughter.

    And if he has his way, that will probably happen a lot.

    As nice as it would be to see a female War, I doubt Hippolyta would accept. She seems more comfortable in the mortal world.

    Double-dipping on War, eh? Though I suspect soldiers in her sphere of influence would become more logical and focused, that's not always a good thing.

    ...Because logical people can do some nasty things in the name of victory if they can justify it.

    She's seen too much of war to readily embrace that mindset.

    You'll note no judgement over the nature of that love. As for her judgement of OL's tendency towards... Overreaction? That's entirely fair.

    That's also fair. Not that he needs the rings to talk to Best Snek... :p

    Okay, that is a good point. OL does kind of forget little things like limitations when he's in full 'problem-solver' mode.

    Accepting the idea is one thing. Accepting the reality might be another.

    I mean, I doubt Io is the only smith on the entire island. And there may be lots of Amazons vaguely interested in the idea of Science.

    Given that between Hera's little vengeances and the inevitable issues of a male child being born on Themyscira...

    Missing the details for the big picture, OL.

    And at this point, OL is definitely in Demi-god territory. The next big step will be when he finally manipulates Orange Light without his Rings...

    'New King, new order of business', something like that.

    And that message might upset a few of the deities and demi-gods schlepping about. Probably those who have grown accustomed to their leisure,

    Plus, you don't want another bout of magical overload like the last time you visited it.

    Well, you are their mother, kind of. And I would hope the Cyclopes are good enough boys to keep her informed.

    Also, given all the things he's been doing for the biosphere, of course she's going to respond in person for him.

    A reference to the Giant of 'Jack and the Beanstalk'. Nice.

    ...Do I foresee a possible meeting with Susano-o-no-mikoto? And he is a god of Storms.

    Interesting. Does that mean she's more or less squandering her power on what she's been doing?

    Okay, that went better than I was expecting. Not even a bit of shouting. Nice that it fell to Menalippe, since the Queen was busy welcoming her daughter home. And some very realistic and logical concerns for the most devout worshippers of the Olympians. Now, how will the Cyclopes respond to OL's visit? I'm sure we'll see soon enough.
     
  30. Vaermina

    Vaermina Well worn.

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    That's... That's not really how Shinto works... Kami don't really have a desire to be worshiped...

    Also... LePaul is the last one who should try and talk to them... Or even go to Japan... Played straight to the way things work in the religion, his level of imbalance is such that even walking past would be enough to corrupt most minor Kami and render Shrine's in need of a full re-location.


    Gaea was basically Zeus's mother...
     
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