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

[Duke Long]

"-but I doubt that being having his brain exposed to all the evil on his planet is doing King Sombra any good, so if I could have a decision..?

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Missing "

"Their core psyches are still intact. But with their evil suppressed by compassion, the better angels of their nature are brought to the fore, shorn of the particularly of their vice."

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'particularity'?

"Magic girl anime is not a how to guide."

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'Magical'?

 

[Sceptic]

Bullshit.

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ITYM "horse pucky".

 

[Pinklestia]

What forum do you think you're on?

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Do I need to explain the joke to you? With hand puppets?

 

[Vaermina]

"Then in the name of love, let none stand before us!"

I regard her placidly for a moment.

"Magic girl anime is not a how to guide."

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Grayven is once more wrong about a thing.

Magical Girl Anime is absolutely a how to guide.

 

[Old Knife]

Please tell me she did a pose.

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Please say she's in a Fuku!

 

[moralrelativity]

"Her face metaphorically lights up. "They love one another?"

"They're each the only person the other has been interested in in a thousand years."

The space next to be crystallises for a moment before Ghia'ta steps through.

"Then in the name of love, let none stand before us!"

I regard her placidly for a moment.

"Magic girl anime is not a how to guide."

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It's delightful moments like these that makes me love the renegade timeline.

 

[moralrelativity]

angles
I think? I've never seen this phrase before either way.

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'angels of their nature' since Steven Pinker wrote a book with something like that in the title (and probably before that, I can't be bothered googling). I think it's 10-15 years ago.

 

[Citizen]

The space next to be crystallises for a moment before Ghia'ta steps through.

"Then in the name of love, let none stand before us!"

I regard her placidly for a moment.

"Magic girl anime is not a how to guide."

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Agree to disagree.

 

[mastermenthe]

At least she isn't copying someone like Lina Inverse?

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How do you think that would have gone? I seem to remember Lina being apathetic until it was time for explosions.

 

[TodaBruh]

Then in the name of love, let none stand before us!"

I regard her placidly for a moment.

"Magic girl anime is not a how to guide

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Pony land runs on magical girl bs.

 

[WereDragon]

"Magic girl anime is not a how to guide."

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Depends on the anime.
Nanoha is a great role-model.

 

[Chojin Patriarch]

How do you think that would have gone? I seem to remember Lina being apathetic until it was time for explosions.

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...Huh. I always remember her as a short-tempered tsundere prone to dropping destructive magic on people at the slightest provocation (Albeit resulting in comedic-level cosmetic injuries...)

Might change the reference. Maybe a line about changing her costume...

 

[ZzzSlothzzZ]

A mission of mercy working alongside the leader of the Orange Lantern Corps

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Can someone remind me whats happening with orange lanterns in renegade.

cheers.

 

[doug89]

"And if I say 'no', you'll accept that?"

I look away, scratch my nose and shift my feet. "Yes."

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Randy is that you?

 

[Lord Ernest]

Can someone remind me whats happening with orange lanterns in renegade.

cheers.

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Grayven founded the Orange Lantern Corps in Tamaran, with ghe help of Hinon and Lysis, Kalmin's apprentice. Then he put Dox in charge of everyday operations while Grayven himself is supreme commander or whatever he wants to call it.

I believe most of the Orange Lanterns are Tamareneans themselves, and now there are some Controllers who Grayven allowed to also bind themselves to the Orange Central Battery and guide their own branch of Orange Lanterns.

 

[Mr Zoat]

Add a " at the second sentence.
"that having"
"spend"

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The space next to me crystallises for a moment before Ghia'ta steps through.

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and you knew that our corps is based on planet Nox

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Nok

Missing "
'particularity'?

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Thank you, corrected.

'Magical'?

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Grayven doesn't watch them.

angles
I think? I've never seen this phrase before either way.

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No, that's correct as it is. It's like a shoulder angel. How would you listen to an angle?

 

[rkyeun]

How would you listen to an angle?

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With my acute hearing so that I got it right instead of being obtuse.

 

[Mr Zoat]

With my acute hearing so that I got it right instead of being obtuse.

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[Rafin]

So who else? Talbot and Starfire?

 

[mastermenthe]

...Huh. I always remember her as a short-tempered tsundere prone to dropping destructive magic on people at the slightest provocation (Albeit resulting in comedic-level cosmetic injuries...)

Might change the reference. Maybe a line about changing her costume...

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No no, you have it right. I was confusing her with her Chinese knockoff, Megumin.

 

[RoninSword]

Is that how the Indigo's emulation works? I thought they just had some basic access to any colors.

Also, if Abin Sur founded it, does that mean he found maltusians willing to work with Indigo light since he went and continued as a green lantern? Just trying to understand the logistics of how the Indigo Corps is running itself.

Edit: I wonder how easy Paragon will find finding the Indigo Corps. He got Amon Sur arrested so he can't do what Renegade did to get their attention.

 

[gjsponge]

I came here to say i stopped reading the Paragon line quite a while ago, but damn, Renegade is still fire and i am always keen for its updates.

 

[Mr Zoat]

21st January 2013
11:39 GMT

"RAAAGHH!"

I nod slowly as the berserker throws himself at the bars, held back only by the chains binding him wrist, ankle and neck. In virtue of the fact that the people of this city know that this isn't a voluntary state the metal rings around those body parts are padded in the hope that doing so will prevent injuries and allow them to one day rejoin society.

"Keep going."

The chief warden nods. "Yes sir. It happens to those who work in the mines, sometimes. They start out just getting a bit snappy, then a few days later they start attacking people in a frenzy."

"It always manifests like that?"

"As opposed to what, sir?"

"The intellectual sort of anger. In a mine, they could do far more damage attacking the shoring posts than they can by attacking other people with their fists."

"No, not that I've ever heard. I suppose that if it was really intellectual, we might not see it. Or not recognise it as special amongst other crimes."

"YAAAGHH!"

"Do they ever come out of it?"

"Supposedly. It's hard to feed them or clean them. They keep fighting when we drug them unless we give them enough to kill them. But we've got records which say that if they live long enough, the madness fades."

"How long?"

"Three years." He makes a negative gesture. "But miners are strong and tough, and it's hard for them to sleep like this. The ones who recovered were old. Easier to restrain, so it wasn't as much of a risk to hold them down."

"How often does this happen?"

"One or two a year. Sometimes none, on the good years. It used to be more, but the Dar a while back ordered the miners to rotate shafts so no one spent too long in the deeps. Cut it right down."

So there's something down there that's doing this.

"Did your people ever find anything that could be a source? Do the miners..? Touch a fragment of something, and that causes it?"

"It's a little difficult to ask them, sir. No one has ever reported anything, and there's nothing that stands out as being something the afflicted share with each other. Other than working in the deeps."

I nod. So, something down there… Maybe they get angry down there and that draws it to them? Can't be conducive to a healthy mental outlook, going that far down. Then the Butcher's Blood supercharges it.

Or it could be something else.

"Is it a problem if I try to help this one?"

"We're used to this, sir. His family has already mourned him."

Right, then let's have a look at you.

Ugh.

Yes, that's clearly not part of his usual mind state. We can see… Red light coiled around his wants, bypassing and subverting them. The part of us that is the Ophidian did not spend much time around the Butcher and didn't care at all for the effect he had on mortal creatures, so we can't tell if this is unusual or not. The underlying desires look like they're still there and are ready to fulfil their purpose, but we can't be certain about that until we give them a tug.

"AAAGHH!"

That made the whole network brighten. The Butcher doesn't want its influence to end, doesn't want them to stop raging, doesn't want them to remember anything else. Or perhaps we're anthropomorphising, and this is just what exposure to the Butcher does to people.

But if pulling doesn't work, we can try eating it. We reach in and pull the power in the strands into our maw, rather than brutishly yanking them aside.

This world is a waste of my time. I should just tear their miserable-.

Hah, hah, good try, push it out push it out of us.

We understand the rules. It needs to go somewhere. We could take these people to Turi, but Draan Del Daar didn't strike us as the sort of Controller who would make an effort to keep his living batteries alive. Which leaves Orion as a potential vessel. I don't like that idea, but exposing him to the red light was part of the plan all along. This just brings it forward a little. Alternatively… We could take them into the deep parts of the mine. Orion could gain exposure in a slightly more controlled way, and we could try to force the red light out of this man and back into whatever it is soaked into.

I take a step back.

"Not easy to remove. I'll have to talk to Orion, first. Can we get access to the deeps?"

"The Dar said that I'm to help you with whatever you want. And you're the one who dealt with that dust cloud; we could see the glow from here. So, yes. I doubt that safety is a problem for you."

"Not from mine works."

I head out of the secure asylum, ignoring as best I can the rage-filled screams from behind the other locked doors. An impressively merciful solution, given their level of technological development. Keeping them like this can't be cheap or easy.

Once I'm out of the building I fly up to where Orion is on overwatch, his arms folded across his chest.

"These wars are needlessly wasteful."

"No argument here. But building civilisation is a long road with more than a few bumps along it. If people can't learn from the horror, why would they try something different?"

"A council of despair." "I illuminate the path."

"It would be despair if I thought they wouldn't learn eventually. You were right, by the way. It's either the Butcher, or something close enough."

"The ruler who blew open the supervolcano needed only his own greed and pride. These miners labour long and well, and are rewarded with madness. I do not like this world."

"It's a bit of a fixer-upper. Listen, there's a few options for how to-."

"Which one restores the reason of the afflicted miners soonest?"

"The one where I transfer their rage into you."

He turns his astro-harness so that he's facing me.

"And you fear the result?"

"Yes."

"Will it be stronger than the ring will be?"

"You'll have less control, but… No. At peak draw, the ring will be stronger."

"Then do not think me too weak to withstand it, or too delinquent to avoid doing what I know is right. Take me to them." "Because despite my father, I am a hero."

 

[Old Knife]

So hyped for this..... Please don't skip the scene.

 

[Ngamer11]

Yes, that's clearly not part of his usual mind state. We can see… Red light coiled around his wants, bypassing and subverting them. The part of us that is the Ophidian did not spend much time around the Butcher and didn't care at all for the affect he had on mortal creatures, so we can't tell if this is unusual or not. The underlying desires look like they're still there are ready to fulfil their purpose, but we can't be certain about that until we give them a tug.

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That should say 'fulfill'.

"Which one restores the reason of the afflicted miners soonest?"

"The one where I transfer their rage into you."

He turns his astro-harness so that he's facing me.

"And you fear the result?"

"Yes."

"Will it be stronger than the ring will be?"

"You'll have less control, but… No. At peak draw, the ring will be stronger."

"Then do not think me too weak to withstand it, or too delinquent to avoid doing what I know is right. Take me to them." "Because despite my father, I am a hero."

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I like how this shows that Orion, for all his faults, is truly a hero.

 

[Darko]

but the Dar a while

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The Dar said that

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"Dal"

 

[BR549]

"Magic girl anime is not a how to guide."

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Not with that attitude it isn't.

That should say 'fulfill'.

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Not in his country, fellow Colonial.

 

[Coltsguy]

So hyped for this..... Please don't skip the scene.

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You realize that's the entire reason they're there? Skipping it would literally be antithetical to the storytelling we've come to expect here.

 

[Bigking321]

Orion is making a good showing of himself.

Greatest weakness and problem? His rage.

Solution to helping some random people? Absorb their rage.

No hesitation. Let's do it.

Hat's off to ya you noble rage monster.

 

[Chojin Patriarch]

21st January 2013
11:39 GMT

"RAAAGHH!"

I nod slowly as the berserker throws himself at the bars, held back only by the chains binding him wrist, ankle and neck. In virtue of the fact that the people of this city know that this isn't a voluntary state the metal rings around those body parts are padded in the hope that doing so will prevent injuries and allow them to one day rejoin society.

Click to shrink...

...Well, I'd say that's a pretty good sign that they're on the right track. I can't imagine restraining him in the first place was easy, though. Still, at least he isn't spitting napalm. That might be bad...

Spoiler: Commentary spoilered for length

"Keep going."

The chief warden nods. "Yes sir. It happens to those who work in the mines, sometimes. They start out just getting a bit snappy, then a few days later they start attacking people in a frenzy."

Click to shrink...

I wonder how hard it is to tell the 'snappy' mood from their usual temper. Because I suspect whatever's causing this, it's drawn to those already disposed to anger.

"It always manifests like that?"

"As opposed to what, sir?"

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Well, spitting napalm or being surrounded in flames of Rage might be a bit too blatant.

"The intellectual sort of anger. In a mine, they could do far more damage attacking the shoring posts than they can by attacking other people with their fists."

"No, not that I've ever heard. I suppose that if it was really intellectual, we might not see it. Or not recognise it as special amongst other crimes."

Click to shrink...

Fortunately, the Butcher's expression of anger is rarely so subtle. More of a drive to smash what's making them angry, to beat and rip and tear until the target is nothing but a red smear of meat and bone... Anything but subtle.

"YAAAGHH!"

"Do they ever come out of it?"

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I'd be more worried about how long they'd survive in this state in the first place.

"Supposedly. It's hard to feed them or clean them. They keep fighting when we drug them unless we give them enough to kill them. But we've got records which say that if they live long enough, the madness fades."

"How long?"

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A lucky few. Not great for them.

"Three years." He makes a negative gesture. "But miners are strong and tough, and it's hard for them to sleep like this. The ones who recovered were old. Easier to restrain, so it wasn't as much of a risk to hold them down."

"How often does this happen?"

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And there's only so many ways to restrain them with any kind of dignity, isn't there? Too much slack, and they could manage to tangle and strangle themselves - or someone trying to help them - in their chains. Too little, and they're basically bolted in place, unable to do more than spit and snarl, and needing every human need taken care of.

"One or two a year. Sometimes none, on the good years. It used to be more, but the Dar a while back ordered the miners to rotate shafts so no one spent too long in the deeps. Cut it right down."

So there's something down there that's doing this.

Click to shrink...

And the longer the exposure, the worse it gets, and the more likely to overload them...

"Did your people ever find anything that could be a source? Do the miners..? Touch a fragment of something, and that causes it?"

"It's a little difficult to ask them, sir. No one has ever reported anything, and there's nothing that stands out as being something the afflicted share with each other. Other than working in the deeps."

Click to shrink...

So it could be in the air, or conducted through the stone. Or even just be radiated from somewhere deep below.

I nod. So, something down there… Maybe they get angry down there and that draws it to them? Can't be conducive to a healthy mental outlook, going that far down. Then the Butcher's Blood supercharges it.

Or it could be something else.

Click to shrink...

A cultural thing, perhaps? Frustration over perceived low pay for hard work, or discontent at home that lingers into the work day...

"Is it a problem if I try to help this one?"

"We're used to this, sir. His family has already mourned him."

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Given how hard it seems to be for them to survive, that's honestly sensible.

Right, then let's have a look at you.

Ugh.

Click to shrink...

I can just picture his desires. It looks suspiciously like a medieval version of Doom. The full on, memetic Doom.

Yes, that's clearly not part of his usual mind state. We can see… Red light coiled around his wants, bypassing and subverting them. The part of us that is the Ophidian did not spend much time around the Butcher and didn't care at all for the affect he had on mortal creatures, so we can't tell if this is unusual or not. The underlying desires look like they're still there are ready to fulfil their purpose, but we can't be certain about that until we give them a tug.

Click to shrink...

So, the Rage is like a cancer upon their emotional networks?

"AAAGHH!"

That made the whole network brighten. The Butcher doesn't want its influence to end, doesn't want them to stop raging, doesn't want them to remember anything else. Or perhaps we're anthropomorphising, and this is just what exposure to the Butcher does to people.

Click to shrink...

Given how being near the Ophidian in full glory made people greedy and desirous, or Ion encouraging stubbornness and determination, I can see it.

But if pulling doesn't work, we can try eating it. We reach in and pull the power in the strands into our maw, rather than brutishly yanking them aside.

This world is a waste of my time. I should just tear their miserable-.

Hah, hah, good try, push it out push it out of us.

Click to shrink...

He's seen worse thoughts during the process of gaining Enlightenment, after all.

We understand the rules. It needs to go somewhere. We could take these people to Tulsa, but Draan Del Daar didn't strike us as the sort of Controller who would make an effort to keep his living batteries alive. Which leaves Orion as a potential vessel. I don't like that idea, but exposing him to the red light was part of the plan all along. This just brings it forward a little. Alternatively… We could take them into the deep parts of the mine. Orion could gain exposure in a slightly more controlled way, and we could try to force the red light out of this man and back into whatever it is soaked into.

Click to shrink...

And better to remove the root cause, than benefit from it. Just taking these unfortunates would strike me as more of a Renegade choice. No, not the other timeline, but in the mechanical sense.

I take a step back.

"Not easy to remove. I'll have to talk to Orion, first. Can we get access to the deeps?"

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I hope you're ready for what you might find.

"The Dar said that I'm to help you with whatever you want. And you're the one who dealt with that dust cloud; we could see the glow from here. So, yes. I doubt that safety is a problem for you."

"Not from mine works."

Click to shrink...

Not with all his protective options, no. Assuming he even bothered to hang around during a cave-in, unless he weren't alone.

I head out of the secure asylum, ignoring as best I can the rage-filled screams from behind the other locked doors. An impressively merciful solution, given their level of technological development. Keeping them like this can't be cheap or easy.

Once I'm out of the building I fly up to where Orion is on overwatch, his arms folded across his chest.

Click to shrink...

Wonder what he thinks of all that. Waste of time? Unnecessary mercy? Or can he see the compassionate reasoning for it?

"These wars are needlessly wasteful."

"No argument here. But building civilisation is a long road with more than a few bumps along it. If people can't learn from the horror, why would they try something different?"

Click to shrink...

And those who haven't experienced the deprivations or suffering would likely not understand why it's a bad thing either. A cruel cycle of trying to cast something grim aside, only for those who come after to find it anew like a shiny toy on the path...

"A council of despair." "I illuminate the path."

"It would be despair if I thought they wouldn't learn eventually. You were right, by the way. It's either the Butcher, or something close enough."

Click to shrink...

Ah, close enough for government work.

"The ruler who blew open the supervolcano needed only his own greed and pride. These miners labour long and well, and are rewarded with madness. I do not like this world."

"It's a bit of a fixer-upper. Listen, there's a few options for how to-."

Click to shrink...

He probably sees a little of Apokalips, in the constant warfare and scrabbling for more.

"Which one restores the reason of the afflicted miners soonest?"

"The one where I transfer their rage into you."

Click to shrink...

That's going to make a fair amount of spiritual noise.

He turns his astro-harness so that he's facing me.

"And you fear the result?"

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Frenzied, rampaging New God with an energy weapon system capable of vaporising whole cities? What's there to be afraid about that?

"Yes."

"Will it be stronger than the ring will be?"

Click to shrink...

...Maybe like 0.001% of the intensity, I bet.

"You'll have less control, but… No. At peak draw, the ring will be stronger."

"Then do not think me too weak to withstand it, or too delinquent to avoid doing what I know is right. Take me to them." "Because despite my father, I am a hero."

Click to shrink...

Hold on to that focus, Orion. You'll get through this.

Oh, yes. No downsides to this idea at all. With any luck, it works and the victims are cured, while Orion gets a little taste of what he's going to have to figuratively wrestle down. Or they could inadvertently summon the Butcher, and Orion gets a chance to literally wrestle with his anger. Either way, they learn something.