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

Pinklestia · Feb 12, 2021

Darko said:
Weakening Paul, especially during the war with the Reach, just seems wrong. Especially compared to the power ups renegade has been getting.

Has OhEl been doubled?

Is OhEl been split into two different beings, a multiverse wandering snake God and a human?

B00ki5h · Feb 12, 2021

Darko said:
Ok, so he may get his enlightenment back.

Really hope this gets resolved by the next episode.

Weakening Paul, especially during the war with the Reach, just seems wrong. Especially compared to the power ups renegade has been getting.

Weakening to nerf him would be shit, weakening him to force him to grow and regain what he lost just means Zoat needed some time spent and filler was a better option than a time skip.

Darko · Feb 12, 2021

Mr Zoat said:
Orange Central power Battery

'Power'

DrThoth said:
I think Sackville helped John carve them, but I could be wrong.

She did.

And later Zatanna said she understood them and could improve them.

Pinklestia said:
So... is there now two Pauls?

I have no idea what you're trying to ask with this, the structure of the sentence is weird.

But renegade is basically an extremely powerful god while Paul has been brought back to being a semi ordinary Lantern instead of his powerful enlightened self, so I think it's a bit unfair.

B00ki5h said:
Weakening to nerf him would be shit, weakening him to force him to grow and regain what he lost just means Zoat needed some time spent and filler was a better option than a time skip.

Still hope it gets resolved in the next episode.

What's the next episode called?

Uyurgezn · Feb 12, 2021

So Paul needs to go to place he died to get back portions of his soul he left back before respawning. This reminds me Hollow Knight now.

DrThoth · Feb 12, 2021

Uyurgezn said:
So Paul needs to go to place he died to get back portions of his soul he left back before respawning. This reminds me Hollow Knight now.

I'm coincidentally in the middle of the game, enjoying it though I'm not especially good.

It's a bit of a parallel to Renegade having to regain his soul portions after being Anti-Lifed too.

Also, points to Gozzi for quick and creative thinking.

Darko · Feb 12, 2021

Mr Zoat said:
I can't use the Honden at the moment. It would-. Probably take me years to fly back to Earth like this."

This feels weird.

It didn't take Paul all that long to go from Earth to Vega, I think it was just a day.

Granted that was probably the enlightenment helping things, but Lanterns who aren't enlightened have traveled to Earth in a small amount of time, it didn't take them years to get back.

Mquz · Feb 12, 2021

Uyurgezn said:
So Paul needs to go to place he died to get back portions of his soul he left back before respawning. This reminds me Hollow Knight now.

Wait... is he going to become a soul eater now? Since those were mentioned earlier in the fic.

Darko · Feb 12, 2021

Mquz said:
Wait... is he going to become a soul eater now? Since those were mentioned earlier in the fic.

Don't remember this being mentioned, but with the assimilation option the rings have, he kinda already is a soul eater.

Assblaster5000 · Feb 12, 2021

Darko said:
Don't remember this being mentioned, but with the assimilation option the rings have, he kinda already is a soul eater.

The soul eaters were mentioned in the visit to Atlantis by... Tula I want to say?

Darko · Feb 12, 2021

Assblaster5000 said:
The soul eaters were mentioned in the visit to Atlantis by... Tula I want to say?

That was due to his soulless nature at the time.

Apparently they think those without souls want to eat the souls of others.

Chojin Patriarch · Feb 12, 2021

Mr Zoat said:
10th July 2012
15:23 GMT

I frown as my armour's computer informs me of the exact time and date. Yes, I… Think that sort of thing was very important to

I want to remember. I loath the idea of my recall decaying, of the mental networks that make me me becoming unreliable.

And the recovery begins... Or continues, as it seems. So that's why so many different Pauls have that time-stamp tic? Interesting...

me-.

I wince as another strand of orange light extrudes from the Orange Central power Battery and flows into me.

"Are you you yet?"

Getting help from the most experienced user of the Orange Light, I see. I'm not surprised Hinon is looking into this personally. It must be fascinating on an intellectual level.

I don't change my posture, but shake my head as Hinon floats into my field of view.

"I don't know. No. No, I'm not. I've got… I've somehow recovered most of my memories… I think. At least enough of them to make sense of things… But I don't know what I've lost, and the… The self-awareness I had…"

Again: Is it better to have lost and not remember what you've lost, or to have lost, and be aware of what's missing? In this case, I suspect OL prefers the latter, if only so he can endeavour to reclaim it.

I shake my head.

"I suppose it can't be self-awareness if those bits literally aren't part of my self any longer."

But they will be, soon enough. We know you, OL. You're already working out how to fix this.

"Hm."

"As much as I appreciate you checking up on me, I've got a lot of mission reports to go through, so..?"

Geez, not even given medical leave while he recovers? Or is he insisting on maintaining the facade of healthiness?

"I've got a present for you."

She removes her left hand from her sleeve, an orange power ring held between her thumb and forefinger.

Heh. No more special customs for you, OL. Perhaps when you can make one yourself...

"I had thought that next time you felt the need for a new ring, you would be the one making it yourself. Since you clearly can't do that, I made a rush order."

"I'm… Sorry."

I'll bet that when he does, it'll be like a Bugatti to the rest of the Corps' Mercedes... Imagine it: Processing and scanning capabilities out the wazoo, full magical support capabilities... Who know what he'd want by then?

"Whatever for?"

"For… Getting the rings destroyed. Larfleeze's ring, and the one you nearly killed yourself making-."

Antiques, boy. You've been using the equivalent of a Commodore 64 and a 286 PC to access the Orange Light. Now you'll have the latest tablet... All the more reason to work towards making your own ring...

"Larfleeze's ring was a near-useless antique that I'm still not completely sure that Krona didn't have some sort of backdoor to. As for my ring… Frankly, that wasn't my best work."

"It wasn't?"

Certainly it worked well enough. But it was billions-of-years-old tech...

"As you correctly observed, I put myself into a coma creating it, splitting my focus in all too many ways. And then it went into the Bleed, and frankly it's a minor miracle that it wasn't completely destroyed."

I frown. "Miracle? Do you mean literally or metaphorically?"

By the will of the Source, it came to you, OL...

"I know that you consider me old, but Triarch worship was well before my time." She shakes her head. "I doubt that any deity you know -most of whom are younger than me- would intervene to deliver a power ring to someone like you. And that's before even considering the awkwardness of delivering it to a reality like yours."

I carefully extend my left hand and take it from her.

Now, for anyone else, you'd expect a little ceremony, but these two waste no time...

"So this is… Better?"

"Better than the ones you were using. About as good as the ones we've forged for the rest of the Corps."

So I was right, it's the basic model. A stock tablet, and probably lacking some of the lock-outs the regular Corpsmen get...

I frown, then nod. "Because all of the Controllers who've forged them have had access to the Orange Central Power Battery, so there's no reason for them to be any worse."

"They're slightly worse. There are… Things you can do, when you know the prospective Lantern as well as I know you."

So she's loaded it up with a custom database tailored for him? On top of whatever specific extra functions he needs as Illustres.

"Hinon, I'm not sure that I know me at the moment."

"No, I do. You'll work to get back to full mission fitness, because you hate the idea of losing bits of yourself. Which means that you'll be the person I made this ring for eventually."

And perhaps by then, he'll need it less. Surprised he's only getting one ring, though. Even if this model has better power storage performance, OL typically needs all the charge he can get, the things he pulls off sometimes.

"I…" I nod. "Intend to, but I've got no idea how long that will take."

"Then you'll have a mildly-suboptimal ring until then. It should still be better than the one you were using." She frowns, turning to look at the Central Power Battery. "Have you tried talking to the Ophidian?"

Surprised he didn't think to try that first. Or maybe she wouldn't recognise him as is...

"No. I didn't think that was a good idea. And I don't… Exactly remember what she's like."

"No?"

Worried about her going "Mine!" and not letting go this time? Do you think so little of her growth?

"I've got the records, and I remember some of what we did together, but I don't have the… Intuitive understanding of her mindset that I used to have. I remember that it.. used to feel like she was… Next to me, but invisible, the whole time." I shake my head. "And I really don't feel that way right now. Has..? Have any of the other Lanterns tried talking to her?"

"Talking at her, certainly. But she appears to be a one-Lantern snake."

So she'll only bond with her agent, and no-one else? Loyal to a fault, i suppose.

I smile. "That's kind of nice."

I exhale, sliding the new-. No, no, my new power ring onto my left ring finger. My environmental shield engages at once-.

Good to see he already has propriety unlocked from the start.

"Oh! Damn it!"

"Is something wrong?"

Now what?

"I can't use the Honden at the moment. It would-. Probably take me years to fly back to Earth like this."

"Why would you want to return to Earth?"

From the fastest thing in the Corps to below average... I'm sure they can spot you a personal warp-shuttle...

"I don't right now. But I will probably want to within the next few years."

I stand, pointing my left hand at the Central Power Battery and wanting my-. Myself back. What had been occasional threads becomes a mist, and I-. It's quite a relief to-. Huh, ice cream. Not.. just ice cream, but the days out with the extended family association that had slipped my mind.

Yes... You'll want to get back to Earth sooner rather than later, I think. I imagine your friends are a little worried, if word was sent to the Lanterns on watch.

"So what actually happened?"

"You flew up to a Reach ship which contained a surprising amount of qwa-matter. The Weaponer's besides himself. It's the most entertainment I've had in ten thousand years."

Beside himself with rage at the abuse of holy Qwa-matter, or in excitement at getting to see OL survive it? Or maybe both? And again, the way Qwa-matter is being described, it puts me in mind of the destructive energies from 'Crisis on Infinite Earths'...

"So..?"

"Normally I'd say something like 'so don't do that again you silly man', but the Reach can block most types of ring scan and we didn't have any reason to believe that they had anything like enough qwa-matter for something like that. The unfortunate truth is that it's not possible to predict everything a sufficiently clever enemy might try." She huffs. "Having examined the site, it looks like you were completely disintegrated."

So, the rest of the Corps is going to have to be a bit more careful around Reach ship, then. Because I doubt any of them could survive exposure at all...

"I woke up in a body."

"After you told Lantern Gozzi that you could see spirits, she decided to create a physical duplicate and hope for the best." Hinon frowns. "Normally, I'd warn you about a woman showing that much interest in your body, but since she's coluan you're probably alright."

Impressive initiative on her part. Most of the Corps would simpyl have mourned his loss and moved on...

"And… Between my affinity for the orange light and her ring… That was enough?"

Hinon looks at me like I've said something stupid.

Hardly, it seems. I'm sure she'll explain it in small words for you, child...

"No, of course not. You drew a tiny portion of the Honden into the material universe; a part associated with the Leentniar. When your physical body was destroyed, it… Dumbing it down a great deal, it snapped back, taking a lot of you with it."

I nod.

Ouch. And that part is probably a wreck. OL's going to have some cleaning up to do when he gets back in, I bet. Best Snek is a bit miffed at what he did to her place, I bet.

"Do you have a plan for getting the rest back?"

"Yes. I'm going to need a wizard and a lift back to the Leentniar's system."

"We'll need an old priest and a young priest..."

So, OL isn't planning to take the slow way back to his previous level, I see. At least it isn't going to take him months in-universe (and years for us.) Let's hope the wizard is practised enough to get it right. And while some may complain, as long as it doesn't completely invalidate the hassle he's been through, we'll go with it...

Hey, at least now he can re-spec!

"No. I didn't think that was a good idea. And I don't… Exactly remember what she's like."

"No?"

Two lines here. Not as planned, I suspect.

The Weaponer's besides himself.

The Weaponer's beside himself.

Darko · Feb 12, 2021

Chojin Patriarch said:
From the fastest thing in the Corps to below average... I'm sure they can spot you a personal warp-shuttle...

Other Lanterns have arrived to Earth in a short amount of time, so it may not take him years.

Chojin Patriarch said:
some may complain

coughVaerminacough.

Mr Zoat · Feb 12, 2021

Darko said:
'Power'

Thank you, corrected.

Chojin Patriarch said:
Again: Is it better to have lost and not remember what you've lost, or to have lost, and be aware of what's missing? In this case, I suspect OL prefers the latter, if only so he can endeavour to reclaim it.

Two lines here. Not as planned, I suspect.

The Weaponer's beside himself.

Thank you, corrected.

Darko said:
coughVaerminacough.

Ngamer11 · Feb 12, 2021

At least he has his memories back. It would have sucked to read a story where Paul was an amnesiac for more than one episode.

Handlewithcare · Feb 12, 2021

Urgh, poor Paul. Must be awful to go from that much certainty to being diminished so much.

While fighting a war no less.

Rafin · Feb 12, 2021

What happened to Paul's soul? Because what came back seemed to not be that. At least when compared to the thing that went to Heaven and then escaped.

Mr Zoat · Feb 12, 2021

Ngamer11 said:
At least he has his memories back. It would have sucked to read a story where Paul was an amnesiac for more than one episode.

What he's got is the arcane equivalent of a concussion. After the initial period of total bewilderment he's now on the 'somewhat confused but recovering' stage.

Darko · Feb 12, 2021

Rafin said:
What happened to Paul's soul? Because what came back seemed to not be that. At least when compared to the thing that went to Heaven and then escaped.

It looks like a piece of it broke off and is now in the Honden somewhere.

cookiemontser · Feb 12, 2021

I really hope this isn't a permanent nerf.

Senevri · Feb 12, 2021

Vaermina said:
Let's see if Zoat remembers that this means his Anti-Scry Soul Tattoo's should be gone.

And that nobody currently has the knowledge to replace them.

Not necessarily. If Gozzi created an exact enough copy of his body, the physical component should be there. The metaphysical components should be with his soul. The tattoos MIGHT be offline right now, which doesn't matter much for his soul-generating tattoo, but is significant for his immune-to-scrying tattoo. That is a plot hook I'd like to see utilized.
Technically he should have lost all detailed scans and access to subspaced stuff he was hoarding with the rings. His personal lantern might have survived, could go either way.

Vaermina · Feb 12, 2021

Darko said:
She did.

And later Zatanna said she understood them and could improve them.

We were over this before, and I am pretty sure Zoat himself even said no to that idea.

Senevri said:
Not necessarily. If Gozzi created an exact enough copy of his body, the physical component should be there. The metaphysical components should be with his soul. The tattoos MIGHT be offline right now, which doesn't matter much for his soul-generating tattoo, but is significant for his immune-to-scrying tattoo. That is a plot hook I'd like to see utilized.
Technically he should have lost all detailed scans and access to subspaced stuff he was hoarding with the rings. His personal lantern might have survived, could go either way.

At least part of his soul was destroyed for sure.

And the Tattoo's need to be whole to work.

Mr Zoat · Feb 12, 2021

cookiemontser said:
I really hope this isn't a permanent nerf.

Mr Zoat said:
What he's got is the arcane equivalent of a concussion. After the initial period of total bewilderment he's now on the 'somewhat confused but recovering' stage.

BlueMangoAdea · Feb 12, 2021

Vaermina said:
At least part of his soul was destroyed for sure.

And the Tattoo's need to be whole to work.

Mr Zoat said:
What he's got is the arcane equivalent of a concussion. After the initial period of total bewilderment he's now on the 'somewhat confused but recovering' stage.

For sure, huh.

Tembu · Feb 12, 2021

Nerfed arc part two starts again. Instead of making the reach OP just nerf your main character for plot progression. The more self inserts change the more they stay the same

Silverias · Feb 12, 2021

Tembu said:
Nerfed arc part two starts again. Instead of making the reach OP just nerf your main character for plot progression. The more self inserts change the more they stay the same

This feels much less like a nerf arc and more like a "Hey, let's explore more what OL's metaphysical status is."

Pez · Feb 12, 2021

Question 1: Does Jade know what happened?

Question 2: When does Jade gain the power to start blowing up Reach suns to make them pay?

Question 3: Jade-Paul babies when?

Question 4: Did Hades feel/sense Paul die?

PrinceJonathan · Feb 12, 2021

Mr Zoat said:
"No, of course not. You drew a tiny portion of the Honden into the material universe; a part associated with the Leentniar. When your physical body was destroyed, it… Dumbing it down a great deal, it snapped back, taking a lot of you with it."

So most of Paul is stuck in the Honden with the spirits of the Leentnair all sitting in a prayer circle singing kumbaya?

Shooting Star · Feb 12, 2021

Mr Zoat said:
"So this is… Better?"

"Better than the ones you were using. About as good as the ones we've forged for the rest of the Corps."

So Paul has been memeing on the rest of the Orange Corps with a substandard ring. I wish Zoat did Interlude chapters, because I'd love to see that do the gossip rounds.

Mr Zoat said:
"Have you tried talking to the Ophidian?"

"No. I didn't think that was a good idea. And I don't… Exactly remember what she's like."

"No?"

"I've got the records, and I remember some of what we did together, but I don't have the… Intuitive understanding of her mindset that I used to have. I remember that it.. used to feel like she was… Next to me, but invisible, the whole time." I shake my head. "And I really don't feel that way right now. Has..? Have any of the other Lanterns tried talking to her?"

"Talking at her, certainly. But she appears to be a one-Lantern snake."

Yet more evidence that the Ophidian is the real best girl.

Mr Zoat · Feb 12, 2021

Pez said:
Question 1: Does Jade know what happened?

Not at present.

Question 2: When does Jade gain the power to start blowing up Reach suns to make them pay?

That's not really how Jade works. She might demand an orange ring and use it to go after the Reach commander who planned it, but she's not interested in widespread destruction.

Question 3: Jade-Paul babies when?

The current plan is 'some time after the war'.

Question 4: Did Hades feel/sense Paul die?

He might have felt something, but at this point it's like wanting a digital transmission and getting sculpture.

Pinklestia · Feb 12, 2021

Darko said:
I have no idea what you're trying to ask with this, the structure of the sentence is weird.

But renegade is basically an extremely powerful god while Paul has been brought back to being a semi ordinary Lantern instead of his powerful enlightened self, so I think it's a bit unfair.

Has OhEl been split into two different beings, a multiverse wandering snake God and a human?

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

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