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With This Ring (Young Justice SI) (Thread Fourteen)
- Thread starter Mr Zoat
- Start date
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- Tags
- self insert young justice
Mr Zoat
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No. Boss Smiley would consider Sleez horribly myopic and small-minded. Remember, in Season of Dreams Boss Smiley was happy for Prez to have two terms, and only acted against him overtly towards the end. He was useful, even if his defiance was temporarily frustrating. Sleez couldn't conceive of doing that, and Boss Smiley wouldn't care to teach him.
Vaermina
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Look at OL, forgetting that he lives in a universe where Time and Multiversal Travel is a thing.
NightmareWarden
Versed in the lewd.
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Alright that's FAR more concerning than a nearby explosion for the cliffhanger. I don't think we are going back to Melmoth's playground, and I don't think there is a waiting ambush on the other side.
Step-parent? No, I'm going with godparent for Paragon-Paul because that's a hilarious title for what a civilian would call a demon.
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Changing Lanes (part 3)
New
Mr Zoat
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18th August 2013
06:57 GMT -5
-into…
Huh.
A cave? No, the floor's clearly been levelled out at some point, though not paved or mortared, and glowing crystals have been placed in sconces along the walls. They're a rather pleasant deep mauve colour, though I know that there's no naturally occurring crystal in the universe that glows that colour without an external power source.
Pink kryptonite is lighter, and doesn't glow quite that much.
Air temperature is… Cool. Not fridge-cold, but certainly larder-cold. Air pressure… The air circulation is… Decent, though I can't hear any fans or pumps. I take a rune stone out of my harness and hold it out to one of the sconces.
It's… Not sure, from the looks of things.
Huh.
Okay, put it back in the harness and listen. Nothing on radio, and whatever's cooling the place is interfering with infrared. No exotic radiation that I can detect. I'm… Holding off on anything that would require me to send a signal outwards, sonic sensor suggests… That there are other corridors around, maybe.
How did I get here?
Angelica burned Zor's holiday home with golden fire, which… Either tripped a trap or got his personal attention. I didn't see a spell or… Him, which suggests… Area effect trap? And Mazikeen and Angelica were in the area… Shouldn't have been anyone else around except… Animals? Not... Picking… Up any animals.
But I am picking up corpses.
I look right-. Yes, it's a bier, or shelf, depending on whether this is a morgue or a tomb. The body… Pale-skinned human man, dead for at least two days… Yes, the blood's settled. Signs of injuries suggest prolonged violence, with the fatal blow being… A large neck wound. Piercing. Spear? Horn, maybe? Teeth are in good condition, and the underlying condition suggests a good diet growing up. The fact that whoever put him here didn't leave him with a loin cloth suggests that this isn't an honourable interment…
Not sure.
Two more men in roughly the same condition. Then what appears to be an elf of the Tolkienian high man sort. Though I can't remember if Tolkien's elves had ears that extended well past the top of their heads or if they were more vulcan-like. This one has the longer variety, which I mostly know from Japanese entertainment. All naked and beaten… Those are whip marks.
Slaves, then.
Genetic analysis doesn't match any ethnic group on Earth. Either the humans or the elf. But at least they have genes. Alright, I should-.
"-from the cellars." Heavy iron hinges move as a door is pulled open. "The hydras are hungry. Druggoth, get-."
"Excuse me, sir!" I step out of my… Tomb annex? And into the central chamber with… Ah, the thing covered in frost is probably the source of the cooling effect. Looks like it's magical. Honestly, this place doesn't look very space-efficient, but maybe they use it as a barracks sometimes? "Could I have a moment of your-"
A pale-skinned male elf with dark grey hair stares at me. He's wearing trousers made from the skin of a scaled animal and has left his torso bare except for a bandolier of impractical-looking knives. There are a couple of spiky-looking tattoos on his chest and face, and he's staring at me with an expression of bewilderment.
"-time?"
He steps back out of the door. "Druggoth, we have a volunteer. Deal with it."
"Mister Druggoth?"
The elf pulls back out of sight, and… A mass of dull brown hair fills the doorway.
"Hello?"
The mass bends, and-. Oh, it's a minotaur! Ah. Sorry Ferdinand, it's a bullman. Or possibly a cowwoman who's really hit the weights. Probably-he gets a good look at me and snorts heavily. He's wearing a muzzle-. An iron muzzle, over his mouth, and it's chained around his head in a way which looks very uncomfortable. As he sticks his right hand through the doorway I take note of the thick manacles around his wrist, and-.
Oh, eurgh, his nipples are pierced.
"R-huh."
He snorts mucousfully and lumbers fully into the room, glaring at me.
"Are you an intelligent person, nod or shake?"
He steps closer, cloven feet clopping and-. Oh, he doesn't have a loincloth either! He's just let his belly fur grow long enough to cover his crotch!
Right. Ring check? I form a construct gauntlet for a moment and then dismiss it. Yep, still working. Kinetic barrier check? I tether a small stone from the floor and hurl it at me, the kinetic shield flaring for a moment as it hits. Yep, still working. Subspace arsenal? … No. Ah well, basic armour should be fine for now, and everything should be where I left it when I get back.
BOF!
Huh?
I look up… At the underside of the Druggoth's fist.
"R-huh?"
"That's not going to work. I apologise for intruding-"
Druggoth's other fist goes into my chest.
"-but if you could just show me the exit-"
Druggoth grabs… An axe from his rope strap around his waist that I was trying not to look at due to the hair curtain issue, takes a solid grip and then swings it into… My neck with impressive speed and accuracy. The kinetic barrier stops it with no difficulty, because while he's strong he's 'big bloke strong' and not superstrong.
"-I'd be grateful."
There's a brief moment of fear, and then he backs up and lowers his head.
"You realise this is dumb but they'll do horrible things to you if you refuse. Two taps for 'yes'."
He taps his left hoof twice against the floor.
"Understood."
I transition past him into the space through the doorway and slam the door shut behind me-. The bar is on the outside. Prison or slave quarters, then? Whatever, I stick the bar in place and turn towards the… Elf.
This place is a bit bigger than I thought.
The elf overseer has drawn a knife and is watching me cautiously, but ignoring him… We're 'outside', which is to say that we're outside the rock that the room was inside. We're still underground, but there's a stone brick wall in front of me with a window in it, and through it I can see…
A very big cavern.
It is a cavern, because I can see the rock pillars which are supporting the rock and soil above, but I've got no idea how something like that could form naturally and it doesn't look artificial. There are more glowing crystals to provide illumination, though it's a little hard to tell how big things are without a reference. Closer, it looks like… This is part of a city? Built into the side of a gigantic.. stalagmite..?
"Halt, invader!"
I turn-.
Oh, good! People who can answer questions!
06:57 GMT -5
-into…
Huh.
A cave? No, the floor's clearly been levelled out at some point, though not paved or mortared, and glowing crystals have been placed in sconces along the walls. They're a rather pleasant deep mauve colour, though I know that there's no naturally occurring crystal in the universe that glows that colour without an external power source.
Pink kryptonite is lighter, and doesn't glow quite that much.
Air temperature is… Cool. Not fridge-cold, but certainly larder-cold. Air pressure… The air circulation is… Decent, though I can't hear any fans or pumps. I take a rune stone out of my harness and hold it out to one of the sconces.
It's… Not sure, from the looks of things.
Huh.
Okay, put it back in the harness and listen. Nothing on radio, and whatever's cooling the place is interfering with infrared. No exotic radiation that I can detect. I'm… Holding off on anything that would require me to send a signal outwards, sonic sensor suggests… That there are other corridors around, maybe.
How did I get here?
Angelica burned Zor's holiday home with golden fire, which… Either tripped a trap or got his personal attention. I didn't see a spell or… Him, which suggests… Area effect trap? And Mazikeen and Angelica were in the area… Shouldn't have been anyone else around except… Animals? Not... Picking… Up any animals.
But I am picking up corpses.
I look right-. Yes, it's a bier, or shelf, depending on whether this is a morgue or a tomb. The body… Pale-skinned human man, dead for at least two days… Yes, the blood's settled. Signs of injuries suggest prolonged violence, with the fatal blow being… A large neck wound. Piercing. Spear? Horn, maybe? Teeth are in good condition, and the underlying condition suggests a good diet growing up. The fact that whoever put him here didn't leave him with a loin cloth suggests that this isn't an honourable interment…
Not sure.
Two more men in roughly the same condition. Then what appears to be an elf of the Tolkienian high man sort. Though I can't remember if Tolkien's elves had ears that extended well past the top of their heads or if they were more vulcan-like. This one has the longer variety, which I mostly know from Japanese entertainment. All naked and beaten… Those are whip marks.
Slaves, then.
Genetic analysis doesn't match any ethnic group on Earth. Either the humans or the elf. But at least they have genes. Alright, I should-.
"-from the cellars." Heavy iron hinges move as a door is pulled open. "The hydras are hungry. Druggoth, get-."
"Excuse me, sir!" I step out of my… Tomb annex? And into the central chamber with… Ah, the thing covered in frost is probably the source of the cooling effect. Looks like it's magical. Honestly, this place doesn't look very space-efficient, but maybe they use it as a barracks sometimes? "Could I have a moment of your-"
A pale-skinned male elf with dark grey hair stares at me. He's wearing trousers made from the skin of a scaled animal and has left his torso bare except for a bandolier of impractical-looking knives. There are a couple of spiky-looking tattoos on his chest and face, and he's staring at me with an expression of bewilderment.
"-time?"
He steps back out of the door. "Druggoth, we have a volunteer. Deal with it."
"Mister Druggoth?"
The elf pulls back out of sight, and… A mass of dull brown hair fills the doorway.
"Hello?"
The mass bends, and-. Oh, it's a minotaur! Ah. Sorry Ferdinand, it's a bullman. Or possibly a cowwoman who's really hit the weights. Probably-he gets a good look at me and snorts heavily. He's wearing a muzzle-. An iron muzzle, over his mouth, and it's chained around his head in a way which looks very uncomfortable. As he sticks his right hand through the doorway I take note of the thick manacles around his wrist, and-.
Oh, eurgh, his nipples are pierced.
"R-huh."
He snorts mucousfully and lumbers fully into the room, glaring at me.
"Are you an intelligent person, nod or shake?"
He steps closer, cloven feet clopping and-. Oh, he doesn't have a loincloth either! He's just let his belly fur grow long enough to cover his crotch!
Right. Ring check? I form a construct gauntlet for a moment and then dismiss it. Yep, still working. Kinetic barrier check? I tether a small stone from the floor and hurl it at me, the kinetic shield flaring for a moment as it hits. Yep, still working. Subspace arsenal? … No. Ah well, basic armour should be fine for now, and everything should be where I left it when I get back.
BOF!
Huh?
I look up… At the underside of the Druggoth's fist.
"R-huh?"
"That's not going to work. I apologise for intruding-"
Druggoth's other fist goes into my chest.
"-but if you could just show me the exit-"
Druggoth grabs… An axe from his rope strap around his waist that I was trying not to look at due to the hair curtain issue, takes a solid grip and then swings it into… My neck with impressive speed and accuracy. The kinetic barrier stops it with no difficulty, because while he's strong he's 'big bloke strong' and not superstrong.
"-I'd be grateful."
There's a brief moment of fear, and then he backs up and lowers his head.
"You realise this is dumb but they'll do horrible things to you if you refuse. Two taps for 'yes'."
He taps his left hoof twice against the floor.
"Understood."
I transition past him into the space through the doorway and slam the door shut behind me-. The bar is on the outside. Prison or slave quarters, then? Whatever, I stick the bar in place and turn towards the… Elf.
This place is a bit bigger than I thought.
The elf overseer has drawn a knife and is watching me cautiously, but ignoring him… We're 'outside', which is to say that we're outside the rock that the room was inside. We're still underground, but there's a stone brick wall in front of me with a window in it, and through it I can see…
A very big cavern.
It is a cavern, because I can see the rock pillars which are supporting the rock and soil above, but I've got no idea how something like that could form naturally and it doesn't look artificial. There are more glowing crystals to provide illumination, though it's a little hard to tell how big things are without a reference. Closer, it looks like… This is part of a city? Built into the side of a gigantic.. stalagmite..?
"Halt, invader!"
I turn-.
Oh, good! People who can answer questions!
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GigaVanguard
I trust you know where the happy button is?
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Huh. Svartalfheim?
AverusBlack
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Wasn't that the realm of the dwarves, though? The elves had a different world, IIRC.
Silverias
Not too sore, are you?
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Dark elves too, hence the name svartalfheim "dark elf home" as opposed to alfheim "elf home"
Chojin Patriarch
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Ah, I get the feeling wherever he's ended up, someone is about to have a bad time. Whether that's OL or those around him remains to be seen. Depends on how they can handle a Power Ring user, I suspect.
'Huh' indeed. You'd think if they bothered to flatten the floor, there'd be more care about it. Unless this is some little side corridor he's popped into.
So... Underground, but not overly deep, unless there's magic directing the airflow. Because as it turns out, caves can get rather hot without good circulation.
Could be a general background level of magical energy messing with it?
No need to announce your presence with a wide-spectrum ping, after all. Especially if there's something here that finds electromagnetic emissions annoying.
The question to be asked, then, is did either of them get caught as well, and if so, where are they if they didn't arrive in relative proximity.
Or this is some pulp-fantasy place where clothes are an optional luxury. Never know. His condition is interesting though. Healthy, but pale? That's a peculiar combination.
If I remember right, they were described as 'leaf-like'. The Middle-Earth movies chose to interpret that as small points. Early fantasy anime like Lodoss War? Well, there's a reason 'ears wider than their shoulders' is an anime-inspired elf trope.
So he's not on Earth. At least, not anything like an Earth he's aware of.
Well, there's the cooling source, anyway. I get the feeling whoever spoke isn't going to be friendly.
Boy, living up to all the villainous elf stereotypes, eh? Still doesn't pin his location down to any particular fantasy world, though the elf's colouring is at least not Forgotten Realms' Drow.
Though he seems rather unconcerned about an unaccounted for human with what must be unfamiliar-looking clothing popping out of a room filled with corpses. I do hope we get to see his shock.
Ah. I'm guessing 'Druggoth' is someone rather large and hairy.
All right, probably some manner of slave, then. No doubt conditioned to serving through fear and brutal training.
Sounds like this could be a fun world to explore. Though I suspect you wouldn't want to be a female Hero.
Reminds me of the third-edition minotaur art, which had something similar going on.
Not particularly hard to fabricate fresh railgun ammo from local materials anyway. Hopefully he can reconnect to it when he gets back to Earth Sixteen.
"Got your head!" Sadly, I don't think melee is going to be too effective here. Or ranged. Possibly even magic, given his wards.
Kinda feel sorry for Druggoth here. Don't go embarrassing him too much, OL.
...He's persistent, at least.
At this point, this would look to anyone else like someone using cheat codes, I bet. God Mode for example.
Ah, yes. As I thought, he'd probably be punished if he didn't at least try.
Clever gent. I suspect OL will have a bit of a nark on now for the elves...
Let me guess: ten foot wide corridors? (About three meters in sensible measurements.)
Ah, overconfidence in the face of clear superiority. Certainly, I suspect the elf thinks he is the superior being here.
Ah, underground cities? Always such a strange thing to see in fantasy, given that caves large enough to feature enormous vistas like are depicted are vanishingly rare.
So, bets on what style of fantasy armour they're sporting? Overly spiky plate? Skin-tight chain-mail? ...Leather speedos and muscle breastplates?
Well, then. Looks like OL somehow got sort-of isekai'd. No Truck-Kun of course, since that's only for reincarnation types. Though OL certainly has the overpowered cheat ability on lock. I wonder if it'll be a familiar fantasy setting, or some manner of Sheeda-related realm... The latter seems more likely, though OL would have pinged the locals as sheeda pretty damn quick, I expect.
Vaermina
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The real question of the day.
Will Zoat remembers that this means OL has no way to recharge his rings or not?
Doc Sithicus
I trust you know where the happy button is?
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I'm thinking Menzoberranzan.
chxenocide2
Know what you're doing yet?
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My first thought as well, but the elf was described as fair skinned.
Darko
Connoisseur.
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Norse mythology tends to be very weird with that.
The real question concerning you is if you'll remember that just like Priest, Paul can now recharge without a Lantern.
Or you know, he just has enough charge to last him.
Vaermina
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Na, Lloth would have crushed him if that were the case.
No, he cannot.
In fact, he actually failed when he attempted that.
BR549
This is filth! FILTH!!
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I think D&D elves tend to the 'Vulcan-style' pointed ears, so we can rule out Menzo and related realms. I was wondering if this was Nirn, but it appears altmer also have small ears. The mention of facial tattoos makes my thoughts turn to Thedas, but while Dragon Age's elves have larger ears they're not "taller than head" like was mentioned on the dead one.
Next guess would be Azeroth, but Paul made no mention of the elf's eyebrows...
Next guess would be Azeroth, but Paul made no mention of the elf's eyebrows...
Mr Zoat
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Caucasian pale, not deathly pale.
No. Though 2nd edition did have rules for minotaurs.
Duke Long
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'one of the crystals'?
IIRC the runestones work by lighting up in the presence of magic? So I'm wondering how they'd give a 'not sure'. Is it lit up in spots or somesuch rather than uniformly? Is the lighting flickering?
'sensor suggests'
or
'sensors suggest'
I'd have been worried, given the local aesthetic, that the axe was made of some sort of bullshittium that can bypass kinetic barriers and environmental fields.
'Built'
Nice, stalagmite cities are good culture.
Many people are saying that this could be a different fictional setting, but while certainly possible (and I admit supported somewhat by the strange runestone reaction which indicates there may be different laws of physics), I'd be surprised because that sort of thing doesn't happen to Oh El outside of special events and in the distant future.
Personally my guesses are that this is something like Svartalfheim as suggested by GigaVanguard, or that it's an isolated pocket universe like Columbia.
Svartalfheim would make some sense with what we've seen, it could exist in this universe since it's linked to the Norse pantheon, and I do hope it is what this is because god stuff tends to be fun and we've seen little of the Norse thus far (I think the biggest thing was Tyr being recruited by the Olympians?).
An isolated pocket universe is also a decent possibility, and could explain the strange runestone reaction since it wouldn't be very surprising for such a place to have divergent laws of physics, if that is the cause.
SaroFiks
Your first time is always over so quickly, isn't it?
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Is this HOMM 5 dungeon of all things? How? Why? Unless there is another setting with underground big eared slaver elfs, stalacmite cities with pink cristalls and enslaved-nipple-pierced-muzzled minotaurs without loincloths.
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thebishop8
Umm, ackchyually...
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I looked up information about Zor, and found the comic that probably inspired the backstory Zoat is using for him. In the comic, Zor was in some alternate dimension when Spectre trapped him, and had his own castle there. There isn't much to go on when comparing the description in the latest chapter with Zor's alternate dimension castle though.
The description of the mauve crystals actually made me think of Gemworld first. I've never read anything from Gemworld though; this is just a guess based on the association of glowing mauve crystal: magical amethyst: Princess Amethyst: Gemworld. The wiki page for Gemworld doesn't say anything about elves or minotaurs, but it does says that its home to magical creatures like ogres and pegacorns, so maybe. It's also a magical dimension connected to Earth, and I agree with Duke Long's assessment that Paul is more likely to stay in the same universe barring special events. But Zor doesn't seem to have anything to do with Gemworld in the comics, so there doesn't seem to be a particular reason for a portal (or whatever) from one of his hideouts to send Paul there.
I also looked up Sargon the Sorcerer, though I know he's just filling in for the Spectre. Despite being powered by something called the Ruby of Life, he doesn't seem to have anything to do with Gemworld either.
The description of the mauve crystals actually made me think of Gemworld first. I've never read anything from Gemworld though; this is just a guess based on the association of glowing mauve crystal: magical amethyst: Princess Amethyst: Gemworld. The wiki page for Gemworld doesn't say anything about elves or minotaurs, but it does says that its home to magical creatures like ogres and pegacorns, so maybe. It's also a magical dimension connected to Earth, and I agree with Duke Long's assessment that Paul is more likely to stay in the same universe barring special events. But Zor doesn't seem to have anything to do with Gemworld in the comics, so there doesn't seem to be a particular reason for a portal (or whatever) from one of his hideouts to send Paul there.
I also looked up Sargon the Sorcerer, though I know he's just filling in for the Spectre. Despite being powered by something called the Ruby of Life, he doesn't seem to have anything to do with Gemworld either.
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Darko
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You do remember that he has a set of tattoos that make him invisible to magic?
You also do remember that he has the piece of a powerful universal aspect inside him that would make many hesitant to attack him if they could sense it?
Provide a quote from the story where that happened, otherwise everyone will just think that you're making shit up.
And why exactly would a ring charge be a problem for him?
It's not like every comic featuring a Lantern has them run out of energy in every story.
Mr Zoat
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Thank you, corrected.
Flickering and never getting particularly bright.
As stated, the axe was easily stopped by the kinetic barrier.
Does it break the rules if I complain about Kier Starmer making it impossible for me to view that image?
Hey, this is QQ. I ain't judging.
boo600
Welp
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As of July 2013, Paul's effective charge outside of a fight is infinite. He may have trouble with things like the Brass (in Evil Heartland) and the greed-draining chains, but he can now go on indefinitely even if he can't summon his lantern - and I'm not sure he can't summon his lantern.
Duke Long
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I know, I was just saying that in his place I might not've just stood there in the confidence that the axe would be harmless.
You don't have a VPN? I got a free one recently for reasons that - surprisingly - had nothing to do with me wanting to be able to look at porn, and it has been quite helpful for stuff like this.
Mr Zoat
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No.
We believe you. Thousands wouldn't, but we do.
I know that I could, and I'm probably going to end up getting one before the next election unless the government collapses early, but I haven't got there yet.