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

Discussion in 'Creative Writing' started by Mr Zoat, Jan 27, 2019.

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  1. Bud-E

    Bud-E Stand up so I can push you down!

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    I've been looking on the DC wiki and aside from Captain Nazi and Uncle Sam have seen any other National Spirits in canon? I see Metropolis, Los Angeles, Gotham, and Paris have spirits guarding them but no spirits of nations at least that I've been able to find.
     
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  2. Stsword

    Stsword Versed in the lewd.

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    The Vertigo series, which is it's own canon as I've mentioned before, Uncle Sam, is the inspiration for this storyline.

    It had the Russian Bear, the British Lion, Marianne of the French Revolution, Columbia, Queen Victoria, and the Bad Sam was not Johnny Reb, Zoat did some canon wielding.

    In that series, national zeitgeists have built in obsolescence, that's how Bad Sam was defeated, Sam just had more staying power.

    Marianne was stated to be lucky "She had five good years before the Reign of Terror."

    And just in case it needs be said- Captain Nazi might not be a national zeitgeist in canon, he claimed to be one, but well, he might just be insane.
     
  3. Darko

    Darko Connoisseur.

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    Las Vegas also had a spirit that showed up in Lucifer.
     
  4. Enochi

    Enochi Having way to much fun with AI.

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    Couple of things to point out on this. 1. A tariff was a contributing cause to the south succeed but a tariff is placed on Imports not Exports like Cotton or Tobacco. This is done to make goods from your own home country more appealing by making the price of foreign goods more expensive. This was done to encourage the South to by more from the North but at the cost of driving up prices in the South. So again a money issue and very unpopular in the house. 2. You got it backwards on Congress. The North with its much higher population already dominated the house of Reps and would want its power increased as it would be much less likely for the 'South' to retake the Chamber. The Senate for the longest time was kept at a even split between slave and free to not upset the balance of power. However with the Compromise of 1850 the balance shifted with CA giving the 'free' states more votes in that chamber as well. Southerners held the presidency and its veto power until 1860 but then well after that the 'North' would have had the trifecta of House, Senate, and Presidency.

    So yeah Money was the biggest motivator in all of this.
     
  5. dw7thdoctor

    dw7thdoctor Getting sticky.

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    where is the spirit of Gotham or Metropolis referenced I tried looking on the Wiki and couldn't find it.
     
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  6. Bud-E

    Bud-E Stand up so I can push you down!

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    I can't remember where I saw it but it showed a meeting between Gotham's spirit which looked like an anorexic, diseased Gargoyle. Metroplois Spirit who looked like a young woman dressed as a meter maid and Pairs who looked like an elegantly dressed noblewoman.
     
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  7. Stsword

    Stsword Versed in the lewd.

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    The post flashpoint Stormwatch run where MM was a member.
     
  8. Bud-E

    Bud-E Stand up so I can push you down!

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    That was it New 52 Stormwatch issue 3
     
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  9. Coda

    Coda Versed in the lewd.

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    Ah, yeah, you're right, I got that backwards. Derp on my part.

    Strictly speaking, we're both wrong. The taxes in question are technically not tariffs, because tariffs between states were prohibited by the Constitution. However, the effect of an excise tax on cotton and tobacco would practically have been a tariff on importing those products into the Northern states from the Southern states. A very obvious reason why they wouldn't have done this, of course, is that it would have been unpopular with Northerners, who would find their prices rising to accommodate the tax.

    There's a pretty good argument to be made that the taxes you're citing were a constitutional violation, which would have only supported the South's belief that the federal government was unfairly favoring the North.
     
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  10. woweed

    woweed Know what you're doing yet?

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    As cited earlier, multiple of the articles of secession and the Vice-President of the Cofederacy would disagree. It was all about maintaining the institution of slavery, and the social hierarchy of Whites as superior, it represented. They were protecting their auto my yes. Their automy to have slaves.
     
  11. Windona

    Windona Beetle Queen of Crackshipping

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    Oh that is cool. I'm always down for the personifications of places.
     
  12. Zig

    Zig Not too sore, are you?

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    Paul
     
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  13. Windona

    Windona Beetle Queen of Crackshipping

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    A British born Themescyrian, integral to the spirit of the United States of America? Like Paul would stand for that!
     
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  14. Stsword

    Stsword Versed in the lewd.

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    Prez would be Boss Smiley's opposite number. The Messianic martyr who brings the hope of a better future as opposed to Boss Smiley's satanic role.

    Or since Prez was also, I'm pretty sure, an allegory for JFK- I mean young handsome president gets assassinated, not exactly subtle that, maybe the hope forged JFK is now Boss Smiley's opposite number.
     
  15. BR549

    BR549 This is filth! FILTH!!

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    The issue is that Johnny Reb is Uncle Sam, metaphysically - at the time of the War Between the States, the American national personification, Uncle Sam, split accordingly, into Billy Yank and Johnny Reb.

    At the end of the war Billy Yank returned to being Uncle Sam, and Johnny Reb survived by lurking in the Badlands. In order to pemamently remove one from the board, as it were, you would have to remove both.
     
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  16. Threadmarks: Dear John (part 24)
    Mr Zoat

    Mr Zoat Dedicated ragequitter

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    7th November 2012
    11:46 GMT -5


    Alan floats besides me, watching the growing crowds converging on the Statue of Liberty. Her head's normal, with no obvious indication that it was ever different. And while I haven't actually asked anyone, there's nothing on the internet about it briefly turning into a giant yellow smiley face.

    "I wondered what happened to the lichen on my roof."

    "The first time I visited the Gotham Police Department, I did a full clean on the place. Made one of the officers have a panic attack."

    "That right." He thinks about that for a moment, then frowns in puzzlement. "Why did he have a panic attack?"

    "The Joker did some sort of murder disco where orange was the 'dead' colour."

    "Ah."

    Alan continues watching the crowds for a few moment.

    "Can you change it back?"

    "Not… Not really? I know that most people think of green as the 'right' colour, but as soon as my scan showed me that it was just the copper patina I couldn't think of that as the 'right' colour any more. It'll change back in twenty or so years."

    He rolls his eyes and glances my way.

    "What, you didn't put some kinda invulnerable coat over it?"

    "Actually-."

    "Don't-." He looks at me seriously. "Don't you do it."

    I grin, and he shakes his head and then returns to contemplating the crowd.

    "Paul, there's something I've been meaning to ask you about."

    "Yeah?"

    "I know I said I was gonna take a nap, but I don’t actually feel tired."

    "My Grandad used to say that he was 'just resting my eyes'."

    "No, I mean… I know you said that I've.. absorbed so much green light that I'm not entirely human any more… I guess I'm just coming to terms with what that means. I've been… Old, for more than half my life."

    "I'm of the opinion that evolution designed humans to be obsolete at sixty."

    "Oh, it was only a third, then." He nods. "That's good to know."

    "Actually, due to the way the human brain processes novel experiences, it should feel like less than that." He nods. "So that's a third getting tired when you didn't used to."

    "Aside from-. Well, you know. When I started wearing my ring again."

    I nod.

    "And now I don't… Have to worry about that."

    "You do sleep, right?"

    "Oh, yeah, yeah." He nods. "As much as I did when I was in my twen'ies. Seventy years ago."

    I shrug. "I don't know what you want me to say. You are as young as you feel." Huh. "Actually, that could become a… Not a 'problem' in the Justice League, but… An issue?"

    "Me not aging?"

    "You, Diana, Doctor Mist, Red Tornado, Angelica and Zauriel will live indefinitely. Superman, Martian Manhunter, Icon and Plastic Man have lifespans significantly beyond human norms. Assuming that you don't slack off… Eventually, you're going to get to a point where there's going to be a huge gulf between the existing members and… Anyone who might want to join."

    "So the Justice Society tontine could go unclaimed for a long time."

    This time I frown at him.

    "I always assumed that Diana would get it, in the end. Sure, Red doesn't age, but he could wear out, and Diana said that her mother was about three thousand years old. Seemed like a safe bet."

    "Does Hawkman's reincarnation count?"

    "We didn't know he could do that back then. Not sure-sure. And no, he had to die to reincarnate, so obviously that doesn't count."

    "How long do you think it'll be until your pension provider starts asking why you're not dead yet?"

    "I haven't exactly been keeping a secret identity, Paul. I guess they just haven't put two and two together."

    "Given the mortality rate, shouldn't they encourage pensioners to become superheroes?"

    "Hah! And mountain climbing and jet skiing! That explains why they offer discounts for old people; the banks are sponsoring them!"

    We chuckle for a moment. H-aaa, but now's as good a time to bring this up as any.

    "Have you..? Given any thought to what you want to do with your… Life?"

    "Isn't that something that old people are supposed to say to young kids? How come you and Jade aren't married yet?"

    "Well, the original plan was to wait until the first stage of the war with the Reach was over…"

    "But you've moved in with her."

    "We're not-. Our schedules don't always line up… But, yeah, there's-. The original plan is kind of… Gone. But we agreed on it and Jade really doesn't like unreliable people. And… Yeah, we could get married, but we'd still barely be seeing each other, and I'm not really-. Marriage should be the start of our lives together, not just seeing each other every few days."

    "I guess that's reasonable. And since I know you're… Planning on nudging me about it, it's gonna be… Be a long time before I… Ah. Before I do anything like that."

    "Just so long as you're aware to the possibility. Did Kennedy say why he wanted to stay in the Badlands?"

    "He's dead, so he can't really come back to Earth." Not sure about that, but it's his choice. "He wanted to try turning that place around."

    "Sam said that was impossible."

    "Sam's not a hope ghost. And, ah, given some of the things Kennedy did, maybe he wants to earn some time off purgatory before going to Heaven."

    "I don't think that purgatory actually exists as a distinct place. It's more… That you're further away from unity with the Source if you were a bit of a low level sinner as a matter of degrees." I shake my head. "I'm a little concerned that he'll get stuck in there when Doctor Mist seals the entrances."

    "I wouldn't worry about it." Alan shrugs. "One thing I've learned about that sort of seal? It always stops working when it's most inconvenient."

    "Yes, that’s… Really reassuring."
     
    Last edited: Jun 9, 2022
  17. Cuchulin

    Cuchulin Versed in the lewd.

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    You are wrong if only because Slavey was seen as so integral a part of Southern Society/Way of life, you can't be a "Gentleman of leisure" and a member of a sort of aristocracy as the elites of the Anti-bellum south saw themselves as if you don't have people to lord over as well as do all the actual work for you.
    Also, basically EVERY state that left the union stated in plain language that they were leaving the union over slavery. Because they were convinced that Lincoln would take their slaves and knew that he would prevent the slavery from expanding any further.

    The South left the union illegally and Fort Sumter was a federal military installation. They also didn't try diplomacy at all and the first half of the war took place almost entirely in Union Territory because the South invaded the North. Famous major battles were fought in freaking Pennsylvania!! Which doesn't border a single state that joined the Confederacy!
     
  18. crazygrox

    crazygrox Versed in the lewd.

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    Y'see, I'm pretty sure that Kennedy was a badlands spirit. he was literally a president with no brain and no hands. That's powerfully symbolic of presidents being foolish and ineffectual.

    Then Alan gave him hands and a mind made up of the hopes of America.

    I'm not sure that he won't just get himself blasted back into ineffectuality, like I suspect he nearly did by saying the nuclear football was rightfully his, and giving the brass an excuse to toss a nuke at him. But if he isn't I think he's going to have an effect on real-america.
     
  19. Someguy Somewhere

    Someguy Somewhere The Critical Fumbler

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    Alan's getting genre savvy and 4th wall aware by dint of experience. Criminals BEWARE!
     
  20. Bud-E

    Bud-E Stand up so I can push you down!

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    This was heartwarming just Paul and Alan bonding.
     
  21. Chojin Patriarch

    Chojin Patriarch Veteran Lurker

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    Yeah, OL does seem to like cleaning places up wherever he goes. I bet he fixed up minor issues with her super-structure too, like the damage her raised arm suffered over the years, like being near an ammo dump explosion during during World War I.

    Dude, you lived in Gotham. Why else would someone panic when the building lit up orange for a moment: the usual Freaks.

    And that was probably an actual comics story, no doubt. Probably named 'Murder on the Dance Floor' or something similar?

    The colour, you mean? Eh, she started out this way.

    And in the meantime, all the souvenir sellers are cursing him because now they have to replace all their tchotchkes.

    ...You mean you didn't? Did something distract you before you thought to?

    ...He could tint it green, like the patina was?

    Ah, here's some of that fallout from him going mono-Hope back in the Bad Place.

    The joy of a Spectrum colour known for its rejuvenative properties.

    That long? Most bodies start to begin that decline as early as thirty.

    Yeah, the day-to-day stuff would become little more than a blur of 'did this, did that...'

    Amazing what a little determination or desire can do, once that Ring is on your finger, huh?

    Because, y'know... Even with a Power Ring stabilising things, a human brain isn't designed to run for all that long without at least a nap.

    ...There are an increasing number of long-lived or outright immortal members now, aren't there?

    The line-up is going to still look quite familiar in twenty years or so, is what you're saying. Even fifty years down the line, assuming they don't get tired of fighting the fight.

    Perhaps you can roll it over into a fund to support rookie heroes taking up the legacies of Society members? That's more or less how the modern Justice Society operated.

    ...I don't know, it does involve him dying, after all.

    Heh. One problem he likely didn't think of.

    Reminds me of that one music video with the old-age superheroes. :p

    True. No crises to deal with, no life-or-death situations to interrupt...

    No rush. He's immortal, and Maltusian medical science means she'll likely have a long life ahead of her.

    Gee, Alan. So old-fashioned. He's already made an honest woman of her, after all... ;)

    Between lingering feelings for his poor late wife, and plenty of candidates for round two, I'm not surprised.

    Well, he's gonna have a job ahead of him. Still, his post-mortality, his choice...

    :oops: The whole adultery thing, for a start. Or maybe he can get the same deal Prez Rickard got, and emigrate to the Dreaming...

    Especially if the Smiling Git has any say in the matter.

    A nice little denouement to a very tense episode. Always fun to see Alan and OL interacting like this. Officially, mentor and apprentice, but which is which is a bit up in the air. Now, on to the next job: find John Constantine, once and for all, I hope. Unless we get another peek at Krono's adventures in Ohio. :D Who knows what tomorrow will bring, after all?



    I've been… Old, for more than half my life.
     
  22. Senevri

    Senevri Not too sore, are you?

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    Great. Next, he'll be de-fermenting cheeses. Without the patina, it's going to suffer more wear and tear.

    Never let OL get anywhere close anything historical again.

    Life
    Ain't that the truth. Rocket-powered apes and time travel, man.
     
  23. Doccer

    Doccer I trust you know where the happy button is?

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    lift?
     
  24. Darko

    Darko Connoisseur.

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    Or die fighting the fight.

    This is probably one of the few times where that saying has made sense.

    Not to mention a whole lot of other things.
     
  25. Istaran

    Istaran Know what you're doing yet?

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    I take Paul as sarcastic here, but there is a valid benefit here. Now it is basically inevitable that when the seal fails Kennedy will come out and warn the goodguys.
     
  26. Mr Zoat

    Mr Zoat Dedicated ragequitter

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    Obsolete, not depreciating.
    Thank you, corrected.
    American chocolate comes first.
     
  27. RichardWhereat

    RichardWhereat Aia airëa Fëanáro.

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    Your having to argue this may be part of the reason Johnny Reb persists today.
     
  28. _The_Bomb

    _The_Bomb Getting sticky.

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    That’s okay. Diana is not going anywhere.
     
  29. Windona

    Windona Beetle Queen of Crackshipping

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    Excellent denouncement! OL/Alan bonding is always great. And, well

    I suppose after decades of superheroing, one becomes genre savvy. I bet Alan has trouble meeting people who have a word in their name without raising an eyebrow and pinning them as a future costume wearer.

    I had a boss that used to work for Hershey's. Given what she described about the smell of the fermented milk, I agree there.
     
  30. Mr Zoat

    Mr Zoat Dedicated ragequitter

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    What sort of person deliberately makes their chocolate taste like a dog's arse?
     
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