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

Wasn't maintaining his relationships a major part of maintaining and grounding himself as an orange lantern in the beginning of the series?

So doesn't losing those connections lead to dangerous mindset. Even if he is enlightened now, he kind of needs other people to remind him when he's doing something a little crazy or a lot crazy..
In fairness, the important part is having connections at all. He still has friends and coworkers, not to mention Jade, so he's not in any imminent danger of spiralling into solipsistic rabbit holes.
 
There is an implication that she was created for a sinister purpose, but our only proof of that is Hatter revealing to Detective Chimp that she feels incomplete.

You have not received one yet, no. Technically, you could have worked it out, but only with weird guesses.

thanks for the answers. i'm not deep into lore so it's definitely probable that i missed many clues as to what is going on with her. hopefully she's a plot device to be resolved, rather than a recurring character. because she is just insufferable
 
It's to be expected though. He's not bound to Earth and has a responsibility to the OLC. So long as he still meets up with his old friends when he pops back on Earth, things should be fine.

And yet,bat least half the episodes take place on Earth, and he tends to pick up sidekicks when he goes on field trips. Like Arsenal recently for New Genesis.

He really doesnt spend that much time in space, particularly as Vril Dox keeps him semi-exiled on Earth.
 
What a twist it would be if they were actually innocent and it turned out that krypton high command gave the orders against his wishes and they blamed him for it.


"I could jump to a universe where he did give the order and hand that guy over instead"
That actually would be a pretty good twist. And it would give an interesting situation where there is an actually good Zod. Granted, not the same Zod most people think of when they hear the name, this being Admiral Zod and not General Zod, but a Zod nonetheless.

Though I honestly wonder how Amalak would react to that. Would it even matter to him at all? After, back when he "knew" that Zod did it on his own, he still hated all Kryptonian for it, not just Zod himself. Would knowing that Zod was actually against what happened to his species actually matter or would just being Kryptonian still seal his fate in Amalak's mind?
 
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Except it wouldn't work.

There was a Military Council during that period, but it was a gelded organisation compared to Karsta Wor-Ul's era. The Science Council was firmly in charge, and any member of the kryptonian military would know that they couldn't order an attack like that on their own. It would be a little like the head of a S.W.A.T. team ordering a raid on a foreign country.
 
Would it even matter if for some bizarre reason Zod isn't solely responsible or didn't order the bombardment on Amalak's world? At the end, it was Zod that carried it out, no? And I think the excuse of "just following orders" is useless even among humans to escape punishment, right?
 
Would it even matter if for some bizarre reason Zod isn't solely responsible or didn't order the bombardment on Amalak's world? At the end, it was Zod that carried it out, no? And I think the excuse of "just following orders" is useless even among humans to escape punishment, right?
Theoretically "just following orders" is not an excuse, in practice it is usually considered to be a mitigating factor as long as the person following orders had no reason to believe that the orders were not legitimate.
 
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thanks for the answers. i'm not deep into lore so it's definitely probable that i missed many clues as to what is going on with her. hopefully she's a plot device to be resolved, rather than a recurring character. because she is just insufferable

Fair enough, you're allowed to dislike her if you want, but what exactly makes her so annoying to you? I thought her straight-man-and-funny-man dynamic with Paul was hilarious.
 
hopefully she's a plot device to be resolved, rather than a recurring character. because she is just insufferable

Hate to point this out, but Kara has been here for years of real time and has featured in numerous adventures. Forget reoccurring character, Kara is a supporting cast member (as much as anyone is) right now. Even if she's "resolved" she's been around a long time now.

What a twist it would be if they were actually innocent and it turned out that krypton high command gave the orders against his wishes and they blamed him for it.

Interesting idea, but already pretty much a no-go since apparently he was boasting to Ak-var about it.

"That's what he was boasting about! I didn't know-.
 
Rather than some twist where Zod is innocent maybe he made a deal with some Kryptonian demon, similar to the one that possessed Superman, and once free from the Phantom Zone gets empowered like Sabbac and any excuse there was to prevent his execution is immediately ignored as he obviously has no remorse. Cue Amalak not only happy to kill one of the individuals responsible for the destruction of his species but by some stroke of luck he'll be doing the universe a favor by removing a evil being as well, with Paul making plans to find/forge a blade similar to the Sword of the Fallen if his angle blessed gun or bullets aren't enough.

Or something similar in canon where Zod's time traveling child comes back at the moment where the phantom projector is used to release the imprisoned general, a bunch of angry kryptonians cause havoc on the recovering planet if not escape with the time traveler.
 
Hate to point this out, but Kara has been here for years of real time and has featured in numerous adventures. Forget reoccurring character, Kara is a supporting cast member (as much as anyone is) right now. Even if she's "resolved" she's been around a long time now.
Just for clarity, the local Kara has been in the fic for years, but the possibly-Silver-Age-Kara has been around for a shorter period, I think (or at least has been in for fewer years and fewer onscreen chapters), and she's the one that most people tend to consider aggravating. Not completely certain which one @BartlettMagic was referring to, though my guess is possibly-Silver-Age-Kara.
 
but the possibly-Silver-Age-Kara has been around for a shorter period
Said shorter period being almost exactly four years IRL and 10.5 months in-universe, so I'd say the statement stands. She is also great, by the way, can't imagine disliking her.
 
So, Zoat. You've nearly reached page 150 on the story-only thread. That's... quite long.

How do you feel about the story now after all this time? As in, the writing of it. From the length of your posts I'm guessing they're about 1500-2000 words, which takes me about an hour to write, but I write ungodly fast when I have the bit in my teeth. I'm a little curious how long it takes you to write up a post but I wouldn't blame you for not wanting to say.

I've been mulling over my own lantern story, considering editing and chopping off a bit at the end, then starting over with a part 2. Yours is quite a lot longer than mine ever was, does it ever feel like an obligation? Do you write ahead of what you post for those days when you just don't feel up to it?

I mean feel free to ignore all this but I am genuinely curious and I don't indulge myself in simply asking directly most of the time.
 
Back Channels (part 15) New
1st August 2013
12:33 GMT -5


"…idea, and I think this works for both of us." My ears prick up as I hear Donna's voice. "But I still feel… Dirty, doing it."

I couldn't find Kon with a scan, but a quick check on the zeta tube network showed that the last place he went to was the mountain. Where… I haven't been for a while. I… Didn't entirely move back in after… Clearing my room out before killing Nabu, but I…

Eh.

Lot of memories, here.

"Yeah, I know what you mean." Ah, good, he is here. "That's… How it is sometimes. Especially…"

"Yeah."


I round-.

"Rwrff?"

Wolf trots out of the kitchen, sniffing. She then locks her eyes onto me, staring for a moment and tilting her head slightly to the right. "Wrf."

"Hello, Wolf." Her tail starts wagging, and she dips her head slightly as she ambles towards me. I crouch down, right hand extended for her to sniff. "How have you been?"

She gives me a quick sniff, then give my fingertips a quick licks before pushing forwards and pressing her head against my chest. I smile, rubbing her head as her wags get more enthusiastic.

"Paul?"

Kon sticks his head out of the kitchen, staring at me in surprise. Wolf immediately turns around and trots back to her owner. "Urf!" And then sort of turns around and looks at me to make sure that he's seen me.

"Hello!" I straighten up. "Ah, friend part first-?"

"Mitchell called ahead."

"Oh." I transition past him into the kitchen, nodding to Donna as I appear. "Okay. Uh. Sorry."

He reorientates on my current location, while Wolf looks around in confusion. "It's okay. We're all busy, and you don't have school."

"Yeah, but I should have made time. So, I realise that I can't fix six months of minimal contact in an afternoon, and I.. mostly came to talk to you for professional reasons-."

"I think Zod should go to trial." He shrugs sombrely as Wolf walks past him to check that I'm still me. "He never got tried for all the people he murdered, so it's not a double jeopardy thing. I don't know if we can convince Superman, but…" He nods.

"Do you think it's worth asking Har-Zod or Jor-El?"

He thinks for a moment, then shakes his head. "Neither of them really like making policy decisions."

Donna frowns. "Did the kryptonian government really not care at all about him killing all those people?"

"I don't know for certain, but… What would be the point? Their harshest penalty was indefinite detention in the Phantom Zone, and they'd already sentenced him to that. European countries don't extradite prisoners to places where they might be executed, so it's not even that weird."

"Yeah, but that's because they think it's immoral, not because they don't care about the victims."

"Well, that's a clean sweep of Earth's kryptonians, except the one who actually matters-"

Kon smiles faintly. "Thanks."

"-so I'll organise an appointment where we can get together and put our case to Superman. Now." I smile broadly, bringing my hands together at my chest with a clap. "What have you two been up to?"

Donna glances to the side for a moment. "We were kind of talking about you."

"Did I do something else wrong?"

"No, it-. It's about my sister."

Di-? "Wait, Deva?" She nods. "What happened to her, anyway?"

"She fought against Mannheim and took the pardon. She… Hasn't broken the law… Much since then."

"Okay, good?"

"We actually had a talk, back in January, and she basically needs to keep fighting to keep the magic making her alive going."

"And you want me to try and find an alternative?"

"I… Was thinking more that you could recruit her."

"A-ahh…"

Okay, unless I want to be a total hypocrite, I can't really complain about her being a murderer. And she hasn't murdered that many more people than Jade has, even if that's due to her mostly trying to kill people in her weight class and failing rather than personal reticence. She doesn't know much about space-age technology.. or magic, as far as I know. Super strong, super tough, aggressive, not too intelligent…

"Were you thinking marines?"

"That… Might involve a bit too much formal discipline. I was.. assuming that you'd give her a power ring?"

"Um. I'm not sure that she'd pass psychological screening. Maybe… Darkstar combat units..?" I shrug. "We should be able to work something out."

"Good, because I don't think the whole 'going straight' thing is going to last with her."

Okay, that's easy enough to-. "You haven't let her go anywhere near Tuppence, right?"

"No?"

"Oh good, because Deva's someone I think she'd learn all the wrong lessons from. So, how have you both been?"

"Good." Kon's leaning against the kitchen wall, Wolf sitting next to his legs and waiting, tongue panting. He stretches down his left hand to rub her head and nods, once.

"Glad to hear it. Donna?"

She looks at us in disbelief. "That's it?" Kon and I look at each other, then shrug at her. "Is that a guy thing?"

"Ah, okay. Mitchell said you were going to college in the next school year?"

"Yeah, me and M'gann. She's doing criminology. I'm doing economics."

"Oh? Why's that?"

"We figured… She could be a detective in her Megan Morse identity, like her uncle. And I should probably learn something that helps Themyscira get along with the rest of the world."

"And Demetrios Prokopios can probably tutor you, if you need it." He nods. "And knowing how economics works helps with financial crime, which isn't usually a kryptonian strong suit. Though I suppose it's an unusually cutting edge science at the moment. So, ah… Who wants lunch? My treat?"
 
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So, Zoat. You've nearly reached page 150 on the story-only thread. That's... quite long.

How do you feel about the story now after all this time?

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nSyISlN5ABo
As in, the writing of it. From the length of your posts I'm guessing they're about 1500-2000 words, which takes me about an hour to write

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gf_IH3rj0hY
but I write ungodly fast when I have the bit in my teeth. I'm a little curious how long it takes you to write up a post but I wouldn't blame you for not wanting to say.

They're more like 1000-1500, and about three hours.
I've been mulling over my own lantern story, considering editing and chopping off a bit at the end, then starting over with a part 2. Yours is quite a lot longer than mine ever was, does it ever feel like an obligation? Do you write ahead of what you post for those days when you just don't feel up to it?

I mean feel free to ignore all this but I am genuinely curious and I don't indulge myself in simply asking directly most of the time.

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G8c4HCFCEeE
 


I'm not sure you have wasted your life. You likely have far, far more readers than people who ever comment here. And it's a funny thing, stories. They teach, they entertain, but they also change you. I could tell you how your story changed how I think, but I don't think I really want to get into that right now.

The point I'm making here is that, yes, it's a fanfic. Yes, it's a self-insert. But you do a good job of making them seem like living people and after following your story for like ten years, I don't think it's a waste. WTR has been a permanent tab in my browser forever. I'm a little surprised by how long it takes you, but that's not me criticizing. I'm a net addict who has been practicing typing all day every day for most of her life and don't have good baselines for how well other people type.

I'm not sure I really understand the point you're making with the Berserk video (I'm afraid I never got into it), but I'm assuming it's something about the drive to write. I've never felt like I was in control while I was writing. At best I have one hand on the wheel and I'm sort of channeling the story. I don't even know where it's going half the time. It just does it's own thing through me.

I suppose I'll wrap this up by saying that I still rather enjoy your story, I have a million guesses about whats going on based on things I've asked you in the past, but I've found that people making guesses about my writing actually changed the writing so I've kept quiet about those. I hope you keep it up and just wanted to take a moment to say hi and ask. I don't talk much.

EDIT: By 'I don't want to get into that right now', basically I don't want to explain in public. If you're curious about it, I don't mind explaining in DMs.
 
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"We figured… She could be a detective in her Megan Morse identity, like her uncle. And I should probably learn something that helps Themyscira get along with the rest of the world."

And now I have this adorable mental image of M'Gann trying to do a Neo-Noir hardboiled detective impression because she thinks it looks cool, but then she ends up unintentionally looking cute instead.


I'm not sure you have wasted your life. You likely have far, far more readers than people who ever comment here. And it's a funny thing, stories. They teach, they entertain, but they also change you. I could tell you how your story changed how I think, but I don't think I really want to get into that right now.

The point I'm making here is that, yes, it's a fanfic. Yes, it's a self-insert. But you do a good job of making them seem like living people and after following your story for like ten years, I don't think it's a waste. WTR has been a permanent tab in my browser forever. I'm a little surprised by how long it takes you, but that's not me criticizing. I'm a net addict who has been practicing typing all day every day for most of her life and don't have good baselines for how well other people type.

I'm not sure I really understand the point you're making with the Berserk video (I'm afraid I never got into it), but I'm assuming it's something about the drive to write. I've never felt like I was in control while I was writing. At best I have one hand on the wheel and I'm sort of channeling the story. I don't even know where it's going half the time. It just does it's own thing through me.

I suppose I'll wrap this up by saying that I still rather enjoy your story, I have a million guesses about whats going on based on things I've asked you in the past, but I've found that people making guesses about my writing actually changed the writing so I've kept quiet about those. I hope you keep it up and just wanted to take a moment to say hi and ask. I don't talk much.

EDIT: By 'I don't want to get into that right now', basically I don't want to explain in public. If you're curious about it, I don't mind explaining in DMs.

For what it's worth, you're not alone in this. I've been working on my own Lantern OC/SI story on the side, and although I haven't posted it yet, I've been chipping at it bit by bit. And while writing it, I've asked myself those same questions too. In fact, I'm pretty sure everyone who's followed Zoat's lead has done the same.


Yeah, it's the little things that keep us going in life, isn't it? 🙂
 
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1st August 2013
12:33 GMT -5


"…idea, and I think this works for both of us." My ears prick up as I hear Donna's voice. "But I still feel… Dirty, doing it."

I couldn't find Kon with a scan, but a quick check on the zeta tube network showed that the last place he went to was the mountain. Where… I haven't been for a while. I… Didn't entirely move back in after… Clearing my room out before killing Nabu, but I…
To be fair, the League would have been wary of letting you back near the sidekicks at the time anyway. And you moved out, partly to Gotham and Maltus. Time goes on, life goes on...

Eh.

Lot of memories, here.
True enough. Some good, some bad.

"Yeah, I know what you mean." Ah, good, he is here. "That's… How it is sometimes. Especially…"

"Yeah."
I see they're having their own moments of uncertainty, as they move into adulthood.

I round-.

"Rwrff?"

Wolf trots out of the kitchen, sniffing. She then locks her eyes onto me, staring for a moment and tilting her head slightly to the right. "Wrf."
Oooh, there's a good girl we haven't seen in far too long! 🥰

"Hello, Wolf." Her tail starts wagging, and she dips her head slightly as she ambles towards me. I crouch down, right hand extended for her to sniff. "How have you been?"

She gives me a quick sniff, then give my fingertips a quick licks before pushing forwards and pressing her head against my chest. I smile, rubbing her head as her wags get more enthusiastic.
Gotta remember, she's a lot more intelligent than the average canine, and more powerful too with that Danner Formula treatment.

"Paul?"

Kon sticks his head out of the kitchen, staring at me in surprise. Wolf immediately turns around and trots back to her owner. "Urf!" And then sort of turns around and looks at me to make sure that he's seen me.
Heh, still looking after her big packmate.

"Hello!" I straighten up. "Ah, friend part first-?"

"Mitchell called ahead."
Of course he did. SO Konner will know what he's here for. But there's no rush on that front.

"Oh." I transition past him into the kitchen, nodding to Donna as I appear. "Okay. Uh. Sorry."

He reorientates on my current location, while Wolf looks around in confusion. "It's okay. We're all busy, and you don't have school."
Understanding of him. Although I find it amusing OL felt the need to kinda-teleport past him just to get into the room faster. 😏

"Yeah, but I should have made time. So, I realise that I can't fix six months of minimal contact in an afternoon, and I.. mostly came to talk to you for professional reasons-."

"I think Zod should go to trial." He shrugs sombrely as Wolf walks past him to check that I'm still me. "He never got tried for all the people he murdered, so it's not a double jeopardy thing. I don't know if we can convince Superman, but…" He nods.
And ultimately, it's Clark with the Projector in his cupboard. We can only hope he's reasonable about this.

"Do you think it's worth asking Har-Zod or Jor-El?"

He thinks for a moment, then shakes his head. "Neither of them really like making policy decisions."
'Leave life to the living', and so on? They are personality engrams, not biological people. To some degree, they're highly advanced chatbots and database lookup interfaces. At that level, it kind of blurs the line between virtually intelligent and actually intelligent.

Donna frowns. "Did the kryptonian government really not care at all about him killing all those people?"

"I don't know for certain, but… What would be the point? Their harshest penalty was indefinite detention in the Phantom Zone, and they'd already sentenced him to that. European countries don't extradite prisoners to places where they might be executed, so it's not even that weird."
Ultimately, Krypton was not the best of places. At least this universe is less sterile than the immediate post-Crisis era...

"Yeah, but that's because they think it's immoral, not because they don't care about the victims."

"Well, that's a clean sweep of Earth's kryptonians, except the one who actually matters-"
Because of the aforementioned ownership of the Phantom Zone Projector...

Kon smiles faintly. "Thanks."

"-so I'll organise an appointment where we can get together and put our case to Superman. Now." I smile broadly, bringing my hands together at my chest with a clap. "What have you two been up to?"
Good, business out of the way, time to actually enjoy some time with friends.

Donna glances to the side for a moment. "We were kind of talking about you."

"Did I do something else wrong?"
Plenty, but not necessarily something bad.

"No, it-. It's about my sister."

Di-? "Wait, Deva?" She nods. "What happened to her, anyway?"
As in Devastation? It's been so long I've just about forgotten her origins... I take it things are similar to other canons.

"She fought against Mannheim and took the pardon. She… Hasn't broken the law… Much since then."

"Okay, good?"
I'm guessing nothing serious, mostly in the line of 'causing an affray', assault and battery, that sort of thing.

"We actually had a talk, back in January, and she basically needs to keep fighting to keep the magic making her alive going."

"And you want me to try and find an alternative?"
...Okay, that's kind of shitty. And I bet it won't work with 'mock combat' like Professional Wrestling, or combat sports like MMA type stuff?

"I… Was thinking more that you could recruit her."

"A-ahh…"
Well, OL does seem to find himself in life-or-death fights fairly often. But I don't know what a Brute could do in his circles...

Okay, unless I want to be a total hypocrite, I can't really complain about her being a murderer. And she hasn't murdered that many more people than Jade has, even if that's due to her mostly trying to kill people in her weight class and failing rather than personal reticence. She doesn't know much about space-age technology.. or magic, as far as I know. Super strong, super tough, aggressive, not too intelligent…
Much more use of a foot soldier in a combat-zone than anything. Enough fights for her to thrive, but not enough responsibility to worry about...

"Were you thinking marines?"

"That… Might involve a bit too much formal discipline. I was.. assuming that you'd give her a power ring?"
She'd probably use it to make big gauntlets to punch better.

"Um. I'm not sure that she'd pass psychological screening. Maybe… Darkstar combat units..?" I shrug. "We should be able to work something out."

"Good, because I don't think the whole 'going straight' thing is going to last with her."
I blame her 'father'. If she was made by Cronus... He made her as a disposable weapon to hurt everything.

Okay, that's easy enough to-. "You haven't let her go anywhere near Tuppence, right?"

"No?"
Heh. Smash sisters. in multiple senses of the word. 😘

"Oh good, because Deva's someone I think she'd learn all the wrong lessons from. So, how have you both been?"

"Good." Kon's leaning against the kitchen wall, Wolf sitting next to his legs and waiting, tongue panting. He stretches down his left hand to rub her head and nods, once.
Yeah, Tuppence is trying to keep clean, but... She's not really the 'straight and narrow' sort.

"Glad to hear it. Donna?"

She looks at us in disbelief. "That's it?" Kon and I look at each other, then shrug at her. "Is that a guy thing?"
Yes, it very much is. Neither of them are really the 'long heartfelt talk' types.

"Ah, okay. Mitchell said you were going to college in the next school year?"

"Yeah, me and M'gann. She's doing criminology. I'm doing economics."
Interesting choices. Both useful in some way. Fitting for a prince to learn that sort of management, especially if Themyscira opens up more in future.

"Oh? Why's that?"

"We figured… She could be a detective in her Megan Morse identity, like her uncle. And I should probably learn something that helps Themyscira get along with the rest of the world."
Though I suspect she'll find that Private Investigation isn't as exciting as movies make it out to be. The way I hear it, it's mostly paper-trail following, occasional observations and if you get into a fight, you've pretty much fouled up.

"And Demetrios Prokopios can probably tutor you, if you need it." He nods. "And knowing how economics works helps with financial crime, which isn't usually a kryptonian strong suit. Though I suppose it's an unusually cutting edge science at the moment. So, ah… Who wants lunch? My treat?"
Yes, I imagine the Olympian god of Economics will be able to teach Kon some amazing things.

Honestly, Donna shouldn't be surprised. Guys don't really do 'big emotional displays' with each other. Hell, if it hadn't been as long as it had been, they might well have done a quick 'You good?' 'Yup' exchange of nods. Or maybe the classic 'You son of a bitch!' hand-slam, though that might have done some damage given Kon's strength.
 
Mr.zoat, que f you feel odd about your fanfic habit, you can always start a SEPARATE story to 'self-justify' the 'writing practice'
...

...
For what it's worth, you're not alone in this. I've been working on my own Lantern OC/SI story on the side, and although I haven't posted it yet, I've been chipping at it bit by bit. And while writing it, I've asked myself those same questions too. In fact, I'm pretty sure everyone who's followed Zoat's lead has done the same.
If I had any advise for someone considering that -other than don't- it would be 'plan out an arc with a clear end and then for the love of the gods stop'. You can come back to it afterwards, once you have anothe arc planned out.
 

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