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

[Darko]

Although, can someone remind me what happened after the weird thing with Pluto being a Star Conqueror?

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Paul took Melinoe there to examine it but she was kidnapped by some Dreaming residents.

 

[BartlettMagic]

"'Put a ring on it'?"

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well i like where this is going so far

 

[RichardWhereat]

well i like where this is going so far

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Do you think she means a Prince Albert?

 

[Odysseus2099]

Aporia is the spirit of want.

I kinda want paul to just say. "to cause chaos" and leave.

Edit: ninja'd kinda

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Want and powerlessness. And a companion of the spirit of poverty. From context this implies she was not the spirit of Want as in desiring things, but rather the spirit of Want as lacking necessities.

Pulling from the dictionary,

1. a lack or deficiency of something.
"Victorian houses which are in want of repair"
2. a desire for something.
"the expression of our wants and desires"

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Aporia would be exclusively the former, the personification of deficiency, not desire.

 

[AidanMorgan]

The one time I would have approved of making a white character black.

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Ok but hear me out here.

James Bond. As played by Idris Elba.

 

[Mr Zoat]

11th September 2012
12:58 GMT +3

"Because while I am a Hellenist, I wasn't raised in the tradition and so I'm not necessarily aware of the names and personalities of… Less well known deities."

"You can say 'minor gods'. We are well acquainted with the concept."

"I mean… To be honest, there was more of a chance that you'd know me." I shrug. "So let me turn that around: why didn't you come and find me? Anyone on Themyscira could have got a message to me."

Aporia tilts her head to the left slightly.

"Zero worshippers. We're a footnote in some texts on Greek 'mythology'."

I shrug again.

"And?"

Gaudia waves her right hand. "And we were out and about, making lives for ourselves in highly restrictive avatars, up until Lord Hades recalled us to help manage his workload. I thought that someone had destroyed Themyscira."

Aporia nods. "So we returned, and met these fascinating people foreign to the Earth, and…"

"And we had cause to want to… Branch out."

"You don't want to work for Hades and you're doing a runner?"

Aporia looks away awkwardly. "I wouldn't put it-"

Gaudia nods. "Yes."

"-quite like-." She glares at Gaudia. "That."

"You understand that we give these rings to people in the expectation that they'll use them for useful things, right? Telling me that you're slacking off from a low-stress administrative job isn't the best way to start an interview."

"We can make it worth your while."

"I can just ask someone else where Melinoë is. Actu-."

I turn my empathic vision up a little, looking for-. Ah, there she is! Serves me right for asking a Hellenistic deity to be helpful.

"Found her." I rise off the ground and fly in her general direction into the palace. "Have a nice day."

"Wai-t!"

I pause in the air, half-turning back to see a worried-looking Aporia with her right hand outstretched.

"Yes?"

"Are you telling us that you don't want anything from us at all?"

"Yes. Few gods are more powerful than the Ophidian. Hades has my afterlife requirements covered, and I understand my own desires perfectly. And-." I frown. "Can't you tell?"

Gaudia shakes her head. "You're… Hard to read."

"Well… You're coming to me. If you think you've got something to offer me, offer it."

"Power."

"I can see your link to Erebos. You're being empowered by it at Hades' direction. I don't know if the Ophidian is more powerful than Erebos, but I know that I'm closer to her than you are to your power source. If you're ducking out of work, I imagine that you think you're going to lose that link and want me to replace it."

"Sex."

"Like Aphrodite offered Paris? I'm happy with-."

"With-." Gaudia glances at Aporia and gets a nervous nod. "With us."

"No. Anything else?"

"What?" / "How dare y-?!"

Despite her surprise, Aporia is alert enough to elbow Gaudia before she can complete her complaint. Gaudia realises her error at once, and inclines her head slightly to indicate that her friend should continue to advance their case.

"We are goddesses of desire. There is no form-."

"If I was interested in having sex with an embodiment of desire then I'd have sex with the Ophidian. If I was interested in an ego-massaging harem of goddesses picked from near-dead religions, I'd have gone out looking for recruits before now. I want neither of those things."

Though… Looking back, that could have been an interesting way to spend a few years.

"I've got no special interest in winning some sort of prize for being the biggest myopically egotistical hedonist in Hellenic history. People aren't prizes who can be won, especially not by having sex with them." I pointedly raise my eyebrows. "Done?"

Aporia looks slightly awkward, though whether that's because she recognises that she's misstepped or because she insulted me I'm not sure.

"I.. understand. Ah. Princess Melinoë-."

"Is here." Melinoë steps out of the palace, looking decidedly unimpressed. "And she's wondering why you're here instead of at your desks. But only for a moment, because it isn't hard to deduce."

"Melinoë, it's good to-."

"Djh!" She spares a moment to glare at me. "I will deal with you in a moment."

I bow my head slightly.

"These work-shy slatterns need to learn that they're here to do a job! They have thousands of applicants to review for deviant desires and actualisation achievements! And the fact that they haven't already started heading back towards the line suggests-"

Gaudia gets a clue, tugs Aporia's arm and starts walking back the way Melinoë came.

"-that they're eager to volunteer for nightmare-testing."

She gives them a few minutes to get out of sight, then looks back contemptuously..

"Honestly. If we weren't desperately overworked I would have told father to leave them where he found them."

She huffs, then gives me her full attention.

"Well? What is it?"

"A group of Olympian-themed demigods -or possibly gods- have set up shop on an alien planet and want to talk. I'd like to have someone from that mythos accompany me. Are you available?"

She blinks.

"Another-? Are you-?"

"Of course, if you're busy with the new intake-."

"This sounds more important. If they've found a way to leave a single world, that would be valuable knowledge." She thinks for a moment. "And if I'm not here to watch them, those two aren't going to do anything. I'll take them with me as maids. Who else is coming?"

 

[AmericanNumbers]

This is going to be fun and problematic.
I'm going to assume Zagreus will be along to chaperone.

 

[Darko]

Gaudia waves her right hand. "And we were out and about, making lives for ourselves in highly restrictive avatars

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I'm assuming that because they don't have any worshippers their avatars are barely above an average human, or not all that powerful compared to other avatars.

Telling me that you're slacking off from a low-stress administrative job isn't the best way to start an interview."

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They're helping manage a few billion souls.

I wouldn't call that low-stress.

"A group of Olympian-themed demigods -or possibly gods

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Or both, if the Titan Seeds are there.

Now I'm wondering if Donna is gonna come there.

A group of Olympian-themed demigods -or possibly gods- have set up shop on an alien planet and want to talk. I'd like to have someone from that mythos accompany me. Are you available?"

She blinks.

"Another-? Are you-?"

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I wonder if she was asking about another trip to space or if she was talking about Astarte.

I'll take them with me as maids

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Well at least they'll get to see some interesting sights.

 

[Sockmonkey]

"Djh!" She spares a moment to glare at me. "I will deal with you in a moment."

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I could virtually hear her hand snap up in a halting gesture.

 

[Handlewithcare]

Yikes.

Paul casts "Be gone, Thot!". Critical Damage!

Melinoë casts "Get Back To Work!". It's super effective!

I wonder if such an influx of souls empowers Hades or means he uses up more power?

And although it's a thorny issue, I would love to see what the current state of religion on this earth is.

Angels, Hell and Hellenism have all been proven true.

That's got to be confusing for people.

 

[Darko]

I wonder if such an influx of souls empowers Hades or means he uses up more power?

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It doesn't empower him.

It actually decreases his power since he's using the power of Erebus to give more energy to the souls.

 

[Someguy Somewhere]

It doesn't empower him.

It actually decreases his power since he's using the power of Erebus to give more energy to the souls.

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But it does give him a much larger population to use for labour, brainstorming and all kinds of things.

Back in hell the dead that didn't become demons did get power with the help of the 'modernizing hell' side of the leadership. I'm sure Hades can figure something to do that will keep folks busy. And With Billions more people thankful for his tender care I'm sure some of them might come up with methods to aid their saviors.

 

[FreeGod]

It doesn't empower him.

It actually decreases his power since he's using the power of Erebus to give more energy to the souls.

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Yes, but it does seem clear that he gets something out of it. If gods didn't get anything out of afterlife's they would not all make one.

Maybe there is useful work souls can do?

 

[Chojin Patriarch]

11th September 2012
12:58 GMT +3

"Because while I am a Hellenist, I wasn't raised in the tradition and so I'm not necessarily aware of the names and personalities of… Less well known deities."

"You can say 'minor gods'. We are well acquainted with the concept."

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Yes, even they are aware of just how little is known of them these days, it seems. The joy of so many minor cults being disempowered, suppressed or outright eradicated over the centuries of conquest. And yes, 'Cult' is the right word. It's in more recent years that it's taken on the darker meaning most apply to it these days...

Spoiler: Commentary spoilered for length

"I mean… To be honest, there was more of a chance that you'd know me." I shrug. "So let me turn that around; why didn't you come and find me? Anyone on Themyscira could have got a message to me."

Aporia tilts her head to the left slightly.

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I get the feeling they don't get out much...

"Zero worshippers. We're a footnote in some texts on Greek 'mythology'."

I shrug again.

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As evidenced by the fact nearly all of us had never heard of them before yesterday...

"And?"

Gaudia waves her right hand. "And we were out and about, making lives for ourselves in highly restrictive avatars, up until Lord Hades recalled us to help manage his workload. I thought that someone had destroyed Themyscira."

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Hopefully not like Ishtar was, in that Sandman story arc.

Aporia nods. "So we returned, and met these fascinating people foreign to the Earth, and…"

"And we had cause to want to… Branch out."

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Riiiiight...

"You don't want to work for Hades and you're doing a runner?"

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Ha! As above, so below. Some things are universal.

Aporia looks away awkwardly. "I wouldn't put it-"

Gaudia nods. "Yes."

"-quite like-." She glare at Gaudia. "That."

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Boy, she's completely shameless, isn't she?

"You understand that we give these rings to people in the expectation that they'll use them for useful things, right? Telling me that you're slacking off from a low-stress administrative job isn't the best way to start an interview."

"We can make it worth your while."

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...I find that doubtful.

"I can just ask someone else where Melinoë is. Actu-."

I turn my empathic vision up a little, looking for-. Ah, there she is! Serves me right for asking a Hellenistic deity to be helpful.

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Hey, now. Some take their jobs seriously. Passing few, but some.

"Found her." I rise off the ground and fly in the her general direction into the palace. "Have a nice day."

"Wai-t!"

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Ladies, he said 'No'... Take it with some grace. Minor deities you may be but you are still daughters of hades...

I pause in the air, half-turning back to see a worried-looking Aporia with her right hand outstretched.

"Yes?"

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We may see the rare double oral-pedal insertion...

"Are you telling us that you don't want anything from us at all?"

"Yes. Few gods are more powerful than the Ophidian. Hades has my afterlife requirements covered, and I understand my own desires perfectly. And-." I frown. "Can't you tell?"

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Hmm, good point. As a deity of desire, surely she should have some clue... Looks like it was a good thing he didn't pick her.

Gaudia shakes her head. "You're… Hard to read."

"Well… You're coming to me. If you think you've got something to offer me, offer it."

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And what do you get the man who has everything he wants? Or is at least getting it.

"Power."

"I can see your link to Erebos. You're being empowered by it at Hades' direction. I don't know if the Ophidian is more powerful than Erebos, but I know that I'm closer to her than you are to your power source. If you're ducking out of work, I imagine that you think you're going to lose that link and want me to replace it."

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Honestly, I would not be surprised if he himself was more powerful than them outright at this moment.

"Sex."

"Like Aphrodite offered Paris? I'm happy with-."

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Boy, I bet that took some effort to make worksafe... Believe me, the original art is very much not. And it's not too far from how the actual encounter is said to have gone, minus the blatant fan service and anachronisms...

"With-." Gaudia glances at Aporia and gets a nervous nod. "With us."

"No. Anything else?"

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Well, so much for the threesome. Guess they just don't compare to a nice athletic Asian lady.

"What?" / "How dare y-?!"

Despite her surprise, Aporia is alert enough to elbow Gaudia before she can complete her complaint. Gaudia realises her error at once, and inclines her head slightly to indicate that her friend should continue to advance their case.

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Well, she's not a complete idiot, I see.

"We are goddesses of desire. There is no form-."

"If I was interested in having sex with an embodiment of desire then I'd have sex with the Ophidian. If I was interested in a ego-massaging harem of goddesses picked from near-dead religions, I'd have gone out looking for recruits before now. I want neither of those things."

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Besides, his girlfriend is a trained assassin with advanced alien power armour... Do you want her coming after you? I'm sure she'd be happy to have a chance to learn how to kill gods.

Though… Looking back, that could have been an interesting way to spend a few years.

"I've got no special interest in winning some sort of prize for being the biggest myopically egotistical hedonist in Hellenic history. People aren't prizes who can be won, especially not by having sex with them." I pointedly raise mt eyebrows. "Done?"

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Heh. Remind me, did he meet the demonically powered alternate (Sybarite) during the crisis of Infinite Pauls? I'm fairly sure he has, and thus has a good example of exactly what he says.

Aporia looks slightly awkward, though whether that's because she recognises that she's misstepped or because she insulted me I'm not sure.

"I.. understand. Ah. Princess Melinoë-."

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Why can't it be both? Yup, she rolled a 1 on her Diplomacy check there.

"Is here." Melinoë steps out of the palace, looking decidedly unimpressed. "And she's wondering why you're here instead of at your desks. But only for a moment, because it isn't hard to deduce."

"Melinoë, it's good to-."

"Djh!" She spares a moment to glare at me. "I will deal with you in a moment."

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Business first, OL, then pleasure. Though in this case, the business is certainly a pleasure.

I bow my head slightly.

"These work-shy slatterns need to learn that they're here to do a job! They have thousands of applicants to review for deviant desires and actualisation achievements! And the fact that they haven't already started heading back towards the line suggests-"

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Ah, too much leisure time before Hades recalled them. I'm sure every generation has had that type. Not surprising that the Olympians would have representatives of that mindset, being images of mortal Man writ large...

Gaudia gets a clue, tugs Aporia's arm and starts walking back the way Melinoë came.

"-that they're eager to volunteer for nightmare-testing."

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Oh, don't run, ladies, you'll only annoy her more.

She gives them a few minutes to get out of sight, then looks back contemptuously..

"Honestly. If we weren't desperately overworked I would have told father to leave them where he found them."

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...Do we want to know where that was? Or is it not fit for general consumption? I'll choose to imagine they were not-quite-X-rated webcam teasers.

She huffs, then gives me her full attention.

"Well? What is it?"

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Ah, yes, the reason you came down here. Always getting distracted by side encounters, OL...

"A group of Olympian-themed demigods -or possibly gods- have set up shop on an alien planet and want to talk. I'd like to have someone from that mythos accompany me. Are you available?"

She blinks.

"Another-? Are you-?"

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Heh, that caught her by surprise.

"Of course, if you're busy with the new intake-."

"This sounds more important. If they've found a way to leave a single world, that would be valuable knowledge." She thinks for a moment. "And if I'm not here to watch them, those two aren't going to do anything. I'll take them with me as maids. Who else is coming?"

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So, they're coming along? Oh, this trip just got so much more amusing.

That's a good question. Has OL any other Olympians in mind for the trip? Any Hellenic worshippers? The more the merrier, after all, since he's not bringing the Team. If nothing else, though, I'm sure Lord Hades will want to know about this little excursion you plan to invite Melinoë on. And given how last time went, I'm sure he'll prefer you have an escort...

---

...and fly in the her general direction into the palace.

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Delete 'the'.

If I was interested in a ego-massaging harem...

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If I was interested in an ego-massaging harem...

I pointedly raise mt eyebrows. "Done?"

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I pointedly raise my eyebrows. "Done?"

 

[Darko]

Yes, but it does seem clear that he gets something out of it. If gods did get anything out of afterlife's they would not all make one.

Maybe there is useful work souls can do?

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I think he just likes doing his job.

Some afterlives, like Hell, get power from souls, but so far we haven't been told anything of Hades getting power from souls aside from him liking his work.

 

[Darko]

Ladies, he said 'No'... Take it with some grace.

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Since when have Greek gods been known to take the word 'No' with grace?

Well, so much for the threesome. Guess they just don't compare to a nice athletic Asian lady.

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Or a giant spider.

Maybe if they involve Arache then he'll be more willing.

Heh. Remind me, did he meet the demonically powered alternate (Sybarite) during the crisis of Infinite Pauls? I'm fairly sure he has, and thus has a good example of exactly what he says.

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He did meet him and they talked about their uplift projects.

That's a good question. Has OL any other Olympians in mind for the trip? Any Hellenic worshippers? The more the merrier, after all, since he's not bringing the Team

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I'm thinking that maybe Donna will come along.

She was involved with this in the comics and probably has a clearer schedule compared to Diana, and if it is the Titans then they may view her as one of their own since Chronus made her.

 

[Mquz]

I'm embarrassed to ask, but where is the link from?

 

[Mr Zoat]

...and fly in the her general direction into the palace.
Delete 'the'.
If I was interested in an ego-massaging harem...
I pointedly raise my eyebrows. "Done?"

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Thank you, corrected.

 

[Rafin]

Believe me, the original art is very much not.

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May I ask for the name of the source? This is QQ after all

 

[Chojin Patriarch]

May I ask for the name of the source? This is QQ after all

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Alas, I don't know the source, I've only seen it in imageboard threads. Maybe try a reverse image search? Assuming the black boxes don't trick it...

 

[Mquz]

Just found it with help from someone in one of the discord servers I am a member of (don't want to take credit in case he also happens to read this).
It's art by markydaysaid. That should be enough to Google it or find him on hentai foundry, but qq frowns on links to certain adult websites, especially in the safe for work section.

 

[Rebu]

Though… Looking back, that could have been an interesting way to spend a few years.

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Aaand another Paul variant has just been created, somewhere in the multiverse.

 

[ZzzSlothzzZ]

What?" / "How dare y-?

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But these are Olympians
They dont deal well with rejection.
...
Relations with them usually end badly for the mortal.
...
They usually dont take no for an answer either.

I sense drama incoming

 

[RichardWhereat]

As ever, I suggest taking Ares. If he survives, then we've learned that he may be useful fighting the Reach. If he doesn't survive, well, it's no great loss.

 

[DAT_NOOB]

As ever, I suggest taking Ares. If he survives, then we've learned that he may be useful fighting the Reach. If he doesn't survive, well, it's no great loss.

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Worst case scenario he wins and you have a super-powered Ares with xeno-tech who is pissed off you tried to kill him.

 

[RichardWhereat]

Worst case scenario he wins and you have a super-powered Ares with xeno-tech who is pissed off you tried to kill him.

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But you didn't try to kill him, you just gave him a chance to increase his power, in a place where his domain is Just. All depends on how you sell it.

 

[moralrelativity]

She glare at Gaudia.

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glare -> glares

(don't want to take credit in case he also happens to read this)

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Acting good just because someone might catch you out?

 

[Mr Zoat]

glare -> glares

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Thank you, corrected.

 

[AidanMorgan]

You know, I don't think I ever asked. What was the point of divergence that caused the MLP crossover to only happen in Renegade? I ask, since OL's future/alt reality visions during the ambush bug thing involved him interacting with Nightmare Moon, who was already released long before that happened in the Renegade timeline. That's a pretty huge disparity in the two timelines and I'm curious how it came about.

Speaking of Ambush Bug, is he gonna show up again once he finishes reading/watching all of DC's collected works?

 

[Darko]

You know, I don't think I ever asked. What was the point of divergence that caused the MLP crossover to only happen in Renegade? I ask, since OL's future/alt reality visions during the ambush bug thing involved him interacting with Nightmare Moon, who was already released long before that happened in the Renegade timeline. That's a pretty huge disparity in the two timelines and I'm curious how it came about.

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Actually for the Nightmare Moon thing it happened at least centuries in the future.