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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. jasonh23761

    jasonh23761 Not too sore, are you?

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    My many criticisms of Fallout 4 aside, being able to go through the research facility/ black site prison that made robobrains out of convicts and political dissidents was one of the most intellectually horrifying experiences I've had in Fallout.

    So naturally I've had to go as the Silver Shroud every time since, as it makes that boss delightfully cartoonish.
     
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  2. Coda

    Coda Versed in the lewd.

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    [​IMG]
     
  3. Ryumancer

    Ryumancer Dragons Are Romance

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    Man, considering the OSHA definition of electrocution is specifically death via electricity, whereas anything less than lethal is just a Shock, he must've been pretty skilled to bring that wood back to life before murdering it :p
     
  4. Threadmarks: Dear John (part 17)
    Mr Zoat

    Mr Zoat Dedicated ragequitter

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    7th November 2012
    Roughly 10:38 GMT -5


    I aim my clay pigeon launcher up over the hillock we're hiding behind and fire, the ceramic projectile flying-.

    Boomboomboom!

    Ratatatatatatatata!

    Shooooom!

    And small fragments of it rain down on the-.

    Alan thrusts his right arm forwards, a fairground claw machine grabber punching into the ground and coming out with a squirming, blind, writhing worm that smells horrible, drips acid so that it will hurt anyone that touches it and can only bite, consume and excrete.

    A bit heavy-handed, but that's the sort of place we're in.

    "What.. do I..?"

    I shake my head. "It doesn't matter, Alan. Chuck it away and it will go back to what it was doing before. Throw it at the Complex and they'll kill it, but it will immediately be replaced by something identical. It lacks the capacity to be anything other than what it is."

    "Okay, but is it an animal, or just-"

    It spits a blob of acid at him, which he blocks with a stars and stripes kite shield.

    "-a really nasty person?"

    "Its mindset is too different for me to tell for certain. I think animal, but that might be a result of its inherent magics keeping it simple rather than an indication of a total inability to cogitate."

    "I don't.. like cruelty to animals, but if it's literally an embodiment of political corruption then I guess I'll live with myself."

    The arm construct swings and the worm goes flying towards the Complex. I wait for the-.



    I wait for the guns..?

    Nothing. Alan frowns interrogatively at me. Why would-?

    I nod. "Because it's supposed to be there. The Complex doesn't think that corrupt politicians are its enemy; they're its friends."

    Alan creates a periscope construct and uses it to peek out of cover. "Think I could pass as Carter?"

    I look at his blue glow.

    "No." I look around as I try to-. "Wait, where did the vulture-?"

    "Darn it. Eagle, did you see-?"

    "I smell something!" He tilts his head back, sniffing the air. "An American icon!"

    "In here? Lead the way!"

    The eagle doesn't hesitate, leaping and flapping upwards and westward, Alan and I right behind it. I glance back at the Complex as we go, the colossal fortress walls and buttress-mounted guns seeming to glare at us as we go. And it might actually be glaring if it has the type of intelligence that I suspect it does. The eagle picks up speed, and I see… Some sort of main road, and there's the vulture, flapping towards… A humanoid figure, wearing a somewhat soiled suit and missing a portion of its head. And both his arms.

    The vulture flies past them, lading next to a lump of something on the ground behind the unsteady figure. The face looks-.

    Alan gasps!

    "That's Kennedy!"

    He dives down, and I can feel his drive to rescue someone from this place bubble to the surface. A blue glow reassembles the man's arms before Alan really thinks through what he's doing, and then he's left floating in the air just in front of the dead president.

    The dead president whose face is… Kind of hanging in there, but a large piece of his skull and most of his brain is just sort of gone.

    Alan spots the vulture tucking in.

    "Hey, get away from that!"

    "Why?" It gulps, swallowing a beakful of temporal lobe. "You can't tell me that this brain is keeping him alive."

    "That-." Alan realises that he has a point as the late President Kennedy stares at him with a vague smile on his face. "That's no excuse. What happened to waiting until he's dead?"

    "He has literally no brain. Why does me eating-" The vulture pecks up a little more, then tilts her head back to swallow. "-a little bit of what he's not using matter?"

    I scan the available brain matter, but… Yes. This isn't Kennedy, not in the flesh. This is the idea of Kennedy, or… Possibly the man's soul. There isn't any organic matter there for me to analyse.

    "M-m hmm hmm hm."

    Kennedy's humming? Why is he humming God Save The Queen? I mean, thanks, but in this position I wouldn't start humming The Star-Spangled Banner.

    "Paul, I-. I don't know how to fix a man's brain. Not when it's this far gone."

    "Ah… I don't either. But I don't think that's the issue. The Vulture of Freedom is right. This is Kennedy's soul, or something like it. Organic repairs aren't this issue. Though you could have cleaned up his excrement when you-"

    "Darn it, yeah."

    "-repaired his arms."

    "Hrrrn hrn hrn huuuughnuuhnuuuh."

    "I think this is going to have to be a magic thing."

    "So we can't help him out until we can get Doctor Mist or Giovanni in here."

    "No. I mean… Look, someone who knows how to damage souls has had a go at him, right? We can't fix that. But we can fix him-. Or rather, since I don't think we need him to go running off after Marilyn Monroe, you can."

    He looks sceptical.

    "This isn't the best time to talk me through some whole new ring power, Paul."

    "On the contrary, it's the best time. As President, he can walk us through the Military Industrial Complex. And since he's dead, even if you get it badly wrong you can't kill him because he's already dead."

    "Ah…" Alan looks at Kennedy's injury, his gaze going through the man's head. "I can't exactly say that you're wrong there, but I don't know what you want me to do."

    "Sometimes, people come to represent more than they actually are. Kennedy did a lot of bad things during his time in office, but Americans seem to regard him fondly. He was a focus of hope."

    "And you think I can draw on that hope to fix him up?"

    "I think you might be able to draw on it to make him better."

    Alan takes a breath, then raises his ring.

    "Guess I won't know until I try, huh?"
     
    Last edited: Jun 3, 2022
  5. Pinklestia

    Pinklestia Well worn.

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    Kennedy really?

    Let me guess... Edison is one of the bad guys?
     
  6. Bud-E

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

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    Is Kennedy making a joke or is a joke being played on Kennedy?
     
  7. thebishop8

    thebishop8 Umm, ackchyually...

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    "think" before "this". Or maybe just remove the "I".

    "him" should be "his".

    "hop" to "hope".
     
  8. Massgamer

    Massgamer Not too sore, are you?

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    Man, the symbolism in this place sure is heavy-handed, but then again I guess that is kinda the point of a realm made up of belief and such.
     
  9. Darko

    Darko Connoisseur.

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    Because the Complex wouldn't hurt one of its closest allies.

    Yep.

    I'm guessing that since JFK was viewed as being something like a pinnacle of American politics then this thing represents how corruptive American politics are becoming.

    Or maybe Uncle Sam wasn't the only being that was kidnapped.

    Maybe it's to show how far his corruption has come that he''s singing the song of another country.

    'I think this'

    Well, unless you want to get closer to the Japanese pantheon.

    'on that hope'
     
  10. moralrelativity

    moralrelativity Recovering pendant.

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    not -> no
     
  11. dw7thdoctor

    dw7thdoctor Getting sticky.

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    I think he recognized that Paul is British and wanted to get his attention as a plea for help.
     
  12. Chojin Patriarch

    Chojin Patriarch Veteran Lurker

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    Yeah, once again, the old adage proves true: "What do you call a flying soldier? Skeet." Evidently they've arrived at Washington, or it's counterparts in the Badlands. No doubt the metaphysical incarnation of some old Hawks are having the time of their unlife shooting their whiz-bang killy guns.

    :confused: ...A lot of whiz-bang killy guns. Talk about Dakka.

    Gee, there's some nasty metaphorical doodoo. I won't try and guess what that might represent.

    Well, don't let it get its fangs into you, it'll never let go.

    Let's just not think about that, okay? It's probably enough to make you lose hope...

    Is that a Captain America reference I see? :D I mean, in some timelines, the Marvel comics do exist in the DCU. Probably not big sellers compared to real superheroes, but...

    And like he said, whatever you do to it won't matter, it's replaceable.

    :mad: "Friendly target detected. Hold your fire, boys!"
    :( "Aw, Sarge... I still got half a clip in this here shooter!"

    Sadly, I doubt they've run out of ammo. The logic of this place only has two states, probably: 'Open Fire!' and 'Reloading!'

    :p What makes you think that would work?

    Is it any great loss? I rather think not...

    Oh, dear. I get the feeling this isn't going to be pretty for Roger...

    Remember that pic Mr Zoat linked a few days back? Yeah... That's probably why Lady Liberty wanted to hit John in the junk. (Not sure of the source, though... The Wikis are proving unhelpful...)

    Gordon: "What? A girl gets hungry. And you saps aren't dying anytime soon, it looks like..."

    No, that's the memory of Kennedy. And in this place, that almost certainly means...

    ...That this fellow is fresh from that car ride in Dallas...

    And in this place, that'd probably be a bad thing anyway...

    Most humans have this squeamish thing about seeing other people getting hurt, you know?

    And doesn't that just say nice things about what this place does to the ideas of great men, huh? :rolleyes:

    Yeah, once that much is missing, anything you put back in there will be someone else.

    Well, that's one problem fixed, I suppose. But Johnny here's still a hot mess.

    :oops: I'd say something about him not being able to hold a tune, but really, in this shape, I'm impressed he's not got a tin ear.

    ...Alan, no. Let it go, he's beyond helping. Save it for after you feed the Smiling Git his own arsehole.

    Heh. Yeah, I don't think OL's hands will be much use in putting this humpty-dumpty back together again.

    :confused: ...I suppose that's one way to find a silver lining?

    ...Not untrue, I suppose.

    Assuming he doesn't turn into a caricature of the man he used to be...

    Good luck, and godspeed.

    Huh. This has taken a rather bizarre turn. Who'd have thought when this episode started that we'd see Alan trying to put the ghost of Kennedy back together? Much less in hopes of using him to sneak past more Dakka than most Ork Waaaghs? Better hold on to your popcorn or Malteasers, folks, because this ride is just getting started...



    ...we need him to go running off after Marilyn Monroe, you can."
     
  13. ForeverShogo

    ForeverShogo Not too sore, are you?

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    Wait, do people seriously not recognize/remember the American song that borrows the tune of God Save The Queen?

    A couple different countries used that tune for their anthems, including Imperial Germany, Imperial Russia, and a few others. But the version used in America is My Country, Tis Of Thee.



    It was one of the de facto national anthems of America before we officially adopted Star Spangled Banner in 1931.

    So, no, it wasn't Kennedy singing another country's song because of spiritual brain damage. It's just a tune that multiple countries decided to change the lyrics to for their own purposes.
     
  14. Darko

    Darko Connoisseur.

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    Maybe he'll become like the idealized version people think of him.

    If that happens then he may be able to potentially influence how politicians conduct their business.

    Imagine a bunch of good politicians.
     
  15. Sockmonkey

    Sockmonkey I trust you know where the happy button is?

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    Well, you can build a whole soul out of spectrum energies, so you should be able to patch one up with them.
     
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  16. Mr Zoat

    Mr Zoat Dedicated ragequitter

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    There's some irrelevant American song that has the same tune.
    Thank you, corrected.
    Hellblazer... 70ish?
     
  17. Grek

    Grek (she/her)

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    Paul is Brit and doesn't recognize My Country Tis of Thee when he hears it.
     
  18. Senevri

    Senevri Not too sore, are you?

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    No way that's a hope statement. Will, sure.

    This, however, does seem more hopeful.
     
  19. Chojin Patriarch

    Chojin Patriarch Veteran Lurker

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    Found it. Hellblazer Volume 1, #72 to #75. Dubbed the 'Damnation's Flame' story arc... Which sees John take a wild trip in New York courtesy of a hallucinogenic Mickey Finn supplied by Papa Midnite...
    And reading the synopsis, I can see why Lady Liberty is a bit narked off at him... ;) Also, I suspect, more than a little of the inspiration for the current location Alan and OL have found themselves dumped into.
     
  20. FeepingCreature

    FeepingCreature Not too sore, are you?

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    I think it's rhetorical. He's not saying he's hoping he can live with himself, he's facetiously using that phrasing while actually driven by hope that the political landscape will improve.
     
  21. Windona

    Windona Beetle Queen of Crackshipping

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    Ah, a fun hallucinatory journey.

    And I can understand why Kennedy was there- he's an assassinated president who was the subject of a lot of conspiracy theories, and people paint him more with their interpretations than a real look at his policies these days.

    No time like when the plot needs it! And Paul's right, it's a win-win situation.

    (Next we need Paul humming 'My Country Tis of Thee' according to Wally)
     
  22. Pez

    Pez Spaceman

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    Considering the recent Batman: Fortress had Batman refusing to stop rioters from looting stores and burning down buildings because "it wasn't his job to protect their profits" and "they had insurance", this seems like an idea some professional DC writer is going to take and make their own.

    ---

    What if they just wrapped themselves in worms? Or, can Paul Assimilate them?
     
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  23. Mr Zoat

    Mr Zoat Dedicated ragequitter

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    JJJAAAAAHHHHHRULE8RULE8RULE8!
     
  24. Pez

    Pez Spaceman

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    Yea, I know, Mister Attack Helicopter. How about that weather? ;)
     
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  25. ForeverShogo

    ForeverShogo Not too sore, are you?

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    It's not his job to do any of the things he does as Batman and he does it anyways, so that's a really stupid thing for the comic to decide regardless of the context.
     
  26. Stsword

    Stsword Versed in the lewd.

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    Seems like this might be a nod to the American Scream from Shade the Changing Man

    Like the Sphinx it had a riddle, and if you didn't answer correctly you were dead.

    "Who killed Kennedy?"

    The answer
    We did. When the obsession with his death was allowed to overshadow his life.
     
  27. RocjawCypher

    RocjawCypher Making the rounds.

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    See and I thought this was a reference to the daughter he had lobotomized.
     
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  28. Windona

    Windona Beetle Queen of Crackshipping

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    Thought it was Kennedy's sister who his dad had lobotomized
     
  29. WorstMirari

    WorstMirari the girl in blue

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    Question about the setting: are there separate antimatter universes for each parallel?
     
  30. AR760

    AR760 Experienced.

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    Given the centuries of enslavement, brutal repression, racism, colonialism, strict classism, and attempts to conquer and dominate their fellow European brothers and sisters and the world, along with everything else, just think about how bad the symbolic Britain/UK would look.

    And do to sheer inertia of time alone, let alone when coupled with the nature of pre-modern society, many significantly worse or in larger qualities than anything the US has done

    France, Germany, and the fellow European powers of that type too. Their history has allowed each of them to collect quite the history of monstrous and barbaric behavior. And this is with me simply thinking of all the things which don't violate the prohibition against mentioning modern politics.

    What would it even be called I wonder? Either way, with those things in mind, I'm sure it would make the American version look like a trip to Candyland lmao.
     
    Last edited: Jun 2, 2022
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