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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. Stsword

    Stsword Versed in the lewd.

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    Well the actual answer as to how a society that makes no sense works anyway in DC is that they are written that way.

    Although I doubt Zoat plans on the Team beating up Johns, Morrison, Rucka, and Waid.

    For Zoat's sensibilities, the first thing comes to mind is that the local equivalent of Boss Smiley.
     
  2. Chojin Patriarch

    Chojin Patriarch Veteran Lurker

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    Hello, Artemis. Boy, that kind of attitude sounds... Like the guy had assumptions about people that didn't align with how people actually are. Assumptions that I'm guessing were wide of the mark when he actually tested them...

    Gee, it's like people are capable of working together even when they're not in direct line of sight. :rolleyes:

    Ah. I see. He wanted his theories proven correct. But refused to adapt when experimentation proved him wrong. He's a bad scientist.

    Poorly, if at all?

    Heh. Even the super-scientist doesn't understand how it works? I'm impressed. Even in parallel universes, Earth Bullshit™ works.

    ...Dozens of nuclear wars, but the planet isn't a burnt cinder yet? Something seems off there. :sneaky: I'm suspicious.

    Interesting indeed. I have to wonder what's different between parallels that makes that possible...

    Huh. People will actively self-sabotage themselves by basically committing suicide by morality chain? That... Doesn't sound like it's entirely of their own choice, then...

    She's Lawful Evil. She understands that Rules exist for a reason, and how to work around them for her own gain... The Minus Sixteeners? They're Chaotic Evil. Chaotic Stupid, even. They try to get ahead, rules or no rules, even to their own detriment? That can't be natural.

    You're just too shocked by this stupidity to attempt to dissemble.

    The effect of powerful warlords, beating heads until people get the idea... And those pockets probably don't last much past their founder's death, I'll bet.

    Madmen. Even less stable than the rest of them?

    The joy of being sane in an insane world. All you can do is watch and wonder how.

    That would be Harrolds, of course. Interesting that he can understand now. No doubt an aspect of his Enlightenment...

    That's pretty much a given, I suppose.

    ...Honestly, Anti-Life might calm these shits down. If only by rendering them incapable of acting independently, which seems to be their big issue...

    Ah, good, back on track. Information gathering!

    Ah, there's the rub. Remember that little thought you had earlier?

    And that she's in control of herself enough to not be dancing to someone else's song.

    ...Oooh, that's a consideration. What if the nature of the Anti-Life Equation is different in each universe, matter and anti-matter? This Earth is already such a shithole that the Anti-Life of Earth Sixteen would be... Tuesday. :D

    I suppose that'll be helpful...

    Eh? What's Dick found?

    ...That seems highly improbable. :confused: Seriously, what?

    ...How did it even work here? Would they have been operating on, what, 'I'll show them! I'll show them all!' mode?

    ...Suspicion growing. This can't be natural, can it?

    Consider how often 'What if Britain won the Revolutionary War?' has shown up in What-if scenario comics? History turns on a knifepoint. Even a small variance can result in great changes... Unless something's been playing games with it.

    And yet the planet isn't engulfed by Nuclear Winter, is it?

    It's amazing what a fresh pair of eyes can see, when they look in from the outside.

    So... Something's been playing cosmic games with Earth Minus Sixteen, making its history proceed just like the positive version despite the impossibility of its people being incapable of producing the same world. I get the feeling the Multiverse has a reason for it being that way... So let's hope someone find out what that reason is.
     
  3. Ganurath

    Ganurath Apologizes For Nothing

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    Sure, that might be the history of Earth -16 now, but what was it like before the Anti-Monitor's rampage?
     
  4. Duke Long

    Duke Long Glomerulus

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    It makes sense for even selfish agents to cooperate, since Defect-Defect is the worst outcome, and it can be avoided simply by the vast majority of people in the multiverse choosing Cooperate. Also, for Mistress for example, in the counterfactual multiverse where the antimatter people completely expected her to Defect, they wouldn’t have bothered to open the portal to her.
    Or something. I’m just thinking about some decision theory shit I remember hearing, I could be completely wrong.

    I’m still somewhat surprised Mistress is cooperating, though.
     
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  5. Darko

    Darko Connoisseur.

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    They're either giving her something, or a part of her is trying to help them get out.
     
  6. Mr Zoat

    Mr Zoat Dedicated ragequitter

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    Thank you, corrected.
    I thought that the explanation from the original comic was perfectly adequate. The most powerful ones mostly avoid each other and the reality warping system deals with any issues generated by the rest.
     
  7. Assblaster5000

    Assblaster5000 I trust you know where the happy button is?

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    That is... it's not the most obvious sign of background fuckery going on, but the industrial consequences of that are immense. They just shouldn't be able to make the electronics and stuff they'd need for a modern industry from all the radiological materials in the atmosphere. The amount of Cobalt-60 around alone would make basically any form of nuclear research all but impossible, and yet they have seemingly the same level of development everywhere technologically, while also retaining the capacity to produce all the especially finnicky bits that would go into things like portals to other universes and all the other comic book tech, that a baryonic matter universe has.

    Whoever or whatever is doing this isn't even trying to be subtle about things at that point. They'd absolute have to be doing something to make this world work industrially, either by bringing in raw materials from somewhere else without anyone noticing or cleaning up the native stock somehow, all without a single person they couldn't silence noticing ever.
     
  8. Mr Zoat

    Mr Zoat Dedicated ragequitter

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    Not necessarily. 'Nuke' isn't a yield, it's just the mechanism by which that yield is acheived. I vaguely remember seeing a proof a few years ago which demonstrated that a suitcase nuke set off in the middle of Central Park wouldn't break the windows of the buildings around the edge of the park.
     
  9. WereDragon

    WereDragon Bookwyrm

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    Intriguing.
    Ultrawoman is being a rational actor, doing sensible things for the position she is in. Unfortunately she is in a setting that only exists, let alone functions, because of cosmic fiat. There really isn’t a way to be prepared for the outside context problem of your entire context not actually working without outside interference.
     
  10. moralrelativity

    moralrelativity Recovering pendant.

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    them -> then
    Prisoner -> Prisoners -- unless that's just a difference between these universes
     
  11. Vaermina

    Vaermina Well worn.

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    There shouldn't be anything to find out.

    At least, not for anybody other then Ambush Bug and Mr Nobody.
     
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  12. iamnuff

    iamnuff Connoisseur.

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    Probably some kind of resonance effect.
    Ensuring parallel results even with vastly different inputs.

    I imagine the justification is 'the evil Wright brothers did some theft and dirt that resulted in the same outcome as the positive 16 brothers got, on the same date.
     
  13. Mr Zoat

    Mr Zoat Dedicated ragequitter

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    Thank you, corrected.
     
  14. Laharn

    Laharn Getting sticky.

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    maybe the -16 is more conected to 16 than we tink, our it's a Boss Smily situation.
     
  15. Ardy

    Ardy I trust you know where the happy button is?

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    I’m now curious if earth-16 has had like, half of the US states have different names and the SI hasn’t noticed because he didn’t bother learning them back in earth prime
     
  16. Mr Zoat

    Mr Zoat Dedicated ragequitter

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    Deseret's a real state, right?
     
  17. Coda

    Coda Versed in the lewd.

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    It could have been, yeah.

    In the Many Worlds interpretation of quantum mechanics, nothing says that apparently-independent parts of the wavefunction can't still interfere with each other.
     
  18. Radix

    Radix Not too sore, are you?

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    Nash wasn't a psychologist, he was a mathematician and economist.
     
  19. Wheenesss

    Wheenesss Versed in the lewd.

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    ... I might have missed an episode a while ago, but I wonder how Kara and New Kara are reacting to the whole Anti-Life infection?
     
  20. Prince Charon

    Prince Charon Just zis guy, you know?

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    Well, I think I see the answer to why he thought people would work like that.
     
  21. Threadmarks: Lantern Conspiracies (part 9)
    Mr Zoat

    Mr Zoat Dedicated ragequitter

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    4th November 1999
    10:22 GMT


    "A banshee, you say?" Percival leans on his garden spade, pausing his work in edging the garden borders. "That's a strange thing indeed. Was she there under duress, do you think?"

    I shake my head, enjoying the sensation of rain pelting down against my environmental shield. After hanging around to watch 'Nicolas Logan' poke around the original ambush site for a bit, I decided to come home.

    Home. No, I… It's still… Not. I'm a little more comfortable than I… Was, but it's still just a boarding room. Sorting out… Finding somewhere to live long-term is still…

    Life is what happens when you're busy making other plans, I suppose.

    "There was no sign of it. No explosives on her body or anything like that."

    He smiles. "Looking at her body, were y'?"

    "Not like that."

    And… That's another issue. I live in rural Northern Ireland. The local people accept that I 'work fer the wee fellah', but I… Their friendliness is really bringing home how much my social skills have decayed since college. Not… To the point where I've managed to offend a Catholic village in rural Ireland enough to drive them to report my obviously English self to the Real IRA, but… I can't help but feel that I'm not really integrating. Any time they ask about the work I do… Just being friendly, not trying to interrogate me or anything like that… I don't want to lie, but I also don't want to be sectioned.

    I ended up settling on 'helping him write his memoirs', which is effectively true as I end up frantically noting down everything he dredges up from his extremely long memory.

    "Well, the banshees don't really hate humans. They're just no' so keen on technology. Would you say that the agent she was with was the handsome sort?"

    I.. consider that for a moment.

    "Yes? Is..? That something banshees do?"

    "Oooh yes." Percival grins to himself. "That they do."

    "How? I mean, they're an alien species. There shouldn't be any evolutionary history in common."

    "What of it? Breed with monkeys, can y'?"

    "I've got more in common with monkeys genetically than I do.. with…"

    I regard my decidedly humanoid employer for a moment.

    "I'm suddenly reminded that your species is the oldest in the universe. And we're the same shape. Is there something that you want to admit to?"

    "Ah… Well, I'm no' quite sure how it works, but intelligent species have tended to end up the same shape as us. Fer yer reference, human and banshee is a viable pairing."

    "How about human-siren?"

    He frowns. "I don't really know. Let me know how it goes. But about yon banshee. Did ye happen to catch her neem?"

    "No. Looked… Late teens. White hair. Black catsuit-."

    "Hah! I'll no' blame you for taking a look, then. And don't be putting much stock in her looks."

    "Sage advice. I'm aware that there's far more to a relationship-."

    "No, no-." He rolls his eyes. "Yes, but what I mean to say is that banshees live a while longer than humans do. She could be in her teens, if her muther found herself a man, but I'd wager she's a while older. You didnae get into a fight with her, did y'?"

    "She shot me once when I threatened the agent she was with. She was then willing to translate my sign language for him, so I don't think she bore a grudge."

    "Good to know. Y' didnae get her name by any chance, did y'?"

    "No, sorry. Do think you know her?"

    "Eh… Show me a construct and I'll let yeh know."

    I focus my mind on the woman I saw, straining to remember what I saw and not what I imagined or associated. The resulting construct… I think that's-.

    I think that's right, and I think that Percival just breathed a sigh of relief.

    "No, I can't roightly say I do. But… Eh. D'you think that's an end t' things?"

    "I think that the Alliance will assess risks slightly differently now that they know I'm around. But the Alliance is still around and aliens are still on Earth without being able to either leave or integrate. So nothing's over."

    He exhales slowly, with a little tiredness added in.

    "If it'd be any help, I got… Eh… I've got a little token, fer getting through their stone circles. Yeh could pay them a wee visit."

    "Is that allowed? I got the impression that they didn't think much of other people."

    "It's like visiting anyone else's home. Bring them a little gift, be polite, and leave before they get tired o' you."

    "Like a..? Fruit basket?"

    "A book's probably better. They have trouble gettin' int' town, what with their allergies. Something on astronomy, maybe."

    I nod. "Okay. It's worth knowing who she is. See if I can use her as a contact. And just getting in touch with Queen Mab would probably be useful." Hm. "Anything I particularly need to avoid doing?"

    "Nothing yer actually likely t'do. Don't touch the tree."

    "Is there any particular social ritual regarding meeting the queen?"

    "No' so much. She's a queen, but she's queen in the old Irish sense."

    "Okay?"

    "Y'rule three farms and a bog an' y'kin call yerself 'queen'." He shakes his head. "She knows she's no' really in charge o' all that much. Don't insult her and you'll be fine."

    "Book on astronomy, don't be a prat, got it. Any idea who those other people were?"

    "When yeh say 'people'-?"

    "Non-humans. I don't want to call them aliens because for all I know they were born here, and I suspect that alien-status is going to be something that I'm going to argue about with the Alliance."

    "No idea. Fauns and goblins and whatnot don't have bad blood, not that I know about." He frowns. "If you'd be asking for my best guess, it's that the world's gettin' smaller an' they're all lookin' fer ways to stay out of the Alliance's way."

    "No idea who's in charge, then?"

    "None at all." He smiles. "Though after the show you put on last night, maybe it's you?"
     
    Last edited: Aug 4, 2023
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  22. moralrelativity

    moralrelativity Recovering pendant.

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    I'm getting to really like Percival.
     
  23. Chojin Patriarch

    Chojin Patriarch Veteran Lurker

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    Ah, Roswaul. Cooling off, handling an informal debriefing, topping off his Ring charge... And having discreetly observed the 'heroes' from a safe distance. Sensible, though I suspect it'll be hard to dig deeper than a name to put to his face at this stage of the Internet.

    And before you know it you've been living there for years, and you wonder just when it stopped being jsut a place you stayed.

    After all, he's not dead. And I suspect an early-insertion Paul would have been finding Nick just as... interesting to look at.

    Not that they could hold you for long. Unless you were very unlucky with the timing of a snatch'n'grab.

    ...Not keen on technology? I'm guessing they have issues with certain densities of electromagnetic fields, hmm? Like, say, the sort that would form around 'cold iron'? :p

    ...Ha. I figured he was a little interested in Nicky too. The series' artstyle is very early-2000's, all simple digital animation sharp edges, but he is a handsome guy.

    Two words: Ultimate Shipper. Life Entity. If it thinks they're cute together, they will be able to get together.

    ...Ah, the old rub. Why do so many species in the universe look kind of human? ;) Especially in live-action shows.

    Then again, I've read stories where it's implied the ancient human-like alien kind of bent the universe's 'morphogenic field' into their shape by accident. A 'Doctor Who' story, I think...

    After all, human-centric setting, it's easy to assume our body shape is ideal for our way of life. Even when it's not really.

    'Late Teens' isn't a guarantee of youth for long-lived species, Roswaul. If your friend there wanted to he could look like a five-year-old.

    Still, it helps to be able to bear looking your partner in the face. :p

    And you getting shot is hardly a deal-breaker.

    Now wouldn't that be a fun 'Small world, eh?' moment?

    And yes, human visual memory is not as reliable as you might think it would be. Surprised he doesn't have his Ring recording audio-visual material, for evidential purposes.

    ...Methinks there might be something for him to admit to. Admittedly, it might have been centuries ago. A wild fling, perhaps. Even the most chaste Maltusian can have wants.

    On the other hand... You did kill one of their men. 'Defense of another' or not, I don't think they're going to let that pass easily.

    I mean... If you keep the armour on, they might just treat you as the Green Knight himself.

    ...And don't agree to anything, no matter how innocent-sounding or insignificant? Or are they a little more relaxed than those kid of Fae?

    Seriously, dealing with the Fair Folk can be a minefield, depending on the kind. :confused:

    Oh, I'm sure there's lots of protocol. The question is, how much can you skip by being the Emerald Knight?

    Indeed, 'King' and 'Queen' are fairly common and generic titles for leaders of any area. Chivalric tradition is what makes us think it's a big deal.

    Heh. Got to be precise, Roswaul. After all, just because their species wasn't born on Earth...

    ...A very astute summation of the issue. The more connected the world became over the years, the smaller it feels. Especially since the beginning of the Space Age.

    He's certainly got the power to manage it. Albeit at Percival's discretion.

    A very calm little discussion, I see. I expect Roswaul's already had the 'I killed someone' talk with Percival before they got this far. And I can see the old fellow being very sensible about it. Meanwhile, some good points about matters raised. One short fight isn't going to make any of the issues at hand go away. And someone will have to stand up for the folks in harm's way... Looks like Roswaul's going to be doing this job for a long time. :p
     
  24. Darko

    Darko Connoisseur.

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    And if that's not the case then it's possible the Maltusians or someone else fiddled with the genes.

    Usually because of some ancient precursor race.

    In Star Trek it was that humanoid race that seeded various worlds, in Star Wars the Force may have played a part, plus the Rakata and others, in Marvel it's usually the Celestials etc.

    And in DC it was the Maltusians and their connection to the Life Entity.

    I think his AI may be weak.
     
  25. woweed

    woweed Know what you're doing yet?

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    The Forerunners. And, technically, given that, calling them humanoid is inaccurare: more accurately, Star Trek humans are Forerunner-oid.
     
  26. Duke Long

    Duke Long Glomerulus

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    Either both ‘didnae’ or both ‘did’nae’. At least in Scotland, we don’t use the apostrophe.
    ‘threatened’
    ’to call them’
     
  27. Mr Zoat

    Mr Zoat Dedicated ragequitter

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    Do any Irish people want to weigh in as to the best way to write it?

    Actual Irish people, not Americans with an Irish great great grandparent.
    Thank you, corrected.
     
  28. BrotherofaStudio

    BrotherofaStudio Know what you're doing yet?

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    So Paul is going to talk with the Banshee, interesting. Wonder how it's going to go.
     
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  29. NightmareWarden

    NightmareWarden Versed in the lewd.

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    Indeed. Does he have tor Will to make green carnal instruments for the lucky lady?


    Honestly I'm really enjoying Percival too. If anyone has a show or story with a major character like him, send it my way. His setup with Paul is heartwarming... low-tension.
     
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  30. Handlewithcare

    Handlewithcare Versed in the lewd.

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    Sounds like Percival has a Banshee ex or maybe even a daughter?
     
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