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

Reader mode
Mr Zoat said:
"Not that long this trip, but Mother and Father used to bring me here every year to make sure I grew up as a 'proper lady of the nobility'." She looks at me speculatively. "Wanna help me do something that would really burr her feathers?"
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Say no Paul... Because saying yes is how you end up pretending to be her boyfriend...
 
You know... it would be useful to warn her directly against Thaal Sinestro, tell her he is an outlaw (she may aprove of his actions on his home planet), and wanted by the OLC and GLC, as well as his home planet, then give her a way to contact you/ call in the OLC if she happens to see him.
 
I find the idea of recruiting non-combatants into the Orange Lantern Corp interesting. I mean there are already emergency aid response types. Getting some people who just want to travel and act as cultural bridges would be pretty useful too. They'd be seen with less hostility and would make much better first contacts than many of the combat based Lanterns.
 
Albert Scoot said:
I find the idea of recruiting non-combatants into the Orange Lantern Corp interesting. I mean there are already emergency aid response types. Getting some people who just want to travel and act as cultural bridges would be pretty useful too. They'd be seen with less hostility and would make much better first contacts than many of the combat based Lanterns.
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That's not a bad idea in theory, but considering that OLC is a military organization I'm not sure that outreach initiatives, like what you described, are really in their mission statement, let alone their organizational infrastructure.

Or maybe they are, I'm not an expert in military doctrine or whatever.
 
"Hearts & minds" is a thing, and the OLC isn't like other militaries because to a certain extent if you want the members to be effective they have to be doing something they want to be doing. Also, I don't know how broadly Paul is using 'military organization' here, as it could mean primarily combat troops or a more broad 'prepared to come into combat with peer opponents'. Given the comparison to the GLC as a police force, I choose to interpret it as "instead of preserving a status quo we seek to deal with harmful actors [like the Reach]"

Having a diplomatic group seems worthwhile in either capacity, though hopefully they won't need Paul's specific talents.
 
Understandably different personality from canon self considering the hell she was put through and hopefully will never experience.
 
Mquz said:
Call of Cthulhu and Arkham Horror are trademarked tabletop RPGs that have had lawsuits against other companies trying to copy their aesthetic. Not sure if there is something similar in comics, but Cthulhu is a minefield of trademarks as far as gaming goes.
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Cthulhu the character is certainly be in the public domain now even if he wasn't a couple years ago (which I think he was). I would be willing to bet that he and the rest of the Lovecraftian mythos are not the focal point of those lawsuits. And if they are....well IANAL, but the character's definitely in the public domain under US law now even if they were copyrighted or trademarked at one time since Congress finally quit extending copyrights and I'm pretty sure that any relevant copyrights in other jurisdictions all would have expired decades ago, so there's really no legal leg to stand on. And anyone copyright or trademark filed by anyone other than Lovecraft himself would be invalid due to prior art.
 
Siskulous said:
Cthulhu the character is certainly be in the public domain now even if he wasn't a couple years ago (which I think he was). I would be willing to bet that he and the rest of the Lovecraftian mythos are not the focal point of those lawsuits. And if they are....well IANAL, but the character's definitely in the public domain under US law now even if they were copyrighted or trademarked at one time since Congress finally quit extending copyrights and I'm pretty sure that any relevant copyrights in other jurisdictions all would have expired decades ago, so there's really no legal leg to stand on. And anyone copyright or trademark filed by anyone other than Lovecraft himself would be invalid due to prior art.
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But "comic with Cthulhu as a character" could be trademarked. Either way, they probably just didn't want to have the character be the exact same
 
Wing and Dagger (part 12)
  • Threadmarks
    • 21st January
    19:37 GMT

    "A slum."

    "Downside."

    I look around through the gloom. Thanaldar is built on top of a mountain, but there's only.. so much space. So as the city grew they had to expand down. Except thanagarians literally use 'down' as an insult. So that wasn't acceptable. Their solution was giant stone or metal-reinforced concrete blocks, building support beams on the surrounding land and then putting platforms over them.

    Or not, in places. Some sunlight reaches them down here, though from what I can see the majority of the light comes from lights plugged into power stolen through holes bored up into the world above. There's some wind, but so little that the air is stale and…

    "Dare I ask about the sewage?"

    "Oh, the city doesn't just dump raw sewage down here these days. A few centuries ago the smell started reaching the towers, and there was a big drive for better treatment plants."

    "And do those treatment plants take sewage from down here as well?"

    "Ah… Probably not?"

    Urge to help Hyathis rising…

    Under all-concealing cloaks of cheap fabric we walk along reasonably clear streets. Bleez had a costume of hard-worn clothes which… Probably wouldn't allow her to pass as a local under close examination, but should hold up to a cursory glance. Not the clothes themselves, those are more or less the same as what the locals appear to wear. The problem is Bleez herself. She's clearly far too healthy, tanned, calm and confident to actually come from somewhere like this.

    Though she has changed her posture somewhat, and I can see her checking her surroundings more than she did before we came down here. That ability to blend in suggests to me that this is far from the first time that she's visited.

    A group of lizarkons glower at us from a alleyway between… I'm not sure what to call it. Gentrified slums? There's an official access point to the upper city not too far from here, and a sizeable proportion of the locals commute upwards to work. The people living in this area aren't the poorest of the poor. The structures are solid if not exactly decorous, and-.

    I look up as a police patrol flies overhead.

    And there is a substantial law enforcement presence.

    "Why do you come down here?"

    "The music. Upside people just like.. military stuff, you know? 'Glory to the Armies of Thanagar'! And I sing that better than anyone, but it's just all the same, you know? And… Mother wouldn't ever look for me here."

    "Is it safe?"

    She points up as another patrol flies over. "You can only make things so safe. But this whole area? All the patrols fly through here on their way to their official routes. The dangerous places are nearer the edges."

    "Really? I'd have thought that the fresh air would-."

    "Paul? It's Kara. Are you there?"

    "Sorry, just a moment. Yes, Kara? What can I do for you?"

    "I think we're in trouble."

    Ring, location. Oh. Great. The locals are used to fighting in three dimensions. Kara and Hector are looking down the barrels of an uncomfortable number of guns, and gang members with wings are ready to interpose themselves if they managed to dodge those. Hector hasn't been active for long enough that I'm half-convinced that he changed his costume because his old one no longer fit properly, and Kara isn't a fighter.

    "Kara, you may not be back to full power yet, but you're still kryptonian. Most of the weapons they've got can't-."

    "They have Nth metal weapons. I don't want to kill anyone!"

    Right…

    "Bleez, two of my colleagues took a wrong turn so I'm afraid that we're going to have to cut this short. Are you alright getting-?"

    "Do you want to kill the people threatening them?"

    "Not.. as an end in itself."

    "I know how the people around here talk. I know the gangs. I'm your best chance of not turning the place into a flashzone."

    Empathic vision.. could guide me, but she might be right. I take hold of her left hand with my right and transition us into a empty… I'm not sure whether I should call them roads or not. Path? Whatever it is, I can hear noise up ahead. Rhythmic. Intimidating. And… The roof here is fairly all-enclosing and many of the locals can fly. Simply trying to flee isn't necessarily an option.

    Under my robe I don my medium armour. Filaments would be the easiest way to extract them. But in low light conditions that might be spotted. Thanagar-natives have faster reactions than humans, and I'm not completely sure that I could extract them fast enough. Instead, I burrow filaments through the ground beneath us as we walk.

    "This is… Bladebat's territory. He's just a thug. Did your minder give you any local currency?"

    "I have fungible goods."

    "Cringe, act like you're intimidated and offer to pay him off."

    "Understood." I march in the direction of the noise. "Kara, I'm close by."

    "M-hm."

    Doesn't want to be overheard. Right. Two winged shapes on the building to our right, watching us. Shouldn't have seen us appear, but thanagarians have sharper ears than humans. They might have heard something-.

    "Paul, those are… Man-Hawks. They aren't interested in money. They're cannibals. They cut off people's faces and wear them as an intimidation technique."

    "Hey!" A pair of lizarkons turn into our path and head in our direction. "You come this way, you can pay toll!"

    I make a show of ducking my head. "Yes, yes, of course. But, ah-." One draws a small particle pistol while the other has a pair of Nth metal knives. Minimal threat. "My.. friends..? They're up ahead and I'd-. I'd like to pay for them as well?"

    "Show hands!"

    I turn my rings so that the sigils are facing away from my palms, then hold my hands up. Bleez does the same. The knife-armed lizarkon takes a couple of steps closer for a better look. They have pretty good low-light vision, but unless they've somehow received a full intelligence briefing they're got no idea who-.

    Filament lost.

    That's… A minor problem, but something I should expect in a technologically advanced civilisation. Construct-effects are disruptable, and I'm sure there are all sorts of areas the Thanagarian military doesn't want Lanterns poking around in their capital.

    The lizarkons step aside and gesture for us to advance, making a point of showing their teeth as they do so. I don't smile, I don't nod, I just cringe a little more and scurry onwards.
     
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    • I feel like the Thanagarian diplomats would have someone constantly accompanying Paul for fear of him pulling the same stuff he did in Vega or something. I don't doubt he could manage to sneak out, I just don't think he could do so unnoticed.
     
    Mr Zoat said:
    I look around through the gloom. Thanaldar is build on top of a mountain, but there's only.. so much space. So as the city grew they had to expand down. Except thanagarians literally use 'down' as an insult. So that wasn't acceptable. Their solution was giant stone or metal-reinforced concrete blocks, building support beams on the surrounding land and then putting platforms over them.
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    I find myself envisioning something akin to Midgar, from Final Fantasy 7...

    ...lights plugged into power stolen through holes bored up into the world above.
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    Feels like something missing here. 'Power' what?

    There's some wind, but so little that the air stale and…
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    There's some wind, but so little that the air is stale and…

    Urge to help Hyathis rising…
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    Yes, the nobility is not making a good impression, are they?

    The points up as another patrol flies over.
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    She points up as another patrol flies over.

    Ring, location. Oh. Great. The locals are used to fighting in three dimensions. Kara and Hector are looking down the barrels of an uncomfortable number of guns, and gang members with wings are ready to interpose themselves if they managed to dodge those. Hector hasn't been active for long enough that I'm half-convinced that he changed his costume because his old one no longer fit properly, and Kara isn't a fighter.
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    Dang NPC partners, always aggroing Mobs. One part of the artificial difficulty of this questline...

    Simply trying to feel isn't necessarily an option.
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    Simply trying to flee isn't necessarily an option.
    (I'm assuming he's not thinking about negotiations here)

    Instead, I burrow filaments through the ground beneath us was we walk.
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    Instead, I burrow filaments through the ground beneath us as we walk.

    "Paul, those are… Man-Hawks. They aren't interested in money. They're cannibals. They cut off people's faces and wear them as an intimidation technique."
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    Fun guys...

    Filament lost.
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    And the other half of the difficulty spike kicks in...

    This could be risky... For the bad guys.
     
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    Chojin Patriarch said:
    I find myself envisioning something akin to Midgar, from Final Fantasy 7...

    ...lights plugged into power stolen through holes bored up into the world above.
    Feels like something missing here. 'Power' what?

    There's some wind, but so little that the air stale and…
    There's some wind, but so little that the air is stale and…

    Urge to help Hyathis rising…
    Yes, the nobility is not making a good impression, are they?

    The points up as another patrol flies over.
    She points up as another patrol flies over.

    Ring, location. Oh. Great. The locals are used to fighting in three dimensions. Kara and Hector are looking down the barrels of an uncomfortable number of guns, and gang members with wings are ready to interpose themselves if they managed to dodge those. Hector hasn't been active for long enough that I'm half-convinced that he changed his costume because his old one no longer fit properly, and Kara isn't a fighter.
    Dang NPC partners, always aggroing Mobs. One part of the artificial difficulty of this questline...

    Simply trying to feel isn't necessarily an option.
    Simply trying to flee isn't necessarily an option.
    (I'm assuming he's not thinking about negotiations here)

    Instead, I burrow filaments through the ground beneath us was we walk.
    Instead, I burrow filaments through the ground beneath us as we walk.

    "Paul, those are… Man-Hawks. They aren't interested in money. They're cannibals. They cut off people's faces and wear them as an intimidation technique."
    Fun guys...

    Filament lost.
    And the other half of the difficulty spike kicks in...


    This could be risky... For the bad guys.
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    Power, as in power conduits or lines. Drill into the underside of big conduits, twist a lightbulb in. He can't add in those words, because then it would sound like they were stealing wires. Maybe "lights fed by power stolen through holes bored up into the world above."?
     
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