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

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Empiricist2 said:
Paper turning yellow from exposure to oxygen shouldn't count as burning even if the reaction superficially is the same.
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I'm really not as science-minded as most of the folks on here, so maybe that's where your point comes from, but I disagree.

Paper yellowing, and eventually turning brittle and unreadable, does strike me as fitting with 'conceptual burning', albeit in extraordinarily long time frame. I imagine with magic, it would simply be much quicker, and therefore, more recognizable as a 'conceptual burning'.

Although it might fit better as 'rotting' than 'burning' I guess.

Conceptual magic is basically semantics, symbolism, and convenient lies, on top of being imaginary, so I'm not too sure what I was hoping to accomplish here. Nothing, obviously. I was starting a fight on the internet.
 
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hance1986 said:
Zoat, on a side note, will Paul ever get to meet or run across Herakles?
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Yes, at least twice. And he does reach him... Kind of.
BrambleThorn said:
@Mr Zoat Since Captain Marvel was explicitly empowered by several Greek Gods, could he claim Themysciran citizenship if he wished, since they are that nations gods, and created the wards?
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They would have to get to know him quite a lot better than they do now to be happy doing that. To be honest, he'd be better off approaching them as William Batson if he was interested.
stsword said:
Plus, there's the whole he's one of Captain Marvel's patrons, so mister 'I'm such a micromanager I waited several thousand years to find someone I trust, and that was a 10 year old boy" granted him the strength of a mass rapist.
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Please note that I haven't stated in this story what the relationship between William and his patrons is. The only thing to note so far is that while Adom literally hears their voices in his head, William doesn't.
 
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Carpe Tempus (part 19)
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    • MrZoat said:
    I step out of the banquet hall and into the Themysciran night, breathing a sigh of relief as I do so. As I walk towards the edge of the courtyard I turn my head up towards the heavens.

    "Lord Ploutos, I thank you for this opportunity. Really, I am honoured to have the chance to play host to a merchant from Kahndaq, especially one so well connected and richly appointed. And one who had been intending to head to Athens. But may I beg a little warning next time? And -if it is not too much to ask- perhaps more than two days into my reign? Would that I had the extra time, I might have been able to acquire someone with a better grasp of their language. Or who could tutor either them or me in the normal courtly manners of our respective countries."

    "Are we truly so boorish that you must exhort your god for relief?"

    I turn in surprise as a member of the Kahndaqi party walks out from between the pillars on the far side of the courtyard. He… No, she, is wearing a linen.. kalasiris. Yes, that is what they are called. A tube of material which is worn around the body like a chiton but is held up by extending over the shoulders and upper arms, rather than by simple shoulder straps. It is decorated with a pattern of wavy horizontal coloured bands. As an accommodation to the colder Greek weather she has added a shawl, and as she rearranges it as she comes fully into the open I observe that she has not acquainted herself with the Greek custom of wearing a strophion. Her face is decorated with dark lines in the Kadndaqi style and she is also wearing a dark wig, decorated with semi-precious beads.

    "I doubt that many merchants would pass up the opportunity to beg whatever favours their gods were prepared to offer."

    "A merchant? I rather thought that you were a king? Should you not be able to commune with your gods directly?"

    "I am no king. I am but a prince, serving as my mother's regent. And if you were on that side of the courtyard you have been avoiding meeting with us for longer than I have been avoiding the rest of your party."

    "I cannot be avoiding people whom I have yet to meet. My father sent me out to listen for information in the marketplaces and in the taverns."

    "Spying? Should I call the guards?"

    "If you think it fair to make use of your god surely it is reasonable that I make use of my ears. Or perhaps ears are too base a thing for a king-"

    "A prince."

    "-to make use of? Should I limit myself to petitioning divine favour as well, do you think? Beg guidance from Bes and Ptah for fortune and industry? From Osiris, that the product of Kahndaqi agriculture spread across Greece in an unstoppable torrent?"

    I raise my hands in surrender. "Your ears do well enough, I think. They have heard more of me than Lord Ploutos this evening, and I imagine heard more of the news of the city as well. Did you find any of it useful?"

    She walks closer, the black lines emphasising the shape of her eyes and the ornamental lines projecting from her left eye becoming easier to see. "That is for my father to decide. There is little benefit in gathering such information if the other party knows what you know."

    "Except I have no way to know that what you tell me is what you truly know. You could tell me anything and I would be none the wiser."

    "Unless your gods chose to inform you." She's a little shorter than me, and less muscular than the women of Themyscira. At least, those I usually am permitted to associate with. I… I find it rather appealing. "Wisdom from a source I can neither counter nor account for."

    "I am a man in charge of Themyscira. Those amongst my gods who are men will not hear me because I am of Themyscira and those amongst my gods who are women will await word from my mother."

    "We had best conclude negotiations before she can return, then. She may have ears as well as gods."

    "I know well from my own childhood that she does." I look her over once more. "I had heard that the Kahndaqis kept the womenfolk in seclusion."

    She gives me a look of mild affront. "And I had heard the same of Themysciran men, yet lo! Here one stands! He even appears able to hold a conversation!"

    I look away, nodding ruefully. "I even manage to dress without soiling myself most mornings. Though I should warn you: I have been tutored since birth. I would not wish to speak for the men of the hinterlands, should you have cause to travel there."

    "I shall bear that in mind. I did have one other reason for approaching you at this moment." She takes a step closer, standing a mere foot away from me. "I would like to speak with you in private, if that could be arranged."

    "My mother's guards are capable of discretion… At least they will not speak to anyone but her."

    "Then you can understand why I wish for them to depart."

    "I certainly hope I can." The light is too dim for me to tell for certain whether or not she is carrying a weapon. However, my cuirass is strong enough to turn aside a knife and my training should be enough to allow me to defeat a slightly built foreign woman. I turn my head aside, keeping an eye on her while making it clear that I am addressing my guardians. "Guards, head inside. I will call if I need you."

    I can feel them hesitate, their heads turning towards Galene for confirmation of my order. I don't let how that irritates me show, but I am nonetheless relieved when I hear them begin moving away. I turn my face towards my guest while staying aware of their position, not completely relaxing until I see their shadows momentarily block the light from the doorway.

    "What exactly was it you had to say to me which required privacy?"

    She smiles demurely, reaching up to stroke my left cheek with her right hand. "Prince Pavlos, remember."
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    That isn't in the script! What is she doing!
     
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    • I breathe in sharply, becoming properly aware of my surroundings and the name of the woman before me. "Calliope? What…"

    "She ensnared you when you walked onto the stage."

    "Who did? I didn't…"

    "Her name is the Queen of Fables. Do you remember this story?"

    I nod. Gods, this is exactly why I-. "My Spell Eater. She shouldn't have been able to-."

    Calliope shakes her head. "I have not seen it, but no magic is being absorbed by anything you are still wearing."

    I look at my clothes. No, period. Ring, armour.

    Unable to comply.

    Spell Eater?

    Unable to comply.

    "Her magic is still affecting you. I can free your mind for a short time, but you will not be able to act outside of the bounds of the tale."

    "Right, what's actually happening?"

    "The actors are in a false world created by her magic. The audience are fully enraptured by her spell and so fuelling her illusion. Donna, Mala and Prince Kon are free and attempting to reach you. It was they who called upon me."

    "Thank you. Is there a reason they're not just punching her out?"

    "She holds the audience hostage, binding their minds and their souls to the play. If it is not completed…"

    I nod. She'd know, I suppose. "If the Queen is here, she must have taken a role."

    "She will assume the role of the goddess who will be enraged by your treatment of me, and do her utmost to destroy you while the play limits your power."

    "Can you aid me further?"

    She shakes her head. "The character whose role I have does not appear after this scene. You will have to manage as best you can."

    "But I won't be me. I can't plan or fight effectively as a classical Themysciran prince!"

    "The magic may change your memories but it will not change your nature. The Prince overcomes his challenges in more versions of this story than those in which he fails to do so. You will have to trust your friends and your virtues. Now, come. We must do something together that will enrage my father."
     
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    Eh, there's being chaotic and then there's being a toolbag to your worshippers. And Eris crossed that line by doing nothing to help Paul here.
     
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    They must do something to enrage her father. . . Well there is one thing that does come to mind, and Paul did say he was looking for some company of the female persuasion. Moral of the story, be careful what you wish for you might just get it.
     
    XkaliburRage said:
    Why does Herakles have to be a rapist all of a sudden?
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    As Mr Zoat said, Herakles rape of the Amazons is canon in DC. It was actually a minor plot point in JLA/Avengers when Marvel Herc met Diana, because she was pissed and he was confused. Marvel Herc was a gentlemen and a long time friend of Hippolyta... or at least she liked him enough to still be attracted to him in modern times.

    Now, as to Calliope, does this mean Pavlos' dry spell is ending? I'm a bit torn about whether it'd be a healthy kind of relationship given Calliope's history/situation, but hey, it's always fun to piss off Zeus if you're at least moderately lightning-proof!
     
    I find it funny that even under the spell Paul is still himself.
    He keeps correcting people on definitions, speaking to gods as equals and giving as detailed and logical explanations as he can.
     
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