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

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Frakir's brother said:
Talking about Holyland?
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No. I think the name might have been "Oni", or something similarly ogre/demon/monster-related. Essentially, that's what the protagonist is, in terms of their behavior and morality.

It was basically about a Villain Protagonist who tried to rebuild his life after getting out of jail by learning martial arts (I think that was the order of things), but learned - well, the aforementioned "pop their eyes and pulp their spleens" kind of martial art, so when he tried to complete his little fantasy of redemption by winning a martial arts tournament, it all fell apart.

To put it simply, asshole ex-cons who routinely cripple their opponents for life aren't going to win many hearts among the audience in a televised fighting tournament, so he ended up with shit PR, a massive amount of hatred from fans of the tournament, and the utter disdain of the local champ, who was basically an RL paladin in terms of morality.

From there, the protagonist basically loses even the thin veneer of humanity he'd retained up until then and becomes obsessed with trying to get Mr. Paladin to face him in the ring, convinced that pounding the nation's golden boy into screaming meat on national TV will help him feel better about himself.

In case you haven't noticed, the protagonist is an utter bastard, and pretty much embodies the idea of martial arts being used as a means of destruction and dominance, a la several villains from Fist of the North Star, except with the larger-than-life personas removed in favor of a kind of legitimately unnerving, American Psycho-esque analysis of someone who's just utterly fucked and thinks hurting people is the solution to all his problems. The protagonist is a walking affront to the human race, and the narrative is fully aware of that.

He's the reason I'm fairly tolerant of what I'm hearing about Lung, because the protagonist of this manga is my benchmark for "seriously, this is why you have to be careful who you teach martial arts to", and I rather doubt Lung would respond to having requests to fight turned down by a perceived rival by hunting down his friends in their day-to-day lives, goading them into matches, and then mangling them beyond recognition (sometimes literally) and leaving them permanently disabled just to try and piss said "rival" off.

Then, when that doesn't work, doing unspeakable things to his girlfriend and forcing him to listen to it over the phone - again, just to try and anger him enough to prompt a one-on-one showdown, so Mr. Protagonist can try and prove some idiotic point about how he's totally a better fighter.

If I remember correctly, there's a part in the final showdown where the protagonist blows several blood vessels in his eyes after taking several blows to the head, turning the sclera a demonic-looking red just to ram home that he's a subhuman monster and draw a sharp comparison to his current opponent - a legitimately decent man he's driven near to madness out of sheer selfish egotism.

I found out about it through a series of manga/anime reviews done by someone on Ye Olde Channel Awesome (not one of the well-known ones), and while I'd rather chew off one of my toes than read through it page-by-page, listening to a series-wide analysis & retrospective was somewhat interesting.
 
Mr Zoat said:
"He isn't on a rampage anymore, and he served a twenty year sentence for assault and criminal damage."
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This seems like rather modern speech for a setting heavily based on ancient China. Feels out of place. I know Po breaks the pattern, but Shifu doesn't.
Mr Zoat said:
Okay, I think he's done. So that's all of them. Past me, you need to go and deal with Ambush Bug now. It's been a while, but I seem to remember it going something like this…
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Damn you non-instantaneous updates. Now I have to wait 24 hours to see what happens next. Or possibly 16, depending.
 
Mr Zoat said:
"What I… Was turning you into. I'm s-. I'm sorry."

What do you want?

Tai Lung's eyes dim. For a moment he stands like a statue, motionless and lifeless.

Then he falls to his knees, rocking back and forth slightly as conflicting emotions surge through him.

"I'm sorry, master."
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OH YES! I was hoping for this! When I read the last update, I hoped that it would lead to that result.


Mr Zoat said:
"Oh. Cool." The Panda waddles forwards towards them. "In that case-" He pulls the Dragon Scroll out of his back pocket. "-I guess there's really no harm in letting you read-" Shifu starts frantically shaking his head and waving his arms back and forth across his chest in an emphatic 'no' gesture. "-the scroll after all." He notices Shifu. "What?"
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I was also hoping for this! I always thought that Tai Lung was so close to being ready for the Dragon Scroll. He just had to let go of his anger. Accept that his life was not defined by this scroll.

Mr Zoat said:
Okay, I think he's done. So that's all of them. Past me, you need to go and deal with Ambush Bug now. It's been a while, but I seem to remember it going something like this…
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I was ALSO hoping for this! That this really was slices of future-Paul's life we were seeing. That we were seeing Paul get ready to fight back Ambush Bug. I didn't dare to hope that he'd be aware of it all.
 
Mr Zoat said:
Nervously, Shifu sits up and then cautiously reaches forwards with his right hand to gently pat Tai Lung on the head. "There. There?"

Tai Lung darts forwards, wrapping his arms around his former master's back and pressing his face against the man's chest as he bawls into his robe. Shifu freezes completely still for a moment, then sighs and goes back to patting him. "I have no idea what is happening any longer, but-"

"Waaahahaheeeeeh!"

"-I would rather not have to fight you and I am not having to fight you. So, I will not question it." Another sigh, deeper this time as his immediate need for oxygen is dealt with. "I should have pressed Oogway for answers-"

"Ughuhhuhuhrrr!"

"-then and there, if only to find out where I was going wrong in my teachings. And, now I think I will have to apologise to Master Tigress too, for the way I treated her."

Tai Lung makes an unsettling noise, like he's got an awful lot of snot built up but doesn't want to blew it out over his master's robes.
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Quite possibly simply the best part in the entire thing here. The mental image of a bawling Tai Lung with a bewildered but resigned Shifu awkwardly petting his head is both heartwarming and hilarious.

After, remember; Shifu is roughly the size of Tai Lung's head.
 
.............Tai Lung sees a blank scroll.
Po insists that he look closer.
Tai Lung sees the mirrored surface.

Decides to go on a "Training Journey" to vent his rage at all the unfairness of it all.

OL suggests they turn the "Dragon Warrior" Into a ceremonial title granted to those fighters who have massive potential but are endangered by their flaws in personality.

OL also acknowledges Po as THE dragon warrior because plot needs to happen.

Some time later in the training journey, Tai Lung's nephew catches up and we see the beginning of Mastery for Tai. The path of a teacher.
 
Shifu and Tai Lung are sooo confused right now, Po's just happy he doesn't have to face off against a nigh unstoppable martial arts killing machine.
 
Mr Zoat said:
Tai Lung stares at him in utter bewilderment. "This is the Dragon Warrior."

Shifu closes his eyes again, nodding. "I know."

"I feel-"

"I know."

"-not, less bad-"

"I know."

"-but-."

"I know."
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This... this feels like it could have come straight from the movie. Well done.

Mr Zoat said:
Okay, I think he's done. So that's all of them. Past me, you need to go and deal with Ambush Bug now. It's been a while, but I seem to remember it going something like this…
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Wut.
 
Coda said:
Maybe someday we'll get to see the story told from the other perspective.
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One day some 60 years into the future:
"Please... I'm so tired, just let die already."
"It must go on."
"I'm... I'm all out of ideas!"
"Now now, you've never been a good liar and you wouldn't want to break your streak would you?"
"No! No... I'll keep writting..."
"Perfect! Your readers would be severely disapointed if there was a day without a chapter Paul."
 
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Mr Zoat said:
Okay, I think he's done. So that's all of them. Past me, you need to go and deal with Ambush Bug now. It's been a while, but I seem to remember it going something like this…
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Zoat, I will have to say that the Kung Fu Panda chapters were the best parts of this little miniseries. I loved it! From beginning to end it was great, and you really captured the feel of Kung Fu Panda. Wholesome and good, that is the essence of that movie. And the ending left me in suspense. I loved it!
 
So, with so much time and power at hand, I hope these characters were just examples and not the total of all the characters Paul helped.

Soon, millions of OL will invade the Galaxy.

Then, they shall create the biggest cake!
 
Mr Zoat said:
Temple
The Valley of Peace

I watch as the Temple's roof explodes, Tai Lung and his former master shooting up into the air to strike at and wrestle with each other. Tai Lung appears to get the edge as they crash back down, making a new hole.

Honestly thought I'd have more time than this.

"All I ever did, I did to make you proud!"

I'll step in… Ah, slither in, if it looks like he's actually about to kill the chap, but even when they were on good terms they mostly related to each other by hitting each other.

"Tell me how proud you are, Shifu!"

I get close enough to see through one of the holes in the wall their fighting has created.

"Tell me!"

His hands are burning with blue fire. Burning oil from one of the braziers.

"TELL MEEEEEEEEEEEE!"

Both sets of knuckles strike his diminutive opponent and send him flying backwards towards the pool at the end of the room. Okay, last… I flick out my tongue. Dumplings? Where..? Oh, the Panda's coming back. Hm. Having Tai Lung sent back to prison would probably cause my task to flip over into 'flat out impossible', but it would be best if I didn't reveal myself. Huh. Hadn't really paid him much attention before, but he's gained quite a bit of mental focus from somewhere.

"I… I have always been proud of you." The Red Panda pushes himself up slightly from where he fell. "From the first-" He pants. "-moment, I've been… Proud of you."

Tai Lung stalks closer. But.. some of the passion that drove him to assault his father figure appears to be waning.

"And it was my pride… That blinded me. I loved you too much to see what you were becoming." Shaking with effort, he turns his head to face Tai Lung. "What I… Was turning you into. I'm s-. I'm sorry."

What do you want?

Tai Lung's eyes dim. For a moment he stands like a statue, motionless and lifeless.

Then he falls to his knees, rocking back and forth slightly as conflicting emotions surge through him.

"I'm sorry, master."

Shifu blinks, taking a few more panting breaths as he tries to work out what just happened. "Ah… What did you say?"

"I'm sorry, master."

There's a quaver in his voice.

"Oh. Okay." Shifu blinks again and nods. Then he frowns, staring up at hulking foster son. "What?"

"I'm sorry, master." Tai Lung drops onto all fours, choking back his tears. "I…" He crawls towards his not-entirely-up-to-speed former mentor. "I thought that was what I was for. I thought that was what you were training me for. Everything… Everything that was worth anything about me, I had because of you… I thought-" Shifu is looking a little nervous now, as the clearly distraught Snow Leopard still towers over him. "-that I needed to validate that by…" He sniffs. "By being the absolute greatest Kung Fu warrior that exists. By becoming the Dragon Warrior. And then… And then when Oogway turned me away…" He collapses onto his chest, hands gripping his head. "I thought I failed you. And you didn't.. care…"

Nervously, Shifu sits up and then cautiously reaches forwards with his right hand to gently pat Tai Lung on the head. "There. There?"

Tai Lung darts forwards, wrapping his arms around his former master's back and pressing his face against the man's chest as he bawls into his robe. Shifu freezes completely still for a moment, then sighs and goes back to patting him. "I have no idea what is happening any longer, but-"

"Waaahahaheeeeeh!"

"-I would rather not have to fight you and I am not having to fight you. So, I will not question it." Another sigh, deeper this time as his immediate need for oxygen is dealt with. "I should have pressed Oogway for answers-"

"Ughuhhuhuhrrr!"

"-then and there, if only to find out where I was going wrong in my teachings. And, now I think I will have to apologise to Master Tigress too, for the way I treated her."

Tai Lung makes an unsettling noise, like he's got an awful lot of snot built up but doesn't want to blew it out over his master's robes.

"Oh, hey!" The Panda stands at the smashed in doors of the temple. For a moment, he beams at them. Then he doubles over, panting hard from his exertion in running all of the way up the mountain. Well, he is a big Panda, with.. proportionally short legs. "You guys made up! Whaw, aheh." He sighs with exaggerated relief. "I thought I was actually going to have to fight you for a while there!"

Shifu taps his son on the head, then gives him a slight push. Tai Lung pulls back a little, rising into a hunched all-fours position as he turns to see who it is.

"'Cause, y'know, even with the Scroll, I…" He holds his right hand up in a request for time while he bends over, gasping for air. "I've only actually been… Studying Kung Fu… For a couple of weeks…"

Tai Lung stares at him in utter bewilderment. "This is the Dragon Warrior."

Shifu closes his eyes again, nodding. "I know."

"I feel-"

"I know."

"-not, less bad-"

"I know."

"-but-."

"I know."

"You guys have made up, right?"

Tai Lung is still too bewildered to respond coherently. Shifu looks him over, then returns his attention to the Panda. "He isn't on a rampage anymore, and he's been in prison for twenty years for his crimes." He takes a deep breath as he attempts to centre himself. "So I suppose we have."

"Oh. Cool." The Panda waddles forwards towards them. "In that case-" He pulls the Dragon Scroll out of his back pocket. "-I guess there's really no harm in letting you read-" Shifu starts frantically shaking his head and waving his arms back and forth across his chest in an emphatic 'no' gesture. "-the scroll after all." He notices Shifu. "What?"

Tai Lung can't bring himself to look at it. He shakes his head. "I-I don't want to read it. I don't deserve-."

The Panda holds the rolled up scroll out in front of him. "Hey, it's cool." Tai Lung starts backing away. "I don't think it's about whether you deserve it or not, really. Because, y'know, heh." He shakes his head. "I sure didn't."

"No. No." He raises his right hand to block his view of it. "I don't want to see it!"

The Panda shakes his head. "I think it's like one of those zen puzzle things? Y'know, the answers something you can't understand until your heads in exactly the right place."

"Po!"

Oh, that's his name.

"I didn't get it when I first saw it. And, ahh…" He leans forwards, mantling his mouth with his free hand to stage-whisper. "Between you and me, I don't think Master Shifu did either."

"I don't want to see it!"

"It's fine, look." Po unrolls it and holds.. the blank but surprisingly reflective scroll out in front of him. A mirrored surface. Oh, that's clever. And a bit stupid.

Tai Lung puts his left hand over his eyes, waving Po away with his right as he comes closer. "Stay away!"

"Here."

"No!"

"Here." Po knocks his outstretched arm aside and tries waving the scroll in his face.

"No! I don't want it!"

"Here. You gotta-" Po tries pulling the hand over Tai Lung's face off so he can wave the scroll at his eyes. "-see-" Tai tries to turn away, but since he can't see where he's going he trips and falls onto his back. "-what's on-" Tai tries rolling onto his front, a motion Po converts into a confused roll which results in Tai lying on Po's vast stomach with the scroll in his face. "-this!"

Tai Lung blinks, squeezes his eyes close. Too late. He's already seen it. His eyes come open again, staring madly at the surface.

"See what I mean."

"I DID! ALL THIS! FOR A BLANK..! For a blank scroll…"

"Guess you… Kinda did. The way I see it…"

Okay, I think he's done. So that's all of them. Past me, you need to go and deal with Ambush Bug now. It's been a while, but I seem to remember it going something like this…
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I want to see more of reformed tai lung and OL and viper interactions
 
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