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

BlackCoat13 · May 29, 2024

Mr Zoat said:
"I'll leave you to it. Off." Of course, he can just take his lantern out of subspace when he runs out of power. Ring, calculate distance to the nearest coast.

That first quotation mark should be in Orange in the Story Only thread.

With This Ring (Young Justice SI) (Story Only) [Archive]

11th November 13:46 GMT -7 RingPowerItPowerItPowerIt! Orange filaments connect the ring to each of the cables as the Fortress continues to fall through the air. I'm halfway to the ceiling and I've got maybe twenty seconds to get power to the anti-gravity system before I flatten Denver. My...

forum.questionablequesting.com

WereDragon · May 29, 2024

Mr Zoat said:
Then she extends her tail and walks around her, scratching a rough circle in the stone.

Always good to see some mundane utility. Having an entire limb be nothing but decoration seems terribly wasteful.

Mr Zoat · May 29, 2024

BlackCoat13 said:
That first quotation mark should be in Orange in the Story Only thread.

With This Ring (Young Justice SI) (Story Only) [Archive]

11th November 13:46 GMT -7 RingPowerItPowerItPowerIt! Orange filaments connect the ring to each of the cables as the Fortress continues to fall through the air. I'm halfway to the ceiling and I've got maybe twenty seconds to get power to the anti-gravity system before I flatten Denver. My...

forum.questionablequesting.com

Thank you, corrected.

Doccer · May 29, 2024

Mr Zoat said:
It's not a fanfic. It's the proper translation of the Japanese name of a series that for some reason is called 'The Saga of Tanya the Evil' in English.

Oh. Wait what's that got to do with Nasuverse he asked about?Thought that verse was the Fate series?
Don't know Tanya series beyond a surface level.

RamiroGalletti · May 30, 2024

Question for mr.zoat, at what point did OL Went From "WHAT I WOULD DO?" To "what HE would do?" because with over a decade of "differing timelines/experiences" at some point he must have become "his own character"?

Mr Zoat · May 30, 2024

9th April 2013
13:41 GMT +3

we appear on a… Beach? Yes, a beach on.. Reformation Island. I take a moment to-

"What did you do to me!"

-orientate myself as Antimonie squares up to Chantinelle.

"I used your love connection to your sister-."

"Antimonie?"

Mala runs towards us from the direction of the orchard, passes me and enthusiastically embraces her sister. Antimonie hugs her back, giving Chantinelle a brief glare before giving Mala her full attention.

"Mala. Are you well?"

"Yes, we are fine. What happened to the world? John said that he felt some evil magic-" Antimonie nods. "-but he took the island out of the world before he could find out what it was."

"It was… Bad, for several days. Then the gods took Themyscira into their realm."

Mala frowns, pulls out of the hug so that she can see her sister's face. "And… You were safe there?"

"No, we had to fight all manner of strange creatures to prevent their magic touching the gods and destroying the world-."

"And John kept us here while you struggled."

Chantinelle and I glance at the grey sea and sky surrounding the island, a sea that gets increasingly blurry the further from the island it gets, merging with the sky at a distance I can't precisely identify. I'm… Starting to get a little worried about exactly what John did to make this happen.

"John wouldn't have known what was going to happen. In fact-."

"He couldn't undo his own spell!" Mala turns to me. "Gods save me from foolish demigods!"

I nod. "That's usually what it takes. Where is he?"

"In the barracks, attempting to see past his own breaking of the universe. But what of Themyscira?"

Antimonie puts her right hand on her sister's left shoulder. "As well as can be expected. As I understand it, it is the rest of the world where the situation is calamitous."

I nod. "Not inaccurate. Though global trade has a lot of advantages, it means that we're so interdependent, something like that just makes everything… Stop working. No one on Themyscira lives more than five miles from a farm, while we have cities whose entire populations have never seen one. I think we'll avoid mass deaths, but we're basically having to reorganise the entire planet. Chantinelle, can you get us back?"

"I think so."

…

The three of us look at her unhappily.

"I don't know exactly what John's done. I should be able to take everyone back using someone's love as a conduit, but I'm…" She gestures at the sea. "Worried about what that means."

Mala frowns. "You would abandon the island?"

"Islands don't love. And unless you've learned some form of magical concealment I'm going to have to take us to Maltus with-" She looks at me. "-his love."

"I don't actually know that Jade's on Maltus right now. She's on counter-insurgency duties, but that could put her in a lot of different places." … "Like, space."

The Amazons glance at each other, then Mala looks at me. "Is that bad?"

"In theory, it's survivable. I was exposed to vacuum for several seconds once, and my injuries were mortal but not immediately fatal. The problem is that if I'm surrounded by pink crystal then I'm probably going to be a little slow in grabbing everyone. It would-." Hm. "Okay, I can fabricate you space suits to mitigate that problem-. And one for me, because the pink crystal might interfere with me using my ring." I look at Chantinelle. "Do you need a suit as well? I'm not clear how well regular demons do in space."

"I have no idea. Demons don't go into space. But if we do that, I'll take a suit."

Mala frowns in puzzlement. "What is 'Space'?"

It's… A little odd that an Amazon isn't familiar with the term, but hardly astonishing. Maybe we could set up some sort of general education program? It's amazing what Amazons don't pick up despite having sporadic contact with the outside world for the last sixty years.

"Okay, you know how air gets thinner when you climb a mountain?" Mala and Antimonie nod. "If you keep going, you get to a height where there's no air. Have you ever tried boiling water at the top of a mountain?"

"It boiled without being hot."

"Imagine that was your blood, and you understand what being in space is like."

I turn away to jog along the path towards the barracks. Unless John's completely out of it, he should be aware of me by now. And Chantinelle. It's a little rude of him not to come out and greet us, but I suppose that if he's still working on a fix then that might be absorbing all of his attention.

And there are the barracks, and… Oh, looks like someone's actually done some gardening. I'd be surprised if it was John, but-. Food supply. Themyscira is self-sufficient to the point where it can export, but Reformation Island really only has farms to allow the prisoners to engage in productive labour. Yes, fruiting bushes, rather than decorative flowers. They were preparing for-.

I-.

I stare through the wall at the two sets of desire networks. The intertwined sets of desire networks.

I turn around and look at Mala as the three women follow me. And I raise my eyebrows.

She meets my gaze, looking slightly puzzled.

"Uh!"

She looks surprised for a moment, then looks away, shaking her head. "In their defence, this is a fairly disturbing situation, and there are only so many books to read."

I turn back to the door and knock heavily on it. "John! Finish up and get ready to leave!"

"Couldn't fucking give me-?"

"You can carry on later! And I hope you're using protection!"

I walk away from the barracks, sighing. Right. I shouldn't have expected him to be focusing all the time, but… Really?

"Protection?" Mala sounds confused. "There are no enemies here. And he is a wizard of great power."

"Given his record, do you think him siring a child is a good idea?"

"No, but there are herbs… On the mainland… Which we have not needed for over two thousand years. No."

Chantinelle looks disturbed. "Please tell me that you haven't all been doing that with him? The world does not need that many new Constantines."

"No-." She doesn't look certain. "I will check. The others will be in the orchards."

Mr Zoat · May 30, 2024

RamiroGalletti said:
Question for mr.zoat, at what point did OL Went From "WHAT I WOULD DO" To "what HE would do" because with over a decade of "differing timelines/experiences" at some point he must have become "his own character"?

Fairly early on. Couldn't tell you exactly when.

Doccer said:
Oh. Wait what's that got to do with Nasuverse he asked about?Thought that verse was the Fate series?
Don't know Tanya series beyond a surface level.

If I remember correctly, it was originally imagined as a Nasuverse prequel.

Darko · May 30, 2024

Mr Zoat said:
What did you do to me!"

Well so much for that potential relationship.

Mr Zoat said:
have expecting him to

"expected"

Mr Zoat said:
Right. I shouldn't have expecting him to be focusing all the time, but… Really?

Hey, sex magic is a thing, so he may be working on some way to save them through sex.

Mr Zoat said:
No, but there are herbs… On the mainland… Which we have not needed for over two thousand years. No."

Assuming they work on whatever John sires.

Mr Zoat said:
"No-." She doesn't look certain

Oh, wonderful.

Can't wait to see an Amazon introduce Paul to her new son in the future.

Hopefully she isn't going to have twins.

KharnTheBrotrayer · May 30, 2024

Well we can see why John couldn't figure out how to undo the spell he was too busy enjoying himself with the locals.

Mr Zoat · May 30, 2024

Darko said:
"expected"

Thank you, corrected.

dw7thdoctor · May 30, 2024

Stupid unrelated question, but we have a hope elemental and love elemental in this story. It has been established that alien species are compatible on Earth due to magic. Would the offspring of two different kinds of elementals produce a new type of emotional elemental?

Vanbers · May 30, 2024

"What's the worst outcome of Anti-Lifing Earth?"

"The Constantine family tree grew several branches."

"Dear god."

Chojin Patriarch · May 30, 2024

Mr Zoat said:
9th April 2013
13:41 GMT +3

we appear on a… Beach? Yes, a beach on.. Reformation Island. I take a moment to-

"What did you do to me!"

Well, at least Anty isn't stuck in the crystal, I see. Though she's not too happy about having been in there in the first place. Why do folks have such a problem explaining what they're doing before they do it... Then again, some of the things involved, the subject likely wouldn't do it if they knew beforehand.

-orientate myself as Antimonie squares up to Chantinelle.

"I used your love connection to your sister-."

Which means they're likely very close by. If the loveyport... Or whatever it was... Works anything like OL's, the targetting is fairly precise.

"Antimonie?"

Mala runs towards us from the direction of the orchard, passes me and enthusiastically embraces her sister. Antimonie hugs her back, giving Chantinelle a brief glare before giving Mala her full attention.

The difference being apart for a couple of months makes after being on the same island for millennia.

"Mala. Are you well?"

"Yes, we are fine. What happened to the world? John said that he felt some evil magic-" Antimonie nods. "-but he took the island out of the world before he could find out what it was."

Naturally his first choice in the face of danger was running and hiding. It's kept him alive this long, after all.

"It was… Bad, for several days. Then the gods took Themyscira into their realm."

Mala frowns, pulls out of the hug so that she can see her sister's face. "And… You were safe there?"

...Debatably. To be fair, there weren't that many safe places on Earth.

"No, we had to fight all manner of strange creatures to prevent their magic touching the gods and destroying the world-."

"And John kept us here while you struggled."

Which would you prefer? Being safe, but bored, or being with the others and at risk of dying? ..>Well, given her anger, I think we can guess.

Chantinelle and I glance at the grey sea and sky surrounding the island, a sea that gets increasingly blurry the further from the island it gets, merging with the sky at a distance I can't precisely identify. I'm… Starting to get a little worried about exactly what John did to make this happen.

"John wouldn't have known what was going to happen. In fact-."

Especially since he didn't undo it. Did he forget to include a way to view outside whatever this place is?

"He couldn't undo his own spell!" Mala turns to me. "Gods save me from foolish demigods!"

I nod. "That's usually what it takes. Where is he?"

Ironic given who she's saying it to. So many people have felt that same sentiment towards him.

"In the barracks, attempting to see past his own breaking of the universe. But what of Themyscira?"

Antimonie puts her right hand on her sister's left shoulder. "As well as can be expected. As I understand it, it is the rest of the world where the situation is calamitous."

Honestly, Themyscira had little to be affected by the Anti-Life even without the Gods' interference. They might have been a bit moody, but I doubt they would have ended up beign Justified.

I nod. "Not inaccurate. Though global trade has a lot of advantages, it means that we're so interdependent, something like that just makes everything… Stop working. No one on Themyscira lives more than five miles from a farm, while we have cities whose entire populations have never seen one. I think we'll avoid mass deaths, but we're basically having to reorganise the entire planet. Chantinelle, can you get us back?"

And will it work with everyone who was here?

"I think so."

…

The three of us look at her unhappily.

Yeah, 'I think so' is not reassuring at all.

"I don't know exactly what John's done. I should be able to take everyone back using someone's love as a conduit, but I'm…" She gestures at the sea. "Worried about what that means."

Mala frowns. "You would abandon the island?"

The people are more important, of course. You can always build a new asylum elsewhere.

"Islands don't love. And unless you've learned some form of magical concealment I'm going to have to take us to Maltus with-" She looks at me. "-his love."

"I don't actually know that Jade's on Maltus right now. She's on counter-insurgency duties, but that could put her in a lot of different places." … "Like, space."

That might be a little awkward if they pop up during an undercover infiltration.

The Amazons glance at each other, then Mala looks at me. "Is that bad?"

"In theory, it's survivable. I was exposed to vacuum for several seconds once, and my injuries were mortal but not immediately fatal. The problem is that if I'm surrounded by pink crystal then I'm probably going to be a little slow in grabbing everyone. It would-." Hm. "Okay, I can fabricate you space suits to mitigate that problem-. And one for me, because the pink crystal might interfere with me using my ring." I look at Chantinelle. "Do you need a suit as well? I'm not clear how well regular demons do in space."

That's actually a good question. Demons are arcane lifeforms, but they still seem to need to breathe.

"I have no idea. Demons don't go into space. But if we do that, I'll take a suit."

Mala frowns in puzzlement. "What is 'Space'?"

...Right, because that was never a concept the ancient Hellenes' natural philosophers bothered to explore.

It's… A little odd that an Amazon isn't familiar with the term, but hardly astonishing. Maybe we could set up some sort of general education program? It's amazing what Amazons don't pick up despite having sporadic contact with the outside world for the last sixty years.

"Okay, you know how air gets thinning when you climb a mountain?" Mala and Antimonie nod. "If you keep going, you to a height where there's no air. Have you ever tried boiling water at the top of a mountain?"

A simple analogy, but sensible enough.

"It boiled without being hot."

"Imagine that was your blood, and you understand what being in space is like."

Got to wonder what they're picturing right now, and the knowledge that OL's suffered through that...

I turn away to jog along the path towards the barracks. Unless John's completely out of it, he should be aware of me by now. And Chantinelle. It's a little rude of him not to come out and greet us, but I suppose that if he's still working on a fix then that might be absorbing all of his attention.

And there are the barracks, and… Oh, looks like someone's actually done some gardening. I'd be surprised if it was John, but-. Food supply. Themyscira is self-sufficient to the point where it can export, but Reformation Island really only has farms to allow the prisoners to engage in productive labour. Yes, fruiting bushes, rather than decorative flowers. They were preparing for-.

Makes sense. And they would have the seeds needed form the farms, of course.

I-.

I stare through the wall at the two sets of desire networks. The intertwined sets of desire networks.

...Oh, my. [/takei] Well, not every Themysciran preferred women, of course...

I turn around and look at Mala as the three women follow me. And I raise my eyebrows.

She meets my gaze, looking slightly puzzled.

I can just imagine him trying to get across the shock of 'With John Constantine? Really?'

"Uh!"

She looks surprised for a moment, then looks away, shaking her head. "In their defence, this is a fairly disturbing situation, and there are only so many books to read."

...She has a point. There's a lot of time in the day, and you can only spend so much of it farming.

I turn back to the door and knock heavily on it. "John! Finish up and get ready to leave!"

"Couldn't fucking give me-?"

Dammit, John!

Do not make us think of you in the heat of passion...

"You can carry on later! And I hope you're using protection!"

I walk away from the barracks, sighing. Right. I shouldn't have expected him to be focusing all the time, but… Really?

Not sure how long any protection would last, even if he's got magic. And he does have some knowledge of tantric magic...

"Protection?" Mala sounds confused. "There are no enemies here. And he is a wizard of great power."

"Given his record, do you think him siring a child is a good idea?"

...Oh, hell. Actually when they find out, there will be screams.

"No, but there are herbs… On the mainland… Which we have not needed for over two thousand years. No."

Chantinelle looks disturbed. "Please tell me that you haven't all been doing that with him? The world does not need that many new Constantines."

"No-." She doesn't look certain. "I will check. The others will be in the orchards."

...I don't think the world could survive that many Constantines.

Right... Well, he could have been doing it to power a tantric spell or something.

But knowing John... Well, it could have been worse. They could have gotten here and found one or more of the Amazons head over heels in love with him. Let's just hope he hasn't been letting the ladies distract him from finding a way out...

"Okay, you know how air gets thinning when you climb a mountain?"

"Okay, you know how air gets thinner when you climb a mountain?"

"If you keep going, you to a height where there's no air.

"If you keep going, you get to a height where there's no air.

It's a little rude of him...

Double Space.

RichardWhereat · May 30, 2024

Mr Zoat said:
"Please tell me that you haven't all been doing that with him? The world does not need that many new Constantines."

"No-." She doesn't look certain. "I will check. The others will be in the orchards."

I see why John hasnt come back in a hurry.

Sockmonkey · May 30, 2024

The love focus was just to aim a more conventional teleport yes? Because going through the honden of love would fuck up anyone who isn't enlightened.

Vaermina · May 30, 2024

Mr Zoat said:
Chantinelle looks disturbed. "Please tell me that you haven't all been doing that with him? The world does not need that many new Constantines."

The world absolutely does need that many new Constantines.

RamiroGalletti · May 30, 2024

Mr Zoat said:
Fairly early on. Couldn't tell you exactly when.

If I remember correctly, it was originally imagined as a Nasuverse prequel.

I am going to assume "when you left spacebattles" due lack of better info

KharnTheBrotrayer · May 30, 2024

Vanbers said:
"What's the worst outcome of Anti-Lifing Earth?"

"The Constantine family tree grew several branches."

"Dear god."

Truly had Darkseid known he would have called the whole thing off.

RichardWhereat said:
I see why John hasnt come back in a hurry.

I imagine John would have been back faster than the flash if the ladies were all dedicated lesbians having a good time exclusively with each other.

Dude would have struggled through for a short time and then been back right quick to the pure bliss of anti-life.

Mr Zoat · May 30, 2024

dw7thdoctor said:
Stupid unrelated question, but we have a hope elemental and love elemental in this story. It has been established that alien species are compatible on Earth due to magic. Would the offspring of two different kinds of elementals produce a new type of emotional elemental?

I doubt that they could breed.

Chojin Patriarch said:
"Okay, you know how air gets thinner when you climb a mountain?"
"If you keep going, you get to a height where there's no air.
Double Space.

Thank you, corrected.

Doccer · May 30, 2024

Mr Zoat said:
If I remember correctly, it was originally imagined as a Nasuverse prequel.

Huh.

Vaermina · May 30, 2024

KharnTheBrotrayer said:
I imagine John would have been back faster than the flash if the ladies were all dedicated lesbians having a good time exclusively with each other.

Dude would have struggled through for a short time and then been back right quick to the pure bliss of anti-life.

It's Constantine, the dude would have used magic to turn himself into a lady and joined in.

Bud-E · May 30, 2024

Whose on Reformation Island do we know? And how long have they been separated from Themyscira?

Mr Zoat · May 30, 2024

Bud-E said:
Whose on Reformation Island do we know?

As far as named characters go it's just John and Mala at the moment. I think.

And how long have they been separated from Themyscira?

Since the Anti-Life Broadcast.

Ngamer11 · May 31, 2024

Mr Zoat said:
Avatar: Legend of Azula (part 5)

@Mr Zoat, this link doesn't work.

Mr Zoat · May 31, 2024

9th April 2013
13:48 GMT +3

John is looking unduly pleased with himself, and I'm not scanning Daphne because there are Some Things Man Was Not Meant To Know. She's either pregnant with the spawn of a Lord of Order/Lord of Chaos and a Constantine, or she's not. And if she is, we-. Themyscira's not a bad place for a magically inclined person to grow up, and if she wants to get into magic Atlantis should be back by then.

Or John could just stick her in the Tower of Fate.

"So what exactly did you do? And also, 'why'?"

John pulls a cigarette out of nowhere, lights it with a crimson crackle and then inserts the filter end in his mouth.

"Severance."

"Which means..?"

"The Tower of Fate, most of it is space that's cut off from the Earth, you know? You can come in through the door, but if you don't-."

"I went in through the Dream, I do remember."

"So the beach is a boundary line. I traced it, then cut the island off from the world. Anti-Life didn't even know we were here."

"And you couldn't reverse it why?"

He raises his left eyebrow slightly. "Because we're cut off, aren't we? No doorway between here and Earth. Nothing to connect back to."

"You couldn't connect back to the Tower?"

He winces. "Doesn't sound like the best idea, mate. Not until I go though the whole place and find out what else is stuck in there. Does us no good if I crash this place into some old demon's binding cell."

"Yes." Mala nods definitively. "You will put this island back where you found it."

"Except I can't, can I?" John shrugs. "Nothing's changed. So-."

"Can't you use my tattoos?"

He pauses, looking thoughtful.

"Don't think so, mate. I know what Earth's magic field looks like; that's not the problem. I need an active connection to slot the island back in, and while you're here, all you're connected to is this place."

"What can do the job?"

"Your ring got a map of exactly where the island was before I moved it?"

"Barring tiny changes in the structure of the ocean plate, yes."

"Alright, give me a ball of mercury. Two feet-"

"How old are you?"

"-across." He gives me a mildly amused look. "Metres are French. From The Terror. Like those stupid months they invented that no one used. I'd rather use the original-."

"And the post code system that deliberately didn't use existing regions in order to undermine regional identity. That doesn't change the fact that-."

Mala grasps our shoulders roughly. "Please focus on doing something clever, rather than sounding clever."

I fabricate the requested sphere of mercury, and John raises his hands. Flickers of gold and crimson light dart around and through the orb-.

"Have you got the hang of it, then?"

"No. Just got the hang of throttling the power without bursting anything. It's… Temporary. Probably only works because we're isolated."

"Do you have an actual solution?"

"Yes."

…

"I'd like a little more than that, John."

"Just copying Marvel's wizard, really. Find someone else to take most of the strain. One for Order and another for Chaos. Do a synchronicity walk when I get back, see who I run into. You need some sand."

I remove the construct I have holding up the mercury ball, and runes light up on its outside as John's magic takes the strain. Then I fly-. Ah, just above the tree tops because I don't know how much 'up' John took with him and I'm not sure what happens if I fly into it here. Probably nothing much, but it would be a stupid risk to take. The sand is a ritual component, so the best thing to do is take a little from the entire shoreline. Shouldn't need to put every grain back in the exact place… My general knowledge of magic suggests that the spell should send them to the right place itself, followed shortly afterwards by the island. The whole point of this sort of spell is that it's simple.

And that if John was actually capable of handling his full power he wouldn't need to bother with these steps. He could literally just reach through either the realm of order or the realm of chaos to get his connection, then fling the island back into place.

Ring, check my working?

Spell appears functional.

Yes. But like using a power ring, it's not just a matter of 'can this be done in theory, if yes, I can do it'. You need to marshal the energy and shape it into the key that turns the universe. I'm glad that John's being realistic about what he can do, even if it would be really convenient if he could spontaneously learn to simultaneously juggle fireballs and waterballs in opposite directions using only his feet.

Vacuum construct and fly. Just need a little, after all. And then hopefully John will be able to help work out what happened to Atlantis, and… And I told the Caliph that I'd take Jade to visit. Breaking that agreement -even if it was an informal, time permitting agreement- seems like a bad idea. And…

And go back to jumping on whatever emergencies raise their heads.

The lack of effective government means that we're in perfect 'easier to beg forgiveness than ask permission' territory, but there isn't really anything that I want permission to do.

For a chaos-worshipper, I sure like order.

"Hah!"

I shut down the vacuum and fly back towards John. Yes, that's how it works, the ole ying yang thing. Without order, there's no chaos. There's just a mess. And while Eris might personally be fine with it…

Must remember to ask her.

John-. The mercury doesn't look like mercury any more. Or like a ball. Reminds me a little of a video I watched on VidULike of someone pouring molten metal into an ant colony. Runes… No, he's beyond anything I can understand with a simple visual analysis.

"Right." John closes his hands, and the thingy floats under its bound spells. "I've set this up to go along with you just about anywhere. 'Elle can send you to your girl, you fly back to Earth, put that where the middle of the island should go and then sprinkle the sand around. In that order."

"Fly to Earth, put the magical ansible into place, spread the sand around. Anything I need to do to turn it on?"

"No."

"Alright." I fabricate a resilient combat spacesuit for myself, then add a couple of force field generators just in case. "Ready."

Mr Zoat · May 31, 2024

Ngamer11 said:
@Mr Zoat, this link doesn't work.

Thank you, corrected.

Darko · May 31, 2024

Mr Zoat said:
John is looking unduly pleased with himself, and I'm not scanning Daphne because there are Some Things Man Was Not Meant To Know

And many of those things are connected to John.

Mr Zoat said:
t. And if she is, we-. Themyscira's not a bad place for a magically inclined person to grow up, and if she wants to get into magic Atlantis should be back by then

Just don't let them near John.

Mr Zoat said:
Or John could just stick her in the Tower of Fate

No, god almighty no.

Mr Zoat said:
Mala grasps our shoulders roughly. "Please focus on doing something clever, rather than sounding clever

Yes, thank you, Mala.

You have no idea how much everyone has wanted to say that.

Unfortunately, they're both British, so sounding clever without necessarily being clever is in their very being.

Mr Zoat said:
"Just copying Marvel's wizard, really. Find someone else to take most of the strain. One for Order and another for Chaos. Do a synchronicity walk when I get back, see who I run into. You need some sand

So this might be how Hawk and Dove come to be in the Paragon side.

Mr Zoat said:
and runs light up

"runes"

Parzival95 · May 31, 2024

I am ready for Paul to immediately get sidetracked by an incredibly annoying side quest for days to weeks, leaving Constantine annoyed the whole time.

Chojin Patriarch · May 31, 2024

Mr Zoat said:
9th April 2013
13:48 GMT +3

John is looking unduly pleased with himself, and I'm not scanning Daphne because there are Some Things Man Was Not Meant To Know. She's either pregnant with the spawn of a Lord of Order/Lord of Chaos and a Constantine, or she's not. And if she is, we-. Themyscira's not a bad place for a magically inclined person to grow up, and if she wants to get into magic Atlantis should be back by then.

One of those things being John Constantine's sex life. At least, with any luck, any theoretical offspring shouldn't be trouble for at least 5 to ten years. Gods help Earth if any baby of his is born with their phenomenal cosmic power.

Or John could just stick her in the Tower of Fate.

"So what exactly did you do? And also, 'why'?"

To be fair, he has done worse. Especially to himselves.

John pulls a cigarette out of nowhere, lights it with a crimson crackle and then inserts the filter end in his mouth.

"Severance."

I suppose that's one upside of said phenomenal cosmic power: Fresh ciggies whenever he wants them, just how he imagines them and with no risk of cancer.

"Which means..?"

"The Tower of Fate, most of it is space that's cut off from the Earth, you know? You can come in through the door, but if you don't-."

...The process is a lot harder. Yes, OL knows about that.

"I went in through the dream, I do remember."

"So the beach is a boundary line. I traced it, then cut the island off from the world. Anti-Life didn't even know we were here."

Well, that's good. Now that you know it's safe, presumably you can unfuck the connections and drop the island back, then.

"And you couldn't reverse it why?"

He raises his left eyebrow slightly. "Because we're cut off, aren't we? No doorway between here and Earth. Nothing to connect back to."

...Of course not. That would be too damn easy for the Constantine Luck, wouldn't it?

"You couldn't connect back to the Tower?"

He winces. "Doesn't sound like the best idea, mate. Not until I go though the whole place and find out what else is stuck in there. Does us no good if I crash this place into some old demon's binding cell."

Well, then you get to punch a Satan-wannabe in the face. Which John's powerful enough to do now.

"Yes." Mala nods definitively. "You will put this island back where you found it."

"Except I can't, can I?" John shrugs. "Nothing's changed. So-."

Actually, something has changed. OL and Chantinelle got in, right? Surely there's a faint link back now?

"Can't you use my tattoos?"

He pauses, looking thoughtful.

The soul-gathering ones, since I doubt the untargetability ones wouldn't get in the way.

"Don't think so, mate. I know what Earth's magic field looks like; that's not the problem. I need an active connection to slot the island back in, and while you're here, all you're connected to is this place."

"What can do the job?"

Dangit. I suppose it'd be too hard to triangulate things via Love and Avarice. Since both OL and Chantinelle haven't lost their connections.

"Your ring got a map of exactly where the island was before I moved it?"

"Barring tiny changes in the structure of the ocean plate, yes."

And other than an immeasurably slight lowering in the Mediterranean's water level from its disappearance, I doubt there's any other displacements.

"Alright, give me a ball of mercury. Two feet-"

"How old are you?"

Hey, even I find myself switching between Metric and Imperial when measuring things. Sometimes it's easier to picture 'six feet tall' than 'One hundred and eighty centimetres.' Especially as a Warhammer player. One handy thing about the older 25-mil bases: They are just about one inch.

Makes for easy range guessing even with 'measure anytime' rules..

"-across." He gives me a mildly amused look. "Metres are French. From The Terror. Like those stupid months they invented that no one used. I'd rather use the original-."

"And the post code system that deliberately didn't use existing regions in order to undermine regional identity. That doesn't change the fact that-."

This is no time for irrational patriotism, John. Unless there's some mystical reason you object, get over it.

Mala grasps our shoulders roughly. "Please focus on doing something clever, rather than sounding clever."

I fabricate the requested sphere of mercury, and John raises his hands. Flickers of gold and crimson light dart around and through the orb-.

Honestly, knocking their heads together might have gotten the word through even clearer, but they do have various protections that would make that trickier.

"Have you got the hang of it, then?"

"No. Just got the hang of throttling the power without bursting anything. It's… Temporary. Probably only works because we're isolated."

Like trying to use a firehose when you're used to squirt-guns, huh?

"Do you have an actual solution?"

"Yes."

…

Care to explain that solution, then? I know you're used to being the smartest bloke in the room, John, but show some respect.

"I'd like a little more than that, John."

"Just copying Marvel's wizard, really. Find someone else to take most of the strain. One for Order and another for Chaos. Do a synchronicity walk when I get back, see who I run into. You need some sand."

So, just shoving the responsibility of using the power on someone else while you benefit from the trickle that remains? That's a very... John plan.

I remove the construct I have holding up the mercury ball, and runes light up on its outside as John's magic takes the strain. Then I fly-. Ah, just above the tree tops because I don't know how much 'up' John took with him and I'm not sure what happens if I fly into it here. Probably nothing much, but it would be a stupid risk to take. The sand is a ritual component, so the best thing to do is take a little from the entire shoreline. Shouldn't need to put every grain back in the exact place… My general knowledge of magic suggests that the spell should send them to the right place itself, followed shortly afterwards my the island. The whole point of this sort of spell is that it's simple.

Explains why John's doing it that way. Less things to go wrong, barring unforeseen interactions with Order or Chaos...

And that if John was actually capable of handling his full power he wouldn't need to bother with these steps. He could literally just reach through either the realm of order or the realm of chaos to get his connection, then fling the island back into place.

Ring, check my working?

Yes, pity he's been malingering about it and fobbing the stuff off on others... Or rather, other hims.

Spell appears functional.

Yes. But like using a power ring, it's not just a matter of 'can this be done in theory, if yes, I can do it'. You need to marshal the energy and shape it into the key that turns the universe. I'm glad that John's being realistic about what he can do, even if it would be really convenient if he could spontaneously learn to simultaneously juggle fireballs and waterballs in opposite directions using only his feet.

And while a Power Ring might be a good lockpick if you know the trick, better to use real tools.

Vacuum construct and fly. Just need a little, after all. And then hopefully John will be able to help work out what happened to Atlantis, and… And I told the Caliph that I'd take Jade to visit. Breaking that agreement -even if it was an informal, time permitting agreement- seems like a bad idea. And…

And go back to jumping on whatever emergencies raise their heads.

So, business as usual, then.

The lack of effective government means that we'd in perfect 'easier to beg forgiveness than ask permission' territory, but there isn't really anything that I want permission to do.

For a chaos-worshipper, I sure like order.

Well, you're more worshipping it for its 'overturn the existing structure' tendencies than for the instability itself.

"Hah!"

I shut down the vacuum and fly back towards John. Yes, that's how it works, the ole ying yang thing. Without order, there's no chaos. There's just a mess. And while Eris might personally be fine with it…

Water is shaped by what holds it. Fire cannot exist without fuel and oxidant. Everything has some kind of counterpart that helps to define it...

Must remember to ask her.

John-. The mercury doesn't look like mercury any more. Or like a ball. Reminds me a little of a video I watched on VidULike of someone pouring molten metal into an ant colony. Runes… No, he's beyond anything I can understand with a simple visual analysis.

Sounds interesting... If you're not the ants.

"Right." John closes his hands, and the thingy floats under its bound spells. "I've set this up to go along with you just about anywhere. 'Elle can send you to your girl, you fly back to Earth, put that where the middle of the island should go and then sprinkle the sand around. In that order."

"Fly to Earth, put the magical ansible into place, spread the sand around. Anything I need to do to turn it on?"

Let's hope it works as intended, then. And that OL doesn't get unavoidably sidetracked by popping out in a covert operation or the like.

"No."

"Alright." I fabricate a resilient combat spacesuit for myself, then add a couple of force field generators just in case. "Ready."

Don't forget one for Chantinelle, if she has to come along...

Figures. John was just being his usual self about it, wasn't he? Tolerate the situation until something comes along to upset it. Still, he better appreciate his several-month-long vacation with a bunch of beautiful Amazons. And then get to work on sorting out his whole Order/Chaos situation before it bites his ass. Especially before it bites all of Earth.

moralrelativity · May 31, 2024

Mr Zoat said:
and runs light up on its outside

runs -> runes ?

Mr Zoat said:
shortly afterwards my the island.

my -> by

Mr Zoat said:
means that we'd in perfect 'easier to beg forgiveness

we'd -> we're

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

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