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

Rebu · 2026-02-18T06:45:22+0000

CrazyNoVa said:
Yeah, that part I get, but it's still weird that it came as a secondary concern next to the whole cube world thing.

Did you notice that he waited until his subordinates were out of the room and he could have a private conversation?

Chojin Patriarch · 2026-02-18T07:11:04+0000

Mr Zoat said:
20th August 2013
10:50 GMT -7

I look out across the mountainous terrain, rain pelting down from a storm-encrusted sky The atmosphere... Even if it wasn't more suitable to be breathed with gills rather than lungs at the moment, it would be difficult for a human to breathe. Plenty of carbon dioxide and not enough free oxygen. Ah… What sort of plants would work somewhere like this? Something historical, resurrected from the Archean? Something new, because plants can actually cope pretty well with an atmosphere like this?

Honestly, this place seems better suited to Atlanteans. Otherwise you'd have to spend far too long making soil capable of growing plants in torrential rain and flooding. And they'd probably refuse to come here...

"Hm."

Persuader looks up at the sky for a moment, looking around as she takes in the full size of the storm. Iname just ducks under her umbrella slightly, looking generally less than happy.

Hard to gauge a storm from the inside, unless you've got a very good set of senses. The eye must look spectacular, though.

"Master?"

"Yes?"

"Why are we not in the Absolute Dominion?"

That's a good question. I suppose there are good reasons besides him wanting to feel the rain on his skin.

"Because of the Knights of Passage."

"Do they not like you?"

Ah, right. I can imagine they'd be quite vexed by Apokaliptian activities. And anyone using their tech is going to be somewhat suspicious.

"Never met them. But while Father's obsession is the Anti-Life Equation, my grandfather was fixated on the Source Wall. The Knights of Passage spent a long time fighting Apokoliptian warships, and while the Absolute Dominion is a decent warship its stealth systems are pretty basic. They'd detect it, muster a fleet and come here to pick a fight."

Even if the Renegade doesn't want one, he'd probably have a hard time convincing them of that.

"The Pax Lex, perhaps?"

"Lex is doing something with it. Besides, it's not exactly roomy. And we can just open a boom tube home whenever we like."

I expect most of Lex's ships are more like space-going submarines in terms of comfort. I hope they at least have artificial gravity and inertial dampening...

Iname huddles up a little more.

"Iname, it's rain. I know that the material parts of your costume can get waterlogged, but it can't actually hurt you."

Heh. I bet she hates feeling like a drowned rat, then. Her pigtails must take forever to dry out...

Persuader lowers her head to look at her. "Don't you have a helmet?"

"…no. Master, what are we here to see?"

Can't enjoy big fluffy pigtails in a helmet, after all.

"We're here to go to and fro on the earth, and walk up and down on it." I stride forwards, water running down my face. My skin is sensitive enough to the feel of it on me, but… Heh, it can't even make me feel cold.

"That isn't very helpful, Master."

Pity his subordinates haven't got the same level of natural resistance.

"Feel the unformed firmament as a god, Iname. Extend your metaphysique into it, become a part of it. What does it feel like?"

She peers up at the sky for a moment, then takes a deeper than usual breath. Life To Death

Heh, so Goth that even her power focuses on the dying of things...

I notice as Persuader tries to copy her. Most of her lessons with Knockout have focused on physical manifestation; how to magnify her physical abilities in combat with her innate magics. Knockout… Well, there's no reason why Granny Goodness would have taught her things like that, and she isn't really the sort to take the initiative on intellectual or spiritual matters. But… To Destroy

And of course Persuader focuses on destruction. Plenty of that around here, certainly.

I make a blade of my hand and stab it downwards into the rock, fracturing the layer of settled debris and reaching the harder rock beneath. Ah, not eroded away enough to make soil. It's going to be easier to import soil…

"I feel…" Iname looks in the direction of the nearest ocean. "Something… Barely alive. In the sea."

Proto-lifeforms, then. Not advanced enough to feel more than the basic drives.

"Ah, good." I nod. "Simple plankton, probably. Anything else?"
Death To Life
Her eyes widen slightly, her grip on her umbrella loosening. "Yes… There used to be… More. An ecosystem." She shivers, and while she may not be as tough as me I don't believe for a moment that it's from the cold. "And now it's all gone."

Presumably by the 'orbital impact' that produced all this atmospheric disturbance. The stuff Hinon commented on. I'd be worried about something having been buried here, maybe.

Persuader abandons her own… Honestly, it looks like she's trying to force out a fart. And puts her left hand on Iname's left shoulder. "Hey, you okay?"

Iname blinks. "Hm?"

Good to see concern between them. It's only natural that Persuader would have trouble with the more spiritual aspects, given that her own expression of godhood seems to be destruction and division.

"You kinda spaced out a bit."

"I've never felt an cycle that's been severed like.. this…" She looks to where the umbrella is hanging loose from her hand as the rain flows freely over her. "Huh. You were right, Master."

That must be quite an experience for her, death on that scale. Practically the death of a world, forcing it to start over again.

"It has been known to happen. Nothing left, then?"

She shakes her head, frowning. "But… There is magic here. I can feel that. It… Doesn't feel like Earth."

Well, that happens when a global extinction happens. I suppose in a million years, things would settle back down.

I nod. "It won't. Earth's special. Still, it doesn't feel as weak as Vega, does it?" She shakes her head. "Could you get a feel for the planet itself?"

"No, Master. It's too slow."

Too big for her inexperienced senses, eh? To big, too slow... Such is geology.

"That's why we call it a geographic timescale. Persuader?"

"Ah… Maybe? I think… Something wasn't destroyed here."

The worry is if she's feeling something other than the planet itself...

"The planet is mostly in one piece, though it's nice to know it's not on a delayed collapse."

"No, like… Something got hit real hard, but they decided not to hit it hard enough to kill it."

Which means the Renegade is going to have to bat cleanup for whoever they were, more than likely...

Hm. Alright. "Any idea who? Or what they hit?"

She shrugs, shaking her head. "Uh-uh-uh?"

Ah, yes. The teenager's reply of confoundedness. When they don't want to just say 'I don't know.'

"Anything at all?" She shakes her head again. "Okay, I'm going to schedule you some more god-power usage lessons. I'm not annoyed at your progress, but it's an area it would be helpful if you improved."

"Fine. What about you?"

"Let's have a look." Be Raised Up In My Sight

If anything, the better she is at applying them, the more easily she'll be able to do her part for him.

It takes a moment for my vision to settle, but just as it did for Equestria I see what this planet could become. Places where rivers will flow when the storm systems stabilise. Places for mining, places for farming, places for industry, ship-building… And more to the point, I feel no resistance to it. Because… There's no one here, presumably. No world-sphere of predetermined ideas providing inertia. That… Could be interesting for future colonisation sites, but for now… It's probably easier to go with what we know.

Nothing on a human level of perception, anyway. Even to a New God, it might feel like a blank slate...

Wouldn't want to waste a place like this on the Citizenry, not while-.

…

While…

...There might be something here with a prior claim, if only by occupation.

I frown at Persuader and Iname. "Did you feel that?"

Persuader shrugs, while Iname frowns. "I felt you envelope the whole world, Master. Was there something else?"

Joy of their less-developed and differently-specialised senses.

"I thought there was. Maybe… Something left over from when this planet actually had living things on it. Didn't get a… Bearing…"

"Is it a problem, Master?"

That suggests it's deeper inside the planet? Or is so pervasive that it's literally everywhere...

"Probably not, but I need to look into it anyway." Probably impact point is… That way. Mother Box?

Ping.

"All right, dear. I'll even dry you out in transit..." Hopefully they can make anything of it besides 'giant plain that's hard to identify as a crater.' Especially if it happened long enough ago that everything's settled.

I look at the space where a boom tube hasn't appeared.

"Mother Box?"

… Ping.

"...Yes, Dear, I know. I appear to be experiencing... Difficulties." Well, that's not good.

"Ah." Persuader hefts her axe. "We stuck?"

I nod. "Looks like. Don't use that on Mother Box."

Ping.

"I second that sentiment whole-heartedly!" I doubt a Mother Box or Father Box would respond well to percussive maintenance anyway.

"Yeah, obviously." She slashes downwards, a green line forming-.

BOOOMPF!

The slash collapses explosively, sending Persuader flying across the mountainside! She manages to dig the axe half in to arrest her movement, but she's clearly surprised.

Well, that's a strike against the place's suitability. Can't teleport on or off at all? Suspicious.

As am I.

"Well. This just got interesting."

Hopefully whatever causing that is something he can easily punch into submission.

Peculiar and worrying. You can teleport here, but not teleport away? Strikes me as some manner of honey trap, then. Like a planetary pitcher plant designed to attract visitors only to consume them somehow... I'm getting the feeling that impact event was something being imprisoned here. And if the episode title is any hint, it's something tied to Fear... That isn't Parallax, anyway.

Duke Long · 2026-02-18T07:18:43+0000

Mr Zoat said:
"Probably not, but I need to look into it anyway." Probably impact point it… That way. Mother Box?

Either I'm failing to understand this paragraph or there's something wrong with it.

Mr Zoat · 2026-02-18T08:34:24+0000

Duke Long said:
Either I'm failing to understand this paragraph or there's something wrong with it.

Just this once, it's not you.

Agumentic · 2026-02-18T09:34:05+0000

Mr Zoat said:
She manages to dig the axe half in to arrest her movement

Haft?

DAT_NOOB · 2026-02-18T10:14:29+0000

Man Hinon must really dislike grayven

CTrees · 2026-02-18T10:40:51+0000

He still has power rings. No attempt to just fly off the planet?

Chaoswind · 2026-02-18T10:59:08+0000

Anyone has any idea about the knights of passage?

Are they an expy or canon to DC?

Also anything pertinent from the backstory of Yuga Khan that can be involved in this planet getting fucked? Maybe he punched an underling so hard it killed the planet and sealed the underling and this gave the planet its magic?

Checks episode name...

Is Parallax sealed in this shithole?

Dur'id the Druid · 2026-02-18T11:49:41+0000

So sleepy cthulu? Something eldritch? Resting place of the blacklight entity?

Darko · 2026-02-18T12:06:00+0000

CTrees said:
He still has power rings. No attempt to just fly off the planet?

This is one if the planets that Hinon gave them so he may as well investigate it.

Chaoswind said:
Anyone has any idea about the knights of passage?

Are they an expy or canon to DC?

Also anything pertinent from the backstory of Yuga Khan that can be involved in this planet getting fucked? Maybe he punched an underling so hard it killed the planet and sealed the underling and this gave the planet its magic?

Checks episode name...

Is Parallax sealed in this shithole?

The Knights are apparently a creation of Zoat.

And Parallax is in the GLC Central Battery fighting Ion.

GigaVanguard · 2026-02-18T12:16:41+0000

Mr Zoat said:
She peers up at the sky for a moment, then takes a deeper than usual breath. Life To Death

Well. Don't I feel a bit stupid now. I hadn't made the thematic connection between "Iname is Misa Misa" and "Inami is a Next Goddess of Death", or at least if I did then I forgot.

WereDragon · 2026-02-18T12:21:37+0000

Mr Zoat said:
20th August 2013
10:50 GMT -7

To no ones surprise the State Executioner and the Pet Murderblender are not terribly well suited to scientific exploration.

Also to no ones surprise there is something problematic here that Hinon didn't bother to mention.

Attention Counting · 2026-02-18T12:41:13+0000

WereDragon said:
Also to no ones surprise there is something problematic here that Hinon didn't bother to mention.

Or didn't notice, which is worse considering she is an experienced Maltusian eons old. I reckon something serious is obfuscating itself.

NightmareWarden · 2026-02-18T12:43:36+0000

Mr Zoat said:
She peers up at the sky for a moment, then takes a deeper than usual breath. Life To Death

Mr Zoat said:
"Ah, good." I nod. "Simple plankton, probably. Anything else?"
Death To Life

Mr Zoat said:
Let's have a look." Be Raised Up In My Sight

It takes a moment for my vision to settle, but just as it did for Equestria I see what this planet could become. Places where rivers will flow when the storm systems stabilise. Places for mining, places for farming, places for industry, ship-building… And more to the point, I feel no resistance to it. Because… There's no one here, presumably. No world-sphere of predetermined ideas providing inertia. That… Could be interesting for future colonisation sites, but for now… It's probably easier to go with what we know.

Wouldn't want to waste a place like this on the Citizenry, not while-.
…

While…

Hidden text.

Steelplaza · 2026-02-18T13:08:48+0000

DAT_NOOB said:
Man Hinon must really dislike grayven

WereDragon said:
Also to no ones surprise there is something problematic here that Hinon didn't bother to mention.

Attention Counting said:
Or didn't notice, which is worse considering she is an experienced Maltusian eons old.

Just to be clear, one of Hinon's two major concerns about this planet was "Because there are so many unknowns". She talked a lot more about the pilgrims to the Source Wall because that's something where she knows what is happening.

But the planet itself is unknown unknowns and she admitted it.

Mr Zoat · 2026-02-18T13:16:29+0000

Agumentic said:
Haft?

Thank you, corrected.

CTrees said:
He still has power rings. No attempt to just fly off the planet?

Having just observed what happened to Persuader, he doesn't particularly want to risk his rings. Plus, he's not feeling actively threatened.

BartlettMagic · 2026-02-18T14:16:34+0000

Mr Zoat said:
rain pelting down from a storm-encrusted sky The atmosphere...

missing a full stop

Mr Zoat said:
"I felt you envelope the whole world,

drop the ending 'e' to envelop the meaning you intend

Steelplaza · 2026-02-18T15:53:21+0000

So I was going back to look up Persuader's previous appearances. (Not many!)

Mr Zoat said:
"I want to study your god-powers. Given how you've described the process of getting it, it sounds like the closest analogue to getting a cutie mark or becoming an alicorn. And since-. Actually, are you going to Awaken Persuader?"

"Not any time soon. I'm actually curious if a human can trigger the process without someone external forcing it."

This is pretty interesting. Did she end up triggering an Awakening on her own?

I might have missed it because searching for "Persuader" brings up an awful lot of posts that used "Persuade", and not all her appearances use "Elise".

Also I had not remembered that she's a (near) sociopathic murderer who killed her gym teacher because someone paid her to do it. Imane might actually be the more moral of the two; at least she theoretically only kills "bad people" even if she's also happy to define "bad people" as "including anyone Grayven wants dead".

Mr Zoat · 2026-02-18T17:00:32+0000

BartlettMagic said:
missing a full stop
drop the ending 'e' to envelop the meaning you intend

Thank you, corrected.

Steelplaza said:
This is pretty interesting. Did she end up triggering an Awakening on her own?

No. But that's at least in part because I forgot that I wrote that.

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

hey, little Anna, you're the one

Veteran Lurker

Glomerulus

Dedicated ragequitter

I trust you know where the happy button is?

Accused of writing in a far away land

Chasing the ring

Lord of nonsense

Not too sore, are you?

Connoisseur.

I trust you know where the happy button is?

Bookwyrm

Getting sticky.

Playtest Results: *happy chirping*

Custom Title

Dedicated ragequitter

peekaboo, you fucks you!

Custom Title

Dedicated ragequitter

Users who are viewing this thread

Playtest Results: happy chirping