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

[Vaermina]

Replying to Vearmina.

Mogo.

In the same continuity where the universe was confirmed to be 100 TRILLION light years across he light the entire thing up, an act that would require so much energy as to be physically impossible under real physics. If you could shove that much charge into anything it would be instantly obliterated, reality screaming bloody murder as local spacetime collapses into a black hole the size of a super cluster and instantly annihilating anything past that point for many hundreds of millions of light years from the sudden spike of energy.

The fact that this didn't happen is likely because the writer/s didn't understand the first thing about the physics involved in this, but from an in-universe perspective we're forced to assume that his ring was able to force the universe to not die instantly, which is arguably even more impressive, since thermodynamics still... mostly works.

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What is it with people thinking I won't actually look up their claims...

Or maybe you just thought I wouldn't be able to find what you were obliquely referring too.

Well, anyways, I do know the exact books you're referring to. It's Green Lantern Corps: Edge of Oblivion chapters 1 and 2. And they took place not in the actual universe. But in the universe that came before. And well, they also just so happen to give us a nice picture of just how far the light reached. Mind you. I wouldn't put any real stock in things claimed in that book given we get them talking about how the universe is completely dark and dead of stars. Then the next page show us a star filled starscape.

 

[Assblaster5000]

What is it with people thinking I won't actually look up their claims...

Or maybe you just thought I wouldn't be able to find what you were obliquely referring too.

Well, anyways, I do know the exact books you're referring to. It's Green Lantern Corps: Edge of Oblivion chapters 1 and 2. And they took place not in the actual universe. But in the universe that came before. And well, they also just so happen to give us a nice picture of just how far the light reached. Mind you. I wouldn't put any real stock in things claimed in that book given we get them talking about how the universe is completely dark and dead of stars. Then the next page show us a star filled starscape.

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Replying to Vearmina.

Even assuming you're telling the truth, and I don't care enough to bother checking, my point about total energy and the destructive destructive force of said energy stands. The omniscient narrator, or a Lantern who has real time visible light scans of the entire universe on hand, says it light up the entire universe, so it did, and the amount of energy required would boil galaxies away instantly from waste heat alone.

Of course just scaling against people like Darkseid is enough to prove any potential galaxy busting feats since New Gods are absurdly powerful from even their first appearance in DC's wider cosmology proper, with even the most fodder of fodder New Gods having hit with the equivalent force of many thousands of galaxies slamming into your face, something that would require a similar level of durability to accomplish without getting instantly atomized. Darkseid is factually much, much stronger than this and yet a sufficiently skilled Lantern is able to physically harm him.

Similarly The Specter, Trigon, and other high-end entities within DC's cosmology are able to be harmed, in however limited a fashion, by various Lanterns through out history. All of these people have enough raw power to casually annihilate universes, yet a Power Ring and a sufficient amount of their corresponding emotion is enough to put someone on a level where they can harm these beings.

 

[Vaermina]

Replying to Vearmina.

Even assuming you're telling the truth, and I don't care enough to bother checking, my point about total energy and the destructive destructive force of said energy stands. The omniscient narrator, or a Lantern who has real time visible light scans of the entire universe on hand, says it light up the entire universe, so it did, and the amount of energy required would boil galaxies away instantly from waste heat alone.

Of course just scaling against people like Darkseid is enough to prove any potential galaxy busting feats since New Gods are absurdly powerful from even their first appearance in DC's wider cosmology proper, with even the most fodder of fodder New Gods having hit with the equivalent force of many thousands of galaxies slamming into your face, something that would require a similar level of durability to accomplish without getting instantly atomized. Darkseid is factually much, much stronger than this and yet a sufficiently skilled Lantern is able to physically harm him.

Similarly The Specter, Trigon, and other high-end entities within DC's cosmology are able to be harmed, in however limited a fashion, by various Lanterns through out history. All of these people have enough raw power to casually annihilate universes, yet a Power Ring and a sufficient amount of their corresponding emotion is enough to put someone on a level where they can harm these beings.

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The omniscient narrator didn't say that, Graf Toren did.

Also, I am perfectly willing to bring it to you.

Also no, that's not how New God's work. Not that it matters mind.

 

[Assblaster5000]

Also no, that's not how New God's work. Not that it matters mind.

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Replying to Vearmina.

First ever appearance of a New God in a Superman story. What's his name has appeared four or so times, one of which was a reprint and another he was dead, but he hit that hard according to, again, an omniscient narrator or Superman, a guy who would damn well know how hard he was hitting as a 6th level intellect at minimum who personally operates at levels even higher than that.

Also, if you're going to post an image use a spoiler. It makes it much easier to see all the text you write out and doesn't take up more space than the point you're failing to make.

Edit:What's his name is called Magnar. He's actually appeared in eight comics, but the point about one being a reprint and another having him just fucking dead still stands. He's about as much of a nobody as a named character can get and he still hits hard enough to realistically shatter a solar system in one punch.

 

[Katillno]

Sorry if I'm just repeating myself or am annoying but what ever happened to Xalitan Xor?

 

[Assblaster5000]

Sorry if I'm just repeating myself or am annoying but what ever happened to Xalitan Xor?

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Last mention of him I can remember off the top of my head was that he's still training and working on fixing up his home polity, though I think I recall something about him moving a bit more into an active combat roll against The Reach now that things had mostly stabilized.

 

[Lord Ernest]

Last mention of him I can remember off the top of my head was that he's still training and working on fixing up his home polity, though I think I recall something about him moving a bit more into an active combat roll against The Reach now that things had mostly stabilized.

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He was part of the advanced class that the Illustres implemented some chapters ago (in that planet where they study and venerate Lanterns, I think?) and, at this point, you can count him as an Elite Orange Lantern. He achieved some high level of orange light understanding and passed the class. After that, I think he's already more involved in the war effort but I don't recall how fixed his home system situation is.

 

[RoninSword]

Xalitan was also referred to by Ragnar as being his own beefgate, much as Ragnar himself is LePaul's beefgate.

Edit: He also helped shield the Spider Guild planet when Desire messed with the crew of a ship. Paul felt him as an active presence in the Honden.

 

[Mr Zoat]

6 574 938.M41

"I… Do not understand." The Fio'O looks puzzled, and mildly frustrated. "Were there machines, or were there not? If we could study machines that could survive the warp, then even if there were not technologies that we could immediately incorporate into our own, it could provide vital information for our future engine designs."

Is this a tau thing or a boss thing? My memories of Earth are still good, but I imagine that they've lost a little context as the way I think has changed. I certainly think I remember getting instructions from my managers which made no sense because they weren't really aware of what I did, but at the same time the tau are infamously ignorant on the subject of the warp.

"Planner, we may perceive objects in the warp as being similar to those of the material universe, but the warp is not a place where the laws by which this universe operates apply."

"I am familiar with the physics abnormalities which can occur around warp-related devices and phenomena."

"Warp energy can be used to change certain physical laws over a limited area, but in the warp the opposite is true; it uses our reality to impose any stability on a chaotic mass of energy. Otherwise it wouldn't have any. So with the factory, there are a few possibilities. Either a normal material factory was brought into the warp and started becoming increasingly… 'Unreal', or the factory I saw was warp energy which was acclimatised to being shaped like a factory by either the thoughts of the humans on that planet or by the thoughts of the Faultless One."

"That…" He blinks, his nasal cleft twitching uncertainly. "Does not sound…"

"Deep in the Eye of Terror, there are worlds that have been granted to Daemon Princes as prizes. When the Daemon Prince takes possession of the world their soul exerts itself on the place, twisting it in accordance with their nature. On a world that a Daemon Prince of Khorne rules, the sky will rain with blood and the mountains will take on the appearance of screaming skulls. And if two daemons fight over that sort of world then the landscape can change from one thing to another as which one holds the position of dominance changes. A river of blood can become a river of effluence, or a stream of such beauty that no one who drinks from it will ever willingly drink from another again, or to one which glows pink and causes random mutations. The Imperium has records of these worlds, either from what their psykers have seen or from expeditions taken into the Eye."

I make as close as I can to the tau expression of sympathy.

"I'm sorry, Planner, but we live in a very badly designed universe and just have to make do until we can fix it."

"You.. said that the… Mon'vesa Faultless One is a Daemon Prince."

"That's my best guess, though I wish to emphasise that it's a very strange thing that's happened and I can't say that with anything like complete confidence."

"What would happen if he took control of a world in the 'Eye of Terror'?"

"I…"

Um. I'm… Not sure. I mean, there's no way for us to get him there, other than me flying him there by ring. And I don't think he'd tolerate that. The Maelstrom is closer and less well protected, but the worlds inside it aren't as malleable. In… Theory, he could turn it into a massive factory world. Even keep things normal enough that we could actually use its output. If there was any way to convey it to the Tau Empire.

I'm not… Really sure where he's going with this.

"I suspect that the result would be daemons of every Chaos God swarming the place to get rid of the interloper. Given that most people elevated to the position of Daemon Prince do so after centuries of experience with warp magic that he doesn't have, I'd… Guess that he'd end up getting turned into a sword or… Some other device, by the eventual winner. If they left him alone he might be able to learn to exert himself on the place eventually… Does the Empire have a Daemon World that needs a puppet ruler?"

"No. The Empire has Planners who need to understand mon'he logistics and engineering."

"Mon'he logistics are simple. They are the weapons. Their food and fuel are warp energy. They bring it into the material universe through ritual sacrifices and the occasional fortuitous warp storm. The more they kill, the more power they get."

"Have you been making sacrifices to the Faultless One?"

"No, but he's far smaller now than he was in the warp. A weaker form uses less power, and there are enough warp engines around to keep him manifested. And… I don't actually know what sort of sacrifice he'd need."

The Por'O makes the gesture to request that they be allowed to butt in, and the Fio'O allows it.

"If we did have a Daemon World, what could he do to assist us?"

"I haven't tested it. If you mean, in general terms, what could a Daemon Prince do while we fought daemonic attackers, they could contest terraforming magic… But they'd probably have less power to work with than the enemy."

"If the world was tainted, but the invasion of daemons had been destroyed."

"You're not… Talking about a Daemon World there. He could probably detect tainted areas without the danger that human psykers would be under if they tried to do the same thing. I think it would be worth experimenting with using human psykers to strengthen him with their abilities, since… Obviously, ritual sacrifices aren't an option."

"Are they not? Human worlds execute criminals for a variety of crimes. It would take little effort to have them transported to a ritual site once a sufficient number were accumulated. Is there some other requirement that I am not aware of?"

"Someone who knows how to do the ritual sacrifices. Technically, a tau should be able to do the sacrificing as it's the victim's soul passing into the warp that draws the power and the daemon who uses it. But I don't know what rituals to use to empower a daemon who isn't bound to the four Gods of Chaos, I don't know anyone who does, and I don't know how to stop other daemons being empowered by the sacrifices as well. And it would cause the Imperium to redouble their efforts against the Tau Empire."

"I…" The Por'O refers to his terminal. "Also believe that daemons need to be named..?"

"Daemons have a thing called a True Name, which allows them to be bound by someone who knows it. I've had my constructs tell me all the True Names that they know."

"And The Faultless One?"

"I took the name of the person I believe was the core component of Faultless One, as well as the names of as many prisoners as I could. But I don't know if any of them constitute a 'True Name' in the sorcerous sense, or if there's more to it. I would also point out that after attempting that sort of binding there's little to no chance that Faultless One would continue cooperating willingly as he does at the moment."

"Your report mentioned that you wanted to use him to help deal with human psykers in general."

"The issue needs further research. But I'd rather take a risk on him being able to help weak-willing psykers than simply kill them."

"I am puzzled. Why are you willing to take that risk with psykers and not with sacrifices?"

"For the same reason as the-" Pre-retcon. "-Edict of Nikea was passed by the Imperium. Sorcery is making pacts with daemons. By its very nature, you're only ever going to be playing the daemons' game; even getting involved gives them more power. Psionics are more like a dangerous weapon; you can get hurt if you're not careful or unlucky, but it can just be useful. I'm sure I don't have to tell you how vital astropaths and navigators are to the Imperium."

"What is the Edict of Nikea?"

"Oh, ah… During the Great Crusade after the end of the Age of Isolation, some Space Marine legions started inducting psykers and using sorcery, and others were strongly against it. Imperial policy was set by the Emperor on a planet called Nikea, after a lot of arguments between the librarians of the various legions and the primarchs. In short, psionics were okay if used carefully, and sorcery was banned. The Thousand Sons ignored that rule, and that's a big part of why they were excommunicated."

"Your report says that human religious rituals are a form of sorcery. And there are records of Inquisitors using sorcery."

"The practice of worshipping the Emperor is a post-Heresy thing. The assumption at the time was that sorcery would always involve daemons. And Inquisitors really aren't supposed to, and it never ends well."

The Por'O makes a gesture of conclusion, then turns his attention to Aun'Va. Aun'Va stares at Bo'okh for a moment, then taps his staff twice.

"The witnesses are excused. Remain close at hand in case we have further questions."

 

[Celtic Spartan]

thanks for the new chapter

 

[moralrelativity]

normal enough that w could actually

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w -> we

human psykers in general.

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needs a closing quotation mark

 

[KenNM]

Can I get a reminder who or what the Faultless One is and how they entered the story?

 

[Assblaster5000]

Can I get a reminder who or what the Faultless One is and how they entered the story?

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Psychic amalgam of tortured Imperials that planned on killing their oppressors/abusers (An Inquisitor, the Planetary Governor, maybe as much of The Imperium proper as they could too) and who ever got in their way. The character/circumstances is based on a song by StringStorm called Faultless.

They entered the story because P'ol and crew happened to go to that (ex?) Imperial world and found all the crimes against humanity, killing the Inquisitor (and Governor?) in the process, before deciding to take them along for the ride because research of something.

 

[Chojin Patriarch]

6 574 938.M41

"I… Do not understand." The Fio'O looks puzzled, and mildly frustrated. "Were there machines, or were there not? If we could study machines that could survive the warp, then even if there were not technologies that we could immediately incorporate into our own, it could provide vital information for our future engine designs."

Is this a tau thing or a boss thing? My memories of Earth are still good, but I imagine that they've lost a little context as the way I think has changed. I certainly think I remember getting instructions from my managers which made no sense because they weren't really aware of what I did, but at the same time the tau are infamously ignorant on the subject of the warp.

Click to shrink...

But at least they're trying to learn, as dangerous a process as it is. Some managers... Would not put that much effort in. I get the feeling this particular councillor has a very precisely-designed view of the universe, and doesn't like things that don't fit into it...

Spoiler: Commentary spoilered for length

"Planner, we may perceive objects in the warp as being similar to those of the material universe, but the warp is not a place where the laws by which this universe operates apply."

"I am familiar with the physics abnormalities which can occur around warp-related devices and phenomena."

Click to shrink...

A mere, pale reflection of the weirdness within the Immaterium proper.

"Warp energy can be used to change certain physical laws over a limited area, but in the warp the opposite is true; it uses our reality to impose any stability on a chaotic mass of energy. Otherwise it wouldn't have any. So with the factory, there are a few possibilities. Either a normal material factory was brought into the warp and started becoming increasingly… 'Unreal', or the factory I saw was warp energy which was acclimatised to being shaped like a factory by either the thoughts of the humans on that planet or by the thoughts of the Faultless One."

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And I seriously doubt the Administratum of the planet would have missed a factory going missing. Especially since they're not usually known for being easily portable.

"That…" He blinks, his nasal cleft twitching uncertainly. "Does not sound…"

"Deep in the Eye of Terror, there are worlds that have been granted to Daemon Princes as prizes. When the Daemon Prince takes possession of the world their soul exerts itself on the place, twisting it in accordance with their nature. On a world that a Daemon Prince of Khorne rules, the sky will rain with blood and the mountains will take on the appearance of screaming skulls. And if two daemons fight over that sort of world then the landscape can change from one thing to another as which one holds the position of dominance changes. A river of blood can become a river of effluence, or a stream of such beauty that no one who drinks from it will ever willingly drink from another again, or to one which glows pink and causes random mutations. The Imperium has records of these worlds, either from what their psykers have seen or from expeditions taken into the Eye."

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Though I expect more than a few of those expeditions returned with few or one survivor... The Warp is a nasty place, after all, and places of power for the Four are even more so.

I make as close as I can to the tau expression of sympathy.

"I'm sorry, Planner, but we live in a very badly designed universe and just have to make do until we can fix it."

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Though you have some loose plans for doing exactly that, don't you?

"You.. said that the… Mon'vesa Faultless One is a Daemon Prince."

"That's my best guess, though I wish to emphasise that it's a very strange thing that's happened and I can't say that with anything like complete confidence."

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I like that they barely even know what to call the little daemon...

"What would happen if he took control of a world in the 'Eye of Terror'?"

"I…"

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...He'd get eaten almost immediately. Depending on whether the previous owner feels like playing with their food or not.

Um. I'm… Not sure. I mean, there's no way for us to get him there, other than me flying him there by ring. And I don't think he'd tolerate that. The Maelstrom is closer and less well protected, but the worlds inside it aren't as malleable. In… Theory, he could turn it into a massive factory world. Even keep things normal enough that we could actually use its output. If there was any way to convey it to the Tau Empire.

I'm not… Really sure where he's going with this.

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Let's hope it's just a thought experiment, trying to find a place for the Faultless One.

"I suspect that the result would be daemons of every Chaos God swarming the place to get rid of the interloper. Given that most people elevated to the position of Daemon Prince do so after centuries of experience with warp magic that he doesn't have, I'd… Guess that he'd end up getting turned into a sword or… Some other device, by the eventual winner. If they left him alone he might be able to learn to exert himself on the place eventually… Does the Empire have a Daemon World that needs a puppet ruler?"

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Yeah, being bound to an item of power is a common fate for losers in daemonic challenges. It's where all those Daemon weapons Chaos marines lug around come from, for example... But 'other device'? Ugh, can you imagine what a daemon of Slaanesh would use an enemy for?

"No. The Empire has Planners who need to understand mon'he logistics and engineering."

"Mon'he logistics are simple. They are the weapons. Their food and fuel are warp energy. They bring it into the material universe through ritual sacrifices and the occasional fortuitous warp storm. The more they kill, the more power they get."

Click to shrink...

And engineering? Well, this is still a ways before any mention of Dark Mechanicum, I think. So no daemon engines, and at most you could maybe count possessed Knights and Titans.

"Have you been making sacrifices to the Faultless One?"

"No, but he's far smaller now than he was in the warp. A weaker form uses less power, and there are enough warp engines around to keep him manifested. And… I don't actually know what sort of sacrifice he'd need."

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Especially given he was born of industrial accidents and suffering workers? ...Maybe the suffering of bad managers made to work the lines alongside their staff to experience it?

The Por'O makes the gesture to request that they be allowed to butt in, and the Fio'O allows it.

"If we did have a Daemon World, what could he do to assist us?"

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...Let's not go getting any ideas about annexing a daemon world, boys and girls.

"I haven't tested it. If you mean, in general terms, what could a Daemon Prince do while we fought daemonic attackers, they could contest terraforming magic… But they'd probably have less power to work with than the enemy."

"If the world was tainted, but the invasion of daemons had been destroyed."

Click to shrink...

Ah. Now I see where they're going with this. They're talking about cleanup duty...

"You're not… Talking about a Daemon World there. He could probably detect tainted areas without the danger that human psykers would be under if they tried to do the same thing. I think it would be worth experimenting with using human psykers to strengthen him with their abilities, since… Obviously, ritual sacrifices aren't an option."

"Are they not? Human worlds execute criminals for a variety of crimes. It would take little effort to have them transported to a ritual site once a sufficient number were accumulated. Is there some other requirement that I am not aware of?"

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But would that work for Faultless One? That's the problem.

"Someone who knows how to do the ritual sacrifices. Technically, a tau should be able to do the sacrificing as it's the victim's soul passing into the warp that draws the power and the daemon who uses it. But I don't know what rituals to use to empower a daemon who isn't bound to the four Gods of Chaos, I don't know anyone who does, and I don't know how to stop other daemons being empowered by the sacrifices as well. And it would cause the Imperium to redouble their efforts against the Tau Empire."

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Yeah, that would have even Radical Inquisitors frothing at the mouth... In rage or jealousy, I can't be sure.

"I…" The Por'O refers to his terminal. "Also believe that daemons need to be named..?"

"Daemons have a thing called a True Name, which allows them to be bound by someone who knows it. I've had my constructs tell me all the True Names that they know."

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Oh, yeah, he did swipe some Daemonettes, didn't he? Bet Slaanesh is still a little fuming about that.

"And The Faultless One?"

"I took the name of the person I believe was the core component of Faultless One, as well as the names of as many prisoners as I could. But I don't know if any of them constitute a 'True Name' in the sorcerous sense, or if there's more to it. I would also point out that after attempting that sort of binding there's little to no chance that Faultless One would continue cooperating willingly as he does at the moment."

Click to shrink...

Yeah, trying to slip that kind of leash on them would burn every bit of goodwill you've earned thus far.

"Your report mentioned that you wanted to use him to help deal with human psykers in general.

"The issue needs further research. But I'd rather take a risk on him being able to help weak-willing psykers than simply kill them."

"I am puzzled. Why are you willing to take that risk with psykers and not with sacrifices?"

Click to shrink...

...Because he's not an evil bastard who's willing to send people's souls god-knows-where in the name of science.

"For the same reason as the-" Pre-retcon. "-Edict of Nikea was passed by the Imperium. Sorcery is making pacts with daemons. By its very nature, you're only ever going to be playing the daemons' game; even getting involved gives them more power. Psionics are more like a dangerous weapon; your can get hurt if you're not careful or unlucky, but it can just be useful. I'm sure I don't have to tell you have vital astropaths and navigators are to the Imperium."

Click to shrink...

Ah, one of the bits of background that's been smacked around by writers over the years...

"What is the Edict of Nikea?"

"Oh, ah… During the Great Crusade after the end of the Age of Isolation, some Space Marine legions started inducting psykers and using sorcery, and others were strongly against it. Imperial policy was set by the Emperor on a planet called Nikea, after a lot of arguments between the librarians of the various legions and the primarchs. In short, psionics were okay if used carefully, and sorcery was banned. The Thousand Sons ignored that rule, and that's a big part of why they were excommunicated."

Click to shrink...

Let's just say it doesn't end well for them.

"Your report says that human religious rituals are a form of sorcery. And there are records of Inquisitors using sorcery."

"The practice of worshipping the Emperor is a post-Heresy thing. The assumption at the time was that sorcery would always involve daemons. And Inquisitors really aren't supposed to, and it never ends well."

Click to shrink...

Getting eaten by the daemon they're messing with is usually the best outcome. The worst... usually ends with Exterminatus.

The Por'O makes a gesture of conclusion, then turns his attention to Aun'Va. Aun'Va stares at Bo'okh for a moment, then taps his staff twice.

"The witnesses are excused. Remain close at hand in case we have further questions."

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Well, then. I bet the discussions will get heated...

Sadly, I don't know if that went well, especially from what we've seen of the whole presentation. Still, best to be cautiously optimistic. After all, where would the story go if they came down against the whole setup? Still, 'carry on, but we're watching you' would be the most likely result. Now that this plotline's reached a good point for a break... Will we be seeing what Harallax has been up to, I wonder?

---

"What would happen if he tooks control of a world in the 'Eye of Terror'?"

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"What would happen if he took control of a world in the 'Eye of Terror'?"

 

[Mr Zoat]

thanks for the new chapter

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Oh, I just posted it to spite you. If you actually liked it then I'll have to rethink my entire approach.

w -> we
needs a closing quotation mark

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"What would happen if he took control of a world in the 'Eye of Terror'?"

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Thank you, corrected.

 

[Old Knife]

I never knew that giving Tau headaches via uncomfortable truths would be so much fun.

 

[theaceoffire]

I'm sure I don't have to tell you have vital astropaths and

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How .

Thank you for the update!

 

[DeathReaperZ]

"I don't suppose you can resurrect them, can you?"

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Not yet, he'll probably figure out to bring back the desire patterns that make up the minds of people, and put it into a body. Although they'd probably only be able to feel Avarice.

"Thaumically dead world. Their ancestors almost certainly aren't actually watching over them."

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What makes a world thaumically active however? It's obviously not just the presence of life, because if it was, then every planet would have magic.

"You sounded dismissive of them."

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It's pretty ironic that the person who's been trained from birth to become a deadly assassin through physical violence, and has worked in a terrorist ninja group, has more compassion than Paul does. Especially since Paul is the reason she has more compassion.

"I'd respect them more if they'd kept fighting, even if it wasn't possible to beat Kalmin. Even just bunkering down to try and outlast him. But I don't-. I don't know how I'd-. How I would have acted before getting my ring if this had happened on my Earth." I snort. "The same, probably. Is there a reason why this is affecting you so much?"

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Well, at least he's honest about it.

"You have point."

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"Point" as in the position at the front in a group, or did you just forget to add an "a"?

There's a residue of poison in the cups, and after calculating the likely result on the natives' physiology I find myself agreeing with my golden alter-ego: carbon monoxide really is the way to go.

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Carbon Monoxide for suicide? Isn't that a bad idea? Since it causes plenty of harmful effects before you die? Wouldn't nitrogen be better? And what did Gold Paul say to him, can someone remind me.

"Joseph. Joseph Harrolds."

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I went into a bit of a rabbit hole after clicking the link, how similar are the people on the anti-matter Earth, when compared to the Earth negative 14 versions? Since Joseph Harrolds is from a universe with villains of the same name and appearance.

"You know this is a trick, right?"

I'm wearing heavy armour, so the withering look I flash her way passes unnoticed.

"No, Jade, I'm actually fairly stupid."

"No, but you're a superhero. I want to make sure we're on the same page."

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Heh. Always a good idea to make sure.

If they're fast enough and you haven't begun your ascension.

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I see he's still salty about that.

"I understand."

His eyes glow yellow, his pupils turning into yellow sigils.

"No." His body glows with yellow light as he lifts off the ground. "We understand."

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Uh oh

I knew in advance… Roughly what was happening, and so Ophidime knew as well.

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Ophidian

"It's the same for me. Even without the Ophidian I can unfocus my mind and feel the interlocking networks of desires, thwarted and fulfilled. I didn't hear it as music, more like a… Picture, or an abstract sculpture."

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Interesting. Wonder how other merged lanterns experience the presence of their respective emotion.

"And that is why we can hear you hardly at all. The part of you that is the Ophidian does not have fears."

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So, like 50% of him?

"That's 'parallel'."

"I'm sorry?"

"Using multiple power rings. That's 'in parallel', like bulbs in a high school science class circuit. Parallax means 'the apparent displacement or the difference in apparent direction of an object as seen from two different points not on a straight line with the object'."

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Damn, is it funny to watch Paul get schooled.

"No." He smiles, his mouth extending up his face in an open display of inhumanity. "You fear… Getting it wrong. You change things, risk things, and the idea that you might be wrong and that you've misled everyone makes everything resonate with a constant unease."

It's… Not as intense, but I suppose that he's right. Comic-Parallax… After the 'no-Jordan-wasn't-just-crazy' retcon, exposed people to their fears in order to possess them. This Parallax doesn't need a new host, so it's probably just being a dick.

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Huh, well that's certainly a reasonable concern, but at this point canon has been well and truly screwed, whether he leads people to their doom or not.

"You embrace chaos but you still fear to misstep."

"Follow a rule someone else came up with and everyone expects you to follow and it's as much everyone else's fault as yours. If you do your own thing, that's all on you."

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I can see why Eris was so interested in him.

And don't think I didn't notice that. My last clear memory was Parallax 'returning to his home planet' after identifying that I was afraid of failing to live up to my obligations. A being of Parallax's power should be more than capable of influencing my mind, and-. I didn't step out. I just appeared at my new location, because Parallax can't cope with the Honden of Avarice.

Looks like realising that doesn't get me out. I'm a little worried about what I'm actually doing while this is going on, but… My guess is that I'm still back on that planet and this is a pure illusion. Parallax likes fear, not other forms of emotional damage.

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After you get trapped in an illusion, the first dozen times or so, it's really easy to notice when you are inevitably in one, isn't that right Paul?

"Clarissi to Illustres. Where were you?!"

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Interesting that the ring communication text is still orange.

I know that other people started seeing me as a little inhuman after I attained avarice enlightenment. Manage a second form and I'll probably be unrecognisable.

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Wonder what would happen if he embodied all emotion entities, would he become the life entity, or at least a white lantern?

"Qpwkohinaugvreau. The insect that drinks minds through a fear-proboscis."

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Is this an actual name you got from somewhere, or something you made up? Because I looked it up, and it lead me back to this post.

"I thought that as well. And then I thought, 'if any man in the universe could break their prison by accident, who would it be?'."

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Main character plot powers are usually above those of omnipotent beings.

"I trust that the Earth fares hearty and hale?"

Oh.

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Well, he's got you there.

"A regional fleet base, and our new media relations headquarters. I can't tell for certain why he's prioritising it-."

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Perhaps, he's trying to spread fear through media?

Here's a bit of question for Zoat, can Paul recharge his ring without a lantern through the use of the Honden? I know you've said that he can't control Avarice without his ring, but let's say he was low on charge, his subspace pocket was locked, and he didn't have enough time to make a new lantern, could he recharge his ring directly from the Honden? Also, I'm not sure if I read this correctly, but can he make rings now or did I read that wrong?

 

[Lord Ernest]

Ophidian

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That isn't a mistake, that's a portmanteau of "Ophidian+me".

 

[Sceptic]

Oh, I just posted it to spite you. If you actually liked it then I'll have to rethink my entire approach.

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You could try writing in iambic pentameter. Or writing chapters that vaermina imagines absolutely no fault with. Or google translating to swahili and back before posting.

 

[Katillno]

When was Euanthe first introduced?

 

[Assblaster5000]

When was Euanthe first introduced?

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The... first(?) time Paragon visited London, which I think was before he first went to space and sometime after the first appearance of Dr. Fate. It was one of the earliest episodes in the story, but beyond that I'm not too sure and the wiki sadly doesn't seem to have anything either.

On a rough guess I'd say somewhere around Paragon episode 14.

 

[Ngamer11]

When was Euanthe first introduced?

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The... first(?) time Paragon visited London, which I think was before he first went to space and sometime after the first appearance of Dr. Fate. It was one of the earliest episodes in the story, but beyond that I'm not too sure and the wiki sadly doesn't seem to have anything either.

On a rough guess I'd say somewhere around Paragon episode 14.

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She first appeared in Episode 31: Widdershins.

 

[Mr Zoat]

How .

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Thank you, corrected.

"Point" as in the position at the front in a group, or did you just forget to add an "a"?

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Going at the front.

Carbon Monoxide for suicide? Isn't that a bad idea? Since it causes plenty of harmful effects before you die? Wouldn't nitrogen be better? And what did Gold Paul say to him, can someone remind me.

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Gold Paul started with an anti-green ring, and found it was better to deliberately kill himself each day rather than wait for the ring to do it.

In The Land of Doyle, I haven't investigated superior suicide methods.

I went into a bit of a rabbit hole after clicking the link, how similar are the people on the anti-matter Earth, when compared to the Earth negative 14 versions? Since Joseph Harrolds is from a universe with villains of the same name and appearance.

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You'll learn more at the end of this episode.

Is this an actual name you got from somewhere, or something you made up? Because I looked it up, and it lead me back to this post.

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Made it up.

Here's a bit of question for Zoat, can Paul recharge his ring without a lantern through the use of the Honden? I know you've said that he can't control Avarice without his ring, but let's say he was low on charge, his subspace pocket was locked, and he didn't have enough time to make a new lantern, could he recharge his ring directly from the Honden? Also, I'm not sure if I read this correctly, but can he make rings now or did I read that wrong?

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I'm going to say 'yes, but only slowly'. That's a provisional answer and may change if it ever comes up.

Or I forget I gave it. Honestly, that's more likely.

 

[Darko]

Carbon Monoxide for suicide? Isn't that a bad idea? Since it causes plenty of harmful effects before you die?

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After each death he was dumped in a Lazarus Pit, so that should have hopefully fixed any damage.

Gold Paul started with an anti-green ring, and found it was better to deliberately kill himself each day rather than wait for the ring to do it.

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I'm guessing he did it because it was either less painful, or because he wanted some control over his life and expressed that desire in what way he wished to die.

 

[RichardWhereat]

What did Paul from Avengers Earth's Mightiest Heroes do to prevent Wonder Man? Did he?

 

[Pez]

your can get hurt if you're not careful

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you

 

[Mr Zoat]

you

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Thank you, corrected.

What did Paul from Avengers Earth's Mightiest Heroes do to prevent Wonder Man? Did he?

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No firm decision, but probably not. Rather, he found out later, and that's why Tony let him take the lead talking to Ronan.

 

[boo600]

…this is just sinking in, but it's been three weeks - the better part of a month - since the Anti-Life infection of Earth has happened, all of Earth's heroes helpless to stop it. Something absolutely awful, created by Darkseid the Atrocity Maximizer. Something so terrible that Hard Men should make Hard Decisions to stop it. Something that exceeds the Golden Morning in pain, if with a lower death count, perfectly negating Paul's insistence that Worm is Grimdark compared to his own story and emphasizing that he's clearly never read it.

And we haven't seen anything of John Constantine since the beginning of this mess.

I'm scared.

 

[Mr Zoat]

…this is just sinking in, but it's been three weeks - the better part of a month - since the Anti-Life infection of Earth has happened, all of Earth's heroes helpless to stop it. Something absolutely awful, created by Darkseid the Atrocity Maximizer. Something so terrible that Hard Men should make Hard Decisions to stop it. Something that exceeds the Golden Morning in pain, if with a lower death count, perfectly negating Paul's insistence that Worm is Grimdark compared to his own story and emphasizing that he's clearly never read it.

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Completely true. But there are far more Entities than there are Darkseids.