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

Cyberton's darkness to Earth's daytime.
Isn't it spelled 'Cybertron', not 'Cyberton'?

And this was an amusing chapter - the happy couple steam-rolling through the post-resurrection trauma and confusion of Nova Storm and all.

...now that he's got a 'Transformer' identity, is the fandom referring to this version of the protagonist as 'Pull', the way the evil-formula one is Tangseid, the main Paragon is Paul, and so forth?
 
"It feels as if it does. I would not give up Taryia for anything, but I cannot fuel a power ring with love."

Oh. "That's not a bad idea."

"I… Can.. fuel a power ring with love?"

"Not yet, but give me a while to work on the Zamarons and we'll see what we can do." If they haven't moved on to using power rings yet… Maybe we could come to terms?

I totally forgot the SI promised to see if he could get him a ring. He'll need to talk to kom first, as she's the SI's lantern there. And she is politically involved there too, so she how this affects her before the SI talk to what's his name again.
 
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The limitation is that they don't exist. A sufficiently skilled Lantern could probably make a semi-functional ring construct, but that's it.

Then wtf did sinestro give the green lantern monastery leader and spider guilder? They were power rings, and they stopped existing and were called deputy rings
 
Then wtf did sinestro give the green lantern monastery leader and spider guilder? They were power rings, and they stopped existing and were called deputy rings
That was the semi-functional ring construct that Mr Zoat just mentioned. When Paul saw it disappear, he even thought to himself that it was a ring construct that was given enough energy to function as a power ring for a time. I think he also said he could've done that himself, though I'm not sure.
 
A good Red Lantern is someone whose life is consumed by rage, but with the discipline to keep it focused and rational. The only person Adom hates like that is Jedediah, and if Adom killed him then he wouldn't be anything like as angry.
Yeah that makes sense - I suppose that the - aggressive nature of the influence of the red light makes the more moderate approach that Paul has sometimes been using for orange lanterns with weaker desires less practical.
The limitation is that they don't exist. A sufficiently skilled Lantern could probably make a semi-functional ring construct, but that's it.
Yeah - though a touch suprised at how loose the limitations are on that - at the very least, Sinestro doesn't seem to need to have a physical yellow light tether to project the rings, which you would normally need - though I suppose there's no reason to think that that's not just an advanced application of construct creation principles rather then something that implies that they're much more independent then any ordinary construct.
nods along to the rest with less to say individually
Wonder how big of a deal unbonding and rebonding to a central power battery is for a controller - clearly it's possible since they would have unbonded from the green one, but don't know how involved the process is. If it's especially simple, I could maybe see it being worth looking into forging an Indigo ring just to have all 7 colors available as an emergency option, but even then it's hard to say if it's a better use of time compared to just running things normally.
- Did paragon paul just never figure out the purple death ray thing? The sivanas have gotten their hands on it, and I'd think they'd have figured that out, but don't think we've seen it on screen, at least.
Do garrick formula granted powers work in space? I think there's some implication they do from Malvolio events.
My intuitions are weird on how 'good' Guy is in comparison to Paul - the expansion to his abilities post-enlightenment and from his studies feels a little informed sometimes, though that doesn't make him too much less fun to watch his trials and travails. When reading through the whole backlog, felt like he was maybe being set up to be a bit more of a - direct peer then he ended up being?
Honestly, of the people on earth it sometimes feels like he treats Constantine as the person who's most a peer to him - which is... oddly fitting, really.
There's something sweet about how - paragon paul focuses so much on Jade as his - non-transient connection and love and bonding? He cares a lot about his team and he definitely reads as treating the Team and Alan and sometimes Guy and Adom and Diana as his family that he loves, but what it means for love to be important to him in and-of-itself aside from working smoothly with worthy comrades in the more just world of his desires is so focused around exactly Jade.
 
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Codominion (part 12)
15th April 2013
23:55 GMT


S'yrra leads us towards Mel'dilo'rn's main shrine, having intercepted us just out of the main hangar. We've also got an escort of four Manhunters, and from the way their eyes keep lighting up I'm going to assume that they're the reason the various Martians of various colours who keep floating towards us immediately back off.

"Is..? That one..?" Bleez points to a Martian at the back of one of the huddles. "Trying to make wings?"

"It's possible. Between J'onn J'aarkn's memories, J'onn J'onzz's reports and M'gann's visits, Martians are more curious about the rest of the universe than they used to be."

S'yrra glances back, her face in Martian-neutral. **And the presence in our skies of a new planet which enabled us to reclaim the surface of our world may have had something to do with it.**

I shrug. "I suppose. I've yet to see a Martian fat enough to shapeshift into a planet."

**[Polite amusement] Some have assumed a scaled down version of Mother of Mercy's form, but her internal structure is difficult to replicate.**

"So, no civil war?"

**No.** She appears to consider what to say for a moment. **In normal times, what the Prelate has done to ensure that would see him stripped of his position and sent to a hermitage, but in times such as these no one knows what the correct course of action is.**

I smile. "In doubt, freedom."

**What do you mean?**

"When the 'proper' course of action has already been decided, you get in trouble for not going along with it. Even if you had a better idea. But if you're in a new situation where there is no established way to act, the uncertainty is enough to stop anyone stopping you." I shrug. "Well, that's one of the meanings."

**And what is the other?**

"If you are certain of the right thing to do, the only thing stopping you doing it is cowardice. If you don't know, you aren't obliged to do anything in particular."

She stops flying for a moment, causing the Manhunters to spread out around us.

**Which meaning did you have in mind for the Prelate?**

"Both, really. Though the first one applies to the Assembly more than Prelate J'emm. Ah, anything I need to bear in mind when meeting a Martian priest?"

**Be polite…** Glowing eyes consider me for a moment. **Be as polite as you can manage.**

She starts flying again, the entrance to the temple just ahead of us and… A Red Martian wearing a rune-inscribed stole standing on the steps. The Martian crowds who had been following us at a distance fall back, apparently unwilling to approach. Curious.

S'yrra lands first, and… There isn't really anything in the way of body language, but I feel the edge of a transmission of reverence and respect. The Red priest lays one hand on her head, one on each shoulder and another on her chest-. Four arms by default? That's a little… Interesting. The gesture is clearly a benediction of some kind, but… I don't know. Martian culture is… Alien, to me.

S'yrra pulls back, and the priest turns to me. I guess that's my cue? I float closer, generating a couple of construct arms to better match my host.

"Do you prefer spoken communication, or-" **-do you prefer telepathy?**

The priest appears to squirm slightly, runes on their stole shimmering weakly. Then their mouth and throat change shape slightly. "Spoken is better."

"Right, short version: our-."

"What happened to Earth? It felt like the Anti-Life Equation spoke to the world's soul."

"Because that's basically what happened. A mob boss made a deal with Darkseid, got a fragment of the Anti-Life and built machines to broadcast it across the planet. It took us a month to get a good enough grip of the… Life Equation, I suppose you'd call it, to expunge it. Sorry for any spill-over, but we've been busy fixing… Everything, since then."

"You have studied the Life Equation?"

I nod. "Yes. Bit of an odd head space to get into, but… Ah… Revivifying. Anyway, the reason I'm here is that two of our plant elementals are missing and appear to have been transmitted through the Dream to somewhere. Given how thaumatic fields work, Mars is the obvious place-."

**Nowaitstop.** The priest raises their arms in an awkward warding gesture. **You have seen the Life Equation?**

"Well, I don't know exactly what you mean by that phrase, but probably."

**You mastered it in a month.**

"Sort of. Look, we're trying not to spread that sort of thing around for security reasons. Can I just ask my question?"

"No. The great undermind that links all life, and you gained the ability to channel it within a month, while exposed to its antithesis."

This… Sounds like something I need to ask M'gann about. Because I have no idea why this priest is so excited.

"It is-."

I raise my right hand. "I'm sorry, but my standing orders from the Controllers do not allow me to discuss that issue further. But if you're really interested you could either try talking to the Guardians of the-" Ugh. "-Universe, or travelling to Earth to get a closer look."

I get the impression that the priest is very far from satisfied.

"What is your question?"

"Two powerful plant elementals were recently abducted from Earth, transported through the Dream to somewhere. I don't think they're on Earth, and Mars is the only other significantly thaumically active planet in the system. The farmers on the surface haven't noticed any unusual patterns of plant growth, but I wanted to check whether or not you'd detected anything unusual."

"A plant elemental from Earth would not be compatible-."

I shake my head. "It turns out that they can change their… Frequency? To switch over to other plant analogues."

"Please wait."

The priest touches the stole with two hands, while the other two make a series of arcane gestures. A few moments pass, then:

"No. No such intrusion has been detected by any of our watchers. Unless they have found Z'onn Z'orr, they are not on M'arzz."

"What's that?"

"The lost keep of Karmang the Good, the first sorcerer among Martians."

"Is it a place that actually existed at one point, or is it just a legend?"

"We do not have good records from those times. I believe it is a literal place, but I could not convince a disinterested person with evidence. I cannot think of a reason why Karmang would keep your elementals if he had them. He has no need of such things."

"Okay, then-."

Actually… There's one more place that should be easily accessible through the Dream.

"Ah, thank you for your time. Would you like me to transport you to Earth?"

"No. I must… Contemplate this discussion." The priest considers me for a moment. "I might normally perform a benediction now, but to one who has touched the essence of life, that feels shallow. Go, and be as the life web would have you be."
 
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In normal times, what the Prelate has done to ensure that would see him stripped of his position and

"has done would see"

get in trouble for to going along with it.

"for going"

Be polite…** Glowing eyes consider me for a moment. **Be as polite as you can manage.**

Ha!

This… Sounds like something I need to ask M'gann about. Because I have no idea why this priest is so excited.

Dude, you tapped into the mental and emotional force that's responsible for life feeling alive.

That's not a small accomplishment for others, especially a telepath.

But if you're really interested you could either try talking to the Guardians of the-" Ugh. "-Universe

Hey, in this story their title is fairly accurate, what with there apparently being only seven galaxies left after Krona.

"Two powerful plant elementals were recently abducted from Earth

I thought they left.

I cannot think of a reason why Karmang would keep your elementals if he had them. He has no need of such things."

Maybe he'd like to terraform Mars using magic and is planning on using Swamp Thing and Gumbo Man to do it.
 
15th April 2013
23:55 GMT


S'yrra leads us towards Mel'dilo'rn's main shrine, having intercepted us just out of the main hangar. We've also got an escort of four Manhunters, and from the way their eyes keep lighting up I'm going to assume that they're the reason the various Martians of various colours who keep floating towards us immediately back off.
Given the reputation OL probably has amongst the population of Mars, I can understand the rubberneckers hanging about to watch. If only so they can say they were there when shit went down. Not that anyone's expecting trouble.

"Is..? That one..?" Bleez points to a Martian at the back of one of the huddles. "Trying to make wings?"

"It's possible. Between J'onn J'aarkn's memories, J'onn J'onzz's reports and M'gann's visits, Martians are more curious about the rest of the universe than they used to be."
And this is probably the first item any martian has seen a thanagarian, so a winged human is probably quite the interesting model to try and copy.

S'yrra glances back, her face in Martian-neutral. **And the presence in our skies of a new planet which enabled us to reclaim the surface of our world may have had something to do with it.**

I shrug. "I suppose. I've yet to see a Martian fat enough to shapeshift into a planet."

**[Polite amusement] Some have assumed a scaled down version of Mother of Mercy's form, but her internal structure is difficult to replicate.**
Well, they could maybe manage a spheroid, though I shudder at the structural adjustment needed to take on that form.

"So, no civil war?"

**No.** She appears to consider what to say for a moment. **In normal times, what the Prelate has done to ensure that would see him stripped of his position and sent to a hermitage, but in times such as these no one knows what the correct course of action is.**
The joy of living in uncertain times. No rules to restrict you, no guidance to make it easy.

I smile. "In doubt, freedom."

**What do you mean?**
Don't do things that would make you ask yourselves 'Are we the bad guys here?'

"When the 'proper' course of action has already been decided, you get in trouble for not going along with it. Even if you had a better idea. But if you're in a new situation where there is no established way to act, the uncertainty is enough to stop anyone stopping you." I shrug. "Well, that's one of the meanings."
And you can set some precedents for what to do if it ever happens again.

**And what is the other?**

"If you are certain of the right thing to do, the only thing stopping you doing it is cowardice. If you don't know, you aren't obliged to do anything in particular."
Which tends to result in a hefty case of bystander syndrome, I suspect. Or 'what if?'s down the line, especially if it turns out poorly.

She stops flying for a moment, causing the Manhunters to spread out around us.

**Which meaning did you have in mind for the Prelate?**
That's the joy of ambiguous statements, isn't it? So many possible ways to read them...

"Both, really. Though the first one applies to the Assembly more than Prelate J'emm. Ah, anything I need to bear in mind when meeting a Martian priest?"

**Be polite…** Glowing eyes consider me for a moment. **Be as polite as you can manage.**
Ah, good to see she can joke a little. Then again, given OL's bluntness sometimes...

She starts flying again, the entrance to the temple just ahead of us and… A Red Martian wearing a rune-inscribed stole standing on the steps. The Martian crowds who had been following us at a distance fall back, apparently unwilling to approach. Curious.

S'yrra lands first, and… There isn't really anything in the way of body language, but I feel the edge of a transmission of reverence and respect. The Red priest lays one hand on her head, one on each shoulder and another on her chest-. Four arms by default? That's a little… Interesting. The gesture is clearly a benediction of some kind, but… I don't know. Martian culture is… Alien, to me.
Makes it a lot easier to perform somatic components. Wonder if the stole is part of his flesh, or a shapeshifting symbiont like a Manhunter's emblem.

S'yrra pulls back, and the priest turns to me. I guess that's my cue? I float closer, generating a couple of construct arms to better match my host.

"Do you prefer spoken communication, or-" **-do you prefer telepathy?**
Heh. Can't help but feel that might be taken as an insult. Though he could be considered a peer of the priesthood given his skill in the Orange Light.

The priest appears to squirm slightly, runes on their stole shimmering weakly. Then their mouth and throat change shape slightly. "Spoken is better."

"Right, short version: our-."
Either trying to hide something from OL's rather wide-open psyche, or just uncomfortable with his openness...

"What happened to Earth? It felt like the Anti-Life Equation spoke to the world's soul."

"Because that's basically what happened. A mob boss made a deal with Darkseid, got a fragment of the Anti-Life and built machines to broadcast it across the planet. It took us a month to get a good enough grip of the… Life Equation, I suppose you'd call it, to expunge it. Sorry for any spill-over, but we've been busy fixing… Everything, since then."
And worrying that they could feel that this far away. Though I suspect the priests were a little more sensitive than most.

"You have studied the Life Equation?"

I nod. "Yes. Bit of an odd head space to get into, but… Ah… Revivifying. Anyway, the reason I'm here is that two of our plant elementals are missing and appear to have been transmitted through the Dream to somewhere. Given how thaumatic fields work, Mars is the obvious place-."
Honestly, it's a long shot. Given the wild nature of the Dream, I'd be surprised if distance worked anywhere near the same way.

**Nowaitstop.** The priest raises their arms in an awkward warding gesture. **You have seen the Life Equation?**

"Well, I don't know exactly what you mean by that phrase, but probably."
Ooh... Nice way to work that detail in. The whole 'Mars kind of knows the Life Equation.'

**You mastered it in a month.**

"Sort of. Look, we're trying not to spread that sort of thing around for security reasons. Can I just ask my question?"
Dangit, OL, you're inadvertently setting up a misunderstanding here. Perhaps you should have asked what hew meant by 'Life Equation'. ...Maybe in a more private setting, admittedly.

"No. The great undermind that links all life, and you gained the ability to channel it within a month, while exposed to its antithesis."

This… Sounds like something I need to ask M'gann about. Because I have no idea why this priest is so excited.
Or you could ask him right now. In private.

"It is-."

I raise my right hand. "I'm sorry, but my standing orders from the Controllers do not allow me to discuss that issue further. But if you're really interested you could either try talking to the Guardians of the-" Ugh. "-Universe, or travelling to Earth to get a closer look."
I suspect the latter might be a more preferable option for them, given the feelings they may have towards the Guardians if their history is known now.

I get the impression that the priest is very far from satisfied.

"What is your question?"
What's the bet a delegation will be making the trip to Earth soon?

"Two powerful plant elementals were recently abducted from Earth, transported through the Dream to somewhere. I don't think they're on Earth, and Mars is the only other significantly thaumically active planet in the system. The farmers on the surface haven't noticed any unusual patterns of plant growth, but I wanted to check whether or not you'd detected anything unusual."
I rather think they would have noticed if they were here.

"A plant elemental from Earth would not be compatible-."

I shake my head. "It turns out that they can change their… Frequency? To switch over to other plant analogues."
Not that anyone on Earth would know that. Thank goodness for metaknowledge.

"Please wait."

The priest touches the stole with two hands, which the other two make a series of arcane gestures. A few moments pass, then:
Ah... Perhaps the stole is a mystical link to other priests. Like a private psychic chatroom for him to consult.

"No. No such intrusion has been detected by any of our watchers. Unless they have found Z'onn Z'orr, they are not on M'arzz."

"What's that?"
And I rather think there'd be more of a fuss if they had. Neither elemental is likely to be quiet if they ended up here.

"The lost keep of Karmang the Good, the first sorcerer among Martians."

"Is it a place that actually existed at one point, or is it just a legend?"
...Kind of makes me wonder what he's been up to in this timeline, given what happened in the Renegade's.

"We do not have good records from those times. I believe it is a literal place, but I could not convince a disinterested person with evidence. I cannot think of a reason why Karmang would keep your elementals if he had them. He has no need of such things."

"Okay, then-."

Actually… There's one more place that should be easily accessible through the Dream.
Dream Baghdad? That's the only place I can think of...

"Ah, thank you for your time. Would you like me to transport you to Earth?"

"No. I must… Contemplate this discussion." The priest considers me for a moment. "I might normally perform a benediction now, but to one who has touched the essence of life, that feels shallow. Go, and be as the life web would have you be."
Heh. I'd say the priests have a clearer idea of what OL brought forth than anyone might expect...

So, bit of a fizzle there for OL's search. Though his little comment about 'Life Equations' might have the priesthood arguing a bit for a while. Have to wonder where he plans to look next, though. And what trouble he might get into getting there. I'm sure we'll find out soon enough. Wonder what Bleez is making of all this, though...
 
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"Right, short version: our-."

"What happened to Earth? It felt like the Anti-Life Equation spoke to the world's soul."

"Because that's basically what happened. A mob boss made a deal with Darkseid, got a fragment of the Anti-Life and built machines to broadcast it across the planet. It took us a month to get a good enough grip of the… Life Equation, I suppose you'd call it, to expunge it. Sorry for any spill-over, but we've been busy fixing… Everything, since then."

"You have studied the Life Equation?"

I nod. "Yes. Bit of an odd head space to get into, but… Ah… Revivifying. Anyway, the reason I'm here is that two of our plant elementals are missing and appear to have been transmitted through the Dream to somewhere. Given how thaumatic fields work, Mars is the obvious place-."

**Nowaitstop.** The priest raises their arms in an awkward warding gesture. **You have seen the Life Equation?**

"Well, I don't know exactly what you mean by that phrase, but probably."

**You mastered it in a month.**

"Sort of. Look, we're trying not to spread that sort of thing around for security reasons. Can I just ask my question?"

"No. The great undermind that links all life, and you gained the ability to channel it within a month, while exposed to its antithesis."

This… Sounds like something I need to ask M'gann about. Because I have no idea why this priest is so excited.

"It is-."

I raise my right hand. "I'm sorry, but my standing orders from the Controllers do not allow me to discuss that issue further. But if you're really interested you could either try talking to the Guardians of the-" Ugh. "-Universe, or travelling to Earth to get a closer look."
- I mean...
The black light and the anti-life equation are two distinct things, as best I understand it? Even if the powers they draw on are related. The life equation and the white light I would imagine are relatively separate, and we don't see anything in the battle against mannheim that is formatted like an equation - just the power of the white light being formed and the life entity being roused and showing itself through the world's soul.
Might just be that he was trying to be vague and evoke something in the general direction and then ran into someone who had some pre-existing conceptions about what that sort of thing would look like.
Also, checked back - it's interesting that Izaya doesn't have white quote marks.
Really... The whole status of the 'secret' is weird - if nothing else, I feel like talking to doctor balewa would be the thing to do - he really doesn't nesscarily know too much more about this then Paul has already explained, and I don't think him being some sort of 'life mystic' is persay a secret, even if some of the details skew into things that are leaning towards being hidden, and he probably has a lot of old knowledge and resources that they'd find endlessly interesting.
 
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Codominion (part 13)
16th April 2013
00:23 GMT -5

"O-kay." I turn to look at Bleez's ship as we pull out of the upper level of the Martian atmosphere. "I… Think it's probably best if I escort you back to Earth now. Did you-?"

"What? Why? I can't stop now!"

"Hah! No, you see, you can, which is something I should probably have done years ago."

"Huh?"

I snort and shake my head, though I doubt that she can see that from inside the ship. "Sometimes-. I got training in how to use this-. My ring because I wanted to be able to protect myself. Everything else has been mission creep."

There's silence for a moment.

"Mission creep?"

"Oh, do thanagarians not have that? It's when-."

"No, I know what mission creep is. It's when you deploy soldiers to protect your embassy, and then you slowly expand their mission without ever formally admitting that you're conquering the place."

"That's… No. That's Salami Slicing. Mission creep is the mirror of that, when you genuinely don't mean to do it but do it anyway because each step made sense at the time and then you end up in a situation you never meant to get into."

"Didn't you start the biggest war in the galaxy?"

"I… I'm not aware of any bigger wars… Ah. And I don't exactly regret it, but at no point did I sit down and think: 'okay, how would I go about making a really big war'." I shrug inside my armour. "Things just sort of happened. And partly that was because as an Orange Lantern I need-."

"BWAAHAHAHGGhUUUUUUUUGahgahAAAH!"

I wait patiently for Bleez to stop having a hysterical cackling fit. It turns out that thanagarians have a fairly impressive lung capacity.

"Okay. Okay. Ah-hah-hah-hah. Ugh. Okay. Uh."

"My point is that where I'm about to go is either-."

"Where-? A-heh. Where is it?"

"Do you know what a Star Conqueror is?"

"Someone who's really good at conquering stars?"

"No. In fact, ironically, most of them ended up getting thrown into stars by the Green Lantern Corps."

"I didn't think they… Did that."

"They don't if there's any half-way reasonable alternative. The Guardians determined that there wasn't."

"What did they do?"

"Parasitised entire civilisations, latching into their faces and controlling their brains. And that was just the small ones. The larger ones coordinated the little ones and the largest… The largest were quite a bit bigger than a thanagarian command carrier, and would be able to tear one apart with telekinesis or mind control the crew into doing it for them."

"There's… One in this system, isn't there?"

"There was. It hid on the outskirts of the system for millennia and accreted so much ice and dust that we thought it was a dwarf planet. It got woken up recently and died almost immediately."

"What killed it? You?"

"I'm still not really sure. I think it starved to death."

"What did it eat? People?"

"Dreams."

"Oh. So you think it's eating Swamp Thing and Gumbo Man."

"No, it-. It died. I watched it die, watched as its desires faded away completely. But… Something that big takes a while to die, and not everything about us is purely physical. It would have had a soul of some sort, and… And I never performed the proper funeral rites. There might be something left. I don't know. I wanted to research it but then… A lot of things happened… I don't know what could have happened to make it do anything with plant elementals, but as I said, I don't understand why it did anything. Or I could be completely mistaken and we're just going to fly around a giant corpse for a couple of hours."

"What could it..? Do?"

"As long as you don't go to sleep, it shouldn't be able to do anything. And I have a confidence of about forty percent in that statement actually bearing out and that's why I think you should go back to Earth. Or stay here."

"I… I think I should come."

"W-hy?"

"I can't drop out right at the end!"

"In point of fact, you can."

"No, I can't. And not just because I'd sound stupid if I tried telling anyone the story and then I had to tell them I didn't see the end. You just told me that there's a super dangerous alien species that no thanagarian has ever seen before."

"I think Hawkman and Hawkwoman saw the smaller ones."

"But I haven't seen their report. And my… Handlers, are going to want to hear about this from me."

"And you'll get in trouble if you don't make personal observations."

"Yeah. I don't think they're super-happy about me coming here after I saw that guy from Sinestro's Corps anyway, and…"

And… Asking for political asylum on Earth wouldn't help, because the Thanagarian government would retaliate against Havania. Probably not doing anything crazy, but I imagine that they would find themselves quartering an unusually large number of soldiers, or Vulcan would get relocated, or something along those lines.

"Alright, but if anything untoward happens I expect you to make best speed for Earth."

"That's what I planned on doing anyway. Ah, not that I want to leave you to fight a giant dead-but-dreaming star monster thing, but this ship doesn't have any weapons and this space suit is not combat rated."

"Alright, setting course for Pluto. Did you learn anything about Martian music?"

"Oh yeah! They don't really have instruments, but they can shapeshift their bodies to make just about any noise they want! They actually use sound more for music than speaking because of their telepathy. I wanna come back here later and try watching a concert!"

What a lovely, non-violent and socially productive use for an unusual ability.



It'll never catch on.

"You can come back at any time you like. For now, we need to visit a creature from the darkest nightmares."

"Yeah. There's got to be an album in this."
 
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@Mr Zoat, are you considering taking up stand-up comedy as a side profession?

If not, you might want to keep it as a backup option, because this latest chapter, especially this part, has been full of moments that had me burst out laughing, and I'm pretty sure it's not just a fortuitous alignment of my various neuro-chemical issues.
 
"Alright, setting course for Pluto. Did you learn anything about Martian music?"

"Oh yeah! They don't really have instruments, but they can shapeshift their bodies to make just about any noise they want! They actually use sound more for music than speaking because of their telepathy. I wanna come back here later and try watching a concert!"

What a lovely, non-violent and socially productive use for an unusual ability.



It'll never catch on.
I will laugh at Paul if this does catch on.
 
16th April 2013
00:23 GMT -5


"O-kay." I turn to look at Bleez's ship as we pull out of the upper level of the Martian atmosphere. "I… Think it's probably best if I escort you back to Earth now. Did you-?"

"What? Why? I can't stop now!"
...Do you just have a danger fetish, lady, or is this a Thanagarian cultural thing? Like, you've locked onto something and now you won't let go until you've run it to ground? Besides, you'll probably have a safer time of things on Earth, instead of following OL.

"Hah! No, you see, you can, which is something I should probably have done years ago."

"Huh?"
OL's just that much of a busybody that he doesn't like to sit still for long without doing something.

I snort and shake my head, though I doubt that she can see that from inside the ship. "Sometimes-. I got training in how to use this-. My ring because I wanted to be able to protect myself. Everything else has been mission creep."

There's silence for a moment.
For when you start doing something, and get carried away without realising you're now doing stuff beyond the original plan. Ever started tidying up around the house, and before you know it you've shampooed the carpets, washed the walls and are wondering if it's feasible to give the ceiling a quick wipedown too... ;)

"Mission creep?"

"Oh, do thanagarians not have that? It's when-."
Perhaps not in the phrasing you used, maybe. I don't know if she's been exposed to the rougher side of military chatter...

"No, I know what mission creep is. It's when you deploy soldiers to protect your embassy, and then you slowly expand their mission without ever formally admitting that you're conquering the place."

"That's… No. That's Salami Slicing. Mission creep is the mirror of that, when you genuinely don't mean to do it but do it anyway because each step made sense at the time and then you end up in a situation you never meant to get into."
And I would expect that if you got caught doing the bad version, it'd be a solid cassus belli for the country you're doing it in...

"Didn't you start the biggest war in the galaxy?"

"I… I'm not aware of any bigger wars… Ah. And I don't exactly regret it, but at no point did I sit down and think: 'okay, how would I go about making a really big war'." I shrug inside my armour. "Things just sort of happened. And partly that was because as an Orange Lantern I need-."
He's 'Accidentally The Thing' before, after all. Closest he got to deliberate warmongering was nudging the Controllers into taking a more proactive part in resisting the Reach's expansionism. And honestly, they would have gone hot sooner or later.

"BWAAHAHAHGGhUUUUUUUUGahgahAAAH!"

I wait patiently for Bleez to stop having a hysterical cackling fit. It turns out that thanagarians have a fairly impressive lung capacity.
It's the musculature needed for their wings. :p Makes for impressive ribcage sizes, among other things.

"Okay. Okay. Ah-hah-hah-hah. Ugh. Okay. Uh."

"My point is that where I'm about to go is either-."
I'd be careful about laughing until you cry inside a space helmet. Though it probably has dehumidifying and cleaning systems for inadvertent puking fits...

"Where-? A-heh. Where is it?"

"Do you know what a Star Conqueror is?"
Ah... Off to Pluto, then. Given last time he was there he got Melinoe yoinked into the Dream for a bit, I'm not surprised he's being wary,

"Someone who's really good at conquering stars?"

"No. In fact, ironically, most of them ended up getting thrown into stars by the Green Lantern Corps."
A rare case of them using lethal force openly. Then again, they're using it on Star Conquerors, which definitely deserve it.

"I didn't think they… Did that."

"They don't if there's any half-way reasonable alternative. The Guardians determined that there wasn't."
And to some degree, they qualify as sapient natural disasters, so there's no real moral quandary in it.

"What did they do?"

"Parasitised entire civilisations, latching into their faces and controlling their brains. And that was just the small ones. The larger ones coordinated the little ones and the largest… The largest were quite a bit bigger than a thanagarian command carrier, and would be able to tear one apart with telekinesis or mind control the crew into doing it for them."
Which means that Thanagar going out looking for one would be a bad idea.

"There's… One in this system, isn't there?"

"There was. It hid on the outskirts of the system for millennia and accreted so much ice and dust that we thought it was a dwarf planet. It got woken up recently and died almost immediately."
I presume Pluto has mostly reformed by now around the corpse. Maybe with a nice little temporary orbital ring. :p

"What killed it? You?"

"I'm still not really sure. I think it starved to death."
Probably explains why it was hibernating. If it had gotten closer to the inner planet,s it probably would have woken up and started conquering.

"What did it eat? People?"

"Dreams."

"Oh. So you think it's eating Swamp Thing and Gumbo Man."
I doubt they'd be a good meal. Hardly a mouthful, even with all their magical oomph.

"No, it-. It died. I watched it die, watched as its desires faded away completely. But… Something that big takes a while to die, and not everything about us is purely physical. It would have had a soul of some sort, and… And I never performed the proper funeral rites. There might be something left. I don't know. I wanted to research it but then… A lot of things happened… I don't know what could have happened to make it do anything with plant elementals, but as I said, I don't understand why it did anything. Or I could be completely mistaken and we're just going to fly around a giant corpse for a couple of hours."
Hopefully the latter, and nothing exciting happens. :rolleyes: ...As if, this is OL we're talking about...

"What could it..? Do?"

"As long as you don't go to sleep, it shouldn't be able to do anything. And I have a confidence of about forty percent in that statement actually bearing out and that's why I think you should go back to Earth. Or stay here."
Not prepared to risk his investment in her in 'maybe forty percent safety', eh?

"I… I think I should come."

"W-hy?"
And I can see his ':confused: Are you serious?' face without any effort.

"I can't drop out right at the end!"

"In point of fact, you can."
I'm sure if you ask nicely, OL will take some holiday snaps of it for you.

"No, I can't. And not just because I'd sound stupid if I tried telling anyone the story and then I had to tell them I didn't see the end. You just told me that there's a super dangerous alien species that no thanagarian has ever seen before."

"I think Hawkman and Hawkwoman saw the smaller ones."
And really, I doubt they'd come at Thanagar anyway. Too advanced for their tastes, I would think. Most predators want an easy meal, not a fight.

"But I haven't seen their report. And my… Handlers, are going to want to hear about this from me."

"And you'll get in trouble if you don't make personal observations."
Ah, of course. Though I don't know if she'll be able to appreciate the full scale of the Mother Star... A lifeform the size of a planet is just too big to take in all at once...

"Yeah. I don't think they're super-happy about me coming here after I saw that guy from Sinestro's Corps anyway, and…"

And… Asking for political asylum on Earth wouldn't help, because the Thanagarian government would retaliate against Havania. Probably not doing anything crazy, but I imagine that they find themselves quartering an unusually large number of soldiers, or Vulcan would get relocated, or something along those lines.
And then they'd have to make a safe area for their personnel, which would slowly expand... And then there'd inevitably be disagreements with the locals that turn rough... Salami Slicing. Even if Havania is part of the Empire, it might not be as much a part as some in the government would like, after all.

"Alright, but if anything untoward happens I expect you to make best speed for Earth."

"That's what I planned on doing anyway. Ah, not that I want to leave you to fight a giant dead-but-dreaming star monster thing, but this ship doesn't have any weapons and this space suit is not combat rated."
I always preferred Gundam's various Pilot Suits for aesthetics. While each continuity (and even eras within a setting, depending) has different styles, they generally fall into 'comfortably thick without being hyper-realistic'... Probably better protection, too.

"Alright, setting course for Pluto. Did you learn anything about Martian music?"

"Oh yeah! They don't really have instruments, but they can shapeshift their bodies to make just about any noise they want! They actually use sound more for music than speaking because of their telepathy. I wanna come back here later and try watching a concert!"
Ha! Looks like I was right about that. Makes sense. The human body can produce a remarkable number of sounds with just our mouths, hands and feet. Just imagine having stuff like a rack of tendons stretching from torso to arm like a harp... 😨 Then again, that sounds kind of body-horrorish.

What a lovely, non-violent and socially productive use for an unusual ability.



It'll never catch on.
Well, way to be a grump about it, OL...:p

"You can come back at any time you like. For now, we need to visit a creature from the darkest nightmares."

"Yeah. There's got to be an album in this."
Perhaps you can introduce Fantasy Metal to the Thanagarians, Bleez. A lot of OL's bigger adventures could look like Heavy Metal album covers.

Well, if Bleez wants to come, then on her head be it. Best case, it's a boring couple of hours and she can get some good scans of Star Conquerors for her bosses to make killing plans from. As for where he can check next... Well, there's always a tour of exotic plant-heavy worlds throughout the galaxy. Worst case he hang out at Planet J for a bit and lets Medphyll know his wayward elementals may turn up there...
 
What a lovely, non-violent and socially productive use for an unusual ability.



It'll never catch on.
HAH.
"You can come back at any time you like. For now, we need to visit a creature from the darkest nightmares."

"Yeah. There's got to be an album in this."
When talking about dreams go ahead and tell her about what's up with the star conquerors and dreams, reality inversions caused by synchronized mass dreaming, and the situation with the cats. Just to add more psychedelic craziness to her album.
 
Even though they're not let it the chain of command, I feel like it would have been worth having at least one of the Hawks as part of that discussion.
 
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@Mr Zoat, are you considering taking up stand-up comedy as a side profession?

If not, you might want to keep it as a backup option, because this latest chapter, especially this part, has been full of moments that had me burst out laughing, and I'm pretty sure it's not just a fortuitous alignment of my various neuro-chemical issues.
I read 'you might want to keep it as a backup option' as 'don't give up the day job'.

I do occasionally indulge in observational humour in real life, but my hit rate is only about 30%.
 

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