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

Reader mode
Handlewithcare said:
This is only the second time I've ever seen Zagreus mentioned anywhere. The other one is in the Hades game.

I like how you portray the Tamaranians consistently as actually alien instead of just Humans with different skin colour.
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I totally read all his lines in the voice of the version from that game.
 
Mr Zoat said:
15th April
12:31 GMT +3

"Do you not think that was rude?"

"Koriand'r, if I didn't pull you away then my countrywomen would never let you go."
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Ah, the Amazons getting a little clingy? The drawback of bringing a gorgeous orange space babe to a country of mostly-lesbians.

"Is it not good that they are so friendly?"

"That's a little complicated." We emerge into Erebos and I take the lead as we fly towards Lord Hades' palace. "I want them to learn to leave the island. If they can get what they want -which includes stunningly attractive alien warrior-women- by staying at home, they get disincentivised."
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I mean, the rest of humanity isn't generally unattractive, but having Kori around makes it just a bit harder...

"You..? Think I am stunning?"

I glance at her with a frown. "Yes, you.. are? Especially to a warrior culture that holds physically capable women in high regard. Themyscira has been in voluntary isolation for most of the past two thousand years, so anything new gets a lot of attention… What?"
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And there aren't exactly a lot of visitors, after all. So female guests get a lot of attention in particular. Yay.

"Stunning?"

"Seriously?"

"I grew to womanhood on Okaara, and the people of Okaara have standards of beauty that are not the same as those of Tamaran."
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For reference, Okaaran females tend to be over six feet tall, and built like male bodybuilders. Imagine the classic 'buff female orc' meme. By those standards, Tamaraneans like Kori would look like skinny children.

"Okay, yes, but surely there were other students?"

"The Warlords preferred to teach only small groups, and their lessons left little time for other matters. I was there to learn so that I could lead my people, not to entertain myself. And… Since I was betrothed, I did not want to risk becoming too attached to someone I would have to leave. I have never been experienced romantic love, and my only experience of sex is being raped by Citadelian soldiers."
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Ooof. yeah, I think most of us forgot that little detail of her history...

"Oh." Ah. I know that tamaraneans process trauma differently to humans, but… I don't.. really… "Are you..? Alright?"

"Yes?" She blinks. "Should I not be?"
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There's no little twitch in here eyebrow, is there? No trace of repressed anger? Because that sort of thing tends to come out at just the wrong moment, according to Narrative Causality...

"I… No, I'm glad that you are, but perhaps we should make time to discuss the life goals you have that aren't related to public service? It's a poor sort of Orange Lantern who doesn't get at least something for themselves, and Vega is hardly in the same sort of state it used to be in."

She smiles. "Do you wish to 'set me up' with someone? Did Rikane telling you that you were a betrothal-breaking villain make you so concerned?"
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Well... There is Robin. I know, he's all of fifteen, but she's only about seventeen. Not that squicky...

"I… Suppose that I'd like you to be happy..?"

"Perhaps with Alan?"

I actually fall slightly in the air.
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Good thing they're in a tunnel, that kind of thing might have ended up with him face-first in a building anywhere else.

"Um."

"You do not approve?"
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Uh... Do Tamaraneans have the 'Half Plus Seven' rule back home?

"Alan.. is… Fairly old for a human. Um."

"But his body is fuelled by the light of hope."
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Dang, he must be looking good by now. Mid forties?

"That's certainly true. But… Have you talked about his late wife? Because him… Being involved with someone… I certainly don't hate the idea, but I think it's something that you should think about carefully? With perhaps a greater understanding with human cultural norms that you currently have?"
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And if her empathic sight is even half as good as his, she'd pick up on the Love. Even without it, you'd be hard pressed not to notice how much he loved Rose...

She nods as we come in for a landing.

"That may be more wise."

Starfire and… Alan Scott? I wouldn't have even considered…
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Because it's just... No. Just no. I don't think anyone ever considered that idea. Except maybe some particularly pervy folks.

"Ho, Lanterns." A young-looking man with tanned skin and dark grey hair and wearing.. safari gear that's so stereotypical that it makes me blink, raises his right hand in greeting as he strolls out of the shadows of a pillar. "I was wondering how long I'd be here until I met you."

I bow, and Koriand'r follows suit. "Lord Zagreus. I wasn't expecting you."
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Zagreus, greek god of the Hunt. Quite a confused and varied background there.

"I'd be a poor hunt-god if my prey expected me." I-. "Oh, not like that. You simply managed to make me curious. What brings you back to the underworld?" He looks pointedly at Koriand'r and then back at me. "Not planning on parading her in front of my sister, I hope?"

"No, no. I simply wanted to ask her help is deciphering some dreams."
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The Dreams of the Star Mother, eh? He's still plugging away at that one, I see.

He smirks. "And you could hardly ask an oracle. But I'm hardly ignorant on the subject myself, even if you do prefer my sister's company."

"I meant no offence, my lord. I simply haven't had the pleasure of meeting you until today."
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And looking at your outfit, you've been occupied with other matters.

"But why not Hypnos? He lives not far from here. And general interpretation is more his bailiwick."

"Because I know Melinoë."

And I honestly can't remember whether Hypnos and Morpheus are distinct beings and I'd rather avoid things like the Endless if at all possible.
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Eh, Morpheus was called the Oneiromancer. But given the ever-shifting nature of myth, who knows how it mutated?

"Do you know what my sister spends her time doing?"

"No?"
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Her business is her business. I doubt she'd enjoy prying.

"Custom mail order nightmares. People like them. I think people are even praying to her. A man called… Jonathan Crane?"

"Doctor Jonathan Crane, and that doesn't surprise me. He's insane and obsessed with fear but chemically incapable of feeling it without Melinoë's help."
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He probably finds them quite enjoyable indeed.

"At least he's happy. Listen, I've got some… Bad news."

"What's that?"

"Your visits are setting off our mother's protective instincts. She's… Not cutting you off, exactly… But I'm supposed to chaperone you."
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Really? I would have expected Hades to be the overprotective one.

"Did she call you back from… Wherever you were, because-"

"Nairobi."

"-she thinks I'm going to abduct Melinoë? Because Melinoë could lock me in a never-ending series of horrifying nightmares."
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The lady is hardly unprotected. Even if she didn't protect herself, the spirits and shades dwelling in Erebos would overhear any shenanigans.

He glances awkwardly away.

"Our.. mother is concerned that.. perhaps she wouldn't want to."
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...How ironic, indeed.

"So… What exactly is Queen Persephone's opposition to relevance in the modern world?"

"It's not the hobby. It's the man. And I don't think that having me along is really all that burdensome."

"Alright. I suppose you aren't really a problem. Where is Melinoë now?"
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Hells, he may even have some interesting input. After all, they weren't called 'Star Hunters' for nothing.

An interesting conversation. And hopefully tomorrow, we get to see that little interpretation session. Persephone's concerns are amusing. But given her love life's course, she probably would be expecting something of an 'elopement'...

...human cultural norms that you currently have?"
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...human cultural norms than you currently have?"
 
Vaermina said:
That is a completely and utterly fair fear.

After all, nobody should want Paul as a Son in law.
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Paula and Kori's parents probably would like that.

He did do a whole lot of nice things for them.

He healed Paula's back, got one of her daughters to stop doing crime, made sure the other one is super strong, put her ex in jail etc.

He saved Kori and Kom, destroyed the Citadel, gave them the ability to repair their homeworld etc.

Hyppolyta may also approve of Paul as a son in law, for either Diana or Donna.

He is a heroically inclined person that has greatly helped her and her people, and has committed various great and noble deeds.

He is helping them reintegrate with the outside world, solved a case of attempted murder against the princess, helped figure out where Donna comes from, and he has been helping several of the Greek Gods find worshipers, fought Oceanus, is a good friend of her grandson and greatly helped him etc.

Paula's mother may also like Paul to be a son in law.

Stsword said:
It is, she was the Captain Marvel Jr of her family, she was defeated by Freddy tricking her into saying her own name.

I felt sympathy for her, really.

All she wanted to do with this stolen magical power given to her by her father? Enjoy being pretty for once.

So if she had her druthers, her villainous career apparently would have consisted of getting guys to buy her drinks at bars and what not. Oh, the humanity!
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While it was sad, remember that that power belonged to someone that was using it to save the world, and she was a criminal who wanted to use for some fairly petty things.

It may be sad that she didn't get to feel all that pretty, but it isn't that sad.

Chojin Patriarch said:
Dang, he must be looking good by now. Mid forties?
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Think he looks like he's in his early fifties at least, but maybe a bit higher.

Think a well preserved guy in his middle years.

Unless he's using his ring to some extreme levels, then he starts to look like he did in his prime, at least for a while.

Chojin Patriarch said:
Because it's just... No. Just no. I don't think anyone ever considered that idea. Except maybe some particularly pervy folks.
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They are both highly noble and courageous warriors who are able to feel a great degree of hope, so it may be possible for them to actually start a relationship and have it succeed.

It probably wont happen, but it is possible.

Just imagine a Lantern Corps led by these two people.

It would be glorious!

Chojin Patriarch said:
Zagreus, greek god of the Hunt. Quite a confused and varied background there.
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Especially since the myths seem to make him out to be another identity for Dyonisus.

Chojin Patriarch said:
Really? I would have expected Hades to be the overprotective one.
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After everything Paul did for him I'd expect he'd be trying to encourage Melinoe to date Paul.

Those billions of souls are certainly a very worthy dowry.
 
RichardWhereat said:
True, and it would be great for her to be friends with his friends. Because Jade has a dangerous job, and she could just, die. For no reason at all. And Melinoë could be there for him.
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I think that Jade is going to live, and even if she dies do you really think he isn't going to try every conceivable method to bring her back?

Melinoe also doesn't exactly like Paul all that much.
 
The wierd thing Pauls gonna have to learn about the rape is that in most DC iterations tamaranians process trauma differently than humans do.

Where a human might suffer involuntary flashbacks and might re-experience that same fear response Starfire generally won't. She can of course remember the event and probably dislikes thinking about it but the memory is more distant for her and affects her daily life little.

Im not actually sure where or when I read that, I think it was an article about how post 52 Kori was depicted as having poor memory for faces and had difficulty recognizing past lovers if too much time had passed.

The article was trying to convince us she wasn't being written as a bimbo who couldnt keep track of the guys she's fucked and went into tamaranian's lessened pattern recognition compared to humans as an explanation for her ditzy behavior. That same kind of pattern recognition that helps us in daily life but will also throw a person into a panic attack when stimuli comparable to a traumatic event is encountered.

Tldr they wrote Kori as a slut then backtracked with a 'scientific' explanation to avoid pissed off Starfire fans.

*edit: It turns out I completely missed this line

"Ah. I know that tamaraneans process trauma differently to humans"

before I typed up this short essay, apparently Paul does not need the advice of this speed-reading fool.
 
Mr Zoat said:
"Ho, Lanterns." A young-looking man with tanned skin and dark grey hair and wearing.. safari gear that's so stereotypical that it makes me blink, raises his right hand in greeting as he strolls out of the shadows of a pillar.
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maxresdefault.jpg


"Mother says... back, away."
 
Darko said:
After everything Paul did for him I'd expect he'd be trying to encourage Melinoe to date Paul.

Those billions of souls are certainly a very worthy dowry.
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I mean, on the same token Paul has done a great deal for Persephone as well. Persephone is the Greek Goddess of vegitation, essentially the Greek's rep with the Green, and Paul has already done a great deal to help mitigate humanity's issues with plant-life choking pollution.

Honestly I think the main issue here is that Persephone just doesn't like Paul. Either it's messenger-blaming, as Paul was the one to convince Hera to finally kick Zeus to the curb, which only highlights how Persephone herself is stuck in a rut regarding her sort-of-coerced marriage to Hades, or it's a fairly reasonable fear that Paul is not attempting to date Melinoe, but Melinoe might be trying to convince herself that Paul is courting her, given his repeated attempts to engage her socially.
 
If Paul actually tells Melinoë that he isn't interested, would she be the kind of goddess to send nightmares for being (in her mind) stringed along? Admittedly, it would be kinda funny to see Paul break a goddess' heart, if only to see how others would react to that situation.
 
Starfire with Alan Scott?

I can say I've never seen that pairing before.

Alan does deserve to be happy though, and Starfire could do much worse.
Plus, he will stay young as he wishes as long as he uses a ring.

And there is a good chance Kori gains a Blue Lantern as well. (Kori wielding 2 colored rings?)

I approve.
 
I mean, aren't Tamaraneans, especially Koriand'r, specifically genetically engineered by the psions ? They might consider it more "fun" if you can temporarily traumatize / "break" slaves multiple times with rape / traumatic experimentation, and they don't give up / commit suicide. Really, escapes are easier to deal with than suicides with warrior slaves you might give sharp weapons.

Might explain a lot about the species.
 
Mr Zoat said:
And I honestly can't remember whether Hypnos and Morpheus are distinct beings and I'd rather avoid things like the Endless if at all possible.
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That answers so many of my questions.

...tho I'd like to point out, the Endless almost certainly knew (and know) about him already. Maybe Paul just thinks that if an Endless wanted a conversation with him, it'd've happened regardless of Paul's wishes on the matter.
 
Darko said:
I think that Jade is going to live, and even if she dies do you really think he isn't going to try every conceivable method to bring her back?
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Unless Zoat builds her up as something lovable and wonderful and then has someone destroy her soul.

Like Teek'l.
 
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Mquz said:
I mean, aren't Tamaraneans, especially Koriand'r, specifically genetically engineered by the psions ? They might consider it more "fun" if you can temporarily traumatize / "break" slaves multiple times with rape / traumatic experimentation, and they don't give up / commit suicide. Really, escapes are easier to deal with than suicides with warrior slaves you might give sharp weapons.

Might explain a lot about the species.
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Considering everything we know about the Psions, this is extremely likely.
 
Mr Zoat said:
"Your visits are setting off our mother's protective instincts. She's… Not cutting you off, exactly… But I'm supposed to chaperone you."

"Did she call you back from… Wherever you were, because-"

"Nairobi."

"-she thinks I'm going to abduct Melinoë? Because Melinoë could lock me in a never-ending series of horrifying nightmares."

He glances awkwardly away.

"Our.. mother is concerned that.. perhaps she wouldn't want to."

"So… What exactly is Queen Persephone's opposition to relevance in the modern world?"
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Ha, she is Demeter's daughter.
 
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