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

Ngamer11 · Jul 22, 2022

Mr Zoat said:
"I got a lesson from Lantern Medphyll. I can cause controlled plant growth by forcing the green into things. Euanthe doesn't like it when I do it, but I doubt that she can feel it here."

That should be capitalized, since it is a proper noun.

AR760 said:
It says something about Paul that his immediate assumption is that things between Quinn and the group are ultimately going to result in outward battle and conflict.

I mean, he doesn't seem to have considered even the idea that Quinn was working to isolate and cure the individuals in question of Anti-Life. Or that Quinn himself might be prisoner. Or that there might be a diplomatic solution to the issue at hand.

Paul genuinely seems to have become naturalized to the nature of superheroes and conflict that comes with DC at the very least, haha.

I think it's because, as far as Paul knows, Quinn has taken something that Paul considers his in John Constantine. As such, unless there is a good reason to do otherwise, he considers Quinn an enemy to be defeated. And that's before the revelation that he seems to be doing something with the Anti-Life Equation is taken into consideration.

AR760 · Jul 22, 2022

Darko said:
Everything up to this point says that Quinn is a bad guy, so it's easy to see why Paul is acting like this.

LanguagAe said:
I think it's more that he has the right mindset. You don't mess with anti life and it feels like Quinn's has been doing making more crystals attuned to it.

Ngamer11 said:
That should be capitalized, since it is a proper noun.

I think it's because, as far as Paul knows, Quinn has taken something that Paul considers his in John Constantine. As such, unless there is a good reason to do otherwise, he considers Quinn an enemy to be defeated. And that's before the revelation that he seems to be doing something with the Anti-Life Equation is taken into consideration.

Has the story explicitly said yet that Quinn was the one to engage with the Anti-Life infections and weaponization attempts? Genuine question.

Because the jury still seems out on whether he is responsible for it, or is trying to figure out a way to fix the entities in question.

Or hell. The CDC as a matter of practice frequently experiments with weaponizing incredibly deadly viruses and pathogens in an attempt to study and find a way to cure them. The kinds that if let lose could kill millions, if not more.

Who is to say that Quinn isn't doing the same? Especially given Darkseid is an existential and consistent threat for Earth in most DC settings, and previous magic has even touched upon Anti-Life principles before iirc?

Darko · Jul 22, 2022

AR760 said:
Has the story explicitly said yet that Quinn was the one to engage with the Anti-Life infections and weaponization attempts? Genuine question.

Because the jury still seems out on whether he is responsible for it, or is trying to figure out a way to fix the entities in question.

Or hell. The CDC as a matter of practice frequently experiments with weaponizing incredibly deadly viruses and pathogens in an attempt to study and find a way to cure them. The kinds that if let lose could kill millions, if not more. Who is to say that Quinn isn't doing the same?

The fact that he didn't bother to inform anyone on the League that he was doing this does not paint him in the best light.

xSieg · Jul 22, 2022

AR760 said:
Has the story explicitly said yet that Quinn was the one to engage with the Anti-Life infections and weaponization attempts? Because the jury still seems out on whether he is responsible for it, or is trying to figure out a way to fix the entities in question.

Or hell. The CDC as a matter of practice frequently experiments with weaponizing incredibly deadly viruses and pathogens in an attempt to study and find a way to cure them. The kinds that if let lose could kill millions, if not more. Who is to say that Quinn isn't doing the same?

Paul hasn't gone native, he has just accepted by now that being genre-savvy is better than being rational in his comic-book verse

Handlewithcare · Jul 22, 2022

I really like the dynamic of Balewa being this chill mentor figure, with Paul as his far too brash, violent pupil

AR760 · Jul 22, 2022

Darko said:
The fact that he didn't bother to inform anyone on the League that he was doing this does not paint him in the best light.

Is Quinn/Dr. Fate obligated to report to the League every bit of minutia about his job? Heck, how many in the League would even understand?

I always saw Nabu, while being on the League, never being subordinate to it, and from what we saw in Young Justice has a cavalcade of responsibilities and duties outside of the League that he attends to without their knowledge, permission, or even awareness.

Plus remember, in DC, things like Anti-Life are straight up able to fuck you up if you know about them. Certain kinds of magic can twist, alter, and even kill individuals who learn of it if the person in question doesn't have the skill, experience, or power to deal with them.

To use the CDC example again, most people have no idea what goes on in their halls. Transports involving samples are always top secret too, and there is the highest degree of focus on only those who need to know needing to know.

When you add magical, memetic, mind and soul enslaving or killing bullshit like DC magic has, the kind Dr. Fate deals with, the practice doesn't seem to be too strange to consider a possibility to me.

Bud-E · Jul 22, 2022

AR760 said:
Has the story explicitly said yet that Quinn was the one to engage with the Anti-Life infections and weaponization attempts? Genuine question.

Because the jury still seems out on whether he is responsible for it, or is trying to figure out a way to fix the entities in question.

Or hell. The CDC as a matter of practice frequently experiments with weaponizing incredibly deadly viruses and pathogens in an attempt to study and find a way to cure them. The kinds that if let lose could kill millions, if not more.

Who is to say that Quinn isn't doing the same? Especially given Darkseid is an existential and consistent threat for Earth in most DC settings, and previous magic has even touched upon Anti-Life principles before iirc?

According to Faust Quinn is the one who infected him with Anti-Life and who has been controlling him for so long.

AR760 · Jul 22, 2022

Bud-E said:
According to Faust Quinn is the one who infected him with Anti-Life and who has been controlling him for so long.

The same Felix Faust renowned for being a liar and manipulator, who has pre-existing animus against Quinn/Fate for his imprisonment after all of the child-killing, magical bullshit that Faust has pulled in the past?

One who has every reason to get possible allies to doubt one another and has already tried to escape several time?

I do question the immediate wisdom in taking someone like that at their word, or their viewpoint as automatically truth.

Bud-E · Jul 22, 2022

AR760 said:
Is Quinn/Dr. Fate obligated to report to the League every bit of minutia about his job? Heck, how many in the League would even understand?

I always saw Nabu, while being on the League, never being subordinate to it, and from what we saw in Young Justice has a cavalcade of responsibilities and duties outside of the League that he attends to without their knowledge, permission, or even awareness.

Plus remember, in DC, things like Anti-Life are straight up able to fuck you up if you know about them. Certain kinds of magic can twist, alter, and even kill individuals who learn of it if the person in question doesn't have the skill, experience, or power to deal with them.

To use the CDC example again, most people have no idea what goes on in their halls. Transports involving samples are always top secret too, and there is the highest degree of focus on only those who need to know needing to know.

When you add magical, memetic, mind and soul enslaving or killing bullshit like DC magic has, the kind Dr. Fate deals with, the practice doesn't seem to be too strange to consider a possibility to me.

Anti-Life is literally pure evil. An evil the JL has fought before and wants nowhere on Earth. While Quinn definitely is under no obligation to tell the JL everything he's doing messing with Anti-Life is something they would want to know because of the potential world-ending disaster he could cause if there's an outbreak. Also aside from experimenting with Anti-Life, he's also in communication with The Light who is the JL sworn enemy soooo yeah.

AR760 said:
The same Felix Faust renowned for being a liar and manipulator, who has pre-existing animus against Quinn/Fate for his imprisonment after all of the child-killing, magical bullshit that Faust has pulled in the past?

One who has every reason to get possible allies to doubt one another and has already tried to escape several time?

I do question the immediate wisdom in taking someone like that at their word, or their viewpoint as automatically truth.

According to Paul, who was looking into his soul at the time, he was telling the truth which means I'll take his statement as truth until otherwise shown to be false

Chojin Patriarch · Jul 22, 2022

Mr Zoat said:
8th November 2012
11:52 GMT -5

Dr. Balewa touches Zard on the lips, and the noise ceases. He's clearly still trying to scream, though I'm not sure whether that's because of his injury or the lingering effects of Anti-Life exposure.

Or he's reconsidering all of his life choices-. Yeah, I'm going to leave that sort of thinking to Alan. Zard learned magic in Tibet. What sort of Lama has judgement that bad?

It's either that or Zard has serious ranks in Bluff. And given his stage-friendly costume and style, I would not be surprised in the slightest. Or the Lama was somehow the most evil one who ever lived... Given the DC Universe, that's also a distinct possibility.

"I am curious why his defences failed while mine remained."

Not that hard to work out from my point of view. He made contact with the Life Entity. The white light contains the orange light, so it almost certainly registers what he does as 'power ring' rather than 'magic'. Given that he's prime White Lantern material, he's going to need to know at some point, but…

Let's not blab about that sort of thing where unfriendly ears can still hear you.

"That's an ultra top secret Maltusian secret that I'm not going to tell you while we're in enemy territory."

The vines make a play for me, and I reward their persistence with a disintegration ray.

No touchy, please. Adults are talking.

"Constantine?"

Dr. Balewa rises and gestures, a wave of white passing outward from the ground to a height of about two metres. The vine walls ripple, trying to escape before his magic… Just turns them back into normal vines with no Anti-Life crystals. The parts it touches gradually stop moving, an effect which flows up the vines to the parts Alan is valiantly trimming.

Well, that was handily cleaned up. Joy of epic-level wizardy when they're not being harassed.

Two more slashes and he cautiously backs off, watching the vine closest to him grow buds which open into small white flowers. He regards the mass for a moment and then looks down at us.

"Are we done here-? Is that Wizard?"

You just know that with a name like 'William Asmodeus Zard', he was either going to be a supervillain or one heck of a vaudeville star. Some things, you just don't go against.

"Wizard and Faust were prisoners of Fate. I suspect that we will find that Blackbriar Thorn at the centre of things."

"I guess old super villains don't die or fade away, they just wait until your back's turned and then jump you."

Accurate.

Sadly, sadly accurate. And old age isn't always a guarantee that they won't.

Sanderson explodes out of the vines in a flurry of blade swipes and severed plant matter.

He stands there for a moment, breathing hard, as the vine pile behind him collapses.

Feel a bit better now? I can't imagine that wasn't a good bit of stress relief on some level.

"I think I'm going to pave my garden back home."

"Don't make any rush decisions, or at least meet a concrete supervillain first." I glance at the vines. "Blackbriar Thorn was connected to those, wasn't he?"

And yes, there are a few rock-related villians.

"He can control plants without a direct connection. I do not dare hope thet being exposed to Anti-Life would also make him foolish."

Alan looks around, frowning. "What happened to Constantine?"

Ah, good, even Alan's catching on that a Constantine you don't know the location of is a dangerous Constantine...

"I suspect thet he was taken by the vines. I do not know what happened if a demon is subjected to Anti-Life, or if his nature will provide a measure of protection." He raises his right hand and draws a line in the air. "I can track his seal, now thet Wizard is not long obscuring the traces."

A moment passes and he looks down.

Oh, gee. It's like a perfect opportunity for one of you to go off by himself.

"Ah."

"Underground chamber?"

How predictable. Now, natural or unnatural, I wonder?

"Yes."

"That sounds like a job for-."

...Someone who doesn't go leaping tall buildings in a single bound, now that you think about it. His hero name still starts with an 'S', though.

"A guy who can turn into sand and move through Earth like it's water?"

I look at Sanderson. He interrupted me. That's new. Good for him.

Fellah's getting properly back in the swing of things, heroing-wise. Good to see.

"Yes, but we're going to need to get the rest of us down there as well. I suggest taking a look around and getting ready. And watch out for roots."

"I hear you."

Might well be the first time he's gone earth-diving voluntarily, hasn't it?

He drops, his legs losing coherence first and merging with the ground, then his torso, arms, and last of all his head.

"This sounds like a job for Team Lantern. Unless-. Doctor Mist, would those flowers have any sort of anti-Anti Life properties?"

Looking for a new type of ammunition for your railguns, OL? Could be handy, even if it's not as low-lethality as you might like.

"A weak one. They would serve better as a conduit for my spells. Why do you ask?"

"I can cause plant growth."

Turnabout is fair play, eh? Giving Thorn a taste of his own tomfoolery.

"I'll make an excavator."

Alan generates a great borer construct, spins it up and presses it into the ground. Earth is shoved aside, great heaps piling up and Alan pushes the construct deeper.

Hardly subtle, but if Thorn is looking at that, he's not as likely to notice Sandy poking his head in, is he?

"Would you care to explain?"

"I got a lesson from Lantern Medphyll. I can cause controlled plant growth by forcing the green into things. Euanthe doesn't like it when I do it, but I doubt that she can feel it here."

I mean, Orange isn't the nicest chromatic complement to Green, so that might be a small part of her discomfort...

"Can you send the vines down the hole which Blue Lantern is making?"

"Maybe?"

After all, it's not like the plants have any preference for which way they grow, only that they do.

"From what we have seen of the Anti-Life and this place, it is likely that it is within Blackbriar Thorn. Freeing him will be difficult."

"Killing him would be easy, though. He'd get better in a year or so."

Just two little problems with that, OL. Where will he respawn, and will he still be Anti-life Mind-whammed?

"We cannot take the risk thet he is reborn with his Anti-Life infection still in place."

"True. Alright, let's-."

Ha, OL actually seeing someone else's point and accepting it? Rare moment indeed.

I frown as I spot Faust fleeing as fast as his legs can carry him, grab him with a construct and carry him back, dropping him next to Mr. Zard.

"I can shoot one of your legs off as well."

Maybe clap him in irons. The old-fashioned kind. With a good, strong hobble. It's that or literally tie him into a pretzel.

Flashing a mild look of disapproval my way, Dr. Balewa taps Faust lightly on the forehead and he collapses into a stupor.

Right, my turn. I float upwards, reaching out into the Green with my rings. Forming the required pattern, linking myself to the fundamentally inhuman desires of plant life, it's not any easier.

Let's hope this place doesn't have it's own Parliament of the Green, and especially its own Avatar. Last thing you want is Swamp Thing's local counterpart coming to see what the fuck that feeling is.

All Things Strive.

"Blue Lantern? Could you-" The vines shudder before vigorously expanding in the general direction of Alan's drill. "-add a little space around the edge at the top?"

Ah, high-level Orange Light Mastery is so broken, isn't it?

"Can do."

I watch as the vines and their little white life flowers burrow down the borehole, latching onto the exposed sides of the tunnel and extending towards the drill head.

But you can't deny how effective it can be. Like having a druid on your side. A D&D 3.5e Druid, with plenty of splatbooks and a Munchkin at the helm.

One more evil wizard -possibly two if John's been infected- and then we can just free the brownies and wreck this place before going to fight Quinn.

Here's hoping.

Murphy: "Hmm? Did someone call? Lemme just ruin your day, my man."

Boy, and people call me out for taunting Murphy?

OL, when things go ploin-shaped again, it'll be your own damn fault! Even with a Blue lantern on your side, there's not enough Hope around to make things go well. As for Quinn, well... I can't help but feel someone's taking advantage of someone somewhere here. It's not the first time we've seen someone with a knack for employing Anti-Life involved in this story...

AR760 · Jul 22, 2022

Bud-E said:
Anti-Life is literally pure evil. An evil the JL has fought before and wants nowhere on Earth. While Quinn definitely is under no obligation to tell the JL everything he's doing messing with Anti-Life is something they would want to know because of the potential world-ending disaster he could cause if there's an outbreak. Also aside from experimenting with Anti-Life, he's also in communication with The Light who is the JL sworn enemy soooo yeah.

According to Paul, who was looking into his soul at the time, he was telling the truth which means I'll take his statement as truth until otherwise shown to be false

Doesn't really matter if the Justice League doesn't want it near Earth. Because it keeps making its way there anyways.

Isn't it better to know how to fight it and to develop methods to resist it than to be continuously rendered helpless any time Anti-Life or magics related to it inevitably rise back up and pose that threat to humanity anyways? Darkseid isn't going anywhere. Doctor Impossible has also made an appearance too. And so on and so forth.

Moreover, even knowing too much about Anti-Life is straight up a mimetic hazard in canon, and has shown arguably similar properties here. Plus too many people knowing that information increases the chance of it leaking and it drawing the wrong kind of attention too.

Also, the Team and Justice League had people in contact with the Light in canon. Undercover.

Just to play Devil's Advocate.

Vaermina · Jul 22, 2022

Mr Zoat said:
Given that he's prime White Lantern material, he's going to need to know at some point, but…

But... He's not...

A White Ring would be dead as a doornail in his hands because he lacks the zest for life that's actually needed to make it work.

Darko said:
The fact that he didn't bother to inform anyone on the League that he was doing this does not paint him in the best light.

Says who?

Just because LePaul and Doctor Must don't know about it doesn't mean other members of the League don't.

Darko · Jul 22, 2022

AR760 said:
Is Quinn/Dr. Fate obligated to report to the League every bit of minutia about his job? Heck, how many in the League would even understand

Probably a lot of them since they've fought it before and have i for on it.

And I think he's obligated to tell them of such a big danger.

AR760 said:
Plus remember, in DC, things like Anti-Life are straight up able to fuck you up if you know about them. Certain kinds of magic can twist, alter, and even kill individuals who learn of it if the person in question doesn't have the skill, experience, or power to deal with them

In this setting it only happens if a person hears the Equation.

Them knowing about the Anti-Life Equation doesn't affect them, only hearing it does and that's from a person that has it.

AR760 said:
Isn't it better to know how to fight it and to develop methods to resist it than to be continuously rendered helpless any time Anti-Life or magics related to it inevitably rise back up and pose that threat to humanity anyways

Yes, it is better.

But it would have been better if Quinn had help to understand it and fight.

Help from places or people like Atlantis, Mist etc.

All if these people have a lot of resources and experience that Quinn may lack.

AR760 said:
Moreover, even knowing too much about Anti-Life is straight up a mimetic hazard in canon, and has shown similar properties here

No, it hasn't.

See above.

AR760 said:
Also, the Team and Justice League had people in contact with the Light in canon. Undercover. Just to play Devil's Advocate

And that's most likely not the case here since two League members, Alan and Balewa, don't know about it.

Mr Zoat · Jul 22, 2022

Darko said:
Remove "that".
"happens"

Ngamer11 said:
That should be capitalized, since it is a proper noun.

Thank you, corrected.

Duke Long · Jul 22, 2022

From yesterday:

Mr Zoat said:
tether than only the person trapped can cut?

'that'

moralrelativity · Jul 22, 2022

Mr Zoat said:
Wizard is not long obscuring

not long -> no longer ?

Mr Zoat · Jul 22, 2022

Duke Long said:
From yesterday: 'that'

moralrelativity said:
not long -> no longer ?

Thank you, corrected.

Senevri · Jul 22, 2022

Mr Zoat said:
Zard learned magic in Tibet. What sort of Lama has judgement that bad?

Oh, Tibet was fairly scary pre-Buddhism, and you can still find traces of that. Gods and spirits of all sorts.

Mr Zoat · Jul 22, 2022

Senevri said:
Oh, Tibet was fairly scary pre-Buddhism, and you can still find traces of that. Gods and spirits of all sorts.

Zard is probably in his ninties, but I don't think he predates Buddhism.

Tzeentch · Jul 22, 2022

Mr Zoat said:
Or he's reconsidering all of his life choices-. Yeah, I'm going to leave that sort of thinking to Alan. Zard learned magic in Tibet. What sort of Lama has judgement that bad?

Probably not the kind of Lama that preaches the values of compassion and non-attachment.

For every spiritual teacher of Mysticism, there's bound to be one or more adepts in the Dark Arts, seeking to upend the dharmic order of all things for their own egocentric advancement, or for the thrill of it all.

Huttj509 · Jul 22, 2022

Regarding Quinn's involvement...

The trio got anti-life infected after being imprisoned by Fate.

This side dimension is linked to from the Tower of Fate

The stuff in here is NOT under control

The anti-life fragment seems particularly attuned to Order (serve me and have purpose)

At BEST Quinn lost containment on the prisoners and anti-life and didn't feel the need to tell anyone. And decided to imprison Constantine without telling anyone.

Like, sure, ask questions first, but yeah, this not good.

Tyrantviewer · Jul 22, 2022

Huttj509 said:
Regarding Quinn's involvement...

The trio got anti-life infected after being imprisoned by Fate.

This side dimension is linked to from the Tower of Fate

The stuff in here is NOT under control

The anti-life fragment seems particularly attuned to Order (serve me and have purpose)

At BEST Quinn lost containment on the prisoners and anti-life and didn't feel the need to tell anyone. And decided to imprison Constantine without telling anyone.

Like, sure, ask questions first, but yeah, this not good.

I agree that Quinn is likely up to something, but since the heroes snapped the brownies out of the mind control that was suppressing the anti life I can see why some readers feel like Paul and Co might be in the wrong here.

That said, they are in a farm for order aligned Anti-Life crystals, there is NO good reason for Quinn to have something like that. Either he has an evil plan, is being manipulated, or has an EXTREMELY ill thought out plan to use it for good.

Related to this- Since the consensus is that Quinn is the result of John doing what he did to create the Demon Constantine- IE separate parts of himself into a new entity like a lizard sheding its tail, in this case to deal with the Order and Chaos powers that were overwhelming him- We have to consider 1 what parts of John Quinn is made of 2 what other things were added to the mix (people forget but John got what was implied to be Alister Crowly who was hiding from hell to fuse with his offshoot as part of making him suitable to attract hell and potent enough that he would immedieately become a demon, avoiding being a tortured soul first) and 3 what Quinn might have done about 1 and 2.

Quinn could be pulling a Constantine type plan, but longer and more elaborate due to his differences from John Prime, but he might be lacking the spark that lets John swing his crazy ideas, or the instincts that keep him from tripping up and and let hims squeak out victories. Quinn could have been combined with something like Demon John was, to make him more Orderly than John prime, which could be the source of why he thinks fiddling with Anti-Life is reasonable. Quinn himself could be like Demon John but instead of wanting to be more Contantine he looked for other sources to add to himself... The worst possibility of there is that the crystals may have that purpose, being part of a plan to make himself more Order aligned.

Lots of possibilities, lots to worry about, which is why Paul and Co snuck into the tower like this, if it is something bad Quinn would hide or deny it, or move the plan forward if they confronted him, so the best bet was to investigate first.

CTrees · Jul 22, 2022

Senevri said:
Oh, Tibet was fairly scary pre-Buddhism, and you can still find traces of that. Gods and spirits of all sorts.

For a Tibetan example that does not predate Buddhism, but conveniently ties into a song from WAY earlier in this story, look at Milarepa. Before turning to Buddhism, he was a sorcerer, who studied magic to get revenge, and ultimately killed his aunt and uncle's entire family. He repented, but this was all over a thousand years after the birth of Buddhism. If Milarepa, in his revenge-fueled youth, could learn lethally effective sorcery in Tibet, conceivably Zard could, too.

Darko · Jul 22, 2022

Tyrantviewer said:
Either he has an evil plan, is being manipulated, or has an EXTREMELY ill thought out plan to use it for good.

If it's the last one then that proves that he's a Constantine.

Coda · Jul 22, 2022

Mr Zoat said:
"Don't make any rush decisions

Usually it's "rash decisions". (I acknowledge the two words sound very similar in British English.)

Mr Zoat said:
"A guy who can turn into sand and move through Earth like it's water?"

Given that he's not talking about the planet Earth, probably lowercase "earth".

Mr Zoat · Jul 22, 2022

Coda said:
Usually it's "rash decisions". (I acknowledge the two words sound very similar in British English.)
Given that he's not talking about the planet Earth, probably lowercase "earth".

Thank you, corrected.

Windona · Jul 22, 2022

Oh, Dr. Balewa might not be super passionate, but I still see him as being fit for a White Lantern. He has to balance all the emotions, and he's also big on letting people have their choices- and as an eagle said, freedom to soar is also freedom to plunge. He's become a League member because baddies are trying to force life in a certain direction instead of letting people live it. And we saw with the Earth 10 version that he would not be happy for mass killings.

Mr Zoat · Jul 23, 2022

July 27th, the Year of Our Lord 2282
Early Morning

As the Vertical Bird rotates its wings and rises back into the air, Tears-In-The-Rain clutches her right hand onto her shawl to stop it blowing off her head. Rather than pay attention to the Ammonites or Canaanites raising a shout in the town of New Canaan she instead focuses her attention on the rear… Compartment? Where Warband Leader Goris is waving farewell.

Chief Krono bade her farewell in Denver City, since his business with the other Chiefs would require him to remain there for more time. This was the earliest they could guarantee her safety in returning her home, and if she strained her ears she could dimly hear the sound of the flying machines of the Shi tribe far over head. He did not want to take a risk because it was known that the Ouroboros tribe has their own flying machines; more primitive than what his tribe-alliance could command but easily capable of harming a Vertical Bird.

She stood there, ignoring the closer shouts now calling her name.

The great machine-demon named Argos stealing her away from her people had been terrifying. She can admit that. Stealing women to wife was not unknown amongst the White Legs. Sometimes, it even produced happy marriages, though she had long ago decided for herself that anyone trying to steal her had best hope that their manhood was proof against knives.

She did not think that Argos had a manhood. And if he did, it was probably proof against knives. Still, she would have tried.

A giant machine-demon stealing away women from many tribes sounded like something from a bawdy tale told by drunken virgin boys. A giant machine-demon stealing women for a smaller machine-demon with many bodies who thought that it was a matchmaker…

"Rain!"

Now, she turns away from the distant flying machine. Smiling, she extends her arms to catch her delighted sister Dancing-Upon-The-Graves-Of-Her-Foes as the girl threw herself into her arms.

"Did the metal monster take you to hell? Did you kill all the demons?"

"No." She has a better idea of what the metal creatures truly are now, though she does not think that she will ever think of them in that way. "It was just a big machine, not a demon. And where it took me, the people did not let me kill anyone."

The small but very powerful gun given to her by Krono weighs heavily in both her mind and satchel. Far more advanced than anything that New Canaan can make, comparable in her experience only to the strange demonically-named weapons of the steam-worshippers to the north.

She sets her adopted sister back on the ground, prompting her to grab Tears' left hand and pull her in the direction of New Canaan.

"C'mon! Father wants to know what happened to you right away!"

Yes… Her father. Who was a war leader of great power, about to hear from his eldest daughter about the people who stole her away from his house. The religion of the New Canaanites was something that he had not fully accepted into his soul as he had accepted it into his head. Tears was… Worried, about how he might react.

The lands around New Canaan was well farmed, with water running in irrigation channels from the rivers and the water towers which collected it during the rainy months. And its people were industrious and God…

She frowns. Was it 'God-loving' or 'God-fearing'? 'Loving' would seem to make more sense, but she's sure that she remembers hearing the other as well.

Hard at work, then. Hard at work even this early in the morning. Some of them she half-recognises, warriors of the White Legs who have beaten their spears into pruning hooks so they may learn a new way of life as Ammonites. Apparently, that was something that God liked. Probably because spears were poor weapons compared to guns but He did not want them to waste metal.

Inside the town it was much the same. Many people that she recognised, few that she knew. Her friends would be busy with their work or their children. Her mother would be learning the medicines of the Canaanites, and unless her father 'had need' of them then her mother's sister-wives would be elsewhere as well. Her father would be in the Great Hall or in the Canaanite Temple, but Dancing was leading her towards the hall. There would also be Daniel, the priest of New Canaan who stood outside of the city when the White Legs came and tried to persuade her father to stop his attack. Her father laughed, then threatened, then argued, and never once did Daniel raise his voice or his hands. He was a good and patient man and she had thought about marrying him, but…

That… Did not seem quite so appealing now.

"Father!"

Dancing ran ahead with no regard for propriety, pushing open doors as she searched for their father. Tears took a moment to order her thoughts, and a second moment to pray to God for guidance. What had happened to her was so outside the experience of any of the Ammonites, and while her father was patient even he had limits.

"Father, a flying machine brought Tears back!"

And so she walked towards her father.

As she approached the chamber used for the meetings of the leaders of the tribe, elders of the Ammonites and New Canaanites began leaving. Ammonites smiled and told her that it was good that she was back, and Canaanites made the sign of the cross and thanked God for her return. And when they saw that, the Ammonites crossed themselves as well. Learning to serve a new God would take more time, but none of them refused. That was a good sign.

And then her father, Balm-Upon-Wounds, his war helm on a shelf behind him to show that he had put war aside. And Daniel, smiling in joy at her return.

Father was not smiling.

"Tears-In-The-Rain, my daughter. So. You are a married woman."

She didn't understand. Why would he think-?

Daniel looks awkward. "They broadcast it. The… 'The Wasteland's Most Eligible Bachelor'. We've still got a few working televisions here, and a couple of them picked it up."

Tears' face goes red, and her hands rise to cover it.

Father is still not smiling.

"He is a chief, and it was pleasing to see you triumph over the other women the machine-matchmaker brought. He seemed strong of body. Is he with you? I would… Speak to him."

"No… We are not married."

"No?" Her father shifts in his seat, right hand making a fist where it lays on the table. "He did not marry you?" His eyes narrow. "Daughter, did he..?"

"No! He took-. He did not lay a hand on me. He said that it would be improper to marry me without first meeting you and my mother and seeking your blessing."

Her father breaths easily once more, his fist relaxing.

"And that the matchmaker-machine did not have permission to arrange a match anyway. It did so because it is mad, and does not know how to do anything else."

"They did not hurt you?"

The strange… Rope that the big machine used to steal her had left a mark for several days, but it had not hurt that badly.

"Be at ease, father. They did not hurt me. But… You remember the tale Gregor Grey-Skin told you when he joined our tribe, about the Master of all Super Mutants?" Her father nods. Bands of mutants joined the White Legs after their Master died, and the tales they told were almost all that the White Legs knew of the west. "A Super Mutant tribe to the far east tried to…" She is not stupid, but she had not had a great education. Krono used words, but… "Make an heir to it. They created a great monster, and Krono brought together many tribes to fight it."

"Were they large tribes?"

How can she explain it? The warbands of Colorado alone were more than what the White Legs and New Canaan had together at the height of the war, and were machines rather than normal men and women. When she saw the far larger force that joined them from the south, she could scarcely understand how there could be so many people in the world. And then they were joined by an even greater host from the east.

"Yes, father. Extremely large."

"They hold him in such regard?" She nods. "Is he their Chief-of-Chiefs?"

Tears shakes her head. "No. He said that he is their negotiator. Their peace-maker and their shaman. He rules only a tribe smaller than the Sorrows, but their allies respect his wisdom."

Her father nods slowly.

"Do you wish to marry him?"

Does she? He was clearly a good leader. The members of his tribe that she saw were well armed, and all treated him with respect. He was patient and calm with his followers. Even when they were stealing women for him, so maybe that was not always good. His face was nothing special, but his body was strong-.

She found herself blushing again.

"I see that you do. I think then that it is time that the Ammonites got to know our neighbour to the west."

Tyrantviewer · Jul 23, 2022

I am eager to learn what is up with the Anti-Life stuff, but the whole "Fallout robots made me the star of the bachelor" things is hilarious and I am happy to see what happened with that. Fallout has so many interesting niche communities that there is always something new to find in the setting, which is surprising for what is largely a wasteland due to the apocalypse.

Darko · Jul 23, 2022

Mr Zoat said:
The lands around New Canaan was well farmed

"land around"

Mr Zoat said:
new. Her friend would be busy with their work or their children

Mr Zoat said:
good and patient mans and

"man"

Mr Zoat said:
couple of them picket it up."

"picked"

Mr Zoat said:
They broadcast it.

"broadcasted it"

Mr Zoat said:
His body was strong

"his body"

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

Experienced.

Experienced.

Connoisseur.

Making the rounds.

Versed in the lewd.

Experienced.

Stand up so I can push you down!

Experienced.

Stand up so I can push you down!

Veteran Lurker

Experienced.

Well worn.

Connoisseur.

Dedicated ragequitter

Glomerulus

Recovering pendant.

Dedicated ragequitter

Not too sore, are you?

Dedicated ragequitter

Versed in the lewd.

Getting sticky.

lord of all I survey

Chasing the ring

Connoisseur.

Versed in the lewd.

Dedicated ragequitter

Beetle Queen of Crackshipping

Dedicated ragequitter

lord of all I survey

Connoisseur.

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