With This Ring (Young Justice SI) (Thread Fourteen)

[Steelplaza]

I meant to say this when Bltizen showed up, but it's actually rather disturbing she was able to make the trip. Remember that when we last saw Nazi-world portal technology it was very nearly lethal to use and only Overman could survive the trip. (He had to physically rip open the dimensional walls.) Their only other method was using magic, and they don't trust magic. So how did Blitzen even get to Earth-16? If they fixed their inter-dimensional travel, it's very possible plans for an inter-dimensional invasion are being drawn up. If not to Earth-16, maybe an Earth-Prime style one that has fewer superhumans and is an easier target.

 

[Coda]

Where any of the people

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Were

I meant to say this when Bltizen showed up, but it's actually rather disturbing she was able to make the trip. Remember that when we last saw Nazi-world portal technology it was very nearly lethal to use and only Overman could survive the trip. (He had to physically rip open the dimensional walls.) Their only other method was using magic, and they don't trust magic. So how did Blitzen even get to Earth-16? If they fixed their inter-dimensional travel, it's very possible plans for an inter-dimensional invasion are being drawn up. If not to Earth-16, maybe an Earth-Prime style one that has fewer superhumans and is an easier target.

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It sounds to me like Overgirl used technology from somewhere other than her home parallel to retrieve Blitzen.

 

[Bolo]

Can't Paul talk to the dead or get someone to talk to the dead?
At this point it's possible right?

 

[Mr Zoat]

Were

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Thank you, corrected.

 

[Darko]

Can't Paul talk to the dead or get someone to talk to the dead?
At this point it's possible right?

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Yes, but the it's not all that simple.

For example, if the individuals that were killed ended up in Hell, which is a possibility, then it may not be safe to summon them.

Granted Paul has Mammon.

 

[Cuchulin]

To me it seems like Blitzen may have been raised to be a National Socialist Super Functionary, but right now she mostly just wants to bond with Jay Garrick and enjoy what is more or less a busman's holiday.

 

[Mr Zoat]

21st year of the reign of King Randor I
Season of Chill
307th day, 16th bell

"A mighty warrior who opposes Skeletor, and through him Hordak? And he has a sword like this one?"

Her eyes dart for a moment to her Sword of Power, and I nod.

"You're… Simplifying things rather a lot, but that's an essentially true summary. I will say though that it's entirely possible that he's never heard of Hordak."

That gets a frown from Evelyn. "Never?"

"He's not the most studious sort, and his tutors have focused on warcraft and statecraft and rather let history go hang."

And to be fair, teaching the Crown Prince to swing a sword is a far better use of his time than having him study pre-invasion Eternia. That society will not come again, and interesting as its successes and failures are they won't have much impact on his life. The general state of He-Man's education can be deduced from his primitive attire; he's clearly from some tribe somewhere and only ever used a book to light fires.

"They never heard-!" Adora seems genuinely incensed. "How could they be unaware of the being whose invasion brought their world to its knees?!"

At least she's eating normal food now.

"Because one of the things that got ravaged was the education infrastructure. And also the data storage repositories and libraries. There are records, but a people who are forced into a subsistence existence are more interested in learning how to grow enough food for them to last the winter than learning about the history of centuries ago."

"And this 'He-Man'. He is their greatest champion?"

"Yes. Has Hordak mentioned his fights with King D'Vann Grayskull to you at all?"

"I was told that he was the Eternian ruler Hordak killed, though he was banished in return."

"Accurate. There's a certain amount of evidence which suggests that the sword He-Man wields belonged to him."

"A descendant, then?"

Huh. I hadn't really thought about it, but… Veena was his wife, but he passed authority onto the Elders as a collective body rather than to her or any children they might have had. Did they not have children? Or did he just not set any store by hereditary succession? Regardless, the Elders lived until Keldor's insurgency, while… His children didn't? I know that Zodak literally lived through the invasion… Eternian lifespans are weird, and I don't entirely understand why.

"Between the sword and the sheer size of the man, that seems likely."

"He is a warrior without equal." Evelyn makes sure to make eye contact with Adora as she says it. "I've yet to see him command any sort of army and he knows nothing of magic, but his sheer physical power makes enemies and obstacles alike a trivial inconvenience."

"Hordak would overcome him as he did his ancestor."

"Hordak isn't here. Are you his equal in might or intellect?"

Adora looks mildly surprised, then shakes her head. "No."

"Then you realise that attacking him yourself would be a fool's errand. So you must decide what you want to do. I know the location of the temple Skeletor used to contact Hordak."

"Is it near to here?"

"No. Travelling there would take several days, and require us to avoid detection. Alternately, we could disguise ourselves and conduct covert reconnaissance on the city of Eternos."

"Are you not known to them?"

Evelyn rises from her chair and waves her now-glowing staff in a circle. Purple mist billows around her for a moment, then disperses to reveal her altered form. Her turquoise and bronze outfit has been replaced by something in green with a red cloak, and the structure of her face has changed enough to render her unrecognisable.

"Not like this."

She's changed her voice as well. Her expression is pretty recognisable, and I wish we had some way of communicating without Adora overhearing because I.. don't really know where she's going with this. Taking Adora into Eternos puts her close to their army, the Masters and her natural parents. With overwhelming power available, detaining her by force would be a good deal easier, but I'm not sure how that actually helps bring her over to our side. I don't at all remember how it was managed in the original animated series, which is annoying because I'm fairly sure that.. my.. cousin..? Owned the book version of the story.

I nod. "Anyone can wear a hooded cloak. If I leave the staff behind I'm not immediately recognisable. And you would not be known at all."

"They would not recognise my helmet? Surely there are some scholars amongst them?"

Evelyn nods. "You would have to change into something that would fit it. I'm sure that I can conjure something appropriate."

Getting her to take off her armour. And she can't carry the sword with her, so that stays here and we don't need to worry about 'She-Woman' appearing by accident.

"Something I can wear over my armour?"

"The citizens of Eternos do not habitually wear armour. Those that do do not wear armour that looks like that. It's far too advanced."

"Too advanced? How primitive are these people?"

I perk up slightly. "Soldiers in most places are limited to armour made of steel plates. More advanced armour is available in a very small number of places new, or as valuable heirlooms handed down from before the invasion. I… Suppose we could paint it a different colour, if-"

"No."

"-you could accept that. Hordak heraldry hasn't changed in the intervening period. You might be able to get away with it at some sort of fancy dress party-"

"No."

"-but otherwise I'm afraid that it wouldn't work. If you don't want something conjured, there… May be something in your size in this castle?"

Adora nods uncertainly. "I could gather useful intelligence and take it back to Hordak once Shadow Weaver opens the portal once more."

Evelyn nods. "Or perhaps we could travel to Hordak's temple once we are more certain of the disposition of our enemies."

Adora nods. "Agreed."

I raise my right hand and think hard about a book on modern Eternian customs-.

A book flies from a book case and slams into my hand. I take a quick look at the cover -Diary of a Journeyman- and offer it to Adora.

"This should give you some idea of how Eternian society works. Evil-Lyn and I can go and look for some clothing while you read it."

She takes it, and I stand and follow Evelyn out of the library. I close and sneck the door behind us.

"So what are you planning?"

She looks down, looking at the lock for her staff.

"So what are you planning?"

"Get her to disarm herself, take her to Eternos… Hope that she works out that she's Adora for herself without us needing to tell her so that it's more convincing."

She smiles. "Precisely. Perhaps we could even deny it to make it more convincing?"

"I'm not sure-. I can't leave the castle entirely unattended. You can't go out unsupervised, and-."

"Even with the princess of Eternia?"

"Especially with her."

"Then I suppose that I will simply have to stay here. With the Sword of Power. And since no one else is available-."

Oh no.

"I have to transfer the power to you." Damn it. "Go and find her some clothes while I try working out how to modify the geas so that Teela Na won't put one on me when she finds out about this."

 

[Darko]

No. Travelling there would take several days, and require us to avoid detection." Alternately, we could disguise ourselves and conduct covert reconnaissance on the city of Eternos."

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Remove the " in the middle.

She's changed her voice as well. Her expression is pretty recognisable, and I wish we had some way of communicating without Adora overhearing because I.. don't really know where she's going with this. Taking Adora into Eternos puts her close to their army, the Masters and her natural parents. With overwhelming power available, detaining her by force would be a good deal easier, but I'm not sure how that actually helps bring her over to our side. I don't at all remember how it was managed in the original animated series, which is annoying because I'm fairly sure that.. my.. cousin..? Owned the book version of the story

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Unless she just wants Adora to be captured and turning her to the light side is something she's not sll that interested in.

Evil-Lyn and I can go and look for some clothing while to read it."

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'while you read'

 

[Ngamer11]

She takes it, and I stand and follow Evelyn out of the library. I close and sneck the door behind us.

"So what are you planning?"

She looks down, looking at the lock for her staff.

"So what are you planning?"

"Get her to disarm herself, take her to Eternos… Hope that she works out that she's Adora for herself without us needing to tell her so that it's more convincing."

She smiles. "Precisely. Perhaps we could even deny it to make it more convincing?"

"I'm not sure-. I can't leave the castle entirely unattended. You can't go out unsupervised, and-."

"Even with the princess of Eternia?"

"Especially with her."

"Then I suppose that I will simply have to stay here. With the Sword of Power. And since no one else is available-."

Oh no.

"I have to transfer the power to you." Damn it. "Go and find her some clothes while I try working out how to modify the geas so that Teela Na won't put one on me when she finds out about this."

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I'm genuinely uncertain how this is all going to play out. Props to Mr Zoat for getting us invested in this side-story despite the minimal amount of information and exposure to this version of Paul.

 

[Mr Zoat]

Remove the " in the middle.
'while you read'

Click to shrink...

Thank you, corrected.

 

[Chojin Patriarch]

21st year of the reign of King Randor I
Season of Chill
307th day, 16th bell

"A mighty warrior who opposes Skeletor, and through him Hordak? And he has a sword like this one?"

Her eyes dart for a moment to her Sword of Power, and I nod.

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Well, it does change shape slightly when he's transformed, as far as I understand. But it would be noticeable if someone saw you with a copy of Prince Adam's sword. I doubt it's known as anything but an heirloom, is it?

Spoiler: Commentary spoilered for length

"You're… Simplifying things rather a lot, but that's an essentially true summary. I will say though that it's entirely possible that he's never heard of Hordak."

That gets a frown from Evelyn. "Never?"

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You've presumably met Prince Adam. Can you see him paying attention to history lessons?

"He's not the most studious sort, and his tutors have focused on warcraft and statecraft and rather let history go hang."

And to be fair, teaching the Crown Prince to swing a sword is a far better use of his time than having him study pre-invasion Eternia. That society will not come again, and interesting as its successes and failures are they won't have much impact on his life. The general state of He-Man's education can be deduced from his primitive attire; he's clearly from some tribe somewhere and only ever used a book to light fires.

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Which does make for an effective disguise. If not the warmest outfit. Good thing he's preternaturally tough, or cold weather might be awkward.

"They never heard-!" Adora seems genuinely incensed. "How could they be unaware of the being whose invasion brought their world to its knees?!"

At least she's eating normal food now.

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And not even noticing she's doing it, I bet. Better not let her gorge herself, though. While it might be easy to clean up the resulting mess, it's still annoying.

"Because one of the things that got ravaged was the education infrastructure. And also the data storage repositories and libraries. There are records, but a people who are forced into a subsistence existence are more interested in learning how to grow enough food for them to last the winter than learning about the history of centuries ago."

"And this 'He-Man'. He is their greatest champion?"

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Yes, depressing, isn't it? Still, he's popular, he's good at what he does, and he's not ambitious enough to want power for its own sake.

"Yes. Has Hordak mentioned his fights with King D'Vann Grayskull to you at all?"

"I was told that he was the Eternian ruler Hordak killed, though he was banished in return."

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Technically true. But as with so much of that era, grossly under-detailed.

"Accurate. There's a certain amount of evidence which suggests that the sword He-Man wields belonged to him."

"A descendant, then?"

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Well spotted. Even they don't know that yet, do they?

Huh. I hadn't really thought about it, but… Veena was his wife, but he passed authority onto the Elders as a collective body rather than to her or any children they might have had. Did they not have children? Or did he just not set any store by hereditary succession? Regardless, the Elders lived until Keldor's insurgency, while… His children didn't? I know that Zodak literally lived through the invasion… Eternian lifespans are weird, and I don't entirely understand why.

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A function of magical power, perhaps. Or some manner of life-extension spell. Maybe once you reach a certain level of mystical power, aging just stops for you...

"Between the sword and the sheer size of the man, that seems likely."

"He is a warrior without equal." Evelyn makes sure to make eye contact with Adora as she says it. "I've yet to see him command any sort of army and he knows nothing of magic, but his sheer physical power makes enemies and obstacles alike a trivial inconvenience."

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Not inaccurate. King Grayskull looked about seven and a half feet tall. He was also about twice as wide as his wife... And He-Man isn't far behind.

"Hordak would overcome him as he did his ancestor."

"Hordak isn't here. Are you his equal in might or intellect?"

Adora looks mildly surprised, then shakes her head. "No."

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At least she's aware of her limitations. Then again, she's probably been raised to consider Hordak to be a god, or as close to one as it gets.

"Then you realise that attacking him yourself would be a fools errand. So you must decide what you want to do. I know the location of the temple Skeletor used to contact Hordak."

"Is it near to here?"

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Near enough that Keldor and Evil-Lyn managed to get there while his face was melting off...

"No. Travelling there would take several days, and require us to avoid detection. Alternately, we could disguise ourselves and conduct covert reconnaissance on the city of Eternos."

"Are you not known to them?"

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Girl, please. A good sorcerer learns at least one transformative spell before they even finish their apprenticeship.

Evelyn rises from her chair and waves her now-glowing staff in a circle. Purple mist billows around her for a moment, then disperses to reveal her altered form. Her turquoise and bronze outfit has been replaced by something in green with a red cloak, and the structure of her face has changed enough to render her unrecognisable.

"Not like this."

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Nice. Interesting to see the visual update compared to this.

She's changed her voice as well. Her expression is pretty recognisable, and I wish we had some way of communicating without Adora overhearing because I.. don't really know where she's going with this. Taking Adora into Eternos puts her close to their army, the Masters and her natural parents. With overwhelming power available, detaining her by force would be a good deal easier, but I'm not sure how that actually helps bring her over to our side. I don't at all remember how it was managed in the original animated series, which is annoying because I'm fairly sure that.. my.. cousin..? Owned the book version of the story.

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Which probably didn't have the best resemblance to the animated feature. Just as the mini-comics packaged with the action figures were. Early MotU 'canon' was patchy at best.

I nod. "Anyone can wear a hooded cloak. If I leave the staff behind I'm not immediately recognisable. And you would not be known at all."

"They would not recognise my helmet? Surely there are some scholars amongst them?"

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Heh. Good way to make her leave the armour behind.

Evelyn nods. "You would have to change into something that would fit it. I'm sure that I can conjure something appropriate."

Getting her to take off her armour. And she can't carry the sword with her, so that stays here and we don't need to worry about 'She-Woman' appearing by accident.

Click to shrink...

Unfortunately, she might have objections to doing so.

"Something I can wear over my armour?"

"The citizens of Eternos do not habitually wear armour. Those that do do not wear armour that looks like that. It's far too advanced."

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Unless it's largely decorative, or they actually work as part of the city guards.

"Too advanced? How primitive are these people?"

I perk up slightly. "Soldiers in most places are limited to armour made of steel plates. More advanced armour is available in a very small number of places new, or as valuable heirlooms handed down from before the invasion. I… Suppose we could paint it a different colour, if-"

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I bet you're very eager to assemble some manner of working, reproducible armour for yourself, aren't you, Lantern?

"No."

"-you could accept that. Hordak heraldry hasn't changed in the intervening period. You might be able to get away with it at some sort of fancy dress party-"

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It's a good night for it. I'm sure there's some masked balls in progress somewhere in the city.

"No."

"-but otherwise I'm afraid that it wouldn't work. If you don't want something conjured, there… May be something in your size in this castle?"

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I swear, if she ends up in a red leotard with white sleeves...

Adora nods uncertainly. "I could gather useful intelligence and take it back to Hordak once Shadow Weaver opens the portal once more."

Evelyn nods. "Or perhaps we could travel to Hordak's temple once we are more certain of the disposition of our enemies."

Click to shrink...

Not that they'll go that far, I hope.

Adora nods. "Agreed."

I raise my right hand and think hard about a book on modern Eternian customs-.

A book flies from a book case and slams into my hand. I take a quick look at the cover -Diary of a Journeyman- and offer it to Adora.

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Handy ability for looking stuff up. Though I bet it isn't too smart. Anything particularly esoteric might be harder to find.

"This should give you some idea of how Eternian society works. Evil-Lyn and I can go and look for some clothing while to read it."

She takes it, and I stand and follow Evelyn out of the library. I close and sneck the door behind us.

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Which says a lot about how willing 'Despara's' become to trust you.

"So what are you planning?"

She looks down, looking at the lock for her staff.

Click to shrink...

Now, now, that was just in case.

"So what are you planning?"

"Get her to disarm herself, take her to Eternos… Hope that she works out that she's Adora for herself without us needing to tell her so that it's more convincing."

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Maybe introduce her to Prince Adam, and let her pick up one their resemblance...

She smiles. "Precisely. Perhaps we could even deny it to make it more convincing?"

"I'm not sure-. I can't leave the castle entirely unattended. You can't go out unsupervised, and-."

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...Oh, the Sorceress is really going to be pissed, isn't she?

"Even with the princess of Eternia?"

"Especially with her."

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Especially while she hasn't cottoned onto that yet. Still loyal to Hordak, after all.

"Then I suppose that I will simply have to stay here. With the Sword of Power. And since no one else is available-."

Oh no.

"I have to transfer the power to you." Damn it. "Go and find her some clothes while I try working out how to modify the geas so that Teela Na won't put one on me when she finds out about this."

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...Lantern, you'll be lucky if she lets you keep a human form after this...

Well, given all the narrative conveniences Eternia seems to run on, this is going to go smashingly. Either it'll succeed beyond their wildest dreams... Or all hell will break loose. Either way, you are both going to be getting a very long talking to from the Sorceress once she's back in charge. Let's hope that's all she does to you...

 

[Pinklestia]

I'm genuinely uncertain how this is all going to play out. Props to Mr Zoat for getting us invested in this side-story despite the minimal amount of information and exposure to this version of Paul.

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To be fair some of the main Snake in a meat puppet body stories are a tad boring. Is hard to get invested in a story with a killer with magic guns when we know Oh El has been rejected by both Heaven and Hell and has an an out of Tartarus free card.

Hell doesn't want him back because that would mean a Greed Demon with the patronage of the Snake itself and Heaven can't get him anymore without getting into a holy war with the Greek Gods.

 

[moralrelativity]

a fools errand

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fools -> fool's

 

[Mr Zoat]

fools -> fool's

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Thank you, corrected.

 

[BR549]

To be fair some of the main Snake in a meat puppet body stories are a tad boring. Is hard to get invested in a story with a killer with magic guns when we know Oh El has been rejected by both Heaven and Hell and has an an out of Tartarus free card.

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If "they might die!" is the main criterion for investment in a story, then something is horribly wrong somewhere.

 

[AmericanNumbers]

Very nice job in making this Paul alternate very interesting (as well as this Evilyn and Adora). I can recognize parts of the modern He-man comics here as well as the 2002 series.

 

[Wivk]

Is there no magic spell to call for backup? It seems like there would be, and the sorceress would have taped some emergency contacts to the fridge before she left paul to house sit.

 

[Mr Zoat]

Is there no magic spell to call for backup? It seems like there would be, and the sorceress would have taped some emergency contacts to the fridge before she left paul to house sit.

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Yes, but she's on a date.

 

[Senevri]

I'm genuinely uncertain how this is all going to play out. Props to Mr Zoat for getting us invested in this side-story despite the minimal amount of information and exposure to this version of Paul.

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I think these side stories are essential to give mrZoat a break, what with misses from daily schedule being statistically insignificant. I for one, don't mind even a very long excursion into a side story, as long as I can stomach the variant.

 

[Doccer]

"No, I can handle it. M'gann, do you need someone who can talk to Black Orchid's plants?"

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Plants?

"So what are you planning?"

She looks down, looking at the lock for her staff.

"So what are you planning?"

"Get her to disarm herself, take her to Eternos… Hope that she works out that she's Adora for herself without us needing to tell her so that it's more convincing."

Click to shrink...

I've would have made a Journey To The West joke\refference.

She smiles. "Precisely. Perhaps we could even deny it to make it more convincing?"

"I'm not sure-. I can't leave the castle entirely unattended. You can't go out unsupervised, and-."

"Even with the princess of Eternia?"

"Especially with her."

"Then I suppose that I will simply have to stay here. With the Sword of Power. And since no one else is available-."

Oh no.

"I have to transfer the power to you." Damn it. "Go and find her some clothes while I try working out how to modify the geas so that Teela Na won't put one on me when she finds out about this."

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Oh shiiiiiiit. You need more bodies to handle this. Call the Sorceress back. If you want any hope of her not making that Powers guy look like the best you could hope for. Otherwise there is a fire Yiu just need to decide which is worth letting burn you and Eternia with.

 

[Mr Zoat]

Plants?

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They're these things with leaves sticking out. Usually green and brown. Some have flowers.

I've would have made a Journey To The West joke\refference.

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What reference?

 

[BrotherofaStudio]

Whatever they do, is not going to be easy. But Paul is smart so I suspect that while things won't be prefect, they will work out, eventually.

 

[Coda]

If "they might die!" is the main criterion for investment in a story, then something is horribly wrong somewhere.

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It's not "they might die" in specific that's the criterion. It's "they might fail" or at least "there are stakes". Establishing that it's practically impossible for a character to lose removes the gravitas of many threats. Yes, obviously you don't expect the protagonist to ACTUALLY lose, but the reader should be wondering HOW they're going to avoid losing.

Of course that isn't the only criterion for investment in a story. After all, in a story like One-Punch Man, it's clearly established that Saitama is invincible, but you can still get invested in his story -- but it works because it's not a story that uses the threat of danger to the hero as a driving force.

 

[PDV]

Is there no magic spell to call for backup? It seems like there would be, and the sorceress would have taped some emergency contacts to the fridge before she left paul to house sit.

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Yes, but she's on a date.

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There's probably an "EMERGENCY! EMERGENCY!" spell, but this isn't quite that. What they really need is "send a message". Something like "Person of interest appeared from Hordak's horde, successfully deceived and not aggressive, under control", and then she gets a brief interruption to her date but doesn't have to abandon it (unless she doesn't believe them). That seems subtler/more refined than magic in this setting usually is, though.

If "they might die!" is the main criterion for investment in a story, then something is horribly wrong somewhere.

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I remember a discussion of this same subject elsewhere which brought up The Walking Dead. I don't watch the show, but as described, there's rarely if ever a threat of anyone from the main cast dying or being permanently injured. The suspense is what they'll have to sacrifice to keep them all alive and intact.
The Illustres is sufficiently powerful and well-protected that he rarely has to sacrifice anything important to make it through the challenges that come up. Even when he went to war against all of Heaven, in the end he didn't lose all that much.

 

[Michael Vonica]

I remember a discussion of this same subject elsewhere which brought up The Walking Dead. I don't watch the show, but as described, there's rarely if ever a threat of anyone from the main cast dying or being permanently injured. The suspense is what they'll have to sacrifice to keep them all alive and intact.
The Illustres is sufficiently powerful and well-protected that he rarely has to sacrifice anything important to make it through the challenges that come up. Even when he went to war against all of Heaven, in the end he didn't lose all that much.

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I don't care much for stories where the focus of the conflict is the cost of overcoming it. Although some sacrifice and strife can still be appreciated. I much prefer a story where the question is about what can be gained or achieved by overcoming a conflict. In terms of the war against Heaven, that conflict was used to push Diana's abilities, make connections and deals with the Host, and improve Mammon's position in hell. It also provided some insight to the behind the scenes dealings that were going on, like Mr. Smiley, who is still a mystery.

 

[Ngamer11]

I don't care much for stories where the focus of the conflict is the cost of overcoming it. Although some sacrifice and strife can still be appreciated. I much prefer a story where the question is about what can be gained or achieved by overcoming a conflict. In terms of the war against Heaven, that conflict was used to push Diana's abilities, make connections and deals with the Host, and improve Mammon's position in hell. It also provided some insight to the behind the scenes dealings that were going on, like Mr. Smiley, who is still a mystery.

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I would also like to know more about the other member of the Light that we haven't seen yet: Savitar. All we know is that he is building cults and giving them access to super speed, nothing more concrete.

 

[Wivk]

In

I would also like to know more about the other member of the Light that we haven't seen yet: Savitar. All we know is that he is building cults and giving them access to super speed, nothing more concrete.

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In the shitty cw live action show savitar the god of speed was just future emo barry allen in a power armor that negated the fact of his changing the past so he couldnt exist anymore. It was a pretty big let down, like the rest of the show really.

 

[Ngamer11]

In the shitty cw live action show savitar the god of speed was just future emo barry allen in a power armor that negated the fact that his changing the past so he couldnt exist anymore. It was a pretty big let down, like the rest of the show really.

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Thankfully, as far as we can see, this Savitar is more like the comics version. I'd like to see how he compares to any of the Flashes.

 

[Doccer]

They're these things with leaves sticking out. Usually green and brown. Some have flowers.

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Not familiar with BO. Didn't know if he meant literally plants or the slang term for putting somebody where they can gather information for her.

What reference?

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Not terribly familiar with The original Journey To The West. Didn't put much thought into it. But they are about to depart on a long journey fraught with danger (should Hordak\Skelator side recognize the 3 or Adora give away herself to He-man's side) charlatans (Adora's new companions and more likely Evelyn), that'll narratively involve much fighting and bonding and all the sidetrackedness that'll occur. Then at least 1 treacherous (Snake) mountain with a demon (Hordak) living in it who only wishes them harm and enslavement. Adora is naive as hell about the world she is in like the Buddhist in the story and Evelyn even has enchanted bindings on her to keep her agreeble to the task at hand should she act up!
It's almost like you intentionally set up the mini Journey To The West storyline. It all but begs for an in story reference to lampshade it.

 

[Stsword]

Not familiar with BO. Didn't know if he meant literally plants or the slang term for putting somebody where they can gather information for her.

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The original Black Orchid was a mistress of disguise who may or may not be multiple people, strong, bullet proof, and could fly.

The second and third Black Orchids were transgenic plant copies made with hybrid DNA of the original, who it turns out were Gaia's next iteration of Nymphs, who in that series were "elemental beings inspired by alternate humanities that dominate other Earths," so water nymphs of the Clear/Blue, plant nymphs of the Green, Earth nymphs of the Meld. Nymphs were meant to be shepherds not guardians, whereas Swamp Thing would be expected to unleash hell on those destroying the rainforest, a wood nymph would be expected to talk people out of it.

The fourth Black Orchid, not likely to be included here, was a Latina soldier who lost her limbs and got her arms replaced with grafts that connected her to the Green and the Red, but since Zoat doesn't like post-flashpoint he's unlikely to reference her, but not impossible. Reminds me of Marvel's Agent Venom with Flash Thompson, actually. If there's another Amalgam event I could easily imagine Agent Orchid.

Considering having a body count and a connection to plants, I think Crimson Avenger offed a character based on the second one- In the comics she went full on Poison Ivy and tried to become the living goddess that all must obey.