1. Due to issues with external spam filters, QQ is currently unable to send any mail to Microsoft E-mail addresses. This includes any account at live.com, hotmail.com or msn.com. Signing up to the forum with one of these addresses will result in your verification E-mail never arriving. For best results, please use a different E-mail provider for your QQ address.
    Dismiss Notice
  2. For prospective new members, a word of warning: don't use common names like Dennis, Simon, or Kenny if you decide to create an account. Spammers have used them all before you and gotten those names flagged in the anti-spam databases. Your account registration will be rejected because of it.
    Dismiss Notice
  3. Since it has happened MULTIPLE times now, I want to be very clear about this. You do not get to abandon an account and create a new one. You do not get to pass an account to someone else and create a new one. If you do so anyway, you will be banned for creating sockpuppets.
    Dismiss Notice
  4. If you wish to change your username, please ask via conversation to tehelgee instead of asking via my profile. I'd like to not clutter it up with such requests.
    Dismiss Notice
  5. Due to the actions of particularly persistent spammers and trolls, we will be banning disposable email addresses from today onward.
    Dismiss Notice
  6. A note about the current Ukraine situation: Discussion of it is still prohibited as per Rule 8
    Dismiss Notice
  7. The rules regarding NSFW links have been updated. See here for details.
    Dismiss Notice
  8. The testbed for the QQ XF2 transition is now publicly available. Please see more information here.
    Dismiss Notice

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

Discussion in 'Creative Writing' started by Mr Zoat, Jan 27, 2019.

Loading...
  1. Belenus

    Belenus Versed in the lewd.

    Joined:
    Feb 24, 2015
    Messages:
    1,100
    Likes Received:
    28,912
    Platonic life partners is a ship.
    A friendship
     
  2. Mr Zoat

    Mr Zoat Dedicated ragequitter

    Joined:
    Dec 1, 2016
    Messages:
    14,696
    Likes Received:
    728,987
    Why is the 'hydrogen' of 'potential hydrogen' capitalised?
    'Just Give Up' was targetted at the facility, not at Artemis.
     
  3. Duke Long

    Duke Long Glomerulus

    Joined:
    Mar 14, 2022
    Messages:
    562
    Likes Received:
    1,991
    Because that’s the elemental symbol of hydrogen.

    Edit: In relation to the earlier discussion about Xianxia, I think a power ring would make a pretty good starting chest for a protagonist, although it does depend on how useless it would be against magic. Xianxia tends to go with integrated magic rather than just slapping it onto a normal world, which is problematic for a power ring, as others have said. For example, I remember in Reverend Insanity, something as simple as mountains can only exist because they’re linked to the Earth veins by mountain roots.
     
    ChestBurster, m_d and Prince Charon like this.
  4. BR549

    BR549 This is filth! FILTH!!

    Joined:
    Apr 24, 2017
    Messages:
    637
    Likes Received:
    4,552
    Because that be how the science do.

    Example, and as a fishkeeper, can vouch.
     
  5. Mr Zoat

    Mr Zoat Dedicated ragequitter

    Joined:
    Dec 1, 2016
    Messages:
    14,696
    Likes Received:
    728,987
    Gosh darn it, English.
     
  6. Duke Long

    Duke Long Glomerulus

    Joined:
    Mar 14, 2022
    Messages:
    562
    Likes Received:
    1,991
    What? It makes sense to me. The p is a mathematical symbol and the H is also a recognised symbol. Also, ‘pH’ was actually created by a German, so if anything is stupid it isn’t the English language (in this case, at least).
     
  7. Ngamer11

    Ngamer11 Experienced.

    Joined:
    Jan 28, 2019
    Messages:
    2,860
    Likes Received:
    17,209
    When we get back to Paul, I hope we can see him catch up with both Euanthe and Pamela Isley. The former thinks very highly of Paul, but I'm not sure of how the latter feels about him. Mr Zoat, what is Pamela Isley's opinion on Paul?
     
    ChestBurster, Vorian and Bud-E like this.
  8. Darko

    Darko Connoisseur.

    Joined:
    Nov 20, 2019
    Messages:
    22,134
    Likes Received:
    320,293
    I'm guessing she likes him for helping restore nature, but she may hold a grudge for the Injustice League thing.
     
    ChestBurster and Prince Charon like this.
  9. Mr Zoat

    Mr Zoat Dedicated ragequitter

    Joined:
    Dec 1, 2016
    Messages:
    14,696
    Likes Received:
    728,987
    Oh gosh no. As she is now she's very much aware of how much of a psychological mess she was at the time, and any lingering ill-will she might feel has been redirected towards Jason Woodrue.
     
  10. Bud-E

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

    Joined:
    Jan 31, 2020
    Messages:
    879
    Likes Received:
    4,051
    Mr Zoat Do red rings not have the ability to alter the appearance of the user like orange rings can?
     
  11. Darko

    Darko Connoisseur.

    Joined:
    Nov 20, 2019
    Messages:
    22,134
    Likes Received:
    320,293
    Probably not.

    They can alter some things but not in the level of the other rings and the alterations would probably be very painful.
     
    Bud-E likes this.
  12. Mr Zoat

    Mr Zoat Dedicated ragequitter

    Joined:
    Dec 1, 2016
    Messages:
    14,696
    Likes Received:
    728,987
    They... Can, but it's not a mindset that most of their users could occupy. Geoff isn't angry about how he looks.
     
  13. Hell's Razer

    Hell's Razer Passive Member

    Joined:
    Sep 19, 2016
    Messages:
    1,341
    Likes Received:
    3,894
    No, no this is chemistry's fault. English is innocent ... this time.
    "pH" is the symbol for how acidic / alkaline something is and it ranges from 1 (extremely acidic) to 14 (extremely alkaline) with 7 being neutral.
     
    Prince Charon and Cuchulin like this.
  14. Coda

    Coda Versed in the lewd.

    Joined:
    Jan 27, 2019
    Messages:
    1,079
    Likes Received:
    4,181
    Like I said -- dirt! It's a fundamental part of the cycle of life, being the source of nutrients for plant life and an eventual end state after living things die, but on its own it's... well, dirty. I think the analogy is sound.

    Extra space.
     
  15. Mr Zoat

    Mr Zoat Dedicated ragequitter

    Joined:
    Dec 1, 2016
    Messages:
    14,696
    Likes Received:
    728,987
    Thank you, corrected.
     
  16. The Unaligned Player

    The Unaligned Player Agony that desires to meet Extinction

    Joined:
    Jan 26, 2019
    Messages:
    205
    Likes Received:
    1,256
    “The Audacity of my body to not perfectly represent me.” Isn’t exactly a thought typically coated in red light.
     
    ChestBurster and Bud-E like this.
  17. Zig

    Zig Not too sore, are you?

    Joined:
    Feb 26, 2016
    Messages:
    280
    Likes Received:
    1,188
  18. Prince Charon

    Prince Charon Just zis guy, you know?

    Joined:
    Feb 20, 2014
    Messages:
    9,737
    Likes Received:
    38,239
    Should I assume that 'Bondage Elf Land' is Earth in the Sheedas' time (it would fit what I recall of them), or did Graven and Artemis meet the Dark Eldar and I forgot?
     
    Cuchulin likes this.
  19. Darko

    Darko Connoisseur.

    Joined:
    Nov 20, 2019
    Messages:
    22,134
    Likes Received:
    320,293
    It's the Sheeda world.

    And the Sheeda do share a lot of similarities with the Drukhari.
     
  20. Threadmarks: Regnancy (supplementary, Renegade Option)
    Mr Zoat

    Mr Zoat Dedicated ragequitter

    Joined:
    Dec 1, 2016
    Messages:
    14,696
    Likes Received:
    728,987
    28th October 2012
    20:07 GMT


    "…risk a boom tube?"

    I nod to myself as Artemis speaks through my ring. Neither radio waves nor New God type communicators get through, but power rings work just fine.

    "No, with the Absolute Dominion in orbit I can use a hush tube. You sure it didn't react to your magic?"

    "Not that I can see or feel."

    Right. Mother Box.

    Ping.

    A hole in the universe opens just below me, and I drop down into… Darkness, illuminated only by Sinestro's glow. "How's he treating you?"

    She grimaces, pulls it off her right middle finger and tosses it to me. I pull it onto my right ring finger.

    "That bad?"

    "Apparently I'm 'barely adequate, despite my upbringing'."

    "Would you rather be an excellent fit for a dictator who believed that order could only be maintained through fear?" I peer around, the darkness-. Wait.

    Ping.

    "Can you see better than me?"

    "Only if I make an effort. Does that mean there's someone here?"

    "Not necessarily. And since we're not being inundated by parademons or aero-troopers, I tend to doubt it. Not sure how the system is powerful enough to mess with us like this." I frown, then shake my head. "Which is odd, because a system that can do that would be valuable and worth defending, particularly if it wasn't stripped for parts. But it isn't being defended."

    Artemis readies an arrow. "Don't speak too soon." Death Awaits.

    "Obvious question, through. There's no outward sign that anything's here-."

    "Where did other-you hear about it. If you still don't think he built it himself."

    "A sufficiently traumatic head injury might just erase the memory, but that doesn't… Sound right." I walk over to the closest wall and place my left palm against it. Bow To My Will!

    The stygian blackness pulls back a little, but scans still aren't telling me much. Mother Box?

    Ping.

    Great. Looks like we're in a store room of some sort. The few remaining crates are neatly stacked in the corner, no obvious detritus left around the place. No particular feeling from anything.

    Oh.

    "One possibility does come to mind, given the state of the outside."

    "Anti-Life research. Do we need to leave?"

    "No. Incidental tertiary exposure shouldn't do much to us, though if we confirm it we'll need to leave and destroy the place from orbit."

    My frown deepens as I shake my head, lifting my hand off the wall and armouring myself. No lock on the door, just a requirement for a minimal level of spiritual power. Easy enough to manage

    "So if it's not that..?"

    The door opens, the darkness retreating once more to… Reveal a laboratory? A small one. The machinery is a garish combination of purple, yellow and green and… I can't immediately call to mind a New God with that colour scheme. Evil colours, though, so that fits. A red and orange helmet that I'd be insane to try on sits on a small plinth, while a larger circular platform stands empty on one side. Teleporter? Fabricator? Viewing platform? Miniature safe room?

    Naturally, there's no control panel.

    Ping.

    Artemis comes in behind me, eyes darting around. "Is it doing that now?"

    Ping.

    I find myself shaking my head again. "I don't know about that. I mean, yes, that technique could work, but why would anyone put a machine designed to resurrect New Gods away from Apokolips?"

    Artemis glances at me. "You said we couldn't be resurrected."

    "I definitely can't, you probably can't, because our souls will merge with the Source upon our deaths. That doesn't mean that we can't be cloned, just that… We wouldn't get much out of it." I move a little closer to the platform, trying to draw upon Other Grayven's earliest memories. "Darkseid had a team… Working on the problem. They never really solved it. They got to the point where the duplicates weren't totally mindless and could be taught, but they lacked the spiritual force of the originals." I smile. "That's one of the reasons how I know that I'm me and not a duplicate, despite merging with Other Grayven."

    "So they were making copies here?"

    "Something like that. You couldn't make duplicates to use as infiltrators because they wouldn't have the knowledge or spiritual presence. You couldn't use the system to make powerful New Gods immortal for the same reason. Baron Bedlam's multiple plastic bodies were as far as the research got, as far as I know."

    I walk over to… Because of course there's no control panel. I walk over to a group of levers and haphazardly placed unmarked buttons, hoping that Mother Box will be able to do something with it.

    Ping.

    Well, keep trying.

    "How does he work?"

    "As I understand it, his consciousness isn't attached to any one body. He'd still die if all of his bodies were destroyed, but losing the odd one or two isn't more than an inconvenience."

    "Any idea why Other Grayven wanted it? Or why it was abandoned?"

    "No. None." I take a closer look at the machine to see if anything springs to mind. "As far as I recall, he didn't know what was here. Only that it was something New God."

    "You don’t think he got made here?"

    "No, the memories I got from him distinctly include his childhood."

    "But that wouldn't mean he wasn't, right? They could have copied a child and then just let him grow up normally."

    "True, but there's no obvious benefit. I mean, he could have been an experiment to see what would happen, and… Darkseid wouldn't just throw him away if that's what happened because he might learn something out of it. But we're Darkseid's sons. Every memory I have of Apokolips includes us being referred to like that, and if…"

    No.

    Mother Box, Sinestro, scan for my genetic material.

    Lantern Grayven, you already know.

    "Oh."

    "What?"

    "I have no memory of being here before, but there's genetic material from-." Why were there crates in the store room when everything else-? "From me here."

    A construct claw grabs a crate and yanks it over to us before cutting it open.

    A dozen foetuses with copies of my own face blankly stare up at me from their preservative jars.
     
    Last edited: Apr 25, 2022
  21. Ngamer11

    Ngamer11 Experienced.

    Joined:
    Jan 28, 2019
    Messages:
    2,860
    Likes Received:
    17,209
    Just to confirm, him as in as a New God, or him as in his original body?
     
  22. Genocidecles

    Genocidecles Know what you're doing yet?

    Joined:
    Jun 11, 2018
    Messages:
    156
    Likes Received:
    3,762
    What the hell does this mean for Orange Paul?
     
  23. AmericanNumbers

    AmericanNumbers Not too sore, are you?

    Joined:
    Jun 25, 2021
    Messages:
    302
    Likes Received:
    2,834
    Interesting. So Darkseid having a hand in Paul's origin is actually possible or did he mean Grayven's DNA? Or is there no difference?
     
  24. Sorrow

    Sorrow Getting sticky.

    Joined:
    Jan 27, 2019
    Messages:
    81
    Likes Received:
    306
    So Paul is the (more successful) clone of Original Graven?
     
  25. Darko

    Darko Connoisseur.

    Joined:
    Nov 20, 2019
    Messages:
    22,134
    Likes Received:
    320,293
    "Not necessarily"

    Something being dumb and insane to do hasn't stopped you before.

    Maybe he wanted to clone himself in case he died or maybe so he could make an heir.

    Or he could have wanted a situation like Bedlam has in case his body is destroyed.

    Unless letting the beings spiritual power grow in a relatively natural way could be done by allowing the clone to grow up naturally.

    No, you're not.

    Actually Grayven is the son of Darkseid, you're the son of a British chemistry professor.

    Your human DNA or Actually Grayven's DNA?

    Hmm, it's uncanny reading about this and watching the newest Owl House episode on the same day.
     
    Last edited: Apr 25, 2022
  26. Old Knife

    Old Knife Not too sore, are you?

    Joined:
    Feb 12, 2016
    Messages:
    430
    Likes Received:
    1,694
    So that's how he gets his one ups.
     
  27. Senevri

    Senevri Not too sore, are you?

    Joined:
    Aug 17, 2015
    Messages:
    277
    Likes Received:
    1,059
    People keep forgetting, this is Native Grayven's body, thus his DNA.
     
  28. NightmareWarden

    NightmareWarden Versed in the lewd.

    Joined:
    Oct 14, 2015
    Messages:
    1,093
    Likes Received:
    5,097
    Achievement Unlocked! Category: Video Games. Name: Binding of Isaac item stash.
     
  29. Chojin Patriarch

    Chojin Patriarch Veteran Lurker

    Joined:
    Jan 27, 2019
    Messages:
    2,149
    Likes Received:
    33,434
    Curiouser and curiouser, as they go down the rabbit hole. How strange that whatever conceptual defences this has doesn't prevent the Maltusian tech working, when it read as invisible to their sensors...

    As if it were infused with the very concept of Concealment.

    "Only one way to find out for sure."

    Begrudging functionality, I suppose. Out of courtesy for Grayven, or has she learnt some measure of talent with Fear?

    Heh. I suppose that's damning with faint praise, coming from him.

    "I was wondering when you'd notice."

    So... Is the whatever-this-is not as deserted as they initially thought, I wonder?

    Or it's been declared obsolete. Or whoever created it was killed without telling anyone it existed.

    And then erase the memory as best he could? That's going to extremes to hide something.

    So it doesn't recognise his authority. Perhaps he'll have to exert himself?

    "Not much to see anyway." Indeed, looks like they arrived in the custodial closet.

    And it's clearly bad, if you're reacting like this. Are you sure you want to poke this?

    With prejudice. The last thing you want is that kind of trouble getting out.

    No locks? Presumably this was a place for one or two trusted workers, then.

    Ah, Kirby art at it's finest and most abstract. Something nearly every adaption fails to do justice.

    "I think I know what this was used for..."

    "No, thank the Source."

    Well, that's a hell of a thing to find buried under a slain world...

    And leaves a worrying opening for him to force his way back into dominance of your shared form. If Conquest can overpower Acquisition...

    Baron Bedlam, though information is sparse on that wiki (The alternatives are Outsider foes of Prince Brion Markov.) But I could see him coming out of something like this.

    "To borrow a phrase: 'It's all Greek to me.'"

    Probably something akin to a hive-mind - every body having the same mind, without dissent.

    Backup bodies? Or maybe... The ability to be in more than one place at a time might be useful for a conqueror. Direct control on multiple battlefields and war-zones simultaneously.

    ...One problem with that theory. And she's living in challenger Mountain.

    ...Huh. I suppose nothing says Grayven's mother actually bore him in the old-fashioned way.

    A moment of self-doubt, Renegade?

    ...Oh, this is heading into a big old pile of 'Nope'.

    'Me' as in the Earth-Prime human you started as, or 'me' as in the local Grayven's body you're inhabiting?

    And there's the 'Nope'! Noping all the way out of there would be a good idea now!

    :confused: Well. :eek: Well... That happened. At what point did we stumble into the horror movie edition of 'Young Justice'? At any rate, that's enough to send just about anyone else heading for the hills. o_O ...And yet, I get the feeling they've seen worse in Sheeda times. Gods only know what else they're going to stumble across in here. Let's just hope this place isn't guarded by anything... Or anyone.
     
  30. Vaermina

    Vaermina Well worn.

    Joined:
    Oct 16, 2015
    Messages:
    5,520
    Likes Received:
    20,762
    Well, I guess that explains why Artemis was able to do what she did.

    He wasn't the real Grayven either.

    It also explains why Darkseid was willing to play the game he did with Renegade, he wanted to see if Fatherbox soul modification of humans was another path to making copies of New Gods.
     
Loading...