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

He was British. And he made the game better my messing with the minds of the people working on it. Given the Anti-Life, you could argue that they came away with pockets full of fish, but it was still illegal and as far as I know American law doesn't have a pockets full of fish clause.
He did it during the Anti-Life.

If you really want to try and argue the things people did while under the Anti-Life suddenly have legal standing I'm pretty sure most of the world should be put in jail.
 
He did it during the Anti-Life.

If you really want to try and argue the things people did while under the Anti-Life suddenly have legal standing I'm pretty sure most of the world should be put in jail.

Damn it Vaermina, why do you occasionally have salient points!
 
Trivialities (part 7) New
8th April 2013
09:41 GMT +1


"Paul…" Guy looks at me awkwardly. "Maybe this ain't such a good idea, huh?"

I form an expression of beatific innocence as we drift over the rooftops of Oslo. "Whatever do you mean, Lantern Gardner?"

"You bein' the reason she don't have a country no more."

"She's free to go back whenever she wants. Accalacan has open borders."

"They live in trees, an' she's on fire."

"I could make her a flame-retardant suit." I slow and then stop, looking down at the street. "That's where we fought Finality Man, isn't it?"

"Huh? Oh, yeah. I guess it is."

Not much to show for it now. Norway might be highly urbanised in terms of population distribution, but Mannheim never really targetted it after we broke his robot. Haraldson's people included it in their patrol area just in case, because it turned out that the Einherjar weren't affected by the Anti-Life, but they didn't see a great deal of action.

"Think we coulda beat it?"

"It's like one of those versus debates on the internet. Under what circumstances?"

"Cage match."

"I mean, it retreated because we damaged it, so yes. We were coming in blind and it had swarms of infantry to throw at us whom we were trying not to kill. Oh the other hand, a cage would limit our manoeuvrability-."

"You just..." He waves his right hand. "Totally missed the point."

"If you want to discuss what we could have done better, I honestly don't think-."

"Tora!"

Guy looks past me as Tora skates up towards us on-. How is she..? Oh, she's… Making the ice super smooth in places, water in others and pushing the ice surrounding her feet along the icy platform she's using to move. And so that it doesn't melt and collapse on someone later, she's making support struts as she goes and making the parts she's not using any more puff into snowflakes. There's a limit on the upwards angle that's practical for, but it's a pretty nifty way to get around.

Guy descends to meet her as she skates upwards, meeting him in the air and grabbing onto to him for support as she skates a circle around him before embracing him.

"Guy!"

"Hey, babe. Listen-."

She pulls his head down for a kiss, prompting me to look away and cough, quietly. She whips her head around, causing Guy's lips to sort of smear along the side of her face before being slapped by her hair.

"Paul?"

"Tora. Glad to see that you're doing well."

She stares at me for a moment, as Guy tries to remain close to her while removing as much of her hair as possible from his mouth without actually spitting.

"Oh dear."

"I assume that she blames me..?"

"Bea blames a lot of people. But our apartment only has room for one dartboard."

"Bea plays derts?"

"She throws knives." Tora looks at me with an embarrassed expression. "A lot of knives."

"That's okay. If it helps her cope with the situation, I don't mind-."

A knife hits my cuirass and bounces off. I grab it with a construct before it can fall on someone, before looking up-.

Beatriz is in full woman-made-of-fire mode, flames billowing off her-. I was going to say 'skin', but unlike in the comics I can see that she's wearing some sort of costume under the green fire. She continues staring at me for several seconds, before I awkwardly raise the knife.

"Do you want it ba-?"

Green fire-

Shield.

-leaps from the entirety of her body, slamming into my construct shield. The shield starts thinning and… Melting? Almost immediately, which-. She shouldn't have the power to do that. Reinforce. Still melting, still blasting me with fire.

Um.

Sources of power ups. Genetic alteration? Probably not. Not unless she was in the vicinity of a City Boss with an interest in that sort of thing.

"Beatriz!"

Tora gapes at her friend while Guy tries pulling a green net around her. His construct ropes melt.

Magic? Possible. Construct railgun, mage slayer… Fabricate padding and fire at low power.

There's a brief waft of flame as the padding is consumed, but the mage slayer hits her armour and the flames… They don't quite blow out, but her assault stops and the flames vanish from most of her-.

Beatriz looks stunned. Horrified, even.

Her body.

"Fire? Don't you think that was a little-?"

"That was not me!"

"Sure looked like-."

Guy stops talking as Tora elbows him, while I put a construct platform under Beatriz.

"Alright. Who was it?"

She looks to Tora, who stares back seriously. Beatriz then snorts before giving me her full attention. "I made a deal for more power. I needed it!"

"Okay. Who or what with? Because if it was a demon-."

"No! With someone from Norse mythology."

The Norse pantheon might be annoyed about me poaching Tyr, but I'd be surprised if they used a vassal to remove me via incineration like that. Still, they can be a violent lot without the Olympian's hospitality customs to restrain them.

"Loki? Odin? Hela?"

"No. Um. Look, I'm sorry. It-." Her flames start to reignite, though they don't blast me again. "When I get angry, it flares."

"I still think I need to know. If you've done something unwise-."

"It was Logi, alright? I made a deal with the Giant of Fire. But I think he tricked me."

I nod. "Well, he is smarter than the average giant."

Guy snorts. "Good job I didn't bring a picnic basket."

"Hephaestaean was the God of Smiths. It makes sense that-."

Beatriz tries setting us both on fire.
 
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I'll be honest, I've been operating on the assumption that White Light Mannheim purified Finality Man back into Infinity Man and it boom tubed away, to eventually return to Prince Drax. My assumption was based on OL saying that Finality Man's armour scheme changed back to more matching Drax's. Was this not the case?
 
I don't remember what he did with Tyr. Could someone please remind me?
 
Especially when you appear as completely unrepentant about it.

Why would he? They were the indigenous people who were forced off their land. They didn't force anyone to leave. Just set proper restrictions for environmental sustainability.

Quite frankly, the Accala are one of the better takeovers he has orchestrated. It's not like they hired mercenaries to murder Brazilians like the corporations have done for local villages to remove opposition. I would say they are an improvement.
 
8th April 2013
09:41 GMT +1


"Paul…" Guy looks at me awkwardly. "Maybe this ain't such a good idea, huh?"

I form an expression of beatific innocence as we drift over the rooftops of Oslo. "Whatever do you mean, Lantern Gardner?"
Given you helped flatten a chunk of the city last time you were here? Or is there something else involved? Like, say, a certain ice-wielder's best friend? Wonder if either of them are benefitting from the Justice league-adjacent fame they earned during the Anti-Life crisis?

"You bein' the reason she don't have a country no more."

"She's free to go back whenever she wants. Accalacan has open boarders."
Admittedly, unless she wants to join a tribe, there's not much for her to go back to. Which raises the question of how the former population of Brazil's cities are doing?

"They live in trees, an' she's on fire."

"I could make her a flame-retardant suit." I slow and then stop, looking down at the street. "That's where we fought Finality Man, isn't it?"
Has some attempt to rebuild been made, or is that something for OL to offer later?

"Huh? Oh, yeah. I guess it is."

Not much to show for it now. Norway might be highly urbanised in terms of population distribution, but Mannheim never really targetted it after we broke his robot. Haraldson's people included it in their patrol area just in case, because it turned out that the Einherjar weren't affected by the Anti-Life, but they didn't see a great deal of action.
Well, they're already dead. Not much for the Anti-Life to cling to amidst the power of their existing blessings.

"Think we coulda beat it?"

"It's like one of those versus debates on the internet. Under what circumstances?"
I can just picture someone proposing a Death battle between them. Or against some fictional energy-construct wielders, like Quasar.

"Cage match."

"I mean, it retreated because we damaged it, so yes. We were coming in blind and it had swarms of infantry to throw at us whom we were trying not to kill. Oh the other hand, a cage would limit our manoeuvrability-."
...And of course OL takes the suggestion seriously. I suspect if he had the time, he'd be contributing to those debates, if only to shitpost. Much like Batman apparently did about superhero identity discussions. :V

"You just..." He waves his right hand. "Totally missed the point."

"If you want to discuss what we could have done better, I honestly don't think-."
Face it, Guy, he does not get manly ribbing.

"Tora!"

Guy looks past me as Tora skates up towards us on-. How is she..? Oh, she's… Making the ice super smooth in places, water in others and pushing the ice surrounding her feet along the icy platform she's using to move. And so that it doesn't melt and collapse on someone later, she's making support struts as she goes and making the parts she's not using any more puff into snowflakes. There's a limit on the upwards angle that's practical for, but it's a pretty nifty way to get around.
And I'm picturing it as similar to Iceman's ice slides. Or maybe the Champions Online 'Ice Slide' flight power (Though that's more a flying surfboard of ice than anything.)

Guy descends to meet her as she skates upwards, meeting him in the air and grabbing onto to him for support as she skates a circle around him before embracing him.

"Guy!"
Ah, these two are so sweet together. No wonder OL shipped them.

"Hey, babe. Listen-."

She pulls his head down for a kiss, prompting me to look away and cough, quietly. She whips her head around, causing Guy's lips to sort of smear along the side of her face before being slapped by her hair.
Oof. That's kind of annoying. Ever been bapped by someone's long hair flicking around? Not entirely pleasant. Especially if you have wet lips.

"Paul?"

"Tora. Glad to see that you're doing well."
Politely ignoring the embarrassing PDA. How British.

She stares at me for a moment, as Guy tries to remain close to her while removing as much of her hair as possible from his mouth without actually spitting.

"Oh dear."
Oh, man, that's got the be awkward. Even trying to use his ring would get noticed...

"I assume that she blames me..?"

"Bea blames a lot of people. But our apartment only has room for one dartboard."
With a big picture of OL's smiling face on it? Replaced as needed when the holes begin to obscure it?

"Bea plays derts?"

"She throws knives." Tora looks at me with an embarrassed expression. "A lot of knives."
I hope she's at least accurate. Have you seen the state of some dartboard backing? Never mind this idiot...

"That's okay. If it helps her cope with the situation, I don't mind-."

A knife hits my cuirass and bounces off. I grab it with a construct before it can fall on someone, before looking up-.
Well, I guess that answers that question of accuracy. Right in the Orange Lantern symbol, eh? :p

Beatriz is in full woman-made-of-fire mode, flames billowing off her-. I was going to say 'skin', but unlike in the comics I can see that she's wearing some sort of costume under the green fire. She continues staring at me for several seconds, before I awkwardly raise the knife.

"Do you want it ba-?"
Since I doubt this Bea is interested in titillating guys online with her 'is she naked under there?' act on 'blazingfire.com'. x3

Green fire-

Shield.

-leaps from the entirety of her body, slamming into my construct shield. The shield starts thinning and… Melting? Almost immediately, which-. She shouldn't have the power to do that. Reinforce. Still melting, still blasting me with fire.
...Either her rage is feeding her flames, or she got a powerup somewhere.

Um.

Sources of power ups. Genetic alteration? Probably not. Not unless she was in the vicinity of a City Boss with an interest in that sort of thing.
Which makes me wonder if she was Justified during the event, or managed to stay free...

"Beatriz!"

Tora gapes at her friend while Guy tries pulling a green net around her. His construct ropes melt.
And all this is playing out over the streets of Oslo, no less. Hopefully it won't show up online...

Rune stone says.. magic. Construct railgun, mage slayer… Fabricate padding and fire at low power.

There's a brief waft of flame as the padding is consumed, but the mage slayer hits her armour and the flames… They don't quite blow out, but her assault stops and the flames vanish from most of her-.
Good thing it didn't penetrate her armour. Imagine having to explain that. Once you finished putting her insides back inside her.

Beatriz looks stunned. Horrified, even.

Her body.
Possibly wondering if 'Did he really just shoot me?!' Then again, it was reasonable self-defence.

"Fire? Don't you think that was a little-?"

"That was not me!"
...Really? Because I don't see anyone else with green fire around that could have taken that shot. :rolleyes:

"Sure looked like-."

Guy stops talking as Tora elbows him, while I put a construct platform under Beatriz.
Smart man. Brave, but he's wise enough to avoid any potential girlfriend trouble.

"Alright. Who was it?"

She looks to Tora, who stares back seriously. Beatriz then snorts before giving me her full attention. "I made a deal for more power. I needed it!"
Okay, sure, she wasn't exactly A-plus before. But I guess the Anti-Life gave her a bit of an inferiority complex, maybe.

"Okay. Who or what with? Because if it was a demon-."

"No! With someone from Norse mythology."
...Surprisingly fitting, given her friendship with Tora. But there aren't many gods of Fire on the Northern European pantheons.

They Norse pantheon might be annoyed about me poaching Tyr, but I'd be surprised if they used a vassal to remove me via incineration like that. Still, they can be a violent lot without the Olympian's hospitality customs to restrain them.

"Loki? Odin? Hela?"
I could see Odin being a little vexed about Tyr jumping ship. The others probably would do it for shits and giggles.

"No. Um. Look, I'm sorry. It-." Her flames start to reignite, though they don't blast me again. "When I get angry, it flares."

"I still think I need to know. If you've done something unwise-."
Interesting. Wonder if there's a bit of a Red Light connection to it...

"It was Logi, alright? I made a deal with the Giant of Fire. But I think he tricked me."

I nod. "Well, he is smarter than the average giant."
And not to be confused with the similar-sounding Loki. At least it wasn't Surtr (Who technically isn't even a capital-G god) or someone on the more evil end of the scale.

Guy snorts. "Good job I didn't bring a picnic basket."

"Hephaestaean was the God of Smiths. It makes sense that-."

Beatriz tries setting us both on fire.
...You deserved that one. 😒

Well, I don't foresee that little deal having any bad fallout whatsoever. No, sir... :rolleyes: [/sarcasm] I suppose it made sense at the time, binding herself to her friend's pantheon in return for the power to stand alongside her. But still, tying herself to someone who once out-ate Loki himself? Doesn't seem like a good plan in the long run. No telling what he might compel her to do someday...

Accalacan has open boarders.
Accalacan has open borders.
They Norse pantheon might be annoyed about me poaching Tyr,
'The', and a Double space after Norse.
 
Well, they're already dead. Not much for the Anti-Life to cling to amidst the power of their existing blessings.
Being dead isn't a guarantee that they'd be resistant to Anti-Life.

Just look at what happened with the Aztec and Olympian afterlives.

Though I guess Odin gave them some very powerful blessings, or they're used to mind-altering magic since they fight for Odin so they'd have potential experience against any enemies.
 
Why would he? They were the indigenous people who were forced off their land. They didn't force anyone to leave. Just set proper restrictions for environmental sustainability.

Quite frankly, the Accala are one of the better takeovers he has orchestrated. It's not like they hired mercenaries to murder Brazilians like the corporations have done for local villages to remove opposition. I would say they are an improvement.

Oh? So are we now advocating for the indigenous people to reclaim their land? Because if so, the whole continent is gonna start to look pretty different.

And as far as I recall, it wasn't just enviromental sustainability, they're literally going primitivism (something that Illustres had even decried before, if I remember right). People that didn't want to live in trees and jungle left, those that probably didn't have the means or could stand it stayed.

Besides, they didn't need to hire mercenaries when they have their own super powered individuals to take over. And this wasn't like Kahndaq, with the removal of a tyranical or dictatorial government. They took advantage of a global crisis, the aftermath of the Sheeda invasion, to strike.

The whole world has been a shitshow for a while, so I get it that it doesn't warrant much of the Illustres' attention, but the collapse of such a big country and its take over by another group, the subsequent migration crisis that it would provoke, that the Accala were intending to support other possible take overs in South America, all of those would have easily made up a global crisis if the planet wasn't already reeling from other events.
 
Oh? So are we now advocating for the indigenous people to reclaim their land? Because if so, the whole continent is gonna start to look pretty different.

And as far as I recall, it wasn't just enviromental sustainability, they're literally going primitivism (something that Illustres had even decried before, if I remember right). People that didn't want to live in trees and jungle left, those that probably didn't have the means or could stand it stayed.

Besides, they didn't need to hire mercenaries when they have their own super powered individuals to take over. And this wasn't like Kahndaq, with the removal of a tyranical or dictatorial government. They took advantage of a global crisis, the aftermath of the Sheeda invasion, to strike.

The whole world has been a shitshow for a while, so I get it that it doesn't warrant much of the Illustres' attention, but the collapse of such a big country and its take over by another group, the subsequent migration crisis that it would provoke, that the Accala were intending to support other possible take overs in South America, all of those would have easily made up a global crisis if the planet wasn't already reeling from other events.
The funny thing is that Paul literally enabled them.

Since without multiple interventions from him they would have almost instantly collapsed under the stupidity of their own beliefs.
 
Oh yeah, people hold grudges when you collapse their country.

Kind of forgot that.
I mean Beatriz was a member of the intelligence service wasn't she? If there's anything like a Brazilian "Government in Exile" then they'd be in a state of active war with Paul (and probably Themyscira as well by proxy) over that.

EDIT: Replying to Vaermina
The funny thing is that Paul literally enabled them.

Since without multiple interventions from him they would have almost instantly collapsed under the stupidity of their own beliefs.
Yeah, that's actually a big issue I have with Paul over this; he made all this noise about not interfering with the internal politics of a nation while giving a dryad goddess and Hugo Danner to the Accala.
 
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Yeah, that's actually a big issue I have with Paul over this; he made all this noise about not interfering with the internal politics of a nation while giving a dryad goddess and Hugo Danner to the Accala.
I'm not sure how much you can blame Paul for the former, but he didn't know about the latter until after the Team as a whole reunited Hugo with the Accala. If anything, Squire should get more blame because she knew who he was and didn't tell anyone until it was too late to do anything about it.
 
Yeah, that's actually a big issue I have with Paul over this; he made all this noise about not interfering with the internal politics of a nation while giving a dryad goddess and Hugo Danner to the Accala.
Giving the place to Euanthe only happened after the Sheeda destroyed in country, with the Accala remaining in fighting shape.
 
because it turned out that the Einherjar weren't affected by the Anti-Life, but
You know I'm now wondering if Odin actually knew about Darkseid before the Anti-Life attacked Earth.

I remember that in the comics during Dream's funeral both Odin and Darkseid were attending.

Dream may be alive in this fic, but it's possible that Odin and Darkseid interacted at some point and Odin somehow created a defense against Anti-Life.
 
You know I'm now wondering if Odin actually knew about Darkseid before the Anti-Life attacked Earth.

I remember that in the comics during Dream's funeral both Odin and Darkseid were attending.

Dream may be alive in this fic, but it's possible that Odin and Darkseid interacted at some point and Odin somehow created a defense against Anti-Life.
It's possible, especially since the First of the Fallen told the Renegade that Darkseid and DeSaad once visited Hell. The First of the Fallen found Darkseid's attempt to control him with the Anti-Life amusing.
 
Trivialities (part 8) New
8th April 2013
09:58 GMT +1


Guy and Tora look towards myself and Beatriz from the other side of the café. I wave my right hand in an effort to assuage their concerns, while Beatriz pointedly avoids looking at anyone. Tora is the first to turn away, and reaches out with her right hand to turn Guy's face back towards her.

"Do you know why they're not married yet?"

"Because Tora doesn't hate me."

"Oh, come on." I turn to face her. "Guy's not that bad."

She looks straight at me, her eyebrows raised. "Have you ever had to live with him?"

"Technically… Yes, for a couple of weeks, but it was in a mountain superhero base and there were a bunch of other people around."

She frowns. "Has Gardner ever lived with a woman before? A girlfriend? Sister?"

"He has a sister, but I don't think they've lived under the same roof since he went to college. Otherwise, I don't think so. I…" I frown. In the comics, he… Ran a bar for a while? Then lived in a storage shed before moving to Oa to run another bar? Come to think of it, I've never actually asked-. "Oh, I'm a terrible friend."

"Do men not talk about their girlfriends?"

"No, but that's not why. I've just realised that I have no idea where Guy lives. I mean-."

"You really don't talk about your girlfriends?"

"No? I mean, if they're there then it's rude to talk about them like they're not, and if they're not… I mean, it might just be me. Superboy's talked to me about Miss Martian, but that's usually more about the differences between martian and human physiology and psychology rather than… Relationship goals, or whatever."

I look across the room at Guy. I can't believe I haven't asked that. Or.. just… Found out. When we spend time together it's usually out in the world or at Alan's house, not-.

"I'm going to ask when we leave."

"About Tora?"

"Where he lives. I mean, I know he comes from Baltimore, but he hates everyone there, so I doubt it's-."

"Spy on your man-crush later. I mean that he lives like a slob whenever he stays over in our apartment. And Tora doesn't say anything about it."

"Man, how the other half lives. So do you want me to talk to him about it?"

"Ugh, I don't know. Is that normal for men? What do you do with..?"

"Jade."

"Jade."

"No. I have a hygiene obsession. Her apartment in Gotham and her apartment on Maltus are never cleaner than when I'm there. It got so bad that I merged the floorboards into a continuous piece of wood so that there wouldn't be a crevice between them to trap dust or house insects. Also, um. You're complaining about Guy being an inconsiderate guest, but… I thought that you were angrier with me."

"You can't make Brazil exist again."

Hm. Could I? I don't know how stable Accala rule is. I imagine that Hugo mostly leaves individual tribes to their own devices and only uses his official power in cases of disputes, but no one knows how long Danner enhanciles live. As far as I know he doesn't have an heir, so-.

"That was rhetorical."

"Technically, the coastal cities are still Brazil. It could be made to work as a tourist destination. Plenty of people…" I pause as I consider the general state of the world. "Once the world's recovered a bit, plenty of people would find it fascinating to visit the druidic centre of the world. Or just spend time on the beaches. Those haven't changed."

"The coastal cities that are left. Why didn't you fight them?"

"Who? The Accala? Because-."

"Yes!"

"Because that's not my job. They didn't destroy Brazil. They were never part of it, and they only stopped the government acting in the jungles."

"They destroyed Brazilian farming! We had to start importing food for the first time ever!"

"Let's not pretend that Brazilian agriculture didn't have some pretty serious problems before they got involved. They were going to run out of new forest to unsustainably expand onto eventually. The Accala just made that time now. The land that was left could be farmed, it just needed a little more care."

"An entire industry can't adapt that quickly!"

"Yes it can. I mean, it didn't, but it could have done. The techniques required are a matter of public record. I mean, if the Japanese can farm their country, no one else has an excuse for not farming."

She huffs.

"And it didn't matter anyway, because then the Sheeda attacked. I did fight them, but when they first turned up I was in a parallel universe and then there was some time loss on the trip back so I missed the start. Even if I'd have gone to Brazil the moment I got back -which would have been a terrible idea- the military and… Most of the civilians who died would have still already been dead, and the Accala were the only group still fighting. With an attack like that, it isn't possible to save everyone."

"I know that."

"Euanthe? I don't know if I could beat her, and I don't want to try because I like her and because she didn't displace anyone, just used space that was abandoned. Doctor Isley? The same. Would I have done something different if it was a bunch of superpowered Cornishmen taking over England?" I nod slowly. "Maybe? But probably not if it was already wrecked and someone was rebuilding it differently."

She sighs. "I know. I knew most of that."

"So why do you have a knifeboard with my face on it?"

"I lost my home. About half of the people I know-. Knew, died, and most of the rest ended up refugees. Blaming you or Danner was just easier than accepting that the whole fucked up situation was really only the Sheeda's fault."

"And… Logi?"

"Since the Einherjar turned up there's been a revival of Scandinavian magic. I didn't really expect anything to happen when I did the ritual, but here I am." She raises her right arm and an instant later it's enveloped in green flame. "All I have to do is burn something edible each day-"

A waitress delivers our toast. Beatriz takes a piece of mine and incinerates it.

"-like that, and he's happy. But whenever I get angry it flares like that, and I've been getting angry a lot."

"I didn't think that was a change."

"I get passionate a lot. Anger, genuine anger, isn't the same thing."

"Do you want me to have a talk with him?" She nods, looking away again. "Alright, can do. If I can teach Guy manners, a fire giant should be easy."
 
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8th April 2013
09:58 GMT +1


Guy and Tora look towards myself and Beatriz from the other side of the café. I wave my right hand in an effort to assuage their concerns, while Beatriz pointedly avoids looking at anyone. Tora is the first to turn away, and reaches out with her right hand to turn Guy's face back towards her.
Ah, the joy of being out in public with friends who are in the lovey-dovey stage of their relationship. The shared embarrassment with other friends about their displays of baby-talk and pet names... And the occasional bit of jealousy from that one friend who isn't dating anyone...

"Do you know why they're not married yet?"

"Because Tora doesn't hate me."
I mean, if nothing else, it might get awkward living with newlyweds.

"Oh, come on." I turn to face her. "Guy's not that bad."

She looks straight at me, her eyebrows raised. "Have you ever had to live with him?"
...Ah. I'm guessing his level of homeliness is 'pigsty'.

"Technically… Yes, for a couple of weeks, but it was in a mountain superhero base and there were a bunch of other people around."

She frowns. "Has Gardner ever lived with a woman before? A girlfriend? Sister?"
Ah, yes. The age-old issue of 'bachelor living alone' and their dubious level of housekeeping commitment.

"He has a sister, but I don't think they've lived under the same roof since he went to college. Otherwise, I don't think so. I…" I frown. In the comics, he… Ran a bar for a while? Then lived in a storage shed before moving to Oa to run another bar? Come to think of it, I've never actually asked-. "Oh, I'm a terrible friend."
...Yeah, OL does kind of let his friends keep their privacy, doesn't he?

"Do men not talk about their girlfriends?"

"No, but that's not why. I've just realised that I have no idea where Guy lives. I mean-."
Okay, that is a bit reasonable of a concern.

"You really don't talk about your girlfriends?"

"No? I mean, if they're there then it's rude to talk about them like they're not, and if they're not… I mean, it might just be me. Superboy's talked to me about Miss Martian, but that's usually more about the differences between martian and human physiology and psychology rather than… Relationship goals, or whatever."
Conner should not be taken as the norm for friendly discussion, OL. You know how different his upbringing is.

I look across the room at Guy. I can't believe I haven't asked that. Or.. just… Found out. When we spend time together it's usually out in the world or at Alan's house, not-.

"I'm going to ask when we leave."
Maybe he's embarrassed about his place? I mean, OL could walk in, take one look and turn the whole place orange with a cleaning wave. :p

"About Tora?"

"Where he lives. I mean, I know he comes from Baltimore, but he hates everyone there, so I doubt it's-."
I don't know, he might choose to live there because, in the words of that one Spiderman newspaper comic panel, 'I'm almost enjoying my anger.'

"Spy on your man-crush later. I mean that he lives like a slob whenever he stays over in our apartment. And Tora doesn't say anything about it."

"Man, how the other half lives. So do you want me to talk to him about it?"
Sounds like some form of pushing the boundaries or testing his relationship 'How did I score this babe? Will she ditch me if I act like a pig?'

"Ugh, I don't know. Is that normal for men? What do you do with..?"

"Jade."
Heh. Not surprising she didn't know the name of OL's partner. He is about as private with most folks as he expects them to be towards him.

"Jade."

"No. I have a hygiene obsession. Her apartment in Gotham and her apartment on Maltus are never cleaner than when I'm there. It got so bad that I merged the floorboards into a continuous pieces of wood so that there wouldn't be a crevice between them to trap dust or house insects. Also, um. You're complaining about Guy being an inconsiderate guest, but… I thought that you were angrier with me."
:confused: ...Well, that seems... Entirely in character for OL.

"You can't make Brazil exist again."

Hm. Could I? I don't know how stable Accala rule is. I imagine that Hugo mostly leaves individual tribes to their own devices and only uses his official power in cases of disputes, but no one knows how long Danner enhanciles live. As far as I know he doesn't have an heir, so-.
And of course he immediately begins to consider how to fix his 'mistake' on her behalf.

"That was rhetorical."

"Technically, the coastal cities are still Brazil. It could be made to work as a tourist destination. Plenty of people…" I pause as I consider the general state of the world. "Once the world's recovered a bit, plenty of people would find it fascinating to visit the druidic centre of the world. Or just spend time on the beaches. Those haven't changed."
And the rebuilding might make the place a bit safer for tourists, given the state of things before the Sheeda.

"The coastal cities that are left. Why didn't you fight them?"

"Who? The Accala? Because-."
For a start, they're each and every one super-powered. Remember the whole fuss that arose when they were messing with lumber companies earlier?

"Yes!"

"Because that's not my job. They didn't destroy Brazil. They were never part of it, and they only stopped the government acting in the jungles."
If he had gotten involved, he would likely have tried to make peace by ensuring everyone left happy.

"They destroyed Brazilian farming! We had to start importing food for the first time ever!"

"Let's not pretend that Brazilian agriculture didn't have some pretty serious problems before they got involved. They were going to run out of new forest to unsustainably expand onto eventually. The Accala just made that time now. The land that was left could be farmed, it just needed a little more care."
Yeah, turns out land that had been occupied by jungle for millennia doesn't take kindly to modern farming practices.

"An entire industry can't adapt that quickly!"

"Yes it can. I mean, it didn't, but it could have done. The techniques required are a matter of public record. I mean, if the Japanese can farm their country, no one else has an excuse for not farming."

She huffs.
The problem is that they didn't want to spend the money needed to correct their methods.

"And it didn't matter anyway, because then the Sheeda attacked. I did fight them, but when they first turned up I was in a parallel universe and then there was some time loss on the trip back so I missed the start. Even if I'd have gone to Brazil the moment I got back -which would have been a terrible idea- the military and… Most of the civilians who died would have still already been dead, and the Accala were the only group still fighting. With an attack like that, it isn't possible to save everyone."
Making some very reasonable points. And in usual OL fashion, being very calm and polite about it.

...Which probably doesn't make it any easier for her to hear it.

"Euanthe? I don't know if I could beat her, and I don't want to try because I like her and because she didn't displace anyone, just used space that was abandoned. Doctor Isley? The same. Would I have done something different if it was a bunch up superpowered Cornishmen taking over England?" I nod slowly. "Maybe? But probably not if it was already wrecked and someone was rebuilding it differently."
'Cornishmen' being folks from the Cornwall region of the British Isles. For you Americans, picture superpowered indigenous tribesmen invading Washington DC... And winning.

She sighs. "I know. I knew most of that."

"So why do you have a knifeboard with my face on it?"
I don't know, it's a reasonable outlet for her anger.

"I lost my home. About half of the people I know-. Knew, died, and most of the rest ended up refugees. Blaming you or Danner was just easier than accepting that the whole fucked up situation was really only the Sheeda's fault."

"And… Logi?"
Plus it's not easy to get her hands on the Sheeda these days.

"Since the Einherjar turned up there's been a revival of Scandinavian magic. I didn't really expect anything to happen when I did the ritual, but here I am." She raises her right arm and an instant later it's enveloped in green flame. "All I have to do is burn something edible each day-"

A waitress delivers our toast. Beatriz takes a piece of mine and incinerates it.
Careful, don't want to set off their smoke alarms. I've done that a few times making toast in the past myself, since I like it dark. Then again, her magic fire probably has the benefit of being smokeless.

"-like that, and he's happy. But whenever I get angry it flares like that, and I've been getting angry a lot."

"I didn't think that was a change."
And with a powerset like fire control, you expect heat.

"I get passionate a lot. Anger, genuine anger, isn't the same thing."

"Do you want me to have a talk with him?" She nods, looking away again. "Alright, can do. If I can teach Guy manners, a fire giant should be easy."
Cue hilarious misunderstanding on both sides of that statement.

Why do I get the feeling the next segment will start with an enraged Logi trying to roast OL out of the air? It just feels like the perfect smash cut after tempting Fate like that... At any rate, I can't decide which would be more difficult. OL has no idea what's in for him, I suspect...
 
"Because that's not my job. They didn't destroy Brazil. They were never part of it, and they only stopped the government acting in the jungles."

I guess this comes down to the "Villains act, Heroes react" point Truggs was making. Beatriz expected the Justice League and associated heroes to react to what was happening, and they didn't.

There's a bunch of other stuff I'd want to rant about, but that'd just be ranting.

EDIT:
For a start, they're each and every one super-powered. Remember the whole fuss that arose when they were messing with lumber companies earlier?

It's probably why she expected intervention, they were basically a minor supervillain team which in Beatriz's eyes he let destroy her country.

I more surprised he's on a double date again, I mean he's talking with her about his girlfriend. Does Guy... Not have other friends?
 
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"Yes it can. I mean, it didn't, but it could have done. The techniques required are a matter of public record. I mean, if the Japanese can farm their country, no one else has an excuse for not farming."
This is complete bullshit and she should absolutely be calling him out for it.

Putting aside that weather in Japan is nowhere near the same as it is in Brazil, that would require a level of perfect communication coverage and high standards of education that just straight up doesn't exist in Brazil.
 
For a start, they're each and every one super-powered. Remember the whole fuss that arose when they were messing with lumber companies earlier?

And aside from that they have the home field advantage, since they can literary change the playing field with their Druid magic.

Not to mention having a nature goddess on their side who now may be running all plant life on the planet.
 
Odin is paranoid about ragnarok, and his death. Specific magics or artifacts could help him change his fate.

Now, I doubt he'll get Paul on his side against something as nebulous as prophecy, but… look. We are going to wind up comparing Odin to Hephestean and Zeus. The subsequent Norse missions related to this fire giant scenario should give Odin a chance to prove if he is troublesome.
 
And aside from that they have the home field advantage, since they can literary change the playing field with their Druid magic.

Not to mention having a nature goddess on their side who now may be running all plant life on the planet.
Probably throws the whole farming plan out the window when the Nature Goddess can just say "No more plant genocide" and all your crops fail no matter what
 

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