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

[AverusBlack]

Brainiac's worse! His base power is that he's a technopath supergenius!

There's literally no way for a Power Ring user to beat him short of an author rewriting his actual capabilities into something else.

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It's a scale thing. Brainiac is a technopath supergenius but theres advanced technology and then there is advanced technology. Technology that is centuries ahead of you and yet at the same time something you can make sense of with enough study is one thing but Maltus is at the "Fuck your couch" level of advanced where they make things that other races look at and do the cat 'huh?' meme. Brainiac collects cities. Maltusians build planets.

I only look in once in awhile but have you been doing this whole "I'm going to make up a headcanon and get angry about the story not following it" thing this whole time? I don't really want to fight with you but I looked back a bit and as far as I can tell, you hate this story. I can't work out why you're this invested in agitating about it.

 

[Mr Zoat]

Universe 191
13th May 1954
21:39 GMT

Naturally, the Kaiser wasn't going to wait for me. And given what I remember happening in my original home Britain with a comedian who thought that creating an @PM e-mail address and e-mailing everyone in Parliament to see who they could fool, it's probably a good idea that we have a little more security with something like this than they do. I give a polite nod to the Foreign Office wonk as he enters the room in something of a hurry.

"Sir. Is…?"

I shake my head as I wait for the Kaiser's aide to decide that he's waited long enough to remind me which of the soon-to-be participants in this conversation is a king, directing the receiver away from my mouth. "No. Still waiting."

Mr.… Evans, that's it, looks down at his notes for a moment. "Sir, we really need to go over your protection detail again."

I shake my head. "The easiest place to smuggle a gun like that is by laying it between a person's legs and concealing it with their buttocks and groin. I'm not having my bodyguards feeling up my guests."

He blinks as he considers it. "We have metal detectors."

"And we're keeping them secret. The last thing I want is to encourage people to start inventing wooden or ceramic firearms. If it-."

There's a click from the speaker, and I move the receiver back to my mouth. Evans raises his eyebrows, and I nod. He then presses a button on the recording equipment and dons his headset so that he can keep up with what's being said.

"Mister Talwyn."

"Present."

"The next voice you hear will be that of His Majesty."

For a moment I picture my old German teacher, Herr James. The German language is a major world language in this timeline and I still haven't used the little I remember from Secondary School. And then my eye is unavoidably drawn to the orange ring on my left hand. I haven't used that much more often. But the Kaiser speaks fluent English, and if he hears me in German… Well, it's not as if the Foreign Office is going to ask him.

What is a superhero to do when superpowers aren't what the situation requires? I mean, in theory, if I got a little lucky I could have won the war for Britain… I was a little late, but the armistice hadn't been signed yet. I would have had to kill a great many people, but it would certainly have been possible. But… Then what? That nonsense from von Spreti earlier would have been nothing compared to the unending wave of assassins who would have been after me from every corner of the world. And I don't feel like sleeping on the moon, or at the bottom of the ocean. And ignoring that, ignoring all the people I'd have to kill… What would it achieve? With the reptiloids heading our way and… What our allies did to their own people… That isn't the sort of world I'd want to bring about. If Churchill hadn't put the kibosh on that here I imagine I'd be living in America right now.

There's a quiet sound of breathing on the phone, but I wait for him to speak. Germany is a good deal more monarchical than Britain, with power genuinely centred on the Kaiser. Unlike in Britain, where the monarch has the power to dismiss ministers on the understanding that they never do, the Kaiser holds that power in practice. And with German expansion being a complete success in this timeline there isn't much chance of that changing. As for the call… Well, this is hardly the first foreign head of state that I've spoken to, though the only communication I've had from the Kaiser before was a congratulations telegram after our first successful orbit.

Expecting a second one after we put the British flag on the moon would probably have been a bit much.

"Mister Talwyn."

He can't see me, but I incline my head slightly anyway. "Your Majesty. Thank you for speaking with me."

"You have my condolences for the attack. I trust that you are well?"

"A few bruises. Nothing serious."

"Rest assured, Mister von Spreti's action was not undertaken on the order of my government."

"I would have been extremely surprised if it was. Does your government have any idea why he did it?"

"We are making enquiries. It is too early to say for certain. Has he said anything?"

"His jaw is broken in two places. We've provided him with treatment of course, but it's unlikely that he's going to be capable of having a conversation for a few weeks."

"How is the rest of the German party?"

"Cuts and bruises. A young lieutenant had a couple of bones in his hand broken, but they've been set. We haven't finished interrogating them yet, but between the initial reports and their obvious surprise when it happens I doubt that they know anything."

"What is the intention of the British government regarding this incident?"

"Well, if it was not ordered by your government-."

"The German Empire does not carry out assassinations in peacetime."

I smile at the qualifier. "I am happy to take your word of it, your majesty, but I know that the American government does. But as I was saying, since it wasn't ordered by your government, the British government is simply going to expel them. But von Spreti tried to murder me."

"You wish to interrogate him once he is recovered."

"We wish to put him on trial. And the first step towards that is asking you to remove his diplomatic immunity. I don't imagine that would be a problem, since he was not acting on your government's order."

"What is the usual punishment in Britain for what he has done?"

"While the maximum punishment for Attempted Murder is life imprisonment, I suspect that he would receive a shorter sentence if he cooperates with the investigation. I believe that ten years is the sentence usually handed down."

"Ten years. That is entirely proportionate. I will agree to remove his immunity. The official paperwork will be with your ambassador within two days."

"Thank you, your majesty."

"I trust that we will not have to replace the entire embassy?"

"Of course not, your majesty. That would be a foolish overreaction to the actions of one man."

"I am pleased to hear it. Will embassy access be granted to Mister von Spreti?"

"Of course, though given his situation I'm afraid that it will be monitored. He will after all only be a diplomatic official for another two days."

"Of course. I understand that you gave him a… Gift before his outburst."

"I realise that returning gifts to the person who gave them to you is a little gauche, but under the circumstances I felt it was appropriate. Britain has no desire to possess fission bombs or warheads. Ah. They're currently being held in a secure warehouse near the testing site, but if your new ambassador would like to arrange for them to be picked up, we will make them available."

"Given the nature of the… 'Gift', I would like to arrange for an armed escort. A platoon of paratroopers to accompany two transportation aircraft directly to the site."

"That would be acceptable. Please make sure that they have up to date passports."

Mister Evans give me a mildly pained look.

"I will leave the details to the War Ministry. The last matter I believe that we need to discuss is how this affects our access to your arms catalogue."

"Barring Mister von Spreti's interrogation turning up something strange, it doesn't. International politics requires that we supply you in order to ensure that the Americans don't start pushing. Though I'm afraid that you may have been lowered slightly in the order of precedence."

"Based on the earliest reports I have received, I believe that I would like to suggest an alternative. Your country uses a great deal of uranium. We have recently discovered new deposits in our eastern territories. Ordinarily, they would be purely for domestic consumption, but since you are dedicated to the peaceful exploitation of fission technology, I believe that we could make an exception for Britain."

I smile, and almost despite himself Mr. Evans does as well. Not having to ship the stuff halfway around the world? Thank you very much. "Thank you, your majesty. I believe that will do nicely."

 

[Signaller]

Naturally, the Kaiser wasn't going to wait for me. And given what I remember happening in my original home Britain with a comedian who thought that creating an @PM e-mail address and e-mailing everyone in Parliament to see who they could fool, it's probably a good idea that we have a little more security with something like this than they do

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Does anyone have a link to a news article about this? Could be a fun read.

And then my eye is unavoidably draw to the orange ring on my left hand.

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drawn

Unlike in Britain, where the monarch has the power to dismiss minister on the understanding that they never do, the Kaiser holds that power in practice.

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ministers

"What is the usual punishment in Britain for what he ahs done?"

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has

 

[BR549]

The advantage of the absolute-power monarchy: when the Kaiser says that "we will sell our uranium to our friends in England", Germany sells its uranium to their friends in England.

...as a note, I forget if Turtledove actually named who the Kaiser was in TL-191; if we take the handwave of everyone's births and deaths having been the same as they were in OTL, then this might be Kaiser Louis Ferdinand.

 

[Chojin Patriarch]

Universe 191
13th May 1954
21:39 GMT

Naturally, the Kaiser wasn't going to wait for me. And given what I remember happening in my original home Britain with a comedian who thought that creating an @PM e-mail address and e-mailing everyone in Parliament to see who they could fool, it's probably a good idea that we have a little more security with something like this than they do. I give a polite nod to the Foreign Office wonk as he enters the room in something of a hurry.

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'Wonk', for the record, is a joking term for a young fellow of high yet mono-focused intelligence. A nerd in a specific field, basically. I'm sure everyone's met someone like that. At any rate, looks like he's about to talk to the highest German authority.

Spoiler: Commentary spoilered for length

"Sir. Is…?"

I shake my head as I wait for the Kaiser's aide to decide that he's waited long enough to remind me which of the soon-to-be participants in this conversation is a king, directing the receiver away from my mouth. "No. Still waiting."

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Whereas Mr Talwyn is merely a notable merchant. Quite the difference in social rank.

Mr.… Evans, that's it, looks down at his notes for a moment. "Sir, we really need to go over your protection detail again."

I shake my head. "The easiest place to smuggle a gun like that is by laying it between a person's legs and concealing it with their buttocks and groin. I'm not having my bodyguards feeling up my guests."

Click to shrink...

Though that would result in the barrel pointing at their testicles. And you don't want a gun pointing at your jewels.

He blinks as he considers it. "We have metal detectors."

"And we're keeping them secret. The last thing I want is to encourage people to start inventing wooden or ceramic firearms. If it-."

Click to shrink...

In our world, the first practical devices only turned up in the interwar period, though the concept was around for almost a century. I guess this world's advanced a bit slower.

There's a click from the speaker, and I move the receiver back to my mouth. Evans raises his eyebrows, and I nod. He then presses a button on the recording equipment and dons his headset so that he can keep up with what's being said.

"Mister Talwyn."

Click to shrink...

Very well set-up. For formal purposes, of course.

"Present."

"The next voice you hear will be that of His Majesty."

Click to shrink...

Ah, good. Time to see how he responds to this affair.

For a moment I picture my old German teacher, Herr James. The German language is a major world language in this timeline and I still haven't used the little I remember from Secondary School. And then my eye is unavoidably draw to the orange ring on my left hand. I haven't used that much more often. But the Kaiser speaks fluent English, and if he hears me in German… Well, it's not as if the Foreign Office is going to ask him.

Click to shrink...

I wonder what people think of it? I assume it's got a pittance of charge left, just enough for translation if he's considering it. But a ring of orange metal isn't very conventional.

What is a superhero to do when superpowers aren't what the situation requires? I mean, in theory, if I got a little lucky I could have won the war for Britain… I was a little late, but the armistice hadn't been signed yet. I would have had to kill a great many people, but it would certainly have been possible. But… Then what? That nonsense from von Spreti earlier would have been nothing compared to the unending wave of assassins who would have been after me from every corner of the world. And I don't feel like sleeping on the moon, or at the bottom of the ocean. And ignoring that, ignoring all the people I'd have to kill… What would it achieve? With the reptiloids heading our way and… What our allies did to their own people… That isn't the sort of world I'd want to bring about. If Churchill hadn't put the kibosh on that here I imagine I'd be living in America right now.

Click to shrink...

Ah, so he didn't head off the entire Reptiloid fleet, just a forerunner scout ship? Edit: Ah, two fleets, with the second lot expecting an easy time of Colonisation. Going to be surprises in store all round, then.

There's a quiet sound of breathing on the phone, but I wait for him to speak. Germany is a good deal more monarchical than Britain, with power genuinely centred on the Kaiser. Unlike in Britain, where the monarch has the power to dismiss ministers on the understanding that they never do, the Kaiser holds that power in practice. And with German expansion being a complete success in this timeline there isn't much chance of that changing. As for the call… Well, this is hardly the first foreign head of state that I've spoken to, though the only communication I've had from the Kaiser before was a congratulations telegram after our first successful orbit.

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But the knowledge that this is one of the most powerful men on the planet is still there.

Expecting a second one after we put the British flag on the moon would probably have been a bit much.

"Mister Talwyn."

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Yes, showing the rest of the world up by that much might have torqued some folks off.

He can't see me, but I incline my head slightly anyway. "Your Majesty. Thank you for speaking with me."

"You have my condolences for the attack. I trust that you are well?"

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The natural pleasantries, of course. No matter how urgent the situation, you do not rush a man like this.

"A few bruises. Nothing serious."

"Rest assured, Mister von Spreti's action was not undertaken on the order of my government."

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Or at least, any part he can talk about freely, I suspect. Which either means he's well aware of who ordered it, or he's not. And it's not certain which would be worse.

"I would have been extremely surprised if it was. Does your government have any idea why he did it?"

"We are making enquiries. It is too early to say for certain. Has he said anything?"

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So if this wasn't under orders, then von Spreti is going to be in deep doo-doo when he gets home... If he gets home.

"His jaw is broken in two places. We've provided him with treatment of course, but it's unlikely that he's going to be capable of having a conversation for a few weeks."

"How is the rest of the German party?"

Click to shrink...

I see his bodyguards were very enthusiastic about restraining the shooter.

"Cuts and bruises. A young lieutenant had a couple of bones in his hand broken, but they've been set. We haven't finished interrogating them yet, but between the initial reports and their obvious surprise when it happens I doubt that they know anything."

"What is the intention of the British government regarding this incident?"

Click to shrink...

And to be fair, it could have been a lot worse, especially if they also pulled a weapon.

"Well, if it was not ordered by your government-."

"The German Empire does not carry out assassinations in peacetime."

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Yes, very precise wording, of course.

I smile at the qualifier. "I am happy to take your word of it, your majesty, but I know that the American government does. But as I was saying, since it wasn't ordered by your government, the British government is simply going to expel them. But von Spreti tried to murder me."

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And if he goes back to Germany, he is going to just disappear. Can't let people think that sort of thing goes unpunished.

"You wish to interrogate him once he is recovered."

"We wish to put him on trial. And the first step towards that is asking you to remove his diplomatic immunity. I don't imagine that would be a problem, since he was not acting on your government's order."

Click to shrink...

Better he throw one diplomat under the bus than admit to something that could cause a war.

"What is the usual punishment in Britain for what he has done?"

"While the maximum punishment for Attempted Murder is life imprisonment, I suspect that he would receive a shorter sentence if he cooperates with the investigation. I believe that ten years is the sentence usually handed down."

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Huh. Just a bit harsher. Then again, it's hard to be sure if it was premeditated or a spur-of-the-moment choice.

"Ten years. That is entirely proportionate. I will agree to remove his immunity. The official paperwork will be with your ambassador within two days."

"Thank you, your majesty."

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The joy of a monarch with absolute power, though. He says it happens, then it happens.

"I trust that we will not have to replace the entire embassy?"

"Of course not, your majesty. That would be a foolish overreaction to the actions of one man."

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Though I expect they'll be keeping a closer eye on his replacement and their staff.

"I am pleased to hear it. Will embassy access be granted to Mister von Spreti?"

"Of course, though given his situation I'm afraid that it will be monitored. He will after all only be a diplomatic official for another two days."

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Of course, two days is a long time, especially if the gentleman tries to stay in the embassy. I doubt that he could manage something like that, with his Kaiser's disapproval, but you never know what a desperate man will try.

"Of course. I understand that you gave him a… Gift before his outburst."

"I realise that returning gifts to the person who gave them to you is a little gauche, but under the circumstances I felt it was appropriate. Britain has no desire to possess fission bombs or warheads. Ah. They're currently being held in a secure warehouse near the testing site, but if your new ambassador would like to arrange for them to be picked up, we will make them available."

Click to shrink...

Heh, why bother holding on to them when they have better weapons, after all? Wonder if the Kaiser's been updated on said weapons yet? If they filmed it, they'd likely have to transport the film back before he could see it...

"Given the nature of the… 'Gift', I would like to arrange for an armed escort. A platoon of paratroopers to accompany two transportation aircraft directly to the site."

"That would be acceptable. Please make sure that they have up to date passports."

Click to shrink...

Naturally, there'll be a matching number of British soldiers keeping an eye out at all times while they're here...

Mister Evans give me a mildly pained look.

"I will leave the details to the War Ministry. The last matter I believe that we need to discuss is how this affects our access to your arms catalogue."

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Ah, down to the real brass tacks: Will Germany still get to buy your new weapons?

"Barring Mister von Spreti's interrogation turning up something strange, it doesn't. International politics requires that we supply you in order to ensure that the Americans don't start pushing. Though I'm afraid that you may have been lowered slightly in the order of precedence."

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Not surprising, really. Though I'm sure the Americans will be trying to get their hands on all the new doodads by hook or by crook. If the Brits won't sell them, perhaps the Yanks will try to steal them...

"Based on the earliest reports I have received, I believe that I would like to suggest an alternative. Your country uses a great deal of uranium. We have recently discovered new deposits in our eastern territories. Ordinarily, they would be purely for domestic consumption, but since you are dedicated to the peaceful exploitation of fission technology, I believe that we could make an exception for Britain."

Click to shrink...

Now that is a big concession. The Kaiser must have really been a little worried about Britain's response, then. Although it does pull Britain a bit closer under the German banner, too. While not their only supplier, it will be more convenient of a source, and give Germany some leverage over the Brits. Or I have the political sense of a gnat and am completely wrong...

I smile, and almost despite himself Mr. Evans does as well. Not having to ship the stuff halfway around the world? Thank you very much. "Thank you, your majesty. I believe that will do nicely."

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A big coup for the Foreign Ministry, I think. Folks will be very happy about that, even if it ends up costing a little more per ton.

Bet there'll be some whooping and hollering of joy in the halls of government that night, all because of one silly German sausage deciding to try and plug a clever-clogs. Wonder if pundits will call it 'a shot heard around the world'? At any rate, Britain is coming out of it smelling like roses, it seems, with easier access to uranium supplies...

 

[Mr Zoat]

Does anyone have a link to a news article about this? Could be a fun read.

Click to shrink...

I tried to find it, but all I got were the more recent incidents of it happening.

drawn
ministers
has

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Thank you, corrected.

Ah, so he didn't head of the entire Reptiloid fleet, just a forerunner scout ship?

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They sent two fleets. The first is the war fleet, to conquer the planet. The second is the colonisation fleet, to settle the place.

Now that is a big concession. The Kaiser must have really been a little worried about Britain's response, then. Although it does pull Britain a bit closer under the German banner, too. While not their only supplier, it will be more convenient of a source, and give Germany some leverage over the Brits. Or I have the political sense of a gnat and am completely wrong...

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No, that's it. The Kaiser is hedging his bets. Bringing their new territory up to scratch and impressing their authority on their new vassals is taking up most of their government effort. Unlike the Americans they could fund a space program, but beyond a few nifty toys it didn't look that important. Britain putting so much effort into it means that they certainly weren't rearming, so there wasn't any reason to try and stop them. And now they've got an unstoppable strategic weapon it's even more important not to try and stop them, so befriending them looks like a better plan.

Germany will probably end up getting assistance in building its own nuclear reactors out of this, which is pretty nice for them.

 

[CrazyNoVa]

It's a scale thing. Brainiac is a technopath supergenius but theres advanced technology and then there is advanced technology. Technology that is centuries ahead of you and yet at the same time something you can make sense of with enough study is one thing but Maltus is at the "Fuck your couch" level of advanced where they make things that other races look at and do the cat 'huh?' meme. Brainiac collects cities. Maltusians build planets.

I only look in once in awhile but have you been doing this whole "I'm going to make up a headcanon and get angry about the story not following it" thing this whole time? I don't really want to fight with you but I looked back a bit and as far as I can tell, you hate this story. I can't work out why you're this invested in agitating about it.

Click to shrink...

I know, right? It's like Vaermina is some kind of glutton for punishment who hates this story and wants to stop reading it, but can't. I'm not even sure why he's still around. It's not like anyone is forcing him to keep reading.

 

[AverusBlack]

I know, right? It's like Vaermina is some kind of glutton for punishment who hates this story and wants to stop reading it, but can't. I'm not even sure why he's still around. It's not like anyone is forcing him to keep reading.

Click to shrink...

I don't wanna turn it into a "Vae kinda sucks" circlejerk or anything. I'm autistic as fuck and working out why people do what they do is something of a side hobby of mine but I can't come up with a rational angle for why he doesn't just... I dunno, find another story or... something. I don't get it. I hate when I don't get it.

 

[CrazyNoVa]

I don't wanna turn it into a "Vae kinda sucks" circlejerk or anything. I'm autistic as fuck and working out why people do what they do is something of a side hobby of mine but I can't come up with a rational angle for why he doesn't just... I dunno, find another story or... something. I don't get it. I hate when I don't get it.

Click to shrink...

Ah. You're autistic too.

How many of us are there on this thread?

 

[AverusBlack]

Ah. You're autistic too.

How many of us are there on this thread?

Click to shrink...

The answer is 'yes'. I admit I am a little obsessed with the premise of this story. I wasn't really into comics in general before running into WTR and the idea of using colours as a way to organize your inner self really appealed to me. I've never been able to do a memory palace, but I'm really really good at visualizing mentally so I took that notion and used it in much the same way that the Illustres used the hierarchy of needs. So now I stick around tracking this story because it gave me the best idea I ever had.

 

[Duke Long]

I nod. "Abandoning the planet would be premature. But at this point there's a appreciable chance that something irrecoverable could happen to the human species within the next five years. Not a.. big chance, I don't think, but enough of one that I want to get started on a fallback point a little more quickly."

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'an'

Will they go for Tartarath too, then? Is that part of why this coincides with the kryptonian colonisation in the other universe?

"Do they habitually employ wizards?"

Uh… "No as far as I know, but if they realise that they need to then they would probably start."

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'Not'

"In a manner of speaking. It's been limited to the realms of pure theory for longer than I've been alive because there's no real application for it. Not when we're on a world which is already thaumically active. In fact I think High King Orin banned such research because he was concerned over how easily it would be to weaponize. But with the issue of off-world colonisation on the table I'm sure that I can persuade him."

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'easy'?

This seems contradictory. Is it useless or is it weaponisable? Maybe this is a case of Orin just being incompetent/being given bad advice by his evil brother?

The screen moves back and forward in a nodding gesture. "His country has the expertise we need, and is already involved in E.D.F. production."

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Is it the physical screen moving, or is it like a PowerPoint slide moving up and down?

 

[Mr Zoat]

'an'
'Not'
'easy'?

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Thank you, corrected.

Will they go for Tartarath too, then? Is that part of why this coincides with the kryptonian colonisation in the other universe?

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They might. It's on the long list.

This seems contradictory. Is it useless or is it weaponisable? Maybe this is a case of Orin just being incompetent/being given bad advice by his evil brother?

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How useful is highly refined uranium? It makes a big bang and that's about it. You don't even need it for power plants.

Though King Orin does have some fairly large holes in his knowledge of magic.

Is it the physical screen moving, or is it like a PowerPoint slide moving up and down?

Click to shrink...

It's moving. It's got motors on the frame.

 

[CrazyNoVa]

The answer is 'yes'. I admit I am a little obsessed with the premise of this story. I wasn't really into comics in general before running into WTR and the idea of using colours as a way to organize your inner self really appealed to me. I've never been able to do a memory palace, but I'm really really good at visualizing mentally so I took that notion and used it in much the same way that the Illustres used the hierarchy of needs. So now I stick around tracking this story because it gave me the best idea I ever had.

Click to shrink...

Fair enough. I like how he approached it too. Even when I make fun of the story, I do still like it. I do sometimes wonder how Blue Paul would approach his hierarchy of needs (or would it be hopes?) when he has to meditate. I didn't really think much about it when I wrote Anna's omake, and I probably won't do anything else with it (unless I get enough likes on it, in which case I might consider writing a chapter sequel in the future).

But I always wondered if Earth -14 Paul had similar struggles with the blue light altering his behavior, because in canon, even though the blue light doesn't alter your behavior as badly as the orange light does, we have seen that wearing a blue ring or getting possessed by Adara can definitely influence your mood in odd ways.

 

[Mr Zoat]

Fair enough. I like how he approached it too. Even when I make fun of the story, I do still like it. I do sometimes wonder how Blue Paul would approach his hierarchy of needs (or would it be hopes?) when he has to meditate. I didn't really think much about it when I wrote Anna's omake, and I probably won't do anything else with it (unless I get enough likes on it, in which case I might consider writing a chapter sequel in the future).

But I always wondered if Earth -14 Paul had similar struggles with the blue light altering his behavior, because in canon, even though the blue light doesn't alter your behavior as badly as the orange light does, we have seen that wearing a blue ring or getting possessed by Adara can definitely influence your mood in odd ways.

Click to shrink...

No, not really. As you say, the blue light just doesn't mess with the user in that way. The difficulty lies in the fact that I'm just not that much inclined to hope.

 

[AverusBlack]

Fair enough. I like how he approached it too. Even when I make fun of the story, I do still like it. I do sometimes wonder how Blue Paul would approach his hierarchy of needs (or would it be hopes?) when he has to meditate. I didn't really think much about it when I wrote Anna's omake, and I probably won't do anything else with it (unless I get enough likes on it, in which case I might consider writing a chapter sequel in the future).

But I always wondered if Earth -14 Paul had similar struggles with the blue light altering his behavior, because in canon, even though the blue light doesn't alter your behavior as badly as the orange light does, we have seen that wearing a blue ring or getting possessed by Adara can definitely influence your mood in odd ways.

Click to shrink...

I've thought about it. If I got a blue ring tomorrow, I'd probably use it to found a country on the moon and just buy out all of Earth's assholes with stuff from the asteroid belt.

Theres two kinds of hope. Short term and personal, and long term while abstract. Examples of the first would be hoping for better circumstances in your job, or hoping to get an opportunity, or hoping something goes your way. It's the sort of thing people think about when they think of hope. The second kind is something like, hoping your life gets better. Hoping society improves. Hoping that bill passes that will improve your life. Things you don't have a personal hand in, no control over at all.

Despite the blue light not having the kind of mind-bending effect other colours struggle with, I suspect it would also condition a user to want to do things that inspire hope. To heal others, to rebuild homes, to stop wars. Because it's not just about wanting something better, hope can be dark. You can hope somebody dies and REALLY mean it. You can have fucked up morals and genuinely hope for absolutely horrific things. But it's better to inspire hope in healthy ways because often those kinds of hopes are rooted in some fucked up experience you can usually reduce happening to more people just by improving circumstances for everybody.

The universe is a cold, ticking mechanical clock which cares not for anyones philosophy. But we exist and we bring philosophy with us. We're matter that understands itself. You don't have to have kindness and hope built into the universe because we make that and the only way to see it spread is to do what you can in your little corner of it.

 

[Vaermina]

Except all those times they did. But you'll pretend those never happened. So.

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We're talking about actual Brainiac, not the AI that called itself that.

The actual one never fought the corps.

Untrue. Power Rings can hack almost any technology that's less advanced than themselves, and Malthusians are far more advanced than Kryptonians. Therefore, Power Rings are much more advanced than Brainiac.

Besides, do you honestly believe that Brainiac wouldn't have already tried to create or steal his own power ring for himself if he was actually capable of hacking or replicating them on his own?

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You're thinking of the DCAU/Smallville version of the character.

It's a scale thing. Brainiac is a technopath supergenius but theres advanced technology and then there is advanced technology. Technology that is centuries ahead of you and yet at the same time something you can make sense of with enough study is one thing but Maltus is at the "Fuck your couch" level of advanced where they make things that other races look at and do the cat 'huh?' meme. Brainiac collects cities. Maltusians build planets.

I only look in once in awhile but have you been doing this whole "I'm going to make up a headcanon and get angry about the story not following it" thing this whole time? I don't really want to fight with you but I looked back a bit and as far as I can tell, you hate this story. I can't work out why you're this invested in agitating about it.

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Brainiac collects cities because Brainiac wants to collect cities.

And it's not "head canon" it's actual canon.

Now, if Mr Zoat wants to come out and say "I'm changing this thing for my story" then that's fine, it's his prerogative as a writer. But he hasn't said that.

 

[AverusBlack]

We're talking about actual Brainiac, not the AI that called itself that.

The actual one never fought the corps.



You're thinking of the DCAU/Smallville version of the character.



Brainiac collects cities because Brainiac wants to collect cities.

And it's not "head canon" it's actual canon.

Now, if Mr Zoat wants to come out and say "I'm changing this thing for my story" then that's fine, it's his prerogative as a writer. But he hasn't said that.

Click to shrink...

I've only ever seen deflections like that in anime. I'm a little impressed. And starting to get an idea of why you are like this.