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

AngelicKnight. · Jul 6, 2021

Artemisnemo said:
So Sinestro replaced the Abbott, huh didn't see that coming.

Did I miss a thing?

Lord Ernest · Jul 6, 2021

Artemisnemo said:
So Sinestro replaced the Abbott, huh didn't see that coming.

Glad I'm not the only one who had that as a first thought. I can understand why the Illustres is not suspicious, supposedly this is a secure planet and so his guard is down and besides not actively using his empath abilities the "abbot" has a green core protecting his feelings and thoughts. But still, that guy is suspicious as fuck right now! What with the questions and his reactions!

AngelicKnight. · Jul 6, 2021

Lord Ernest said:
Glad I'm not the only one who had that as a first thought. I can understand why the Illustres is not suspicious, supposedly this is a secure planet and so his guard is down and besides not actively using his empath abilities the "abbot" has a green core protecting his feelings and thoughts. But still, that guy is suspicious as fuck right now! What with the questions and his reactions!

He did know what an apple was.

Finagle007 · Jul 6, 2021

AngelicKnight. said:
He did know what an apple was.

And the reaction to Kalmin's name. Nobody outside the Green or Orange Lanterns should know that name, counting the Guardians and Controllers. Except Alan and some others on Earth, the only other person who would know Kalmin's name is Sinestro.

AngelicKnight. · Jul 6, 2021

Finagle007 said:
And the reaction to Kalmin's name. Nobody outside the Green or Orange Lanterns should know that name, counting the Guardians and Controllers. Except Alan and some others on Earth, the only other person who would know Kalmin's name is Sinestro.

Huh....

Good point.

Well good for him. Clearly he's just retired to a peaceful monastery for the rest of his life. No scheme or ulterior motives there.

Silverias · Jul 7, 2021

Considering that we noticed all this, I'm pretty sure it means that OL would recognize the signs too, since it's from his perspective.

BlueMangoAdea · Jul 7, 2021

Silverias said:
Considering that we noticed all this, I'm pretty sure it means that OL would recognize the signs too, since it's from his perspective.

Have we been reading the same story?

AngelicKnight. · Jul 7, 2021

BlueMangoAdea said:
Have we been reading the same story?

There was the incident early on with the bikers?

FreeGod · Jul 7, 2021

Remember that OL is living though his whole life. He doesn't have the advantage of only seeing the important bits and therefore get clues about what is important. When he sees a friend coughing he doesn't know that must be plot relevant.

Silverias · Jul 7, 2021

AngelicKnight. said:
There was the incident early on with the bikers?

That does the opposite of supporting my remark, but considering his competence AFTER that whole...incident, I think OL would notice SOMETHING is up.

lefthandturnsignal · Jul 7, 2021

I was kinda thinking some other oddball villain than sinestro, but I suppose it makes some amount of sense. Especially with the religious disruption going on with the planet.

Michael Vonica · Jul 7, 2021

To be honest, I never considered that the abbot was anything more than he first appeared to be, but now that I've heard the argument, it makes sense. As for how this could go, I see two ways. First, Paul could see through it all and catch whatever the abbot is planning early. From a character perspective, all this would do is show us that Paul has become more competent, and we've already seen plenty of that. We would also get some interesting plot and fights out of this.

The other option is that Paul is blinded by his own desire to impart his knowledge to others. The abbot then uses this knowledge to do something that hurts many people, and Paul has to clean up his own mess. Paul is then left to contemplate whether or not his current path of being so open about what he knows is right, and to deal with the fear that he may be causing more harm than good, something that he has dealt with before.

Dur'id the Druid · Jul 7, 2021

Michael Vonica said:
.......

Or a third option, Paul's teaching gets Sin-stro thinking differently, and doing something like learning how to be both a yellow and green lantern.

Michael Vonica · Jul 7, 2021

Dur'id the Druid said:
Or a third option, Paul's teaching gets Sin-stro thinking differently, and doing something like learning how to be both a yellow and green lantern.

That's the true ending. I checked the strategy guide, and Paul needs a charisma score of 35 or more to get that option.

Finagle007 · Jul 7, 2021

Silverias said:
That does the opposite of supporting my remark, but considering his competence AFTER that whole...incident, I think OL would notice SOMETHING is up.

He didn't notice anything was up with the Spider Queen's "spiracles"... Or, less comedically, with Zatanna.

Coda · Jul 7, 2021

Mr Zoat said:
"So I have to let you cut off my wings, huh?"

Welp. Guess that's a couple hours of time spent binging.

Mr Zoat said:
pyrically

Apparently the correct spelling is "pyrrhicly". This looks weird to me and I would have guessed "pyrrhically".

Chojin Patriarch · Jul 7, 2021

Oh, boy. That MMO grind still making me miss updates, even after it's lessened.

Mr Zoat said:
27th August 2012
08:32 GMT

I hold up the lumpy purple fruit.

It looks edible, scans say that I can digest it and it smells faintly of custard. I slice it in half with a construct knife… Yes, odd fig-like interior but…

Ah, the sweet reminder of differences in ecology. Wonder if this is a staple, or some luxury treat the monastery got in for their guests? At least there's no worry of poison or anything like that. Not with a power ring.

Ah. I send construct peelers to remove the skin and then pick-

"Customarily, those are eaten-"

The abbot sits down opposite me at the canteen table, a bowl of muesli in front of him.

Dinner with their host? Or judging by the content, breakfast? I'm surprised the ring hasn't pinged local time.

"-with the skin intact."

"I have a bit of a thing about textures."

I know that feel. Some things just feel wrong, whether a paper straw on the lips, or an unfamiliar snack on the tongue...

I cut off a small piece of the fruit's flesh and put in into my mouth. It tastes… Well, that's not custard. Maybe more… Floral? It puts me a little in mind of a potato, only… Not, obviously.

"Seems edible enough."

Well, taste is whatever you ultimately want it to be. I can appreciate the desire to experience new things.

"I assume that you scanned it?"

"Naturally, but the fact that I can digest it doesn't necessarily indicate that I want to. I mean-"

After all, who know what effect it'll have on your digestive system. I remember in GRRL Power, where the spice-loving main character eats a bowl of super-spicy alien food, and it comes out hotter than it went in. And glowed.

I take an apple out of subspace and put it down next to his bowl.

"-do you know what this-?"

Come now, OL. Do you really think the abbot of a space monastery on an alien world would...

"Apple." He picks it up in his right hand and bites into it. He chews, smiling slightly as he tastes it. "A little sweeter than I was expecting, but I imagine that your species have developed multiple commercial varieties by now."

... Abbot SUS.Seriously, how did he...

I frown. "Okay, I know that we don't export fruit… Or anything, so how do you know about 'apples'?"

"The records of Green Lanterns of Sector Two Eight One Four. A few of them took the time to describe the societies they encountered when they visited your homeworld."

...Plausible. But I'm watching you, buster.

He takes another bite and chews it slowly. I do the same, focusing on my own fruit. With my power ring abilities being what they are I don't strictly need to eat. Regularly, anyway; the desire to ingest is so built in to the human psyche that it wouldn't be a good idea to stop eating completely even if I could. But there's no real link between by health and my diet. I could just eat chocolate for every meal if I wanted. Or that ridiculously sugar-rich cereal with the 'marshmallows' that Wallace eats despite not needing to any more. But instead I mostly eat a normal diet. It's a good habit in case I'm forced to go without a ring for an extended period or eat in company.

Does that mean Wally fixed his dietary issues at some point? That should have warranted some comment before now... Or is he just being childish? ...I mean, I still prefer Rice Bubbles to most other cereals...

What, they're tasty.

"Are you making progress?"

"Yes, though that's about all that I can say. Xor managed to turn off his ring yesterday, and Dul is a little more engaged with the program."

'Engaged' is one way to put it. No comment about Onik, or did he expect the abbot to simply assume 'oh, he's doing well.'

"And Lantern Toren?"

"It's a rather different way of thinking, and Green Lanterns aren't selected for their adaptability. The Guardians actually have Guy Gardner going through their list of abilities that former Green Lanterns developed to see if he can replicate them."

I wonder how many Guy's succeeding at, too. I bet their next sparring session will be a lot more lively.

"I don't believe that I've heard of him."

"Really? Guy Gardner, Host of Ion? I thought-"

The abbot freezes in shock.

To a Lanternist, that would basically be the equivalent of becoming a divine Prophet or messiah figure... To someone else, it would be well... Bad news.

"-that would be bigger news."

"He is.. merged with Ion constantly?"

"Because if so, that's going to have so many knock-on effects amongst my faith..."

"No, but he's pulled it off at least twice. The first time wasn't deliberate; he was just focusing really hard and had a breakthrough. The second time was. I'm not sure what not having Ion in the Green Central Power Battery actually does to it, but Guy's only using it sparingly."

I frown.

"I think he converted to Lanternism, actually. I'm a little surprised that he hasn't visited."

To be fair, his previous faith left a lot to be desired after the Silver City practically blockaded Earth in pursuit of OL...

"We will be happy to receive him if he appears." He loads his spoon with muesli. "Your quarters were sufficient?"

The quarters we were offered were Spartan and possessing of a Green Lantern theme. Perfectly adequate and free of distractions. Naturally, I redecorated, changing the theme from green to orange.

Because of course you would. I hope you plan to change it back when you leave?

"Yes, thank you. I assume that we're not besieged by the curious masses?"

"There has been some interest. Fortunately, the people of Karax respect our work enough that they have merely been messages of curiosity and enthusiasm rather than anything too intrusive. What are your plans for today?"

Well, that's surprisingly respectful. Any Earth culture in this situation would have paparazzi hanging from the treetops trying to get pictures and religious zealots banging on the doors, whether to insist on greeting them or to condemn them for heresy...

Man, humans suck.

"I want to do more work on instinctive emotional responses. We touched on fear yesterday, but really we need to do all of them."

"Yes, you mentioned that you encountered a yellow power ring user other than Sinestro." He frowns. "I thought that he was the only one."

Oddly specific question... OL's met more than one, though. Indeed, he's met many different colours, mostly himself.

"Parallel universes. Al Scott lives on a parallel universe version of Earth. If I had to guess, his ring was an early prototype Kalmin-"

The abbot's eyes dart to stare directly into mine at the mention of his name.

...I repeat, Abbot SUS. And I can't imagine OL missed that, either. Whether he has his own suspicions as to its meaning, we won't know unless it pops up in his thoughts.

"-made before he could complete his masterpiece for Sinestro. Or… Parallel universe. Maybe they have their own Kalmin, or their own Krona, or perhaps all of their Guardian-equivalents are evil. I don't know. And… He wasn't the only yellow ring user I encountered. The other one was a parallel universe version of me."

"If there are so many other rings, why don't Green Lantern Corps records mention them?"

Because the Guardians hate the idea of anyone knowing about other Lights? I'm honestly amazed Sinestro ever found out about the yellow, to some degree. Probably because of the Weaponers.

"The Green Lantern Corps is a paramilitary police organisation. They're not explorers or scientists. Going to parallel universes on a jolly isn't really their job."

"Did you learn anything about how they used their rings? Anything that might give us some clue about how Sinestro uses his?"

...Looking for some hints? If the thread guesses are right, you should know quite well how Sinestro uses his ring...

"I didn't see Al Scott fight. And frankly I didn't enjoy his company enough to want to-."

"You didn't-" The abbot frowns. "-fight him?"

Given the Capo had decades of experience, and plenty of opportunities to keep his hand in compared to Alan-16? That would be a bad idea.

"No, that whole situation was a mess. I mostly-. Here." I generate a datapad with my full report on it and slide it across the table. "In summary, I had a choice between a devastating war which would probably eventually be pyrically 'won' by the 'good' guys, who weren't particularly good, or arranging for a mutual de-escalation that allowed some of the bad guys to temporarily escape justice but caused the least collateral damage. I didn't spend time socialising or training with him."

Yeah, not a lot of good options on that little trip. Sometimes, you just can't win in a heroic way.

"I see. And the other?"

"He'd achieved enlightenment by constantly reflecting on his fears and forcing himself to feel them. Accepting them as part of his psyche. He did that because he didn't have a personal lantern and had to come up with an alternate way to recharge."

That's Lord Protector Paul, or Yaul, as some of us took to calling him. Stuck in the Thundercats-remake universe of Third Earth, with only a mystical Sword of fear-magic to charge from. Needs must. I bet OL's been honestly impressed at some of the options his alternates took.

"Is it possible to recharge a power ring through meditation? There's no mention of that in our archives either."

"Not without access to certain types of arcane artefacts. It's like the difference between plugging a battery into a recharging station and building a wind turbine and a transformer." I shrug. "But yes, it's possible."

"Fascinating. Tell me more."

Because one of the bottlenecks of a Yellow Lantern Corps' production line would be rings and personal lanterns.

Well, if the suspicions are true, this puts the whole visit in an interesting new light. If not, then the abbot is clearly very interested in learning about the foes of the Corps for the sake of his future students. Either way, he's getting to learn a lot. Let's hope OL isn't fooled either way.

Corrections, Mr Zoat!

...and put in into my mouth.

...and put it into my mouth.

But there's no real link between by health and my diet.

But there's no real link between my health and my diet.

...eventually be pyrically 'won' by the 'good' guys...

Seconding Coda's correction for this, it just don't look right.

DrThoth · Jul 7, 2021

Silverias said:
That does the opposite of supporting my remark, but considering his competence AFTER that whole...incident, I think OL would notice SOMETHING is up.

In addition to the examples mentioned above (Spider Queen and Zatanna, though with Zatanna I think it was more just conscious ignorance and avoidance), you have the incredibly cunning plan that Olympia (Crime Syndicate Wonder Woman) used to manipulate Paragon into being transported into the parallel universe, which was "show up looking like Wonder Woman and order him to do it in a way that didn't seem quite right according to her personality- this in a world where shapeshifting and mind control are possibilities and the latter actually did happen to WW". There's also the incident with that guy with the villainous version of the Hero Dial, who was just casually brushing the dust off and putting it on in another room while Paragon was being the polite Britisher and just waiting at the desk or something.
His situational awareness and competence kind of vary depending on the plot (and/or how funny it is).

I don't necessarily believe that the abbot here is Sinestro, though there are some interesting/convincing points being made that he is, but 'Paragon would have spotted it' isn't the best refutation of that idea sadly.

Darko · Jul 7, 2021

Mr Zoat said:
"We will be happy to receive him if he appears.

I bet, seeing as he's probably an equivalent to a saint.

Mr Zoat said:
Maybe they have their own Kalmin, or their own Krona, or perhaps all of their Guardian-equivalents are evil.

I think Zoat once mentioned that the Guardians there went crazy and Krona killed them to protect the universe before he killed himself since he didn't trust himself with that kind of power.

Mr Zoat said:
The Green Lantern Corps is a paramilitary police organisation. They're not explorers or scientists. Going to parallel universes on a jolly isn't really their job."

Thet may also not want to deal with multiple universes.

I remember in Assimilation Stewart said they didn't want to try dealing with multiple universe, so it may be the difficult to send the SI back to his universe.

Silverias said:
Considering that we noticed all this, I'm pretty sure it means that OL would recognize the signs too, since it's from his perspective.

BlueMangoAdea said:
Have we been reading the same story?

Yeah, Paul can be incredibly dense at times.

AngelicKnight. said:
There was the incident early on with the bikers?

Ahh, the gun incident.

DrThoth said:
I don't necessarily believe that the abbot here is Sinestro, though there are some interesting/convincing points being made that he is,

Or he may be working for him.

Darko · Jul 7, 2021

Chojin Patriarch said:
Does that mean Wally fixed his dietary issues at some point? That should have warranted some comment before now... Or is he just being childish? ...I mean, I still prefer Rice Bubbles to most other cereals... What, they're tasty.

I think Zoat once mentioned that he developed a potion that he drinks to stop him from needing to eat so much.

Chojin Patriarch said:
To a Lanternist, that would basically be the equivalent of becoming a divine Prophet or messiah figure... To someone else, it would be well... Bad news.

If they're a bad guy.

If they were a good guy then that means they now have a more powerful ally.

Chojin Patriarch said:
Man, humans suck.

Yes, yes we do.

Chojin Patriarch said:
Because the Guardians hate the idea of anyone knowing about other Lights? I'm honestly amazed Sinestro ever found out about the yellow, to some degree. Probably because of the Weaponers.

He was a high ranking member of the Corps, so he may have had access to sensitive info.

Chojin Patriarch said:
Given the Capo had decades of experience, and plenty of opportunities to keep his hand in compared to Alan-16? That would be a bad idea

Unless Paul went the Ophidian route.

Chojin Patriarch said:
That's Lord Protector Paul, or Yaul, as some of us took to calling him. Stuck in the Thundercats-remake universe of Third Earth, with only a mystical Sword of fear-magic to charge from.

He now does have a Lantern equivalent.

Chojin Patriarch said:
Needs must. I bet OL's been honestly impressed at some of the options his alternates took.

Though some may be somewhat disappointing.

I think he was a bit conflicted with Sybarite.

King of Frost · Jul 7, 2021

Finagle007 said:
Or, less comedically, with Zatanna.

He knew Zatanna was in love with him, he could see the violet light.

Vaermina · Jul 7, 2021

Not to shoot this down...

But I am pretty sure Paragon's ring would notice if the abbot was Sinestro.

Radiant Knight · Jul 7, 2021

Vaermina said:
Not to shoot this down...

But I am pretty sure Paragon's ring would notice if the abbot was Sinestro.

On the one hand, yes. On the other, the arc title is Malediction.

Someguy Somewhere · Jul 7, 2021

While the arguments are convincing that the abbot may not be what he seems, their are some other things that come to mind with this line of thinking.

Comic Book Sinestro kept an eye on his home world, and his daughter, despite the best efforts to keep him away. He snuck in just fine, past sensors and other GL's any time he wanted to. And he marked his daughter with a locator so he could always find her again.

Comic Book Sinestro, after creating the yellow lantern corps, stated he never really wanted it. He just wanted it to force the Guardians to take the kid gloves off the Green Lantern Corps, and allow for lethal force to be used. Once the war with the corps was over and he was 'vindicated' by the policy change, he was happy that he accomplished his mission. The corps itself was only the means to that end. At that time at least, the follow up war of light, and his brief return to the GLC was not likely planned.

Now, in WTR, Sinestro knows that the Orange Lantern Corps exists from his conversation with Vril Dox. It's Possible, though not confirmed, that he knows his daughter is a member due to his comic book version keeping tabs on her. He's been quiet in the galaxy of late for several earth years, since he and Hal last fought.

If anyone knew ways around a Lantern Scan, it'd be the former First Lantern. And the current location is a pretty good place for someone with Sinestro's *Academic* background to study the GL from a safe distance, as well as the Spectrum itself.

Now all that being said, there are other emotional factions running around that could be invested in keeping an eye on the place...the Zamzaons and whom ever is running the compassion corps, Zamazons might know the name of a weaponeer, but other factions don't have Mathusian's behind them as far as we know.

If it is Sinestro, and he's picking OL's brains on methods to make Lantern's to start his own corps...could be risky. But, if it's a Lantern Corps that is free to kill and mind control, not restrained by Guardian Morals, maybe he'd just decide to Join the OLC instead (he doesn't know the weaponeer's a member..unless that's in Paul's book somewhere).

If it's someone else.......say ...Atrositus with some blood magic shape shifting or something, and looking to start a Red Lantern corps....things could be VERY interesting.

Sockmonkey · Jul 7, 2021

It would be interesting to see some character development for Sinestro.

w34v3r · Jul 7, 2021

You know earth does technically export one thing.

Lanterns.

Darko · Jul 7, 2021

Someguy Somewhere said:
While the arguments are convincing that the abbot may not be what he seems, their are some other things that come to mind with this line of thinking.

Comic Book Sinestro kept an eye on his home world, and his daughter, despite the best efforts to keep him away. He snuck in just fine, past sensors and other GL's any time he wanted to. And he marked his daughter with a locator so he could always find her again.

Comic Book Sinestro, after creating the yellow lantern corps, stated he never really wanted it. He just wanted it to force the Guardians to take the kid gloves off the Green Lantern Corps, and allow for lethal force to be used. Once the war with the corps was over and he was 'vindicated' by the policy change, he was happy that he accomplished his mission. The corps itself was only the means to that end. At that time at least, the follow up war of light, and his brief return to the GLC was not likely planned.

Now, in WTR, Sinestro knows that the Orange Lantern Corps exists from his conversation with Vril Dox. It's Possible, though not confirmed, that he knows his daughter is a member due to his comic book version keeping tabs on her. He's been quiet in the galaxy of late for several earth years, since he and Hal last fought.

If anyone knew ways around a Lantern Scan, it'd be the former First Lantern. And the current location is a pretty good place for someone with Sinestro's *Academic* background to study the GL from a safe distance, as well as the Spectrum itself.

Now all that being said, there are other emotional factions running around that could be invested in keeping an eye on the place...the Zamzaons and whom ever is running the compassion corps, Zamazons might know the name of a weaponeer, but other factions don't have Mathusian's behind them as far as we know.

If it is Sinestro, and he's picking OL's brains on methods to make Lantern's to start his own corps...could be risky. But, if it's a Lantern Corps that is free to kill and mind control, not restrained by Guardian Morals, maybe he'd just decide to Join the OLC instead (he doesn't know the weaponeer's a member..unless that's in Paul's book somewhere).

If it's someone else.......say ...Atrositus with some blood magic shape shifting or something, and looking to start a Red Lantern corps....things could be VERY interesting.

I think Zoat mentioned Atrocitus would get free at Year 6.

This could be Sinestro trying to corrupt a recruitment center for Green Lanterns, or he may be trying to get his own agents in the GLC.

There are some Satanistic religions that view Lucifer as being the good guy that tried to bring knowledge and enlightenment to humanity, so there may be some Karaxians that think Sinestro was trying to bring order to a chaotic situation and was justified in his actions, so they will follow him.

The abbot may either be Sinestro in disguise, and he can hide his emotions due to having a great mastery over his emotions, or it could be that the abbot is working for Sinestro and due to his own emotional mastery he's also able to hide his emotional state.

Paul also may not have looked all that hard since nothing really seemed suspicious.

Now I'm wondering if Oniks reaction was due to him potentially figuring out that something like this is happening.

moralrelativity · Jul 7, 2021

Silverias said:
That does the opposite of supporting my remark, but considering his competence AFTER that whole...incident, I think OL would notice SOMETHING is up.

Really? I kinda see obliviousness as one of OL's defining characteristics. Sure, he's got a bit better at reading others, but I don't think he's got a clue about Sinestro right now.

Mr Zoat · Jul 7, 2021

Coda said:
Apparently the correct spelling is "pyrrhicly". This looks weird to me and I would have guessed "pyrrhically".

I knew it wasn't right, but I couldn't find the correct version so I just assumed that it wasn't common enough to have one. I think I'll go for the second spelling in the name of regularity.

Chojin Patriarch said:
Does that mean Wally fixed his dietary issues at some point? That should have warranted some comment before now... Or is he just being childish? ...I mean, I still prefer Rice Bubbles to most other cereals... What, they're tasty.

The healing potion?

Well, that's surprisingly respectful. Any Earth culture in this situation would have paparazzi hanging from the treetops trying to get pictures and religious zealots banging on the doors, whether to insist on greeting them or to condemn them for heresy... Man, humans suck.

Not all culture flows immediately from biology.

Corrections, Mr Zoat!

...and put it into my mouth.

But there's no real link between my health and my diet.

Seconding Coda's correction for this, it just don't look right.

Thank you, corrected.

Darko said:
He now does have a Lantern equivalent.

How now is 'now'? Because the Worm bit hasn't happened yet in linear time.

Handlewithcare · Jul 7, 2021

Hm. Assuming the Abbott is the Abbott his almost-none reaction to the news of an Ion Host would be weird af.

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

Lewd demon of negotiable affection

At the End...

Lewd demon of negotiable affection

[Verified Great Old One]

Lewd demon of negotiable affection

Know what you're doing yet?

Alive. For now.

Lewd demon of negotiable affection

If you see a God on the road fuck it!

Know what you're doing yet?

Making the rounds.

Not too sore, are you?

Know what you're doing yet?

Not too sore, are you?

[Verified Great Old One]

Versed in the lewd.

Veteran Lurker

I trust you know where the happy button is?

Connoisseur.

Connoisseur.

Wishing I was somewhere colder no doubt.

Well worn.

Phoenix Fire

The Critical Fumbler

I trust you know where the happy button is?

Versed in the lewd.

Connoisseur.

Recovering pendant.

Dedicated ragequitter

Versed in the lewd.

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