Mr Zoat
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Because I had nothing to say on the subject? The Amazons are a self-sufficient people who don't need anything from the rest of the world.
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With This Ring (Young Justice SI) (Thread Fourteen)
- Thread starter Mr Zoat
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- self insert young justice
RoninSword
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So remember before the dryad who's name I can't remember was going to connect wood from the Garden of Eden I to the green, thus rendering all plant life on Earth harmful to demons and demonic magic.
Is she continuing that now that the Anti Life is gone and how she wqs basically elected Queen of the Green since everyone else connected to the Green is gone.
I suppose a a broader question is if the missing Parliment of Trees and Swamp Thing (who Paul gave an alien plant computer to and then suddenly Swamp Thing was speaking in full sentence at normal volume like a regular person) are going to show back up.
Is she continuing that now that the Anti Life is gone and how she wqs basically elected Queen of the Green since everyone else connected to the Green is gone.
I suppose a a broader question is if the missing Parliment of Trees and Swamp Thing (who Paul gave an alien plant computer to and then suddenly Swamp Thing was speaking in full sentence at normal volume like a regular person) are going to show back up.
Mr Zoat
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Euanthe is in Accalacan.
As far as I remember, the SI gave a dominator computer to O, which they shared with Alstair. I don't remember him giving one to Swamp Thing.
Ardy
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Maybe you can add "after John's return trip, I can actually get some sleep" to the beginning of this chapter to clear it up.
John is not someone you want ambiguity with
RoninSword
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Here you go
And then the Anti Life happened and he and the parliment of Trees vanished.
Sockmonkey
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He did give one to Isley in one of his "hang on one second while I solve a problem in typical OL fashion" moments.
Darko
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"to do that"
Trivialities (part 19)
Mr Zoat
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11th April 2013
05:25 GMT +1
Kara is twitching as she restrains herself from flying up to Bleez's ship to wave through the view screen. She settles for bouncing, going up onto her toes before lowering her feet back onto the landing pad with her hands clasped at her waist and playing with her cape as my spotlights and the glow of her crystals light up the area.
"Can't her ship go faster?!"
"Generally, going fast enough towards a planet to cause an extinction event is considered impolite." I glance over to the giant crystalline bulk of her Fortress of Solicitude, planted a short distance from my own home because I offered and she finally got around to growing it. "Has that gotten..? Taller?"
"I can't get the shape quite right? And then I think of things to put in the space but it only takes a few seconds to make them because, duh, kryptonian, and then I made rooms for the other Supergirls so we can make one big Supergirl House! I even made a room for Angelika!"
"That was thoughtful."
"With lots of culturally-relevant decoration!"
"Uh…"
"Noriel's room has lots of fire extinguishers! I tried to get unholy water for them, but every time I asked the wizards I was talking to just gave me a bucket of dirty water! And they couldn't help at all when I asked for unholy nitrogen!"
"I don't think elemental vulnerability works like that. Also, you should probably avoid that sort of wizard."
"Well obviously! If they can't manage something as simple as unholy water they're a waste of my time!" She stops bouncing for a moment and turns her head to look at me. "Wait. Are you worried about me?"
"Kryptonians are vulnerable to magic. Mental alterations-."
"Don't worry! I was using protection!" She reaches down to her belt pouch and pulls out.. a spell eater. I nod approvingly, and she smiles even more as she puts it back. "Plus I can think, like, really fast. If any naughty magician tries controlling me, wham, pow, right-" She makes a fist with her right hand. "-in the schnozz!"
"Just remember not to completely destroy his face if you can help it. We need remains to identify."
"I'm seventy percent sure that I could leave the brain ninety percent intact!"
"Perhaps it's something you could practice until you can be a little more sure."
She frowns. "Practice punching someone's head off? That sounds a bit morbid."
"Not half as morbid as actually punching someone's head off."
I look up as Bleez's ship stops above us, switching entirely to its antigravity system for support. It then descends directly downwards, halting an inch above the pad and then slowly touching down.
Kara claps. "Good landing!"
There's a brief delay, then a hatch in the side opens and allows… Bleez to contort her way out, legs first. She's still in the spray-on spacesuit, and she's actually wearing a helmet.
"He-ey!" Kara fast-flies over to meet her. "I'm so glad to meet you!"
Bleez looks at her in puzzlement for a moment, then spots the 'S' on her chest. "Hello-. Are you kryptonian!?"
"I sure am! I'm Kara! I'm super-rare!"
"Is that what-" Bleez looks at the giant crystal structure. "-kryptonian buildings look like?"
"Buildings, space ships, most of the planet… We really like crystals. Do you like crystals?"
"Not as much as you do."
I wander over to rescue her. "Welcome to Earth, Bleez. I don't think now's a great time to organise a concert, but we'll be happy to show you around." She turns to me, nodding. "What's with the space suit? Earth's atmosphere is perfectly safe for you to breathe."
She sighs and does another wing-twitch eye-roll. "I know, but my insurance company doesn't get access to military intelligence reports. So until my ship's analyser gives me the okay, I'm stuck wearing this."
"I could-."
"Thanks, but it has to literally be this. Now I'm here it should only be for a few hours." She raises her arms above her head and stretches, wings back and chest forwards. "A-ah!"
"Hard journey?"
"I thought I was soo smart, buying an old navy courier ship." She gives her wings a flap, rising into the air for a moment before spreading them out to slowly descend to the ground. "I think the pilots must have their wings plucked or something?"
"But when you have to get somewhere fast…"
"That was fine until the cramp started." She flaps a couple of time so that she can see over the ship, then does a full 360o circle. "So this is Earth, huh? Less green than I thought it would be."
"This is Bir Tawil. A piece of land I took over because no one else wanted it. It has no natural resources, plants or animals. If you want greenery, go literally anywhere else."
Adrianna could probably fix the greenery issue, but she's got more important things to worry about at the moment. And honestly, I sort of like it.
Kara gasps, hands covering her mouth. "You've never even seen a kryptonian building before!"
"That's true." Bleez looks at it. "It's-."
Kara darts in grabs her right hand and pulls her towards her front door. Bleez is dragged through the air after her. "I'll show you around!"
"You're-. Really strong."
"I'm kryptonian! Being really strong is what we're all about!"
The Nth metal in their bodies makes thanagarians unusually strong for humanoids. Bleez is probably used to having an edge in strength when compared to most things, so running into one of the winners of the 'strongest humanoid species' prize is probably a little disconcerting.
Ring? Scan her ship.
Scan complete.
No changes of clothing. Unusual for someone like Bleez, both as a performer and as a noble. No food other than military ration packs that might well have been there when she bought it, or just left in there as emergency reserves. No toiletries. She left in a hurry, and I-. Was that space suit in the ship?
"Orange Lantern to Mister Atom."
"Responding."
"I'm concerned that Bleez may be pursued by a Yellow Lantern. Please notify the Green Lanterns directly and put out an advisory for everyone else."
"Done. End."
I find myself staring at my own home. I'm running on not-a-lot-of-sleep, and I suspect that New York would appreciate me opening my clinic again today.
No. I can't really leave Bleez to Kara's enthusiastic mercies. Rising off the ground, I fly after them.
05:25 GMT +1
Kara is twitching as she restrains herself from flying up to Bleez's ship to wave through the view screen. She settles for bouncing, going up onto her toes before lowering her feet back onto the landing pad with her hands clasped at her waist and playing with her cape as my spotlights and the glow of her crystals light up the area.
"Can't her ship go faster?!"
"Generally, going fast enough towards a planet to cause an extinction event is considered impolite." I glance over to the giant crystalline bulk of her Fortress of Solicitude, planted a short distance from my own home because I offered and she finally got around to growing it. "Has that gotten..? Taller?"
"I can't get the shape quite right? And then I think of things to put in the space but it only takes a few seconds to make them because, duh, kryptonian, and then I made rooms for the other Supergirls so we can make one big Supergirl House! I even made a room for Angelika!"
"That was thoughtful."
"With lots of culturally-relevant decoration!"
"Uh…"
"Noriel's room has lots of fire extinguishers! I tried to get unholy water for them, but every time I asked the wizards I was talking to just gave me a bucket of dirty water! And they couldn't help at all when I asked for unholy nitrogen!"
"I don't think elemental vulnerability works like that. Also, you should probably avoid that sort of wizard."
"Well obviously! If they can't manage something as simple as unholy water they're a waste of my time!" She stops bouncing for a moment and turns her head to look at me. "Wait. Are you worried about me?"
"Kryptonians are vulnerable to magic. Mental alterations-."
"Don't worry! I was using protection!" She reaches down to her belt pouch and pulls out.. a spell eater. I nod approvingly, and she smiles even more as she puts it back. "Plus I can think, like, really fast. If any naughty magician tries controlling me, wham, pow, right-" She makes a fist with her right hand. "-in the schnozz!"
"Just remember not to completely destroy his face if you can help it. We need remains to identify."
"I'm seventy percent sure that I could leave the brain ninety percent intact!"
"Perhaps it's something you could practice until you can be a little more sure."
She frowns. "Practice punching someone's head off? That sounds a bit morbid."
"Not half as morbid as actually punching someone's head off."
I look up as Bleez's ship stops above us, switching entirely to its antigravity system for support. It then descends directly downwards, halting an inch above the pad and then slowly touching down.
Kara claps. "Good landing!"
There's a brief delay, then a hatch in the side opens and allows… Bleez to contort her way out, legs first. She's still in the spray-on spacesuit, and she's actually wearing a helmet.
"He-ey!" Kara fast-flies over to meet her. "I'm so glad to meet you!"
Bleez looks at her in puzzlement for a moment, then spots the 'S' on her chest. "Hello-. Are you kryptonian!?"
"I sure am! I'm Kara! I'm super-rare!"
"Is that what-" Bleez looks at the giant crystal structure. "-kryptonian buildings look like?"
"Buildings, space ships, most of the planet… We really like crystals. Do you like crystals?"
"Not as much as you do."
I wander over to rescue her. "Welcome to Earth, Bleez. I don't think now's a great time to organise a concert, but we'll be happy to show you around." She turns to me, nodding. "What's with the space suit? Earth's atmosphere is perfectly safe for you to breathe."
She sighs and does another wing-twitch eye-roll. "I know, but my insurance company doesn't get access to military intelligence reports. So until my ship's analyser gives me the okay, I'm stuck wearing this."
"I could-."
"Thanks, but it has to literally be this. Now I'm here it should only be for a few hours." She raises her arms above her head and stretches, wings back and chest forwards. "A-ah!"
"Hard journey?"
"I thought I was soo smart, buying an old navy courier ship." She gives her wings a flap, rising into the air for a moment before spreading them out to slowly descend to the ground. "I think the pilots must have their wings plucked or something?"
"But when you have to get somewhere fast…"
"That was fine until the cramp started." She flaps a couple of time so that she can see over the ship, then does a full 360o circle. "So this is Earth, huh? Less green than I thought it would be."
"This is Bir Tawil. A piece of land I took over because no one else wanted it. It has no natural resources, plants or animals. If you want greenery, go literally anywhere else."
Adrianna could probably fix the greenery issue, but she's got more important things to worry about at the moment. And honestly, I sort of like it.
Kara gasps, hands covering her mouth. "You've never even seen a kryptonian building before!"
"That's true." Bleez looks at it. "It's-."
Kara darts in grabs her right hand and pulls her towards her front door. Bleez is dragged through the air after her. "I'll show you around!"
"You're-. Really strong."
"I'm kryptonian! Being really strong is what we're all about!"
The Nth metal in their bodies makes thanagarians unusually strong for humanoids. Bleez is probably used to having an edge in strength when compared to most things, so running into one of the winners of the 'strongest humanoid species' prize is probably a little disconcerting.
Ring? Scan her ship.
Scan complete.
No changes of clothing. Unusual for someone like Bleez, both as a performer and as a noble. No food other than military ration packs that might well have been there when she bought it, or just left in there as emergency reserves. No toiletries. She left in a hurry, and I-. Was that space suit in the ship?
"Orange Lantern to Mister Atom."
"Responding."
"I'm concerned that Bleez may be pursued by a Yellow Lantern. Please notify the Green Lanterns directly and put out an advisory for everyone else."
"Done. End."
I find myself staring at my own home. I'm running on not-a-lot-of-sleep, and I suspect that New York would appreciate me opening my clinic again today.
No. I can't really leave Bleez to Kara's enthusiastic mercies. Rising off the ground, I fly after them.
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Mr Zoat
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I think it works either way.
Do you remember when?
Darko
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Well shit.
Smart.
Now I can't help but imagine her getting sprayed every time she starts a fire.
Well it is impure.
Wizard: I don't know how to respond to that.
Paul, Constantine is that sort of wizard and he's a close friend of yours.
"stops"
That's a very Paul way of looking at it.
Maybe Paul can volunteer.
He's had his blown off at least once before and he's fine.
Aside from the pollution.
Ahh, bureaucracy.
Shit.
Mr Zoat
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Thank you, corrected.
RoninSword
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Here you go
And from her to Swamp Thing.
Edit: And they were in the middle of making all plants destroy any demonic magic they come into contact with.
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BlackCoat13
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moralrelativity
Recovering pendant.
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Agumentic
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No, Solicitude is right. You can't really have a Fortress of Solitude when you literally have neighbors, can you?
Chojin Patriarch
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Good grief, she's so... Bubbly. Man, this is going to be quite the noisy day for OL, I think. Between Bleez and Kara... Giggling might be a frequent occurrence. As long as it's limited to just that.
...Of course it's earned such a... Her name. Is it filled to the brim with girly stuff she likes?
How considerate of her. Though I suspect the others don't take her up on slumber party invites too often.
...I'm guessing red and black feature heavily, then. With concerning local sigils...
...I don't think that's how it works, kiddo.
Considering how trusting you are... I don't think someone would need mind control to make you do stuff as long as it sounds 'not evil' enough...
Honestly, she wouldn't even need to actually hit them, given the air-pressure she could generate, even with her little fist.
Maybe aim for the neck? Given the density of kryptonian flesh, it's be like a rather blunt cleaver.
Well, you could save it for the really bad people who deserve it.
Not a lot of room. Makes it more likely she's here on her own, at least.
Heh. Only so much space to have a hatch, I see. Like one of those tiny, low-slung super-sports cars.
Don't be so surprised. You knew there's at least one other on Earth.
I know, not very stylish. Still, it's only really a field fortification.
Honestly, it is an efficient design for nano-technology. Especially if it can grow more of itself from ambient materials.
Well, You do wear it well. Perhaps a robe over it so you don't cause people to walk into things when you walk around in cities?
And when a Thanagarian stretches out, they really stretch out. Like, watch out for the wings.
I imagine it would be rather cramped, in a single-person scout ship. Still, better than having a frigate or something bigger turn up.
No planet is a single biome, you know...
To be fair, it would be a bit tough to keep a desert green, without some measure of climate modification.
...Look out, Bleez! She's gonna invite you over for a slumber party!
Not quite at 'sneeze an entire galaxy away', but she's up there.
That's what happens when your species is ab;le to hit the end of the biological sciences tech curve and keep going.
Just to be on the safe side. I would not be surprised if there weren't a spy in cryo-stasis or something hidden away in her luggage space.
She probably figured you'd be able to provide some local clothing.
Letting him know things went well, I take it.
Ah... Oh, dear. That would be a worry.
...You do know if they go on a shopping trip, you're gonna end up carrying their bags.
So, this might not entirely be a planned visit, then. At least she was smart enough to come to the home of a known ally, one she knows is skilled against hostile Spectrum users. The question is, if it is a Yellow Lantern, will it be a familiar one. Arkillo, perhaps? I suppose we'll soon see if she is running from someone.
Darko
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She has been trying to move away from Nazi shit, and Kara 1 probably knows that Nazis are shit, so it may just be non-Nazi German stuff.
Probably stereotypical as hell, but not Nazi shit.
Some are.
Granted they're usually just giant volcanoes.
And this is a comic book universe, so there are probably all sorts of single biome planets.
Doubt it.
In the comics she was raped by a Yellow Lantern, and he looked humanoid.
I'm guessing he's the one chasing her.
crazygrox
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I looked it up, it was at
7th November 2012
10:28 GMT -3
that Isley got the plant computer. I don't remember Swamp Thing ever getting one.
posted around may 18th 2022.
as a result of my previous screwups regarding the story only thread I'm reluctant to try to quote and link from there, but searching the in-story timestamp in the story only thread is a good way to find the post.
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Mr Zoat
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No, that's Superman's base in the arctic.
Thank you, corrected.
Thank you.
BartlettMagic
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Jirachi
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Why specifically a yellow lantern? Bleez doesn't seem to have done anything to super suggest the nature of any pursuer (if one exists).
Ryumancer
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Because metaknowledge, I'd assume?
Mr Zoat
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The SI warned her about an oracle's vision showing that.
Bud-E
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Wasn't that a Red Lantern like Bleez from cannon?
Mr Zoat
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Her rapist doesn't have a canonical name. He's just The Sinestro Corps Soldier of Sector 465.
Prince Charon
Just zis guy, you know?
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He certainly went out of his way to earn a horrible death.
Coast to Coast (part 4)
Mr Zoat
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29th November 2282
20:26 MST
Metal writhes in the air over my right palm, gold being reformatted by forces unknown to mundane physics, without heat or a hydraulic press. Part of my share of the Sierra Madre small 'v' vault. Most of it we've been using in our electronics industry, but I thought that I should keep a little in case we had to trade with people who don't use the bottle cap.
Savages.
Two thin strips, formed by my matter transmutation ability. Feel the dimensions of Tears' left ring finger and my own and complete the shape as a plain band.
And… There they are. Sitting on my right hand. Such a small thing to mean so much.
I turn to Tears. "Tears-in-the-Rain, will-?"
"Yes."
I raise my eyebrows. "Now, you don't know what I was going to ask."
She gives me the look that such a statement warrants. "This is your people's marriage custom?"
"This is our… Betrothal custom. We would each wear a ring to indicate that we were no longer available. We would put a second ring on each other at the actual wedding."
She frowns faintly. "Why is it done with rings? Would the word of those involved not be enough?"
"The rings are an outwards sign to people who don't know the couple personally."
"And the gold? It is pretty, but gold is a weak metal."
"But valuable. There are metals that are more valuable, but those require specific industries for people to value them. Everyone values gold."
"So it is a sign that a man considers his wife valuable?"
"No. It's a sign that he is confident that he will be a good husband. Because if he is not, his wife can flee his house with just her rings, and sell them, and use that money to start a life somewhere else."
She stares at me for a second, then starts to smile as if she thinks I'm joking. When I don't smile back it fades from her mouth. "Oh."
"I'm very confident that I'll be a good husband. I imagine that becoming a good father will take a little longer, but I will put in the work and get good at it. We should probably talk to your father about how exactly this is going to work-."
"And my mother."
I nod. Tribal groups in Utah are surprisingly egalitarian in some ways. Women can hunt, fight and lead warriors in most tribes. And unlike Caesar's Legion, those who perform other roles aren't derided for it. When the Chief takes council, he does it from everyone, not just his war leaders.
"Did she accompany him?"
"Yes. She…" Tears glances away. "She is.. concerned that.. you are using me as a concubine." She turns back to me as I frown. "Usually, amongst White Legs, we would have married by now or I would have returned to my father's house."
"Ah. Well, let us put her mind at ease. May I have your left hand?"
She holds her hand out to me and I take hold of it with my own left for a moment. Then I telekinetically lift the rings off my right hand and pluck hers out of the air with my right thumb and forefinger. And then I reach forward, sliding it over her ring finger. She keeps her hand still for a moment, looking at its new decoration. Then she plucks the other ring out of the air with her own right hand.
"Do I put this on you?"
Ah…
"I actually don't remember. You definitely do with the wedding ring, but I'm not sure-."
She nods, and puts it on me. "There. Now we are betrothed before God. And now-" She turns, threading her right arm through my left. "-we will go to speak with my parents."
I nod, and we proceed in the general direction of the guest accommodations, the people around us-. Those who are part of the Sky Walkers at least, staring at us for a moment before dashing off to share the news.
**I'm not that bad.**
**You kind of are, Chief.**
**Laugh it up, Keanan. You're going to have to fight Goris for best man duties.**
**Ah shit.**
"How will the wedding..? Work. I have tried to learn the ways of your tribe, but I have not seen a wedding."
"How do the Ammonites do things?"
"We have not been Ammonites long enough to have a way. Some follow the traditions of the New Canaanites, with their church and priests. Others are married as they have been for as long as the White Legs have existed, but ask the God of Abraham to bless the wedding as they ask every other spirit. How is it with the Sky Walkers?"
"Before I became Chief? We mostly didn't call upon spirits. Usually the families and friends would get together, and the village leader would say some words." I grimace for a moment. "Amongst the Whisperers, they would try to.. merge the minds of everyone taking part, but since that didn't exactly help their mental health I stopped it when I took over."
"The village leaders performed the ceremony?"
I nod. "Still do, everywhere outside of our capital."
"Then you have performed the ceremony as well?" She exhales sharply through her nose, shaking her head. "I cannot imagine my father performing a marriage."
"I have. I usually do whatever they ask, but… I have-. Before my abilities became more common, I offered to link the minds of the people getting married. Briefly. That has become our custom now."
"But surely your people can do that for themselves?"
"They can, but most people don't share all of their thoughts all of the time. And not all of them learn the ability at all. Of course, in our case…"
"We would need a priest or shaman who can open your mind to me?"
"No, I was just-. Even if you chose to receive the gift of telepathy, it would still be a year or so until you could use it reliably. I don't think that your parents would accept-."
She reaches across with her left hand and gently slaps my chest. "It is not my parents that you should concern yourself with! If you try to make me wait a year I will capture you with a snare-trap and take you as my war-husband!"
I chuckle. "Sounds like fun."
She smiles back. "You said that you were not born into your tribe. What was the tradition of the tribe you were born into?"
"Ah, well my people practice a religion very similar to the religion of the New Canaanites. I would probably feel comfortable with a Mormon ceremony, except…"
"Except that you are not a Mormon. What are you?"
"That's-. What do you know about the history of Mormonism?"
"Not a great deal. I know that it was started by a prophet named Joseph Smith before the war."
I nod. "Yes, but he was essentially adding to an existing religious tradition, rather than trying to replace it. The god who he said gave him visions was the same one that people of that time commonly worshipped. Those who did not accept him as a prophet still prayed to the same god, but lived a little differently and prayed a little differently. That is not to say that they were entirely unified in their practice either… To put it simply, there are a lot of very similar religions that share a lot of history and have a lot in common, but the version I'm used to is called Anglican Christianity and it isn't quite the same as Mormonism. The problem is that I don't know where to find an Anglican priest."
"Could your original tribe not send one?"
"I haven't spoken to anyone from my original tribe for some time." I nod. "But I suppose that it wouldn't hurt to ask."
20:26 MST
Metal writhes in the air over my right palm, gold being reformatted by forces unknown to mundane physics, without heat or a hydraulic press. Part of my share of the Sierra Madre small 'v' vault. Most of it we've been using in our electronics industry, but I thought that I should keep a little in case we had to trade with people who don't use the bottle cap.
Savages.
Two thin strips, formed by my matter transmutation ability. Feel the dimensions of Tears' left ring finger and my own and complete the shape as a plain band.
And… There they are. Sitting on my right hand. Such a small thing to mean so much.
I turn to Tears. "Tears-in-the-Rain, will-?"
"Yes."
I raise my eyebrows. "Now, you don't know what I was going to ask."
She gives me the look that such a statement warrants. "This is your people's marriage custom?"
"This is our… Betrothal custom. We would each wear a ring to indicate that we were no longer available. We would put a second ring on each other at the actual wedding."
She frowns faintly. "Why is it done with rings? Would the word of those involved not be enough?"
"The rings are an outwards sign to people who don't know the couple personally."
"And the gold? It is pretty, but gold is a weak metal."
"But valuable. There are metals that are more valuable, but those require specific industries for people to value them. Everyone values gold."
"So it is a sign that a man considers his wife valuable?"
"No. It's a sign that he is confident that he will be a good husband. Because if he is not, his wife can flee his house with just her rings, and sell them, and use that money to start a life somewhere else."
She stares at me for a second, then starts to smile as if she thinks I'm joking. When I don't smile back it fades from her mouth. "Oh."
"I'm very confident that I'll be a good husband. I imagine that becoming a good father will take a little longer, but I will put in the work and get good at it. We should probably talk to your father about how exactly this is going to work-."
"And my mother."
I nod. Tribal groups in Utah are surprisingly egalitarian in some ways. Women can hunt, fight and lead warriors in most tribes. And unlike Caesar's Legion, those who perform other roles aren't derided for it. When the Chief takes council, he does it from everyone, not just his war leaders.
"Did she accompany him?"
"Yes. She…" Tears glances away. "She is.. concerned that.. you are using me as a concubine." She turns back to me as I frown. "Usually, amongst White Legs, we would have married by now or I would have returned to my father's house."
"Ah. Well, let us put her mind at ease. May I have your left hand?"
She holds her hand out to me and I take hold of it with my own left for a moment. Then I telekinetically lift the rings off my right hand and pluck hers out of the air with my right thumb and forefinger. And then I reach forward, sliding it over her ring finger. She keeps her hand still for a moment, looking at its new decoration. Then she plucks the other ring out of the air with her own right hand.
"Do I put this on you?"
Ah…
"I actually don't remember. You definitely do with the wedding ring, but I'm not sure-."
She nods, and puts it on me. "There. Now we are betrothed before God. And now-" She turns, threading her right arm through my left. "-we will go to speak with my parents."
I nod, and we proceed in the general direction of the guest accommodations, the people around us-. Those who are part of the Sky Walkers at least, staring at us for a moment before dashing off to share the news.
**I'm not that bad.**
**You kind of are, Chief.**
**Laugh it up, Keanan. You're going to have to fight Goris for best man duties.**
**Ah shit.**
"How will the wedding..? Work. I have tried to learn the ways of your tribe, but I have not seen a wedding."
"How do the Ammonites do things?"
"We have not been Ammonites long enough to have a way. Some follow the traditions of the New Canaanites, with their church and priests. Others are married as they have been for as long as the White Legs have existed, but ask the God of Abraham to bless the wedding as they ask every other spirit. How is it with the Sky Walkers?"
"Before I became Chief? We mostly didn't call upon spirits. Usually the families and friends would get together, and the village leader would say some words." I grimace for a moment. "Amongst the Whisperers, they would try to.. merge the minds of everyone taking part, but since that didn't exactly help their mental health I stopped it when I took over."
"The village leaders performed the ceremony?"
I nod. "Still do, everywhere outside of our capital."
"Then you have performed the ceremony as well?" She exhales sharply through her nose, shaking her head. "I cannot imagine my father performing a marriage."
"I have. I usually do whatever they ask, but… I have-. Before my abilities became more common, I offered to link the minds of the people getting married. Briefly. That has become our custom now."
"But surely your people can do that for themselves?"
"They can, but most people don't share all of their thoughts all of the time. And not all of them learn the ability at all. Of course, in our case…"
"We would need a priest or shaman who can open your mind to me?"
"No, I was just-. Even if you chose to receive the gift of telepathy, it would still be a year or so until you could use it reliably. I don't think that your parents would accept-."
She reaches across with her left hand and gently slaps my chest. "It is not my parents that you should concern yourself with! If you try to make me wait a year I will capture you with a snare-trap and take you as my war-husband!"
I chuckle. "Sounds like fun."
She smiles back. "You said that you were not born into your tribe. What was the tradition of the tribe you were born into?"
"Ah, well my people practice a religion very similar to the religion of the New Canaanites. I would probably feel comfortable with a Mormon ceremony, except…"
"Except that you are not a Mormon. What are you?"
"That's-. What do you know about the history of Mormonism?"
"Not a great deal. I know that it was started by a prophet named Joseph Smith before the war."
I nod. "Yes, but he was essentially adding to an existing religious tradition, rather than trying to replace it. The god who he said gave him visions was the same one that people of that time commonly worshipped. Those who did not accept him as a prophet still prayed to the same god, but lived a little differently and prayed a little differently. That is not to say that they were entirely unified in their practice either… To put it simply, there are a lot of very similar religions that share a lot of history and have a lot in common, but the version I'm used to is called Anglican Christianity and it isn't quite the same as Mormonism. The problem is that I don't know where to find an Anglican priest."
"Could your original tribe not send one?"
"I haven't spoken to anyone from my original tribe for some time." I nod. "But I suppose that it wouldn't hurt to ask."
GigaVanguard
Not too sore, are you?
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I… don't actually recall anything about England in Fallout. Will be interesting to see, at least.