Bloodalchemy
Versed in the lewd.
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I'm so used to Paul being distracted from Constantine, I had to take a second to remember The Demon was part of him and not another distraction.
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Not a bad workout. Pity you don't get to see where you're going, only where you've been. I'm surprised they're having to row, though, given that a river flows. Though that would be metaphorically giving themselves up to the whims of the current... Whereas rowing implies purpose, and progress towards a destination.8th November 2012
17:12 GMT +3
"I wonder if my college has a rowing team?"
Sanderson and I are getting into a rhythm, our oars going into the water together… Reasonably well. I've only had to stabilise myself with my ring once so far.
Doesn't mean it's not good exercise. Even if he only acts as an extra during training sessions or the like...Alan leans a little towards him. "Shouldn't be too hard to find out."
"Wouldn't do you much good, though. Metahumans can't participate in official competitions."
Right, still reluctant to acknowledge his empowered aspects.
I expect the number one no-no would be super-strength and/or super-speed. Just on pure mechanical advantage."Mean-?" He blinks. "Oh. Oh yeah. I guess that's-. I mean, magic counts?"
"The rules are a little vague about exactly what they cover, but I imagine that they would stretch to a man who could transform himself into sand."
I'd make a crack about the ladies liking that, but that would imply sand in places sand should never be. Ow."That doesn't seem fair. It doesn't make me any stronger."
"Do you get tired when you're made of sand?"
His humanity is largely in his head. Don't ruin it for him, OL."I haven't really tested it out. Do you think I wouldn't?"
"Your sand body doesn't have any way to generate lactic acid, or… Any other chemical. Not that that necessarily means anything."
And I'm suddenly reminded of Asterix comics where Obelix the mighty is rowing. Picture a rowboat hopping along like a rabbit, if you can't picture it."Okay, I guess, but it's kind of obvious whether I'm made of sand or not."
"Sanderson, I know that you're a good guy, but the rules have to be written on the assumption that a certain number of participants won't be. Plenty of abilities don't have any obvious outward sign that they're in use."
Good, it's a terribleThe Demon slumps slightly in his seat. "None of you smoke, do you?"
"No." / "Not for sixty years." / "Aunt Dian wouldn't let me." / "No."
No headier high than the adrenaline of fighting for the right thing."You do all realise that none of you can get cancer, yeah?"
Alan shrugs. "I guess we've all got enough purpose in our lives that we don't need things like that."
Yes, you've had to beat the spit out of a few, OL."I wouldn't tempt me if I were you. Demons with purpose aren't exactly human-friendly."
He's not wrong there.
If the river is a metaphor for travel, I'd be surprised if there were anything beyond a treeline.Hm. Hard to tell exactly how long we've been doing this for. The mist has gone, and we're in a river bed that's deep enough that I can't see over the bank-.
"Doctor, what's on the other side of the river banks?"
...Define safe. I wouldn't go poking around, though."Not a great deal. This is a travelling river. I imagine that what surrounds us is the unformatted stuff of the Dream."
Alan frowns, straightening up slightly and peering to the left. "Is it safe?"
I imagine it would be very painful..."It would not be wise to walk through it with your living body, but it will not hurt us here."
"If I did, what would happen?"
Well, that's not terrifying at all, nosirree..."It would be like being in a dream, except that you would hev no external body to awaken into."
"Could someone get out?"
So... Pretty much any Lantern, then. Especially a Greenie, who could just determination their way through.Dr. Balewa nods slowly. "Perhaps. If they were unusually self-possessed, or had someone to help them. Mister Hawkins, do you feel anything about our destination?"
"Doctor, I'm not really used to navigating by… By feel like this. I don't want to get everyone lost."
Something good, or something bad? Or is he too inexperienced to tell the difference?"Returning to the Gate of Horn and Ivory from a river like this is easy. Do not worry about getting us lost. As long as no one moves into the deep dream, I am confident thet I could guide our return journey myself. It is in navigating us in that you are helpful."
"Okay, then I think we're coming up on something. But I don't-"
...Because there's always rapids or a waterfall. Representing unexpected obstacles.We all hear the rushing water, and I nod to myself.
"-know what-. Ah, that's bad, right?"
Just remember: don't pay the ferryman, not until you reach the other side."I… Am not sure."
Dr. Balewa peers in the direction of our travel as the roar of water going over a waterfall gets louder.
Nice work, Alan. He's probably the most powerful member of the party here, what with the ties between hopes and dreams..."I do not believe that it will be a problem, but if the Lanterns could-"
Lap bars, chain loops and grab rails appear on our boat, and life jackets materialise at our feet.
You know, just in case."-make certain-. Thank you."
The river bends, the bank blocking our view of the fall until-. Yes, there it is, the classical waterfall-from-nowhere. I swap my plate armour helmet for a diving helmet, and after a moment Alan does as well.
I appreciate the levity, doc, but now's not the best time.The Demon wraps ropes around each of his forearms. "Alright, Doctor. Anything we need to know?"
"It is probably too late to teach you how to swim."
Well, he's probably right. Ever had a dream where you're cruising around underwater?The boat's picking up speed. We could probably reach the bank, but from what Dr. Balewa was saying there's nothing there.
"About the water."
"Despite the fact that it does not literally exist, I would not recommend breathing-"
...And then they find themselves sailing straight down with no problem, because gravity is subjective here.
Right then, a narrative shortcut. Yay for metaphors.I'm braced, but-. What? I-.
There's a moment of disorientation as we go over, but then it's… Like we're sailing along a level river once more, the sky above us sort of twisting so that the dull night sky the accompanied us since we left zombie territory is replaced by-.
Something a bit like this, then? But with a bit of kaleidoscopic tessellation?I close my eyes in an attempt to get my brain to stop hurting. Okay, it looked like a Middle eastern market from a couple of centuries ago drawn by Roger Penrose. Pathways link points that have no rational spatial relationship to one another, being at variance in place or orientation. People of various kinds walk freely at our plane, up walls and across ceilings. A few move at completely different angles, and some overpasses have people walking atop and beneath them.
Congratulations on your restraint, OL. It seems he's a bit of a troll in his old age."Ah, good. We have arrived."
I open my eyes, and don't punch Dr. Balewa in the face.
'Not good', you say. Any other boats at the docks might have harsher words."Oarsmen, please take us to the jetty. We will need to transfer here."
Sanderson and I look at each other for a moment, then carefully resume our strokes. I glance back and see that our drop-in point has vanished. The jetty's not far away, but we're one of the smaller boats on the water and we're not good at delicate manoeuvring.
As told here, in the story 'Ramadan'. They've, quite literally, entered a city in a bottle."Do you recognise where we are, Orange Lantern?"
"Yes, Time Trapper mentioned it. Caliph Harun al Raschid made a deal with Morpheus to preserve his realm forever. I assume that this is it."
But in this place, that goes doubly so, since it's a distillation of the sort of things you'd see in '1001 Arabian Nights'."Yes. We will seek passage onwards from here, and gather supplies for our task. But be on your guard: not all things here are what they seem."
…
No. Really?
As the wiki writes it, that's 'Haroun', unless OL is misremembering...
Thank you, corrected.As the wiki writes it, that's 'Haroun', unless OL is misremembering...
You have no idea how long it took me to realise that they had one small set and just had her walk on from different directions.Something a bit like this, then? But with a bit of kaleidoscopic tessellation?
'thet'
'thet'
'thet'
'thet'I do not believe that it will be a problem, but if the Lanterns could-
'hev'
Thank you, corrected.
Might just mean that it wouldn't kill him if he stayed sand the whole time.It's interesting that Sanderson is apparently immune to cancer. Does that mean that he undergoes some sort of healing when he transforms, or that his seemingly-normal body is actually still unusual in some way?
It's barbaric, but hey, it's home.So... They've come to a far away place where the heat is intense, where its flat and immense, where the winds from the East and the sun's from the West where the caravan camels roam...
In a city where enchantment runs rampant, are they going to hop a carpet and fly?
Is that still on or did the whole thing with Hephestian delayed it?27th October 2012
05:02 GMT
"The crown princess of one of their colonies is a friend of mine. If you want me to fly you over there for a visit, so you can get a better idea of what their culture is like, I'm happy to do that."
"That sounds like it would be the wise thing to do. I'll-" He finishes his tea in a gulp, then rises to his feet. "-finish off my current batch of projects first. Is a week good for you?"
"Yes, I'll speak to Bleez and arrange things."
Nice work, Alan. He's probably the most powerful member of the party here, what with the ties between hopes and dreams...
As if Paul still has a right to complain about people trolling him.Congratulations on your restraint, OL. It seems he's a bit of a troll in his old age.
I'm not sure how many care, but in the comics Sandy is actually a silicon instead of carbon based life form in "human form."
Maybe it was watching Star Trek as a kid, but I've always liked seeing that kind of thing in fiction.
I was rereading parts of the story and found this error. That should be spelled Stacy's instead of Stacey's.
Thank you, corrected.I was rereading parts of the story and found this error. That should be spelled Stacy's instead of Stacey's.
He probably had it made alongside the blue lantern he gave to Alan in the Paragon timeline. And i thought he had a problem with Qwa matter being in the hands of outsiders, not weapons. They are called the weaponers for a reason.I also was rereading and was wondering: Since Kalmin would kill anyone non-Qwardian using a Qwa-weapon how did the SI get Wonder Woman a Qwa-Sword as a gift from his return. He said it wasn't "A prize of war or anything, it's a custom job". Did Kalmin make an exception?
He's a pain to write.I really enjoy Dr. Balewa. He's been more fun than I expected for the last few chapters.
I'd have to reread the whole region.I also was rereading and was wondering: Since Kalmin would kill anyone non-Qwardian using a Qwa-weapon how did the SI get Wonder Woman a Qwa-Sword as a gift from his return. He said it wasn't "A prize of war or anything, it's a custom job". Did Kalmin make an exception?
Because of the accent?
Yes.
Muscular man, time travel. It's an older code, but it checks out.
working, knowing Magnificus on the end of multiple robotic arms.
"Magnificus! You've been skipping your therapy sessions and I want to talk about it!"
"I don't need therapy! I need to work!
at -> of
spend -> spent
Except the Sheeda didn't build their time machine and had no idea how it all worked.Sigh. I feel for Magnificus. It was obvious to Renegade that the Sheeda must have somehow hardened their excursions against outside interference enough that even Sivana senior couldn't break it. Magnificus must have known too but Grief makes us fools.