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

Reader mode
Chojin Patriarch said:
Yes, please do tell us what the fucking hell happened?
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Grayven happened.

Chojin Patriarch said:
He's not dead, clearly. But is his mind intact? Is he still sane?
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Are any Orange Lanterns really sane?

Chojin Patriarch said:
Dox was overconfident, wasn't he? Did he not consider the possibility of his being incapacitated during a battle at all? :rolleyes: And he calls himself a twelfth-level intellect.
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Tenth level actually.

Chojin Patriarch said:
...shiiiiit... Get that man a drink! And maybe confiscate his ring. And anything he could use to injure himself?
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Ehh, he seems to be black right now so he may not be able to use the ring.

Chojin Patriarch said:
...Has Dox been through any real training with the ring? Any combat practice? He should have known running full-on like that was a bad idea...
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He has been training, but most of that training probably hasn't focused on data overload.

Chojin Patriarch said:
Not the Boom Tube, you idiot. What else do New Gods have that you know of, hmm? Still working on his faulty assumptions.
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New Gods do seem to like using Boom Tubes and their God Speech may not be widely known.

Also there's not a lot of reason for him to focus on New Gods since Grayven showing up was completely unexpected.

Chojin Patriarch said:
"Had to be me. Someone else would have gotten it wrong." Good grief. Get this man laid! He needs something to think about other than Data.
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Maybe Georgia can help.

Or he can make a robot girlfriend.

Or a robot prostitute, since some things you don't do with a robot girlfriend.

Chojin Patriarch said:
So, Dox really did get knocked out by Grayven's Godspeech. Sort of. Or at least, that's the story he'll tell people. Hopefully this serves as a wake-up call that no, the twelfth-level intellect can't do everything himself, and he'll have to learn to delegate. Let's hope he can learn the right lessons from this...
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Hopefully.
And again, tenth level.
 
Darko said:
Or he can make a robot girlfriend.

Or a robot prostitute, since some things you don't do with a robot girlfriend.
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There are some things you don't do with a robot period.

Q7qpdd4.jpg
 
Pinklestia said:
Talking about that, a orange ring can fix his genetic defects, right?
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if you mean increasing his intellect to be a level twelve like his father, then he may not want to do that.

I asked Zoat this once and he said that he doesn't want to be like his father, so no increase.

Though I don't remember. where he posted it.
 
OK, a question that I think the regular readers of this fic are well-suited to answer: If I were doing a story or quest that used Godspeech, which would be less annoying, or less likely to throw you out of immersion - using invisitext like Zoat does, but sticking a spoiler box to the bottom of each post that uses it, with the Godspeech and the lines they parallel quoted there without invisitext, or not using invisitext at all, but sticking spoiler boxes with the Godspeech in them below each line that the Gospeech is supposed to parallel?

First version would be something like this:
"I am called Atanvarno. I Am The Elves."

<stuff>

"I am called Atanvarno. I Am The Elves."
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Second version looks more like this:
"I am called Atanvarno."
I Am The Elves.
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Prince Charon said:
OK, a question that I think the regular readers of this fic are well-suited to answer: If I were doing a story or quest that used Godspeech, which would be less annoying, or less likely to throw you out of immersion - using invisitext like Zoat does, but sticking a spoiler box to the bottom of each post that uses it, with the Godspeech and the lines they parallel quoted there without invisitext, or not using invisitext at all, but sticking spoiler boxes with the Godspeech in them below each line that the Gospeech is supposed to parallel?

First version would be something like this:


Second version looks more like this:
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Invisitext is bad and should not be used for this. Spoiler boxes are less bad but still unnecessarily obtrusive. Just use brackets and maybe italics or something.
 
TangerineThing said:
Invisitext is bad and should not be used for this. Spoiler boxes are less bad but still unnecessarily obtrusive. Just use brackets and maybe italics or something.
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I remember Obloquy used something like that whenever New Gods showed up, or something similar to a New God.

It was honestly a bit easier and more convenient than invisible text.

Third Fang on Ff net also did something similar.
 
Mr Zoat said:
"Illustres to Orange Lanterns in theatre, don't bother trying to assimilate Scarab Warriors. They just self-destruct."
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BlueMangoAdea said:
Shouldn't they abuse the self-destruction function?
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Yeah. That should be something like "Try assimilating them if you have trouble, it makes them give up and kill themselves."

Mr Zoat said:
"No, you're going to stick something with lights on it to your forehead and go back to the bridge and reassure everyone that you're a competent commander, a belief that today took exactly the sort of knock you sent me to Earth to avoid."
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Yeah, the guy who decided to make a surprise attack at the same time and place as the Orange Lantern/L.E.G.I.O.N. surprise attack (instead of taking out a second Reach reserve fleet at a different location), also having something prepared to incapacitate Dox in the opening moments is rather believable. Because to even show up here, showed rather in depth knowledge of the Malthusian plans.

A one-two punch from Grayven to make sure he got first blood while the Lantern fleet was momentarily headless is rather believable.And then Dox didn't take back command once he regained consciousness because OL was already handling things adequately, and flop flopping would have been inefficient.
 
Bramble Thorn said:
Yeah. That should be something like "Try assimilating them if you have trouble, it makes them give up and kill themselves."
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Mr Zoat explained that only Paul could do it fast enough. Anyone else who tries to assimilate the scarab in the middle of combat will be taken out by Reach forces while they're distracted.
 
Ngamer11 said:
Mr Zoat explained that only Paul could do it fast enough. Anyone else who tries to assimilate the scarab in the middle of combat will be taken out by Reach forces while they're distracted.
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There are multiple Lanterns here. Seems like a good way to get OK's easily.

Lantern A is engaged with Scarab A.
Lantern B is engaged with Scarab B.
Lantern C begins assimilating Scarab A.
Scarab A is occupied fighting Lantern A and now has to make a choice.

If he keeps focusing on the battle, the assimilation progresses because it isn't fighting the process. At some low assimilation percentage (The one Paul began assimilating exploded almost immediately), Scarab exploded.

OR:

If he focuses on fighting the assimilation, he is distracted in the life or death battle with the Lantern, and gets outmaneuvered and killed.

Either way, until the Reach recalibrate the self-destruct sensor with better protocols so it only explodes at something like 95% assimilation and not 5% assimilation, the self-destruct benefits the OL corps more than the Reach itself.
 
Prince Charon said:
OK, a question that I think the regular readers of this fic are well-suited to answer: If I were doing a story or quest that used Godspeech, which would be less annoying, or less likely to throw you out of immersion - using invisitext like Zoat does, but sticking a spoiler box to the bottom of each post that uses it, with the Godspeech and the lines they parallel quoted there without invisitext, or not using invisitext at all, but sticking spoiler boxes with the Godspeech in them below each line that the Gospeech is supposed to parallel?

First version would be something like this:


Second version looks more like this:
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color+bracketing, or formatting it in colored italic/bold/monospace would be what id say to use instead,is what i use to indicate different characters speaking in a multicharictering-dense scenario, but im admittedly biased, due to having a tendency to check for updates at like 10-12 pm/am on my phone when im already in bed >.<
 
Darko said:
if you mean increasing his intellect to be a level twelve like his father, then he may not want to do that.

I asked Zoat this once and he said that he doesn't want to be like his father, so no increase.

Though I don't remember. where he posted it.
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The way I understand it, his "father" just made a clone and ensured he had genetic defects that would prevent him for ever being as smart as the original.

Now considering that the original has done quite a lot of stupid things... That's debatable.
 
Alasnuyo said:
Huh. So he got knocked out by Grayven's godspeech?
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Remember how Paul was noticing something whenever Grayven used Godspeach, but couldn't quite parse it? It sounds like Dox can do something simlar due to his experience with magic, but between a lack of experience with such things and the sheer amount of data he was using his ring to percieve, he got overloaded when Grayven showed up and was shouting at reality that he was winning

WereDragon said:
Dox continues to be amazing proof that: Intelligent =/= Smart.
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More like how Dumbledore put it- everyone makes mistakes, but being rather smarter than most people his mistakes are correspondingly larger- Paul reasonably pointed out alternatives to how Dox was doing it, but frankly outside of this specific situation where a whole new sense to compensate for is unknown and the equivalent of a ongoing flashbang shows up, it would have worked fine. Dox is competant enough that his failures are when something he didn't know to compensate for are involved- and unlike Paul he is more int based than wis based so he didn't come to the obvious solution Paul did of getting help- which may be Dox's big flaw, putting too much on himself when he has a large organization to work with, Just because he could micromanage a whole battlefleet with his ring and his brain, doesn't make it without risks and impractical compared to splitting the work.

Frankly this is the sort of mistake that it is reasonable for a very smart person to make- I just hope it isn't indicative of other issues due to Dox taking on too much personally.
 
HereforZooat said:
All the necessary information is in the first chapter. First name of your dad is Colin, from Eastbourne, and a retired biologist. Google and some patience later, an article about the retirement of one Colin Tallowin. Some cursory searches for Paul Tallowin reveals he exists, is about the right age, and has a sister, which also fits. I've known for quite a while, but seeing other people guess is kinda funny.

Edit: Annoyingly, I can't find the article anymore

More funny is dropping the answer to a year's long question out of the blue from an account with an obviously dumb name and barely a smattering of activity.
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OK Bruce, get off the alt-account.
 
Over Reaching (part 15)
3rd July 2012
10:51 GMT -5

Dox walks confidently back onto the bridge, his eyes focusing not on the other members of the bridge crew or on the main screen, but on the numerous minor status indicators arranged around it. Of course Dox isn't going to be a summary man. The flag captain hasn't taken Dox's seat, so he just strolls on over to it and begins calling up status reports. Bridge crew hesitate uncertainly, then one after another their eyes alight on the shining lights of the empty box attached to his forehead. The light of false comprehension dawning, they return to their duty stations with renewed vigour.

My own entry to the bridge passes largely unremarked, and by the time Brand reaches the command podium everyone is focusing on their tasks. What to do now? Dox will give me an order in a couple of minutes just to reinforce his authority so I can't disappear. I'm getting updates from the ship's computer via my ring, but as Dox demonstrated he's far better at processing that sort of thing than I am. Mundane data, anyway.

I'm not completely convinced that the problem he had was with magic, exactly. But I felt Grayven doing something which coincided with the ship's main gun firing. It's perfectly possible to interact with magic using a power ring and I know that Dox is highly skilled with his. Yes, I've… Been assuming that it would require a level of spiritual awareness that he doesn't have, but I'm happy with the idea that there's more than one route to a skill.

The alternative is that he literally just overloaded his brain with data and actually gave himself a mini-stroke. I doubt that's what happened as his ring should have prevented it as long as he wanted to continue to be aware of the incoming data, but I don't think I'm going to look too closely into it just in case.

Instead, I look out through the hull of the ship at the other Lanterns in the fleet, spread out as they are across this segment of the outer sphere of Reach territory. The gleeful killers and retribution-seekers are raring to go, while the more disciplined ones are simply focused on the job before them. I-

"This is Vril Dox, Supreme Commander of L.E.G.I.O.N. and Clarissi of the Orange Lantern Corps. I have recovered from a minor neural shock created by the Apokoliptian Grayven and am now resuming command of the operation."

I raise my left hand slightly. "This is the Illustres. I yield command."

I then turn, looking back from the way we came, deeper into Reach space. Still don't have a great handle on how they think, and at this distance, without something specific to aim my gaze at, we'd have to have made a much bigger impression than we did for me to see much of anything.

I glance over to Dox and spot that he's moved on to the reports from the Lanterns attacking the periphery. That's as good an opening as any. I walk towards him, and he looks up as I pass through his command station's shield.

"Sir. How are we doing?"

"The Reach ships are pulling back. Most likely, they're going into survival mode until they can get either orders from their regional command or reinforcements."

"They're not just abandoning this part of the periphery? I thought that was how the Reach usually responded to a concerted attack. Those ships could make it to the next periphery region without too much difficulty."

"The most likely reason is propaganda. They know perfectly well that we're going to tell everyone on our side of the periphery exactly what they do with worlds they annex, with all the evidence and testimonies we can gather."

"They're destroying evidence?"

"Or creating a false narrative that we hunted down helpless trading vessels. Or perhaps they don't want to make themselves look weak to periphery worlds not presently aligned with us. The fact that they usually do a thing in a particular way is no indication that they will continue to do so forever. We might not be the first time that they've had to deal with significant opposition but we are the first time that someone has tried to envelop their entire border."

"We could ask-. Some of those Lanterns to take ships in one piece. If they're just armed merchantmen and there aren't any Scarab Warriors present, it's a manageable risk."

"No, we need them here."

He brings up a holographic image of a… World the Reach seized a generation or two ago. I'm not seeing much in the way of defences, which makes sense. We're the main threat to the Reach in this region, and they wouldn't put defences that could stop us on a world they don't particularly care about. They'd much rather counterpunch us with ships and scarabs than build fixed defences they can't support.

"What, all of them?"

"No, just the ones reliable enough to trust to do anything complex with their rings."

…

Fair point. Ragnar is a great fighter and master-at-arms, but I'm still not sure that he'd turn down an opportunity to duel with a Scarab Warrior in order to do something of strategic value. And most of the others… Their self-control isn't good enough to ensure that they'd stick to the mission with the orange light influencing them. Normally that's fine, but it does somewhat limit our options in situations like this.

"So what's special about it?"

"The dominant intelligent species is still populous and -to the best of our knowledge- unmodified."

I frown. "Collaborators?"

"We don't have any pre-annexation records. They weren't fond of other species before the Reach absorbed them, and the local monitoring was too good for a Darkstar team to penetrate for long enough to learn anything until recently. There should be a team there now, and we'll get a data burst once we arrive."

"You wouldn't be putting this level of resource in on the off-chance. What do you think is happening?"

"Material resources are plentiful in the universe. Energy is freely available in any of a hundred different ways. The Reach aren't primitive raiders like the gordanians or philosophical obsessives like the Apokoliptians. If they're holding a planet contrary to their usual manner of operating, there's something unique there that they want."

"You read my reports on the future of my own species, I assume."

"Certainly." Gosh, he's mellowed out all of a sudden. "And that's the approach I would expect them to take. Breeding a species for a useful trait if they can't engineer it into themselves or a device, and conditioning them to loyalty. That doesn't appear to be what has happened here."

"I assume that you want me on it?"

"I want you on the planet supporting the Darkstar team the moment we know what's going on."

I nod.

"Speaking of useful traits, do you know what's happening on Colu at the moment? The last I heard, a Green Lantern Honour Guard strike force was attacking the Computer Tyrants."

"Coluans would make better analysts than most alternatives. If they were willing to work with me."

"You're not even biologically identical to your tissue donor."

"He isn't biological any longer. But that's beside the point. And irrelevant. The Green Lanterns managed to land on Colu and destroy the Computer Tyrant defence force, but the majority of the population remain locked in the simulations. And with the Computer Tyrants effectively running on their neural structures and adapting to the Green Lantern Corps' attempts to extract them, it's a deadlock."

"Nothing you can do to help?"

"I'm the most intelligent Coluan there has ever been, but I can't outthink a billion other Coluans running in parallel."

"Do the Computer Tyrants have radio telepathy?"

"Not a version that's compatible with an unmodified organic brain."

"The Martians do owe us a few big favours. We could probably telepathically transfer people out of the simulation. Reduce the Computer Tyrants' hardware capacity."

"I'll give it some thought. Hm." He changes a screen, and turns the sound dampening around us right down. "We're being intercepted by a security fleet. Mercenaries. Capture as many as you can for questioning."

Check position… Feel them.

"Certainly, sir. Back shortly."
 
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