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

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Prince Charon said:
Was that where she told him that she wanted him to actively pursue sex, not just go with the flow until he fell dick-first into a girl?
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She didn't actually tell him that. She tells him to 'make a decision'... While simultaneously taking the decision out of his hands. It was a moment that annoyed me from a character standpoint.
 
To be fair she didn't know until Paul told her the Paul legit didn't realize she was trying to seduce him. Because she respected Paul too much to realize he's that much of an idiot.
 
Ardy said:
To be fair she didn't know until Paul told her the Paul legit didn't realize she was trying to seduce him. Because she respected Paul too much to realize he's that much of an idiot.
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That's contradictory. If she thought he knew Harleen was offering sex, then him going along with it would mean he made a decision. So either she knew he was oblivious and stopped him before he would have to make a decision, or she didn't know he was being oblivious and undermined the decision he already made. At that point, Spring in Blume had already happened, proving he took sex pretty seriously and wouldn't just "fall into a girl". Her intervention actively took the decision out of his hands, which means she was basically full of shit and just didn't want him to bang Harleen for whatever reason.
 
Eris at that point was helping the SI get in contact with Jemmy so that he could get a chaos focus for the ritual that would depower Klarion. Which would have been his overwhelming concern whether or not he was romantically interested in Harleen.

Eris wanted him to be thinking 'yes I want this' rather than 'why not'.
 
Mr Zoat said:
Eris at that point was helping the SI get in contact with Jemmy so that he could get a chaos focus for the ritual that would depower Klarion. Which would have been his overwhelming concern whether or not he was romantically interested in Harleen.

Eris wanted him to be thinking 'yes I want this' rather than 'why not'.
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Huh. That actually circles right back around to the other point that was brought up recently. That perhaps Paul doesn't give sufficient weight to less significant bouts of emotion. And so it seems Eris has been conditioning him to reinforce that mindset. That if it isn't the most important thing in your life then it isn't worthy of consideration.

Which would make for a very chaotic mindset, so it's in character for her.
 
fappingtoyourpost said:
It's almost certainly Uatu The Watcher, right?
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I mean... there's the fan theory that Stan Lee - in all of his appearances in Marvel movies - was actually Uatu the Watcher.
But Uatu does not exist in Earth 16 - only 616. The closest thing in DC is probably the Presence?
Maybe Time Trapper - in some sort of effort to influence Superboy Prime / alternate versions of Paul (that are not himself). The more Paul knows, the more he's going to change the given universe / the more possible - even probable futures he removes? Who knows if that's actually useful though.
 
Hoard (part 8)
11th January
16:44 GMT +2

Kaldur leads the way through the museum, talking quietly to the detective who met us at the entrance. Amon is following just behind them while Leonid has gone to look for Canis. Zatanna is walking with me while-.

Zatanna is walking arm in arm with me, apparently, while I run scans of the building. No oddities I can detect. The break in was near-flawless. No damage I can see to any part of the building, including the security systems. Museum records indicate that camera and sensor coverage went uninterrupted throughout the period when the theft is believed to have taken place, and I can't detect any signs of technology-based teleportation. I do see why Canis is worried about this being the work of Philistines, though: the thief or thieves made a perfect entry to a museum filled with valuable paintings, furniture and rugs, but for some reason all they took was precious metal. That suggests someone only interested in the value of the materials, rather than the market value or artistic significance of the piece.

"What did Kaldur want to talk to you about?"

"One of the Atlantean city states I've had dealings with wants to leave Atlantis."

She frowns. "Can they do that?"

"Can Texas leave the Union?"

"Not according to General Grant. Is it actually going to come to that?"

"I don't know. It's unprecedented in recent times." Hm. "Texas was in the Union for fifteen years before the civil war, right?"

"Mm-hm."

"Do you think it would have come to war if they'd just decided to leave, but the Confederacy wasn't forming at the same time?"

"Probably. The Confederacy happened for a bunch of reasons, but the divide between slave states and free states had been there for a while. The federal government wouldn't want to set the precedent that states could leave."

"True, I suppose. But Atlantis… For most of its history, individual city states paid tribute to the ruler of Poseidonis as pre-eminent, but from the sinking to… Relatively recently, they have in effect been independent in most regards. Cities have gone to war with each other before, including Poseidonis. Or remained neutral while other cities did. Under Queen Clea, Venturia bitterly resisted any move towards a federal system, and they weren't the only city that felt that way."

"And now they've decided to leave the country, because they don't want to give up their independence."

"Something like that. Queen Atlanna wanted her heir to be raised on the surface so that he could bring Atlantis back into contact with the rest of the world." I shrug. "Unfortunately, that upbringing appears to have left King Orin with American assumptions that just aren't true about Atlantis. His attempt to force cities to select their senators by popular ballot was voted down pretty heavily."

"How are they selected, then?"

"It varies from city to city. Aside from Poseidonis, there are..? Two..? Other cities which make the selection by popular vote. Usually it's an appointment by the city's governing body or ruler, which was how Venturia was handling it. Now I.. suppose they'll either recall them or leave them as ambassadors."

"Are you and Kaldur okay?"

"I don't think he's happy about it. I wouldn't be if Scotland voted itself independent-."

Zatanna smiles. "I thought you were Themysciran."

"Themyscira's not big enough to have a breakaway region. If it broke away, it would be Themyscira. Also, Themyscira's been united for about three thousand years. It's only been about three hundred years since Atlantis's last big internal bust up."

"Only three hundred years, huh?"

I roll my eyes. "Pff, colonial." She chuckles politely as we approach the crime scene, Kaldur and the detective moving to speak with the museum director. "Are you picking up anything?"

She releases my arm, moving the Staff of Love in an arc while her eyes glow violet. "Yes. It's.. subtle, but…" She holds the staff up, violet light radiating away from the Star Sapphire at the head. Markings show up on the display cabinets, up the nearby walls and across the ceiling.

I watch as one of the police starts taking photographs of the marks. "What happened to talking backwards?"

"I started learning real magic, without inherited cheating. The power I get from the Star Sapphire makes it much easier."

Kaldur turns in our direction. "Can you tell what it was that made those marks?"

Zatanna takes a few steps closer, eyes still glowing. "Doesn't feel Atlantean… Not demonic, obviously…" She blinks, her eyes returning to normal. "I don't recognise the spell." She turns to the museum director. "Do you know where I could find a local witch?"

"Ah… The gypsies?"

Zatanna… Doesn't look enthusiastic. And I know where she's coming from. For every 'traditional magic' practitioner who actually practises magic, there are about a hundred who either think they do but don't or are flat out frauds. I learned that when Ted and I tried recruiting people.

"Ah, sir?" One of the police on guard duty gestures to the detective. "If they need to talk to a witch..?"

The detective thinks for a moment, then looks at Kaldur. "Please come this way?"

The four of us follow him down a corridor and into a nearby unoccupied room, and he takes a moment to check that no one is standing behind the exits before turning back to us.

"There is… A person… Who may be able to help you. If the problem is magic."

Zatanna sets the butt of the staff on the floor. "The problem is theft. I just need someone who knows what sort of magic gets used around here."

The detective looks decidedly uncomfortable. "We can… Arrange that."

Kaldur looks at him impassively. "Is there a problem?"

"The person… Has contacts which make going to her… Awkward. Not all of her connections are good ones for police officers to have, but…" He shrugs. "We have few superheroes in this country. Sometimes it is necessary to… Have arrangements…"

Kaldur and I nod.

I'm sure that Dracula exists in the DC universe, but I don't really remember him being a focus as he was in Marvel. All of the vampires I've met had been Americans, grateful recipients of KordTech's vitalised cloned blood. Still, I'm mindful of the country I'm in.

"Is the individual in question… Not trying to play to stereotypes or anything-."

"Not a vampire, no." He reaches into his shirt and pulls out an Orthodox Christian crucifix. "She just laughs at it. And after she found out I was wearing it, she… Ate some garlic in front of me."

I suppose that if she knows what a crucifix is well enough to laugh, then she knows well enough to be affected by vampire theophobia. The garlic thing is a bit dodgier. Traditionally, it was sweet smelling flowers that warded off 'evil spirits', which included vampires. There is some evidence that allicin is at least somewhat toxic to vampires, but a vampire who knew what they were doing would be able to work through it for at least long enough to purge themselves.

Zatanna nods. "She sounds like the sort of person I need to speak to."

He looks at Kaldur. "All of you would be too many."

Kaldur nods. "Zatanna, Orange Lantern, go with Inspector Gherea. I will have Canis transport us to the site of another theft."

Zatanna pulls a small stone out of one of her pockets, violet runes glowing on its surface for a moment. "This will let you know whether the magic there is the same as the magic here."

Kaldur takes it, then Zatanna and I follow Inspector Gherea out of the building.
 
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Mr Zoat said:
Zatanna is walking arm in arm with me, apparently, while I run scans of the building.
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Seriously, how much does it take for him to pick up on possible Violet overload?

The suggests someone only interested in the value of the materials...
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That suggests someone only interested in the value of the materials...

I learned that when Ted and I tried recruiting people.
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Filtering out Cranks, eh? Bet that would be a pain...

All of the vampires I've met had been Americans, grateful recipients of KordTech's vitalised cloned blood.
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Ah, Science! to the rescue again.

The garlic things is a bit dodgier.
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The garlic thing is a bit dodgier.

Hmm... Anyone with better google-fu than I able to offer a possibility of who this expert is?
 
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Chojin Patriarch said:
Seriously, how much does it take for him to pick up on possible Violet overload?
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To be fair, 'plenty of violet' and 'violet overload' look fairly similar, and she hasn't become flat out irrational yet.
The suggests someone only interested in the value of the materials...
That suggests someone only interested in the value of the materials...
The garlic things is a bit dodgier.
The garlic thing is a bit dodgier.
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Thank you, corrected.
 
Mr Zoat said:
"Do you think it would have come to war if they'd just decided to leave, but the Confederacy wasn't forming at the same time?"

"Probably. The Confederacy happened for a bunch of reasons, but the divide between slave states and free states had been there for a while. The federal government wouldn't want to set the precedent that states could leave."
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...from my take on the matter, there might have been a significant political force in the north to allow Texas to leave in order to remove a slave state from American politics and cut further westward expansion of the slavery region off. For those same reasons, the south would have been against Texas leaving and may have actually prompted the formation of the Confederacy after the realization that it was 'do or die' time for slavery as an institution.

Anyway, I'm glad Kaldur and Paul could come to an amicable enough decision on the matter, even if that's almost certainly not the end of it.
 
Chojin Patriarch said:
Seriously, how much does it take for him to pick up on possible Violet overload?
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He is an Empath, so there is no way he does not see it. Romantic love is not the only Violet Light, and although it looks like she is pining pretty badly, I think she has got it mostly under control. I don't know if she ever found out how old she is, but I think she is playing the long game to getting what she wants
 
Chojin Patriarch said:
Hmm... Anyone with better google-fu than I able to offer a possibility of who this expert is?
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DC actually has an impressive number of Romanian characters, but most of them are already accounted for or dead. Hail Mary guess is a reimagined Aniela Arcane, aunt of Abigail. Specific to Bucharest, Cheshire made a flashback cameo in a comic about a five man band of villains killing Atom... a band that also included Osiris. Characters that showed up in that which are still villains in this story are Deathstroke, Tattooed Man, and the making her first appearance was Cinder.
 
Silverbladestar said:
He is an Empath, so there is no way he does not see it. Romantic love is not the only Violet Light, and although it looks like she is pining pretty badly, I think she has got it mostly under control. I don't know if she ever found out how old she is, but I think she is playing the long game to getting what she wants
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Maybe ask her to leave the star sapphire alone for like a week? I remember when Paul first got the ring, he sometimes left it off, to make sure he wasn't overly affected. Not sure if the same thing will still work, but trying won't hurt anything if she doesn't absolutely need the power source for a while. Unlike Paul, she'll still have some magic and backwards speech.
 
I don't know why people are so concerned with the Star Sapphire. Yes a totally unprepared enamored individual had a bad reaction to directly interacting with it, but Zatanna is a skilled magic user who has integrated it into a focus. As for the pink text, their were two words of Violet text in this chapter that didn't directly correspond to casting with the Violet Light and she was directly referencing her use of the Star Sapphire at the time.

Edit: Changed pink to Violet and clarified a bit
 
Topher876 said:
I don't know why people are so concerned with the Star Sapphire. Yes a totally unprepared enamored individual had a bad reaction to directly interacting with it, but Zatanna is a skilled magic user who has integrated it into a focus. As for the pink text, their were two words of pink text that didn't directly correspond to casting and she was directly referencing her use of the Star Sapphire at the time.
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Mostly because the ZPaul ship has been pointed out as unhealthy. She's probably fine, but the light has been known to fuck with people's heads.
 
Hey, guess whose Tribunal has finally been convened!

Given that the convenor 'misrepresented' why I was originally suspended and flat out lied about other events and that the first Councillor to vote did so before I could respond I don't actually think I'll be allowed back in, but at least they're pretending to follow their own rules!
 
Mr Zoat said:
Hey, guess whose Tribunal has finally been convened!

Given that the convenor 'misrepresented' why I was originally suspended and flat out lied about other events and that the first Councillor to vote did so before I could respond I don't actually think I'll be allowed back in, but at least they're pretending to follow their own rules!
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Hopefully the Councillor already knew what the situation was and voted for you - you are one of the biggest writers on SV.
 
Chaoswind said:
To be honest it was unlikely to end in a positive note, so I honestly didn't see what was the point in the attempt.

Anyways back to interesting things, Zatanna is still a superior ship to Cheshire.
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Maybe in a decade, if he and Cheshire break up. Still too young. Paul isn't a pedophile. Nor does he want to gather a harem. The Cheshire pairing is just a bit random and a little forced for Paul - little buildup - so much so I thought it might be some sort of "bleeding" effect from the renegade universe. Don't know if that's a thing Zoat is going for. There's hints of the 2 universes slightly interacting with each other - such as Ambush Bug messing with OL, but causing Sunset Shimmer to appear in the Renegade universe - despite himself not being there.
 
Mquz said:
Maybe in a decade, if he and Cheshire break up. Still too young. Paul isn't a pedophile.
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Or an ephebophile!
Nor does he want to gather a harem. The Cheshire pairing is just a bit random and a little forced for Paul - little buildup
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I built it up for a year in universe. She was the first person he gave an orange power ring to, they worked together on fighting Nabu and the only reason they didn't start dating earlier was that she thought it would be unprofessional. How much build up did you want?
 
Mquz said:
Maybe in a decade, if he and Cheshire break up. Still too young. Paul isn't a pedophile. Nor does he want to gather a harem. The Cheshire pairing is just a bit random and a little forced for Paul - little buildup - so much so I thought it might be some sort of "bleeding" effect from the renegade universe. Don't know if that's a thing Zoat is going for. There's hints of the 2 universes slightly interacting with each other - such as Ambush Bug messing with OL, but causing Sunset Shimmer to appear in the Renegade universe - despite himself not being there.
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IIRC, the sunset shimmer thing was Grayven messing with the ambush bug 'bug' that gave him powers. Ambush bug never really came to be in the renegade universe.
 
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