Ring-Maker [Worm/Lord of the Rings Alt-Power] [Complete]
- Thread starter Lithos Maitreya
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Finagle007
[Verified Great Old One]
- Pronouns
- He/Him/His
- Location
- Canada
I'm guessing Elisburg.
Piggot's issues with capes come from being abandoned to the mercies of what would become an internationally feared Master when they may have been able to win, or at least save a lot more people, had the capes not run away. And now here you have a cape who refuses to back down and leave her unpowered father and a bunch of PRT troopers behind to the mercies of an internationally feared Master.
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I dunno... the mayor?
Hahahaha who am I kidding, they don't let normals in the parahuman treehouse, except for Piggot, 'cause she's a badass.
See, Piggot says this, but what Annatar hears is "Will no one rid me of these meddlesome Masters!?"
A short time later, Annatar is standing atop a small pile of parahuman corpses with her sword poorly hidden behind her back and a 'what did I do?' look on her face while Piggot is looking at her like oh you.
Got a reputation to uphold and all that. I note a distinct lack of "don't murder the fuck out of these guys if you can help it" from the people in charge.
Definitely Piggot wondering how much Annatar knows about Ellisburg.
- Location
- USA
I think Heartbreaker has kill order on his head, doesn't he?
BungieONI
Seven gremlins in a trench coat
- Location
- Lickwidget
- Pronouns
- She/Her
Doesn't seem like it. He's also classified as having a power which is "too dangerous to fight".
His fuckery is also permanent, even after his death.
Rowknan
Roar
- Location
- The Unknown
- Pronouns
- She/Her
That thread just has a tendency to derail into long and drawn out arguments. Also it's pretty hard to keep up with.
- Location
- Tennessee
Kinda-sorta, if I recall correctly. The issue is that (again, iirc) his power is suspected to not go away if he dies, and he has a LOT of people who have been mastered to believe he makes up their entire world. If he dies and those people aren't contained, you suddenly have dozens of highly-motivated, functionally-insane free-agents wandering around to screw things up.
That, combined with "a power too powerful to fight", and the fact that he and his minions all stay in one place means that the powers that be are willing to maintain a status quo. There's probably a Kill Order signed, ready and waiting in an archive somewhere if opportunity strikes, though.
The fact that he has left his roost and actively mastered Protectorate capes that were not even targeting him means that the status quo no longer exists.
BungieONI
Seven gremlins in a trench coat
- Location
- Lickwidget
- Pronouns
- She/Her
Basically something to this effect is what I remember as well. The insane free agents thing may have been brought up in canon, but I don't really recall. Its a logical conclusion though.
Firebird Zoom
Pretty Bird
- Location
- Who knows?
- Pronouns
- She/Her
IIRC, Annatar has Vilya, which can effectively Master the weak-willed. While Heartbreaker is likely in no means weak of will, a furious Mairon could likely muster up the steel to break all but Nenya's bearer.
BungieONI
Seven gremlins in a trench coat
- Location
- Lickwidget
- Pronouns
- She/Her
'Pon further consideration one image that has been occurring to me repeatedly is Annatar Singing The One into existence with the Chorus of the Wards as the Seven and Amy as the bearer of Nenya. When exactly this would occur, if it ever would I can't guess at.
Now aside from that I was sitting here thinking about where this story would go and several things as wild speculation have occurred to me which I'll just throw at the metaphorical oven door to see what sticks.
First, Lung is already mastered by Heartbreaker. They are in similar areas and while Heartbreaker usually affects women, men are on the table. Heartbreaker is also intelligent, so leaving a rage dragon roaming around when instead he could hook into him seems far more narratively significant and plausible.
Valefor is likely already out and roaming. I expect him to compromise the rest of the PRT while Annatar is gone essentially leaving it to her and the other Ring Bearers with support of Armsmaster.
Third up is that Coil is in the process of self destructing, and in his insanity will try to claim Vilya or another ring to "balance" out the howls of Narya which are turning his soul into an ash tray or some such. His attempts won't work, and in the process he will extremely negatively affect the Travelers. Noelle for one will likely be a thing on the battlefield at some point.
Fourth is that there may be a beat down between Noelle and Lung. Not sure honestly.
Fifth is that Vilya will not find its proper bearer in this arc, but Narya will. That Bearer is either Alec or Armsmaster. I say Alec, because he was always a character that, through the emotional deadening, struck me as needing Hope and Warmth in canon. Additionally it'd make for some great drama in the story and we are getting an interlude of him.
And that's my wild mass guessing out of the way.
Now aside from that I was sitting here thinking about where this story would go and several things as wild speculation have occurred to me which I'll just throw at the metaphorical oven door to see what sticks.
First, Lung is already mastered by Heartbreaker. They are in similar areas and while Heartbreaker usually affects women, men are on the table. Heartbreaker is also intelligent, so leaving a rage dragon roaming around when instead he could hook into him seems far more narratively significant and plausible.
Valefor is likely already out and roaming. I expect him to compromise the rest of the PRT while Annatar is gone essentially leaving it to her and the other Ring Bearers with support of Armsmaster.
Third up is that Coil is in the process of self destructing, and in his insanity will try to claim Vilya or another ring to "balance" out the howls of Narya which are turning his soul into an ash tray or some such. His attempts won't work, and in the process he will extremely negatively affect the Travelers. Noelle for one will likely be a thing on the battlefield at some point.
Fourth is that there may be a beat down between Noelle and Lung. Not sure honestly.
Fifth is that Vilya will not find its proper bearer in this arc, but Narya will. That Bearer is either Alec or Armsmaster. I say Alec, because he was always a character that, through the emotional deadening, struck me as needing Hope and Warmth in canon. Additionally it'd make for some great drama in the story and we are getting an interlude of him.
And that's my wild mass guessing out of the way.
- Location
- Estonia
Well, I may as well contribute with some WMG of my own then.
I predict the whole thing with Coil getting Narya becomes a non-issue, because Coil is the intended bearer of Narya and he ultimately bends knee to Annatar as she rises to become the Lord of Brockton Bay and begins his own path to redemption through it. Pretty sure this doesn't actually mesh with Tolkien's themes all that well, but I'm pretty sure BB is unavoidably headed toward cape feudalism at this point. Coil's voluntary pleadge of loyalty to Annatar definitely seems like the kind of thing that could push Taylor into finally accepting that she is going to have to be the ruler of BB to actually fix the city, instead of simply presiding over a slow decline of the city, as the PRT and Protectorate had been doing before she came along.
BungieONI
Seven gremlins in a trench coat
- Location
- Lickwidget
- Pronouns
- She/Her
Would be a weird twist. I don't think it fits with Tolkien's common themes, or where its likely to go given that he seemed to be suffering from Gollum Syndrome at the end there.
It would be distinctly hilarious though because it reminds me of Ack's It Gets Worse story and what happens in there.
As for cape feudalism, I sort of agree. I don't think she'll be proclaiming it from the roof tops, but I can see her being in de facto control after this arc and the next as she tries to get BB to recover. There may even be a much more polite but subtly ominous form of the canon "talk to the mayor so the city doesn't get condemned".
E: Wow, re-reading your post while listening to the Berserk soundtrack is sinister.
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- Location
- not here
I'm happy to see this still going strong. With shrinking backlog the updates will probably slow down, but that's okay. Quality over quantity any day. Keep up the good work, we are all enjoying it.
Good to see Taylor regaining some balance here, and starting too actually think. I was worried for a moment, that she was going to self-destruct along with the city at some point. On the other hand she will now be running into obvious danger with SOPHIA and Missy.
This will surely turn into some sort of grand and epic battle, but depending on whether Danny gets out of there alive (and sound of mind), the consequances may be quite dire. For everyone involved. It will be a delicious mess either way. I'm lovin' it.
Does anyone know when Cherish joined S9? Is this before or after?
I don't know if he will be going after another ring, thought can't quite deny it's a possibility. I'm also not sure he will self-desctruct quite that fast. But I think he will become quite a lot bolder, and make mistakes along the way. He may even end up falling pray to Valefor. Either way he will surely get into everyones way (hopefully villans as well as heroes).
And Noelle rampage is a definite possibility, bordering on certainty.
Don't scare me man. The only thing worse (thought I fear to give frightening ideas) is if Lung were to fight one of his clones. Cenopath anyone?
Alec for Vilya would certainly be entertaining. Imagine Pigot's reaction.
Good to see Taylor regaining some balance here, and starting too actually think. I was worried for a moment, that she was going to self-destruct along with the city at some point. On the other hand she will now be running into obvious danger with SOPHIA and Missy.
This will surely turn into some sort of grand and epic battle, but depending on whether Danny gets out of there alive (and sound of mind), the consequances may be quite dire. For everyone involved. It will be a delicious mess either way. I'm lovin' it.
Does anyone know when Cherish joined S9? Is this before or after?
I don't know if he will be going after another ring, thought can't quite deny it's a possibility. I'm also not sure he will self-desctruct quite that fast. But I think he will become quite a lot bolder, and make mistakes along the way. He may even end up falling pray to Valefor. Either way he will surely get into everyones way (hopefully villans as well as heroes).
And Noelle rampage is a definite possibility, bordering on certainty.
Don't scare me man. The only thing worse (thought I fear to give frightening ideas) is if Lung were to fight one of his clones. Cenopath anyone?
Alec for Vilya would certainly be entertaining. Imagine Pigot's reaction.
BungieONI
Seven gremlins in a trench coat
- Location
- Lickwidget
- Pronouns
- She/Her
Actually I think she's going entirely alone.
Which has so much FUN written all over it I can't wait.
I don't remember the canon time. She might have by this point.
He currently can't be mastered by Valefor, if Narya functions correctly while eating him alive but he may fall prey to one of the other wandering villains in a more conventional way by doing a stupid.
That's sort of the point of that entire fight. Lung gets the fight of his life by fighting a big oogly monster shite-ing out oodles and oodles of little Lung's.
Alec with Vilya would be weird, but I was specifically talking about the ring Coil stole.
JuliusClonkus
Scatterbrained Speculator
- Location
- Federal Reichspublic of Karlsland
Scion and the Endbringers suddenly turn up and cooperate to halt a Rage-Dragon Grey Goo scenario that threatens to collapse the universe into a dimension-sundering omnimassive black hole.
Fixed that for you. You are welcome.
It might just be what is needed to combat entropy. Or at least novel enough to interest them.
- Location
- Nottinghamshire, England
If this has already been stated, then I apologise for sounding like a parrot, or a broken tape recorder.
Huh, interesting.
This actually reminds me of that poem from the books and movies about the 20 Rings of Power (and yes, I did indeed count them). How did it go, again? Ah, yes, here we go:-
"Three Rings for the Elven-kings under the sky,
Seven for the Dwarf-lords in their halls of stone,
Nine for Mortal Men doomed to die,
One for the Dark Lord on his dark throne
In the Land of Mordor where the Shadows lie.
One Ring to rule them all, One Ring to find them,
One Ring to bring them all and in the darkness bind them
In the Land of Mordor where the Shadows lie."
I guess everyone with at least a small drop of common sense, and the intelligence to actually use it, can see, the second line of Lithos Maitreya's epigraph* is very similar to the same line of J.R. Tolkien's epigraph^.
I would simply LOVE to see how the rest of it is written!
I also wonder what epitaphs that Taylor's followers and enemies will give her, as she grows in power? Perhaps the Ring-Maker, or some such?
Footnotes:-
*= "Seven for the Wards, in a city of sin."
^= "Seven for the Dwarf-lords in their halls of stone,"
Huh, interesting.
This actually reminds me of that poem from the books and movies about the 20 Rings of Power (and yes, I did indeed count them). How did it go, again? Ah, yes, here we go:-
"Three Rings for the Elven-kings under the sky,
Seven for the Dwarf-lords in their halls of stone,
Nine for Mortal Men doomed to die,
One for the Dark Lord on his dark throne
In the Land of Mordor where the Shadows lie.
One Ring to rule them all, One Ring to find them,
One Ring to bring them all and in the darkness bind them
In the Land of Mordor where the Shadows lie."
I guess everyone with at least a small drop of common sense, and the intelligence to actually use it, can see, the second line of Lithos Maitreya's epigraph* is very similar to the same line of J.R. Tolkien's epigraph^.
I would simply LOVE to see how the rest of it is written!
I also wonder what epitaphs that Taylor's followers and enemies will give her, as she grows in power? Perhaps the Ring-Maker, or some such?
Footnotes:-
*= "Seven for the Wards, in a city of sin."
^= "Seven for the Dwarf-lords in their halls of stone,"
Lithos Maitreya
Character Witness
- Location
- United States
To any who were worried by my shrinking backlog, rest easy. I've just finished drafting Interlude 8b: Alec. Barring extreme problems with the draft, we can expect at least one chapter next week.
Wheeee, everything is awful and terrible and nothing is good AND IT'S ONLY GETTING WORSE! NOW WE'RE IN A WORM FIC, BOYS!
Yeah, Taylor. I mean, you CAN'T let some other schmuck
Did... did you not get the "Scum-Con 2011" flyers? Dammit, Sleeper, you PROMISED you'd pass those out this time!
Oh, GOD, NO. Not the chickens! Not the FUCKING CHICKENS! *hides in corner* warm safe place warm safe place warm safe place
And that's why you should always take the stairs! Ho ho h-YIPE! *dodges fruit*
"Sorry. Those food truck tacos are a bigger menace than the Endbringers, am I right?"
*slowly glances at Sophia*
I AGREE ENTIRELY.
I have suggestions! Many, many suggestions! Hold on, I'll go get my explanatory pamphlets!
I'm going to just pretend this is roughly the same speech Taylor will give before any future dates with... no one in particular, really. ("There will be no second base tonight. If you try, I will make you pay dearly for-" "JESUS CHRIST, TAYLOR, I GET IT.")
Presented with no further comments....
*opens mouth*
*pauses*
...fuck, I already used that joke earlier! *sigh* Carry on.
Uh... you might want to rethink that particular statement, Amy. Knives are actually pretty effective, once you get in close. (21 feet or less, basically.)
So, you know... just get in close. (AND STAB THEM ALL THE FUCK TO DEATH.)
Bullshit! I've seen LOTS of fanfic do exactly that!
Continued implications that Sam isn't exactly copacetic with his family's values count: +1
Sam lifted a hand, waggled it in a vaguely "meh"-ish gesture.
"I'm sorry, Director. I've used every instrument I have available, but I STILL can't tell you why kids love the taste of Cinnamon Toast Crunch!"
(Occasionally, there was the squeal of metal on metal as Dragon tried to subtly grope Armsmaster's butt.)
Yes. The greatest T
I mean, I'm just pointing out the facts on paper, here. (Assuming you ignore little things like "the person who lead a charge on Leviathan with a sword... and LIVED," of course. Also, the fact that Brockton Bay is a miserable hellscape from which only horror and PTSD flows. Seriously, I hope this story has some sort of "BB Wards go on tour" thing at some point. I always love seeing the horrified reactions of other Ward teams to them. "Oh, god! We have to get you to the hospital!" "...what? Why? You mean for this little cut?" "I CAN SEE BONE AND ORGANS!" "...yeah, that's a good thing. It means they're STILL THERE. Gimme the duct tape, I'll be fine.")
...actually, all joking aside, I really WOULD love to see the way people react to the Brockton Bay Wards, or at least Annatar. I mean... she straight up
Taylor Hebert, Humblest
That's where the biggest, fullest septic tank is, you see.
And how weird is it when LITERAL Nazis are the better people in a situation? I mean... what the fuck, man. What. The. Fuck.
Oh, he's an uptown piece of shit!
....wait.
*slowly LOOKS at that list*
That's... uh... not the ONLY thing at least two of those people have knowledge of, Armsmaster. I mean... Velocity's the odd man out there, if you understand the general thrust of what I'm trying to imply here? I'm just saying, if Heartbreaker tries to get Battery or Triumph to spill out, as an ENTIRELY RANDOM example, any of their deepest secrets....
Well.
I suspect there's a moderate chance of Fedora Interrupt, if you get my drift. (Contessa might end up murdering Heartbreaker the fuck to death.)
For the record, Dragon? I'm underlining you and Colin on The Chart. Twice. ...maybe even three times.
*slowly glances at that whole Bakuda
*coughs*
Aaaaaawkwaaaaaard.
Well... when she's right... she's VERY right.
*wild, hysterical laughter*
Yes. YOUR city. Totally.
Yeah, if you start counting all his kids, for sure. All his Master/Stranger/danger kids.
Couldn't happen to a more deserving person.
Also, I really hope we see the outcome of that. More specifically, I want ARMSMASTER to see the outcome of that. You know, so Taylor can look at him pointedly and say, "This is why the Rings are only supposed to go to those chosen by them."
I... might suggest "bearded face" there? As written, it makes it sound like his lips are completely bearded.
Well... that might be easy enough. Just go "Hey, Lung? You remember that time you got your ass kicked by an Endbringer? Yeah, their cult is in the city. Wanna distract Heartbreaker while we kick their asses a bit?"
For the record? This little bit right here was REALLY well done. Only a few short lines and you really showed the depth of character on Piggot. Seriously, her characterization in this fic is AMAZING, Lithos.
*puerile giggle* What about REGULAR Eidolon or Alexandria? Would they do?
*puerile giggle* Make a note, Dragon: Armsmaster's against pulling out. Plan your relationship accordingly.
Oh. Oh, good. Time for another
NOW IS NOT THE TIME FOR THAT, AEGIS. ...and yes, I realize the irony of ME saying that!
SMASH CUT to DANNY HEBERT'S OFFICE
DANNY is DOING PAPERWORK
DANNY: "Ow! God damn papercuts!"
*eyes that sword*
Yuuuup, traditional Mayan football with Heartbreaker later!
*narrow eyes*
I... cannot help but feel vaguely worried about Dragon's instant caving and suggestion to send three more FEMALE capes to the area with Heartbreaker in it.
...good lord, Taylor. Why not just hang a big ol' flashing neon sign saying "I'M GOING TO GO MURDER HEARTBREAKER" over your head?
*wince* OH. Oh, ouch. Right in Piggot's vulnerable bits. Jeebus FUCK, Taylor, you don't take prisoners in ANY fight, do you.
...HURGH. God DAMN, the emotion packed into that bit. Well fucking done, Lithos. Holy shit, well fucking done.
As already noted, this is almost certainly a callback to Ellisburg, Piggot's own personal Worst Day Ever.
- Location
- Earth Prime
He overslept.
I don't usually read your reviews as closely as I did this one, but you made me laugh multiple times in this one and it was enough to keep me from skimming like I usually do. Well done.
- Location
- Estonia
That's not really an unusual situation for Brockton Bay, you know. Even outside crisis situations, that's basically the default any time the Merchants and the Nazis are both involved.
Bruz was vaguely interesting and a bit pitiable after that, though. All you ever hear about Heartbreaker in fics is that he's the toppest of top assholes, getting power-shamed might just end up karmic instead of a significant end.