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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. crazygrox

    crazygrox Versed in the lewd.

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    I feel like it's a good idea to bring in Hera, or possibly a violet lantern, before they actually go ahead with the magic. Because they need some advice here.
     
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  2. Darko

    Darko Connoisseur.

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    Hera may not be the best advisor since even though she is the goddess of marriage, she's basically been in a bad relationship for thousands of years before Paul came along, so she may not be the best at judging certain things.

    The Zamarons are also primarily interested in love triumphing so they may try to actually inject love into Persephone.
     
  3. Darko

    Darko Connoisseur.

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    'Lord'
     
  4. Mr Zoat

    Mr Zoat Dedicated ragequitter

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    Thank you, corrected.
     
  5. Darko

    Darko Connoisseur.

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    Not wuite.

    She just doesn't want to have her mind manipulated in order to appease him.
     
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  6. Coda

    Coda Versed in the lewd.

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    Comma instead of semicolon. (The second part isn't a complete sentence on its own; it depends on "you know" from the first part.)

    Missed this one from before: "grisly"
     
  7. Vaermina

    Vaermina Well worn.

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    Man, it sure is lucky this is a completely out of character version of Hectate...

    Because if this wasn't there's no way she wouldn't use this as a chance to jack all of Hades security and free the Titan's.
     
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  8. Bud-E

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

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    Was it ever said why she wanted to free the Titans? She admitted they kept her and the rest of the gods as slaves. Why would she want them back out and about?
     
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  9. Vaermina

    Vaermina Well worn.

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    Because Hecate is a Titan?

    Also she's supposed to hate Hades and his Wife... So there's that...
     
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  10. Cuchulin

    Cuchulin Versed in the lewd.

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    Persephone seems to be pretty caught up in her own identity as a victim and quick to jump to conclusions. Pretty immature and lacking in wisdom for a multi-thousand year old deity.
     
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  11. Bud-E

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

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    I doubt Zoat is using the Rebirth origin for Hecate but her being a Titan makes her wanting to free the other Titans makes sense
     
    Last edited: May 9, 2022
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  12. Darko

    Darko Connoisseur.

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    I think it's because they're her family.

    She's not likely to think rationally in this situation since she's feared Hades for a long time and the solution that Paul came up with is incredibly crazy.

    This isn't her being caught up in her identity as a victim.
     
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  13. Cuchulin

    Cuchulin Versed in the lewd.

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    It kind of is since Hades has spent over two thousand years trying to make her comfortable and generally doing what ever he can to win her over as well as make up for the horrible misunderstanding. I can understand her holding a grudge and hating him over it, but Fearing him?
    Also, Paul's idea maybe incredibly crazy. But it's also a 'this is the first thing that came to me' sort of idea rather than a real plan and is not the sort of thing he'd do without consent. So she is jumping the gun there.
     
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  14. ForeverShogo

    ForeverShogo Not too sore, are you?

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    It's not like the Greek gods are really known for their wisdom. Being petulant children who do fucked up things for little to no reason is basically normal for them.
     
  15. Darko

    Darko Connoisseur.

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    Hades is incredibly intimidating, or at least was, so of course she'd be scared of him.

    I'm not sure there's any other way someone would react when you tell them that you want to mess with their minds.
     
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  16. Xelloss

    Xelloss Know what you're doing yet?

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    - Tell me, mortal, from which country you hail from, so that I can curse it with bad weather and crops that produce bland and tasteless food.
    - Ha ! Jokes on you, I'm British.
     
  17. Mr Zoat

    Mr Zoat Dedicated ragequitter

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    Thank you, corrected.
    I can't find this.
    Ouch. I mean, yes, but ouch.
     
  18. Threadmarks: Fallout: Iowa (part 1)
    Mr Zoat

    Mr Zoat Dedicated ragequitter

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    25th October 2282
    07:10 MTZ


    I take a careful look at the grizzled prisoner opposite me as he glowers through the bullet-resistant glass. Through the grill in the bottom I can hear him quietly wheezing, a result of the injuries he sustained when the left side of his power armour's torso was hit by an anti-tank rifle, bending it inwards to crush his ribs. The rest of the armour was melted near-solid; they had to get him out with drills and chisels, and the NCR army only bothered doing that because they thought that he might have actionable intelligence.

    And that's not his only injury. I can see a dozen small scars and burns earned through a life in the wastelands. Three years in the NCR's care with minimal medical aid and surrounded by violent criminals hasn't exactly been easy.

    I mean, my goodness. Forty years since Navarro. And he wasn't exactly young when it happened.

    "How the heck are you still alive?"

    The skin around his eyes tightens as he moves his glare from 'hostile' to 'openly contemptuous'.

    "I AM ALIVE BECAUSE I DO NOT HAVE WEAK MUTANT BLOOD IN MY VEINS! I HAVE PURE AMERICAN VINEGAR!"

    He looks like he wants to keep shouting, but there's a tremor in his chest and he has to brace himself to avoid showing weakness.

    Sergeant Arch Dornan is the longest serving surviving member of Enclave personnel still in NCR custody. He was captured after the NCR/Vault City alliance stormed the Sierra Army Depot and he was moved here once they realised who he was. This is the man who led the evacuation of Navarro once the command post was destroyed by Brotherhood Paladins, and who organised the remaining free Enclave units in California into a cohesive force.

    And then he sided with Doctor Anderson in their election and it was all downhill from there. New Reno may never recover.

    "Well, when you're immune to disease and radiation and can punch out a brahmin, it's time to stop pretending you're not a mutant. FEV's powerful stuff."

    "THAT IS US GOVERNMENT PROPERTY, MUTIE!"

    "The US government never finished it. I would be happy to share my expertise, were the US government a going concern."

    "THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA IS NOT DEAD SO LONG AS ONE LOYAL SOLDIER REMAINS! AND I AM NOT YET DEAD!"

    "Sergeant, how would you like to get out of prison while still alive?"



    He continues glowering at me for a few moments.

    "I'm listening."

    "The NCR is rather pleased with me at the moment. I've been helping them make friends, dealing with a few potential conflicts and we recently killed a giant super mutant god. Caesar's next on the chopping block and then that's basically it. The territory of the former United States will be home to peaceable successor states, several of which conform to the borders of pre-War states. Texas is back, and Oklahoma, and Colorado, and the Republic of the Rio Grande."

    "Get to the point, mutie."

    "The Enclave claimed to be the legitimate government of the United States, using emergency continuity laws to pass authority from one leader to another. But the people of the wasteland don't recognise their authority, not only because the Enclave tried to kill them all with FEV, but because they didn't vote for them. America is supposed to be a democracy, and the constitution makes it clear that you do need to have federal elections every few years. You tried fighting the entire wasteland twice, and it didn't work."

    I lean forwards slightly.

    "Have you considered more covert means?"

    "What the hell do you mean by that?"

    "I believe that the best way to ensure ongoing peace in North America is to re-establish the United States. For a while I've been picking up Enclave survivors and shipping them off to Iowa. Governor Autumn really just controls a single town and some farmland at the moment, but there are a lot of hard-working and patriotic Americans there who'd be glad to see you, and the other Enclave personnel in NCR custody."

    "Iowa."

    "Not sure what Iowa did to piss the Chinese off, but they nuked it pretty hard during the War. Now, the radiation forms a barrier around the area their Garden of Eden Creation Kit purified. Point is, if I talk the reformed states into reforming the United States, that will be one Governor, two Senators and however many congressional representatives who were members of the Enclave."

    "YOU EXPECT ME TO SIGN UP TO A GOVERNMENT OF THE MUTANTS BY THE MUTANTS FOR THE MUTANTS?! I WOULD RATHER ROT IN HELL!"

    "A person who is born to either naturalised or natural-born American citizens is an American citizen. That means that virtually everyone you dismiss as 'mutants' is in fact an American citizen. They may be mutants as well, but they are legally American citizens. The Constitution puts some fairly strong restrictions on the way a legitimate government can treat its citizens, and the fact that the Enclave refuses to recognise that is another rather serious strike against it. Not… A serious strike as in 'something that makes people dislike it', I mean a serious strike against its claim to be the legitimate government when it fails to respect the very laws which give it power."

    I shrug.

    "I mean, if the government doesn't follow the law, why should anyone else?"

    "MUTANTS ARE NOT CITIZENS OF MY COUNTRY!"

    "The Constitution makes no provision for depriving a person of their citizenship on the grounds of genetic alteration. You don't have to like us, but you can't deprive us of our rights. But that's rather beside the point. The point is; do you want to see any kind of America restored and then work to make it more like what you think it should be, or do you want to die here?"

    I could give his mind a little nudge, but… That sort of thing tends not to stick. If I drop him on Autumn and Granite like that he'd probably end up as the nucleus of a hard-core Purist movement that will create even more trouble for me later on. And cost me virtually all of my credit with the NCR. No, this does need to be something he decides for himself, and I can feel his thoughts churning.

    As far as he's concerned, Iowa, Nevada, California, it makes no difference. He'll gladly fight and die for the Enclave, completely convinced of the legitimacy of his cause. Some Enclave soldiers I've met weren't convinced that releasing the FEV Plague was the right thing to do at the time, and the ones like Granite who spent time since the Fall of Navarro living around wastelanders are now firmly convinced that it was wrong. Others like Dornan have drunk all of the Kool-Aid.

    One nation, under the Enclave, with mindless obedience for all.

    But Dornan needs someone else to set the agenda. His insistence that he's not an officer is something he feels deeply. He isn't comfortable making policy decisions himself. And he knows Granite and knew Autumn Senior. They are part of the group of people he's used to taking orders from.

    "What else?"

    "You and all Enclave personnel remaining in NCR custody would be loaded into trucks and put on the road with a small escort of my people. Any who don't take this deal will be 'killed attempting to escape', which is one of the reasons why I hope you'll convince as many of your fellows as you can to accept it. Governor Autumn already knows that some people will be coming, and they've made the arrangements to receive you. I believe that you will technically become a member of the Iowa National Guard, though in practice your responsibilities will remain the same. Or you… Could retire. You've served with distinction for a very long time-."

    "I've failed my country twice, mutie. Do you have any idea what that's like?"

    "Restoring Britain has somewhat fallen down my schedule, but I'll get there eventually."

    "I can't make this decision myself. But if I'm alive, I can always come back and kill you later."

    I smile broadly. "That's the spirit. You'll tell the others?"

    He nods, grudgingly. "Get the guards out of the way for half an hour. We'll be having a free and frank exchange of views."

    I nod. "Good to hear it. I'll see you with the trucks tomorrow."
     
    Last edited: May 9, 2022
  19. Grimnar

    Grimnar Versed in the lewd.

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    These random sidestories Zoat makes to pontificate his politics are the worst parts of these threads.
     
  20. Darko

    Darko Connoisseur.

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    Zoat, the link in the spoiler box for this chapter does not work.
     
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  21. In search for story's

    In search for story's Fool

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    These otherworld side stories really can come out of nowhere and I’m always surprised when they do.
     
  22. FeepingCreature

    FeepingCreature Not too sore, are you?

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    That's not how you spell best.

    Okay, snark aside, it's not like the rest of the fic is less political. It's just more covered under the action.

    Any tale that starts with the main character getting a device that literally actualizes their desires is always going to be either short or political.
     
  23. Flightless Man

    Flightless Man Versed in the lewd.

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    People know spiders are good. But lots of people still squash them. Even if we (Or Persephone herself) know intellectually that Hades is only at fault for a fraction of the situation, she's still terrified. I'm personally having a hard time not getting annoyed at her for being so ungrateful. But then I'm the one who can't read the equestria chapters that describe the pony bodies, so why do I get to tell her what fears are stupid?

    For all she knew, the second she actually tried to stand up forherself, was the moment Hades revealed he was just like Poseidon/Zeus/Ares. Better to live in a gilded cage than find out it's painted barbwire.

    I'm giving 1/2 the blame to Zeus for signing off on it, 1/4 to the Pantheon as a whole for not overthrowing a god they basically all hated, and 1/4 to Hera since she is the freaking Goddess of Marriage (Why is she not involved with this by the way?). At this point Hera should be getting worried Paul wants her job for himself and Heph wants people more active, yet she isn't overseeing the first big marital issue in his new pantheon.
     
  24. Coltsguy

    Coltsguy Colts fan. Anime fan. Breast and back fan.

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    ...Okay, I'm just waiting for the red lantern side story now because Blackfire should've had her kid by now.
     
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  25. Assblaster5000

    Assblaster5000 I trust you know where the happy button is?

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    Where were you when club penguin was kill?

    Nice to see the OBW segment back. Fallout's always an interesting place to explore, and anything New Vegas is near and dear to my heart as my introduction to the series.

    I think some of the stuff referenced in this chapter is from the Enclave sub-mod, but I could be wrong about that.
     
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  26. Mr Zoat

    Mr Zoat Dedicated ragequitter

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    Um. Much as I'd like to be able to claim credit for the entirety Interplay Production's Fallout, I can't. So it's not really my politics?
    Thank you, corrected.
    What?

    I mean, I watched the video, but I'd still got no idea.
    Sort of. Arch Dornan is from Fallout 2, and the stuff about the Sierra Army Depot was mentioned in the bit with Douglas Granite.
     
  27. Assblaster5000

    Assblaster5000 I trust you know where the happy button is?

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    It's a (by now mostly dead) meme about a comment from a YouTube video showing off the final moments of Club Penguin that was in butchered English. The only reason I even thought about it was because I'm zoomer filth and my brain is hardwired to see a meme before anything else. Also because I've never played Fallout 2 .
     
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  28. Chojin Patriarch

    Chojin Patriarch Veteran Lurker

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    Ah, back to 'Fallout: Old World Blues' Earth, and the adventures of 'Krono' Paul, he of the mighty mental powers and the dead Ring. Still trying to rebuild civilisation out of the ashes, strategy game style. And having impressive success! ...Wonder how his dating gameshow career went?

    Grizzled, nothing! :confused: This man is etched out of pure steel, from the sound of it.

    ...And I can't help but picture Clint Eastwood. Goddammit, yes. x3

    ...Or possibly a young R. Lee Ermey? Good lord, the man sounds like a drill sergeant.

    I'm guessing things did not go well. Still, I suppose he has his uses...

    What US Government? In case you haven't noticed, soldier, America lost. The only reason they didn't get conquered by the enemy was the enemy lost too. :oops: ...Mutually Assured Destruction, folks. It's a hell of a drug.

    ...Are you sure about that? Because people have a habit of not staying dead out here.

    No reply to that, buddy?

    Gee, not so stand-offish all of a sudden, are we? :p

    Well, for a start, he's telling you things have changed out there. Oh, not War, that never changes. But the aftermath? Change all the way.

    See, when you use loopholes like that, people start to think you're empire-building. That's what bit Julius Ceaser in the arse way back when...

    Well, when punching someone in the face doesn't work, maybe you should try shouting 'what's that!' and pointing behind them... :p But maybe that tactic's a little advanced for you.

    What's so bad about it? James Tiberius Kirk came from there, you know! And are you less of a man than the manliest Starfleet captain ever? :cool:

    Given that Iowa is smack-dab in the 'breadbasket of the country', the Chinese probably figured it would render all the farmland there unusable, forcing the Americans into a famine... Also, who isn't a Mutant, by your definition, fella?

    Oof. Don't try to out-argue a rules lawyer, soldier-boy.

    ...Thank goodness he's talking about a fictional version of the not-so-United States... :oops:

    ...Personally, I would vote for not dying. But I am not this guy.

    The joy of being a mind-reader. That sweet natural bonus to all social skill checks. :p

    I doubt they could even afford the name-brand these days. :rolleyes: Probably used some crappy knock-off like Flava-Aid. Gives the mind-control drugs an extra Zing!, you know?

    Ah, so you're leaning on his willingness to look to someone else to do all his thinking for him. Such a good soldier...

    A thousand-kilometer-plus drive across blasted wastelands, packed with hostile raiders and wild beasts? I think you've got him hooked.

    Assuming anything of it still exists. The British Isles are not that large, and even a couple of Nukes would leave it devastated... Still, there's always SCIENCE! to be applied.

    I can't imagine they'll vote against it...

    ...Though there might be some sore heads in their future.

    One more step in Krono's grand plan to drag the world out of barbarism by the scruff of the neck accomplished, then? Though I suspect he's made lots of little plans that come together just right regardless of what happens. On the upside, it's good to see he survived the little 'Perfect Match' drama we last saw him involved in. Wonder if we'll find out who won sometime?


    But Dornan needs someone else to set the agenda.
     
  29. Queshire

    Queshire Not too sore, are you?

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    Dornan is someone you can just... picture from the tone of his voice. I love it.
     
  30. Mr Zoat

    Mr Zoat Dedicated ragequitter

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    Thank you, corrected.
    Thing is... I'm not sure that anyone would have nuked Britain. Particularly not with the cobalt-jacketed monstrosities that the Americans and Chinese were throwing at each other. What would have been the point? The Resource Wars were about resources, and Britain just wasn't either rich enough to be worth taking or strong enough to need to be destroyed.
     
    Last edited: May 9, 2022
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