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nova-dracomon · 9 months

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My Gender is [NOT] Human Zine is Now Accepting Submissions!

Xenogender: A gender that cannot be contained by human understandings of gender; more concerned with crafting other methods of gender categorization and hierarchy such as those relating to animals, plants, or other creatures/things.

This zine will be a collection of artwork, writing and more created by alterhumans and nonhumans to express both their species identity, gender, and how they intersect. While this zine will have an xenogender slant, everyone who has something to share about how their species and gender overlap are encouraged to submit pieces! Similarly, if you are currently questioning, you are still welcome to participate. Anonymous submissions are accepted.

What Can I Submit?

Both fiction and nonfiction pieces are accepted. As long as what you have in mind fits the theme, it’ll probably be a-ok.

Off the top of our head, we’re thinking of:

Essays of your personal experiences

Short stories

Poetry

Advice columns

Artwork

Fictional advertisements

Comics

Mock interviews

This is far from an exhaustive list, we welcome you to think outside the box!

How to Participate

Please email your completed submission to ruffledgryphon(@)gmail(.)com and title the email “My Gender is Not Human Zine Submission.” Also make sure to include the following information in your email:

A name you would like the piece attributed to

Title of your submission

Any content warnings that you feel are necessary for the piece

Any social media handle or personal website you’d like listed in the contributor section

A logo or icon for the contributor section

**If you would like to stay anonymous please let us know

Members of systems are welcome to submit individually or collectively. Please let us know your preference when it comes to attribution.

Once the deadline has passed, the submissions will be crafted together into a single zine and it will be posted on our itch.io as a free PDF.

Submissions are due by May 1, 2024.

Our itch.io: https://ruffledgryphon.itch.io/

Submission Guidelines

Each individual may submit up to 3 works to be featured in My Gender is [NOT] Human. Comics and multi-image works count as one piece. Individuals within a system may each submit up to 3 works. All work must be your own! Anyone caught plagiarizing or submitting AI-generated work will be barred from entering My Gender is [NOT] Human and any future zines from us.

Written submissions should not exceed 30 pages and multi-part art entries should not exceed 10 pages. Please keep in mind the zine’s pages will be 8.5x11 and entries will be scaled accordingly to fit that size. We request all art submissions to be sent in either .jpg or .png file formats.

For stories that use multiple different fonts, we will do our best to preserve the general “feel” of your piece but cannot guarantee we will be able to use the exact fonts or sizes due to restrictions in what fonts we have access to, readability and overarching zine style.

Submissions must fit the thematic criteria of

About the intersection of gender and species identities

If you’re not sure if you count, feel free to reach out to us. However, we will be leaning on the side of “Yes! We’d love to hear from you!”

FAQ

Q: Where will the zine be hosted? What will it cost? A: The zine will be hosted digitally on our itch.io and will be free to download. Our itch.io can be found here: https://ruffledgryphon.itch.io/

Q: Is there a cap on submissions? A: There is none, as long as the file doesn’t start getting too big for our computer we’ll do our best! If there are an unprecedented amount of submissions, we may have to delay the release. In the event that happens, we would communicate that through updates on our tumblr.

Q: Can I update my application after it’s been submitted? A: Yes you may, as long as that is communicated to us before the submission deadline.

Q: Can I rescind my submission? A: Yes you may, as long as that is communicated to us before the submission deadline. This is because once we begin work on the zine, having to remove content mid-way through would throw off the formatting of everything else after. Please take this into account before submitting.

Q: Will this zine allow NSFW entries? A: No, nothing 18+ will be accepted.

Q: What is your timeline for the project? A: Our submission deadline is May 1, 2024. We are then planning to spend the next month compiling all of the entries. Our goal is to have the zine live by June 1, 2024. If something unforeseen happens and we are unable to make that deadline, we will post an update about it on our tumblr.

Q: I have another question! A: Feel free to reach out to us at our email ruffledgryphon(@)gmail(.)com or here on tumblr with any other questions you have about the zine.

#My Gender is Not Human Zine #otherkin #therian #fictionkin #alterhuman #nonhuman #xenogender #nova squawks

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kiwoa · 4 months

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The only heartworm allowed in this house is a plush one - after nine months of treatment, Jackie is heartworm-free!

Her journey's been a bit different from the traditional path. For one, she's been on heartworm preventatives for a long time. The problem is that heartworm takes six months to show up on a test. She was taken in by a shelter at two months; we adopted her at seven months. Somewhere in her early puppyhood, an infected mosquito must've gotten her and the worms grew until they could finally be detected after she'd settled into her forever home with us. So takeaway #1 - always test for heartworms, even if they've been on preventatives, especially if there's a gap in their history!

For another thing, we opted to try the Moxi-Doxy protocol, a method less tested than the traditional treatment, but super promising in cases like hers, where the dog is healthy and the disease is young. The problem with Moxi-Doxy is that it takes longer than arsenical injections, so it's not a great pick if the worms are already doing damage or causing symptoms. The advantage, however, is that the restrictions and side effects are WAY fewer!

You start off with a month of Doxycycline, same as with traditional treatments. It kills a symbiotic bacteria in the worms and weakens them. This was actually the hardest part of the treatment for Jackie, as the dosage is high and is given all month, but she only had issues in the last week of it, so we were able to push through. The big difference in treatments comes after that - with Moxi-Doxy, the next (and potentially final) step is application of drops containing Moxidectin as directed for as long as it takes. For us, we put Advantage Multi on Jackie once a month.

Since the worms are being killed so much more slowly than with arsenical injections, the risk of embolism from multiple worms detaching/breaking down at once is considerably lower. We couldn't take her on any super long walks or to dog parks or other places that would raise her heart rate and keep it up for a prolonged period, but she was still allowed normal walks. She still got to play fetch. She could still wander around the house freely and thrash her toys and even have brief stints of zoomies. And there was no pain from injections or deleterious side effects - just some painless drops on her skin once a month.

There's still much to be said for the traditional method. It has a higher success rate (we were always aware that Jackie's treatment could fail and we'd end up having to start the traditional protocol after a year and a half of failed efforts) and it works much faster. I think there's a lot to be said for Moxi-Doxy as well, though, since it's a much more comfortable process. And it's always nice to have options. It's a much newer protocol and I had never heard of it until a vet suggested it could be an option for Jackie, so I figured I'd put this information out there for dog owners who might be similarly unaware. For us, at the very least, Moxi-Doxy worked without side effects and cured our Jackie in less than a year. I think that's worth telling people.

#dog #dogs #mutts #mixed breed #giant microbes #giantmicrobes #heartworm #heartworms #jackie the dog #my petses

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spectre-requisitions-exchange · 8 months

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Sign-Ups are Open!

Sign ups for the Spectre Requisitions exchange are now open and you may sign up from January 27th to February 10th. You must fill out at least three unique requests and three unique offers. (Requests and offers do not necessarily have to be the same!).

Important links:

Sign-up Form

Nominated Relationships Spreadsheet

View and search requests in the app

Countdown Timer

A couple of reminders:

Treats are now considered OPT-IN. "Treats" are works that are given to you that are not your main assignment. To opt-in to treats, you will need to enable treats on Ao3 AND declare you are open to being treated. If you do NOT specify treat preferences, we will assume you do not want to receive any treats!

To enable treats: Go to “My Dashboard” on your Ao3 account, select “Preferences” from the sidebar, scroll down to “Collections, Challenges and Gifts,” and make sure that the “Allow Anyone to Gift Me Works” box is checked.

You can use the following template in your sign-up box to state your treat preferences if you would like: Open to Treats: Yes / No Open to Treat types: Fanart, Fanfiction Open to Multi-recip treats: Yes / No If you are open to all types of treats, you can simply say "Treats welcome!"

There is a RATINGS box for sign-ups! The box is not mandatory and non-binding but will help with determining who is or is not interested in smut. If you are open to potentially creating or receiving smut, SELECT the "Explicit" option for that offer/request. Please note that this is NOT a guarantee that you will be matched, in either direction, with someone who has opted into smut; and even if you do match in that manner, you're not obligated to create smut (nor are they obligated to create smut for you).

NOW THAT SAID: SIGN UP! SIGN UP! SIGN-UP! CLICK HERE TO SIGN-UP!

You can go back and edit your Sign-Up Form up until February 10th, 8:00PM EST.

How Do I Sign Up? Instructions beneath the cut:

1) Go to the Sign Up Form at AO3.

2) Start writing in the name of your favorite character/pairing from the nominations. Don’t forget to check the spreadsheet if you need inspiration!

3) The box should start to autofill your pairing as you type (if it doesn’t, that is a known Ao3 bug, and if you type it exactly as it is in the tagset, it will accept it). Select your pairing of choice. You can choose two pairings per request, and may have ten requests total.

The two requests do not need to be related; it is simply a way to try to get around the Ao3 restriction of only having 10 sign-up boxes.

4) Decide whether you would like to potentially receive fanart or fanfic, or both. Check the applicable box(es).

5) The RATINGS box on each request indicates whether or not you are open to receiving smut. The box is not mandatory and non-binding but will help with determining who is or is not interested in smut. Please CHECK the "Explicit" box if you want to receive smut; and leave it unchecked if you do not want to receive smut.

6) In the "Description" box, you MUST include: -Any Do Not Wants (DNWs) for the requested relationship(s). We cannot enforce DNWs that are not contained in your Ao3 signup. -Whether you are opting in to treats or not. If you are opting in, you must say which kind of treats you are open to receiving. If you do NOT specify treat preferences, we will assume you do not want to receive any treats!

You can use the following template to state your treat preferences:

Open to Treats: Yes / No Open to Treat types: Fanart, Fanfiction Open to Multi-recip treats: Yes / No

If you are open to all types of treats, you can simply say "Treats welcome!"

You MAY include: -Prompts, general likes/dislikes -- this is used to help your assigned creator know what sort of gift you would most like to receive!

7) Repeat between 3-10 times, as you like!

8) You may write a letter that goes more in-depth and post it to your tumblr, dreamwidth, public google doc, or another platform, and then fill in the URL in the letter box.

9) Fill out your offers. You must fill out at least three unique pairings you would be okay with writing and can choose one or two pairings to fill in per request.

10) The ratings box on each offer indicates whether or not you are open to receiving smut. The box is not mandatory and non-binding but will help with determining who is or is not interested in smut. Please CHECK the "Explicit" box if you want to create smut; and leave it unchecked if you do not want to create smut.

A BIG WARNING ABOUT USING ‘ANY PAIRINGS’: You may choose to offer ANY, but this means you could be matched to ANYONE who has signed up for the archive. Exchange participants beware of this, do NOT pick Any Pairings if you are not up for a challenge!

The only limits we will allow on "any" requests by are the following parameters:

the category of relationship, eg Gen, F/F, F/M, M/M, Multi, or Other: you will get a sign up with at least one request of the chosen category. Can be combined with setting.

the game setting: at least one request will be set in Trilogy or Andromeda, depending or your pick; this can be combined with the above, e.g. "Any trilogy Multi" or "Any Andromeda F/F"

ANY Protagonist Shepard pairing: At least one pairing will feature a Commander Shepard (this restriction will not match Hannah Shepard or Clone Shepard.) You may combine this with a relationship category, e.g., "any Female Shepard F/F".

ANY Protagonist Ryder pairing: You will be matched with a sign up featuring at least one sign-up with a Ryder character (this request will not match Alec Ryder or Ellen Ryder requests). You may combine this with a relationship category, e.g., "any Male Ryder M/M".

No other limits may be selected so chose this CAREFULLY.

11) In the notes, please include any notes for the mods that might help the mods in matching you. For example: "I won't write varren fighting" or "Please do not match me to Councilor Udina". These notes are confidential between the mods and you, and are not shared with your match (or anyone else). You don't have to give reasons; just letting us know what your boundaries are is enough for us to hopefully better match you, and we don't share any information given with other people.

12) Click submit! And welcome to the Mass Effect Spectre Requisitions Rare Pair Exchange!

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fuzzkaizer · 4 months

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AKAI - SB1 - Deep Impact

"... for a lengthy spell, bassists that used pedals were given a side-eye.

But as synth pedals continue to be made, it’s hard to believe that some of its earliest heavy-hitters were released in the ‘80s and ‘90s, such as the Korg X-911 and the DigiTech XP300 Space Station. But while those faffed about with a more general kitchen-sink approach to the subject, it was Akai in 200X that came out with the most potent offering to date. This is the Akai SB1 Deep Impact.

Although some places claim the Deep Impact came out in the late ‘90s, nobody that I know is entirely sure when the Deep Impact was released. As far as I can tell, it was 2002. Prior to that, Akai’s “professional” website came out with guns blazing about its silver boxed series that included the VariWah and Intelliphase. However, a short time later, Akai Pro’s website appeared to go dark, resurfacing with pictures of gleaming mixers and MPCs. It’s too bad; the Head Rush, Unibass and Deep Impact were arguably the best pedals Akai ever produced.

When a pedal’s endorsee list contains players like Bootsy Collins, Chris Wolstenholme and Paul Turner of Jamiroquai, you pretty much know what to expect: throbbing, guttural filter sweeps with a funk chaser. And yeah, you get that. But you get a pretty bang-on stab at a host of synth patches, including fifths, warbling pads and much more. It’s not without its limitations, though.

The Unibass and Deep Impact were centered on the frequency range of the bass guitar; the Unibass generated a fat unison mode with an octave up and subtle thickening, which is easily adaptable to six strings. However, the Deep Impact in particular made no bones about its applications. When played with a guitar, notes outside of the bass frequency range cut through at a very distinct threshold, and not in a “hardware limitation” kind of way; there is a literal cut-off point. One note in a scale gets enveloped in the circuit, and the very next rings through as if there was no effect at all.

The way it’s used is deceptively complex. Like the old analog synths it seeks to replicate, dialing in a patch takes a little effort, and in the same way as many of them. Two of the unit’s three knobs are for input and output levels—the Input control is accented with a metering system and lets you set the clipping threshold of the unit before setting the output volume. While two-thirds of the knobs are standard fare, the money is in the program system.

On offer are nine programs with a blank parametric slate. The left footswitch cycles through these programs in ascending order, while an optional footswitch cycles in descending order, and the center control cycles through 10 different parameters (and one preset loading option), all of which are fully adjustable with the rotary encoder in the center of the unit. Most of them correspond to controls on real analog synths, such as (filter) Cutoff, Resonance, Attack and Decay. When you factor in this multi knob, the Deep Impact actually has 12 controls for your tweaking pleasure, far more than the competition. And the ends to which you can adjust the tone are relatively absurd.

While vintage synths of yore can oscillate and destroy your ears when the resonance is cranked, Akai thoughtfully keeps the extent of the parameters usable. With that being said, the Deep Impact will mercilessly punish any subwoofer placed before it. Akai promises a four-oscillator affair within the Deep Impact and while there’s no way to dial it in solely based on those merits, it certainly sounds gargantuan. It’s probably why they are worth so much.

The original designer of the Deep Impact, one Andras Szalay, revived the project well after Akai washed its hand of the line under the company name PandaMIDI and the product name Future Impact I. For a spell, it was tough even to get one of those, and prices encroached upon the original. Now on its third revision, readily available and with a new brand name, the Future Impact continues to carry the torch. There’s just something about that Akai unit, though..."

cred: catalinbread.com/blogs/kulas-cabinet/akai-db1-deep-impact

#akai #deep impact #SB-1 #synth #kulas cabinet

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gorbalsvampire · 1 month

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If you were redesigning Blood Sorcery, what would its central schtick be? What makes it potentially unique and interesting, and not just a swiss army knife? (I'd argue Thinblood Alchemy is maybe a more interesting and balanced fill for that total versatility niche.)

Hm!

So, I actually kinda like the core Discipline as it exists in V5. The art of discovering truths about someone through their Blood, or manipulating the Blood directly, or turning the Blood into a weapon or a message? That shit rips. That is a good time.

I'd move Scour Secrets into Auspex (seriously, what the shit is it doing here?) and I'm turning Koldunic Sorcery over and over in my hands - it's a botch job, but the net effect works, you take that and then your upper levels are things like Visceral Absorbtion and Transitive Bond, there's a Tzimisce-sorcerer route through the Discipline and it does hold together now that i think about it. It's fine.

I think a good Discipline is one where you can cross the streams, but it's also apparent what the streams are. Blood Sorcery is a good Discipline, it has archetypal routes through for your stereotypical Tremere and Banu Haqim and Tzimisce but also space for you to push sideways and create characters who have leant this way or that.

Digression: Oblivion is a bad Discipline, largely because it has four pathways between two clans and is trying to cover two historically separate applications of mysticism and ceremony while also remaining as faithful as it can to every depiction of them that's ever existed, because it's a Dawkins design and he can't not include something that's canon. Great concept, but indulgent execution. Someone needed to say no.

But then we get into Rituals, and that's where the bloat kicks in. Niche protection? What niche protection? Haven't you heard, we're Tremere!

I think each Ritual needs to be interrogated. Ask it what it's for. Why does it exist at the level it exists? What is Clinging of the Insect for? We have Potence and Celerity powers for that. Splash another Discipline, you cowards, this is worth more than 3 XP and some bug juice.

What is Blood Walk for? Why is it not a critical effect on Taste for Blood, the mainline power that's its obvious prerequisite? This is stupid. Merge them.

What is Wake With Evening's Freshness for? Why do Tremere get to do this, for cheap? Get rid of it.

Do that, and pare the Rituals right down to the ones like Enrich the Blood, Herd Ward, Calix Secretus, the ones that are clearly derived from actual Blood manipulation. To be honest, the Oblivion notion of prerequisite powers is a good one, and if you can't think of a good prerequisite power, chances are you don't have a good Ritual - you have an Ars Magicka wizard spell that nobody's had the spine to delete.

I've said before and I'm saying now that I prefer Tremere as alchemists to Tremere as mages from Ars Magicka backformed into mages from Mage. It shucks off a lot of baggage, it makes them a self-contained Vampire concept (this is a problem I also have with the Giovanni, to be entirely fair), and - in the context of this ask - it also creates some cool parallels with the thin-bloods, the Duskborn of the here and now. Tremere looks to Thin-blood: as you are, we once were. As we are, you are not allowed to be. No wonder Tremere invented the practice of branding the little shits.

I do agree that being a hyperflexible little multi-tool, manifesting semi-random powers from Resonances and cultivating specific counterfeits with Alchemy, is a really good niche for Thin-Bloods to occupy. The Revised era version - "vampire from clan, but shittier" - had no appeal outside of specific metaplot-hugging or masochistic playstyles. The V5 version is exciting. People should play them, and want to play them.

That said, I have some beef - specifically, a Thin-Blood who lives long enough and plays with other clans erodes niche protection by being able to counterfeit most Disciplines a PC from another clan can bring to the table, "anything you can do I can do" kind of deal. Level 5 is off the table, but how many PCs are getting level 5 powers at the standard rate of XP gain? Blood Potency is a counterbalance and if you bother to implement its rules all the way across (the rerolls are super important) I do think it works as a balance, but this isn't about what works. It's about the feeling of having your special snowflake power, and yours, and yours, all available to this one character.

I think I'd get rid of Counterfeit Discipline, as a thing: you can curate low level powers from feeding, and you have unique Alchemy effects, and that's enough, actually.

#thanks for asking!#tremere #thinbloods #duskborn #thinblood alchemy #vtm #vampire the masquerade #meta

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quill-of-thoth · 5 months

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Letters from Watson, the Engineer's Thumb

Crimes in Context: Counterfeiting, circa 1889

What coins were the Stark-Becher gang trying to make, anyway? And did they actually need a person squishing hydraulic press to do it?

Most of the cash in circulation in Victorian England would have been coins, so it's time to refresh our memories on what they all are, since I last addressed currency smaller than a pound in The Man with the Twisted Lip. We will be restricting ourselves to denominations that the Stark-Becher gang may have been minting, based on the comment that the hydraulic press was necessary to make coins that were previously minted in silver.

Imperial Currency Definitions

Pound/Quid/Sovereign: Not applicable, the Sovereign coin is gold, but it's the base unit of the currency we're dealing with. It also would have been hard to pass as genuine just because it's a large denomination - the era's equivalent of a hundred dollar bill. Indeed, our Bank of England inflation calculator returns a modern value of £107.

Crown: Five shillings / a quarter pound. Represented by a silver coin. Probably the largest coin you'd make change for without being annoyed by it.

Shilling: 1/20th of a pound. A silver coin. Crowns and Shillings are our most likely candidates, as they're in common use in 1889 and is the kind of cash an average man might have on hand. I personally think shillings are the most likely coin to counterfeit, as a lot of accounting of people's wages, expenses, etc. in this time period is written as pounds / shillings / pennies (L/s/d) and silver pennies (And their horrible spawn of sixpence, twopence, etc) are probably not worth the effort. Also, while there were silver pennies in circulation, the fact that things like silver twopence were minted for maundy money makes the timeline and consistency of their minting beyond my pay grade as a blogger. And probably confusing for a coiner to get exactly right, given the payoff. Hydraulic press:

Modern (paper*) money is printed with several aspects that make it harder to reproduce: the exact fiber content of the paper, the multi layered and detailed design (with parts that can only be seen under UV light, parts that can only be seen with a magnifying glass, etc.), the embossed parts of the print design, and the exact chemical components of the ink can be analyzed to see if a note is authentic. The ink in US dollars also contains a smattering of heavy metals that aren't great for human health, so I don't recommend consuming money in any way - don't lick it, don't snort things off it, don't put it in your blender for a science fair project. It would be chemically somewhat dangerous to counterfeit modern currency at home, assuming you got anywhere close to the right ink.

*Some countries use polymer, but same difference. It will kill your blender, though.

The Victorians did... none of that, really. The idea of designing money to be harder to fake was already around, but metal coins can only be produced to a certain degree of precision with the tools that were available in the 1800's: you essentially heat a disk of the correct metal (a blank) and press it with a stamp. The hydraulic press would, of course, squash blanks between two plates of stamps precisely, and with great force.

Both silver and gold have relatively low melting points (under 2,000 degrees F / close to 1,000 C) and are malleable at lower temperatures than the iron or steel of a hydraulic press. Silver amalgam (a silver/mercury alloy) has an even lower melting point, so it would be even easier to fit to a mold.

Essentially, anybody who knew much about molding metal and could get a precise-ish model of the coin in question would make pretty convincing money. A hydraulic press large enough to fit three grown men between the plates of may have been overkill.

#Sherlock Holmes #Letters from Watson #crimes and context

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dieterziegler159 · 1 year

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Discover the true potential of containers with Podman! Uncover the advantages and drawbacks of this lightweight engine in our insightful guide.

#Podman Pros and Cons #Podman Container Services #Linux-Based Operating Systems #Multi-Container Applications #Container Management Tool #custom software product engineering services company

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public-cloud-computing · 1 year

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Gain insights into Podman's pros and cons and unlock the true potential of containerization. Make informed decisions for your infrastructure.

#Podman Pros and Cons #Podman Container Services #Linux-Based Operating Systems #Multi-Container Applications #Container Management Tool #custom software product engineering services company

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enterprise-cloud-services · 1 year

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Stay ahead of the curve with Podman's advantages and drawbacks. Unlock the true potential of containers and optimize your development and deployment workflows.

#Podman Pros and Cons #Podman Container Services #Linux-Based Operating Systems #Multi-Container Applications #Container Management Tool #custom software product engineering services company

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rubylogan15 · 1 year

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Gain insights into Podman's pros and cons and unlock the true potential of containerization. Make informed decisions for your infrastructure.

#Podman Pros and Cons #Podman Container Services #Linux-Based Operating Systems #Multi-Container Applications #Container Management Tool #custom software product engineering services company

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howlingday · 10 months

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hello~. I was watching some videos of destiny 2 when I came across one that compiles the farewell recordings of the mission "Ace under the sleeve" (sorry if the name of the mission is different in English but I only know what it's called in Spanish and I'm translating it as it is).

so my mind thought and if jaune did something similar let's say 50 years after salem's defeat, one of ruby's students doing a mission meets this dead hunter who left a series of coordinates with information, money, resources but why especially messages for his comrades.

He returns to New Beacon and either hands over the note with the ID of who he's supposed to be or after a little treasure hunting he hands over the recordings. and emotional blow haha. by the way my mind said that most rwby and nr would stop being hunters (full time) and would be mainly dedicated to something else, while jaune would be the guy who goes out on his own and stay active in the field for some reason.

Ark of Remnant

As you leave the bullhead, you wave off the pilot. Replying with only a nod, they take off and approach the horizon. You pull out your scroll and tap your applications, noting the time, date, and location you've been dropped in. With a touch, you hear the soft hum of ADA come online.

SCANNING...

With a satisfying click, your scroll is reset into its position on your belt. As ADA continued their scan, you quickly ran through the mission basics in your head. There are ten weapon caches in the area, each one containing a component for a "super weapon," Headmistress Rose's words not yours, that used to belong to her friend, Jaune Arc. The Ark of Remnant.

MISSION OBJECTIVE IDENTIFIED. MARKING RADAR WITH LOCATIONS. FIRST OBJECTIVE TWENTY YARDS AHEAD.

Going forward, you reach the lip of a crater. It's a couple yards deep, with Creepers crawling around a lightly rusted locker the size of a party cooler in the center. Tossing a dust grenade, it bounces off the footlocker and explodes in a fiery ball that catches the Grimm off guard, killing one of them. Weapon in hand, you fire the remaining few quickly. Area clear, you bring your scroll to the lock, the signal unlocking the chest and revealing the parts content.

As you place the signal beacon inside for your team to retrieve while following you, ADA chimes in with the next location. Or tries to as the voice is overridden by someone's voice. As it plays, you listen to the final words of Jaune Arc.

"This message is for Salem. Ahem."

You keep moving, being careful to not be ambushed by any Grimm. It's hard while a dead man chatters in your ears, but it wouldn't be the first time you multi-tasked, right? Following the voiceless visual indicator provided by ADA, you continued listening.

"I'm assuming you, uh, managed to come back and capture me and then fed me to your Grimm army." He audibly shuddered. "That, or you finally just got sick of me. But, if somehow, I'm not dead and you still manage to hear this, then I'm sorry for blowing up your whale thing. That, and pretty much every other interaction we ever had. But to be clear, if you DID kill me, I do NOT apologize and consider all of my actions 100% justified. Either way, feel free to keep trying to grow your army to my old outposts. I'm not gonna need, and it's not like you could actually do anything with them."

Following the directions up to a hanging spire, managing to avoid being jumped by any Grimm that may have been hiding out nearby. If there were any, that is. So far, none showed up. Bringing your scroll to the settled cache, another recording played in your ears.

"This one is for that one-eyed fiery hell-bitch, Cinder Fall. If you're listening to this, then you killed me. But I bet I made you a helluva lot uglier while it happened. Guess Pyrrha Nikos wasn't enough for you, huh? You wanted another Beacon student murdered to get more power. I've got my share of regrets, sure. But not gutting you has always been my top three. But it won't be long until a better Huntsman or Huntress than me puts you in your place. So that's another regret I have; not being there to see it myself."

A large cluster of Beowolves stood between you and your next cache. Looming over them was an Ursa Major, baring its fangs as it charged you. When you ran out of ammunition to reload, you shifted to your melee weapon, mixing your own personal blend of bludgeoning and slashing wounds to every last Grimm in your way. Climbing over a ridge, you found the next cache seated high above. There was a Nevermore circling too close, so you clipped it's wings and popped open the next chest.

"This one's for whoever Ozma is calling himself now. I remember you warning us that helping you would put a target on our backs. But that didn't last long, did it? Besides, where's the fun if there's no risk, right? This whole Relic fiasco you put together was definitely full of ups and downs, wasn't it? Of course, we only had ups because I was the one coming up with the plans. Not you. So, you're welcome. Of course, you of all people know that no plan survives first contact with the enemy, and our enemy knows how to find you if she comes back. Hope I get to be come back to see that showdown. Obviously, though, my lien's on the girl with the gun. But hey, what do I know? Unlike you, I stay dead."

More Grimm, more ammo, and more strain and pain on you. Thankfully, your semblance helps make the job easier. It used to be little more than a sideshow trick for people, something to gawk and point at with childish wonder. Not now, though. You've trained it into another weapon under your belt. And with ADA guiding you, you climb high into the air to the top of the spire where the next cache waits. And so does another message.

"Ruby... If you're hearing this, then... You killed me. Maybe the Brothers, in all their grand schemes and plans, finally decided they were done watching me bleed for them? If it was your team who told you to put me down, I'd understand. You guys always were good at thinking alike, so it would make sense if you agreed it was right. But if it was Ozma, I'm pissed. Just thinking about that guy gives me a headache. But more likely my death was just collateral damage for you again. You always were an easy target to get to. Seriously, I know you try to see the best in people, but nobody is perfect, and you can't trust everybody. No good deed goes unpunished, especially with you around. You're just... You've got a blast radius, Crater Face. But... It was fun while it lasted, right? Oh, and, uh, tell Professor Yang: If tears stray into noses, buy every able correctional officer nudes. You got that, Crater Face?"

Hearing your professor from the academy being referred to by her first name brought back a wash of warm memories, temporarily distracting you from the harsh words Jaune said to the headmistress in a full, honest tone. It didn't distract you from your mission, however, as another spire was climbed, albeit with less Grimm, and another cache was claimed. Unfortunately, the next one would not be easily claimed as Grimm swarmed the base of the spire. Taking a deep breath, you dove into the black sea, guns blazing.

"This one's for the all-knowing and all-powerful Brothers. You think because you made us, you can unmake us? I mean, it makes sense. If I were you, I wouldn't want to risk losing my place, either. So maybe you're hoping I didn't tell anyone about your weakness. Or about the, oh, what was it...? Oh, right. Relic. Of. Unity. Because if I did, that'd be really bad for you, wouldn't it? I might be dead, but I'm not done with you. Not yet."

Powering through the puddle of Grimm that awaited you below was no easy task, and it took out most of your aura. Thankfully, once you had a breather, you popped in restore pack and felt your aura bump back into the green. Still, there was an even bigger group below, so playing it smart would save you the future aches. Leaping across stretching arches led you to another cache. Five out of ten. Halfway.

"You know, when I told my team I'd be making one of these for you, they didn't know what to think. They thought I finally lost it! Of course, I didn't have to tell you that, but in my defense, you listening to this means you probably killed me. Of course, assuming we're fighting fair, I'd be able to hold you off and wear you down. But you're not about fighting fair. You're about winning, and winning to you means fighting dirty and winning however you can. Maybe I'm being paranoid, right? But it's not paranoia. It's called being a Huntsman. So, here's my last bit of Huntsman advice to you; look after your team. Speaking of, Congratulations! You are now responsible for the care of the beautiful Juniper! Now, she only eats fresh, watered greens with sweet sauce and drinks only the freshest spring water with just a sprig of olive leaves. Play nice, you two~!"

The sound of Jaune berating whoever the heck Sun was mostly drowned out by the roaring Grimm you've found yourself in the center of. Grimm or no, these things were becoming more varied and even worse of a pain. Thankfully, you got a little help from your resident sniper covering you from the distance. Looks like the team made it. Granted, they're a few caches behind. Still, it's the thought that counts, much like the cache ahead counts. Putting down the last Grimm, you readied for another sarcastic message from Jaune. You had some thoughts on the guy, hearing him, and some would say... He's a dick.

"This one's for any Huntsman or Huntress who manages to kill me. Off the top of my head, picking at random, I wanna say... Reese Chloris? You do realize you're getting my stuff, right? Like, ALL of my stuff! INCLUDING the Protector of Remnant job! Yeah, congrats on your big promotion, dumbass. It's called a Huntsman's Gamble. Sucks, doesn't it, creampuff? Alright, now here comes some real advice now. One, know who you're working with. Like, my publisher, Blake Belladonna-Xiao Long. I like to call her once a week so she doesn't get all ninja instead of love, y'know? Two, look out behind you!"

By sheer coincidence, there was a Grimm at your back. Caving in their skull-face came easy.

"Your job is to protect everyone on Remnant, which means no one's going to be there to save you when you decide to be an idiot and rush into a horde of Grimm. Nobody but you. And three, start thinking of what your Huntsman Gamble is going to be. Because contrary to popular belief, this job WILL kill you."

Surviving through that dilemma of both physical and mental strain, you follow ADA into a small cave. Getting down on your hands and knees, you crawl through what feels like ages worth of slime and muck. Looking down as you stand up, it's all over your top. Thankfully, there's some Grimm here to blow off some steam. Tossing in a grenade and picking off the survivors, you open the cache to find both laughter and a much easier entrance above the hole you crawled through. Yeah, Jaune Arc was a dick.

"Hahahaha! Ha! I'm... I'm sorry, but... I'm just imagining how gross you look right now, all covered in slime and stuff. Ha. Heh... Ahem. Okay. Winter. So, I'm dead. You killed me. My stuff is yours. No more having me do all your hard work. No more unnecessary games of mental chess or poker or whatever other stupid crap you had me play against you. But seriously, you already know that if it was for the greater good of all of Remnant, I'd understand you killing me. No hard feelings. None. So just put this thing away and go on with your life. Now, if you are feeling guilty or something, that... That's rough. Because we both know that if you had it your way, I'd be right next to you, going on and on about some stupid thing or another. Forever. It's just the way things are."

Trouble seemed to get worse the closer you got. A Beringel stood between you and the next cache. Bludgeoning only worked so well, so you have to cut it down to size with your blades. And when that didn't do, you shoved a grenade in its damn mouth and backed away. The rest of the little guys were easy pickings compared to the big one you just blew up.

Getting further into the Grimmlands, you found the remains of the old command outpost. The final stand against the evil that was the Queen of the Grimm. Many fought and died here while you weren't even born yet. The looming weight of everything that happened that could have killed you before you had a chance at life was almost overwhelming. Almost. You get a message on your scroll from your team. They're caught up, and they'll cover you while you grab the last two at your position. Not far from the entrance was the penultimate cache. A sigh greeted you from beyond the grave.

"...Hey, Weiss. I already told you I'd be making these recordings, right? Coulda sworn I did. I always had to get your attention and I like to be ready for anything. And if we're being honest? This one's the easiest for me to make. And if we're being honest, I could never tell if you liked me or not. I mean, one day you're calling me a dolt or a dunce or some other form of the two, and the next, you... Well, you didn't. And, uh, if you really hated me that much, even after all these years, then I want you to know that the feeling was never mutual. In fact... Yeah, I'll even say it. I'd be glad if you were the one to kill me. I mean, looking back on it, you could easily beat me at whatever we did. And I know in my heart that you were absolutely doing the right thing. So... Thanks, I guess. You were a great friend. Better than a guy like me could ever deserve. So... Thank you, Weiss. For everything."

Sweet words reminded you of your friend waiting outside. You feel a heat come to your face as you imagine saying these same words to them. How would Ms. Schnee, the CEO of the NSDC react when she learned of this heartbreaking news? Did she kill him? These questions filled your mind as you delved deeper into the abandoned outpost and found the final cache, sitting right next to the ravaged console, aged by 50 years of uncaring. Jaune Arc spoke to you one last time.

"This one's for Mister Silent and Miss Strong. Congratulations, guys. Really, I mean it. I knew you guys would get past me some day. And if that means you had to... you know, well... You guys have saved my life in more ways than you could ever know, so I guess I do owe you that. Take care of the Ark of Remnant, okay? And I'm not talking about all the maintenance and whatnot; Yang and Ruby are with you 110% already. I mean TAKE CARE of it. Alright? Oh, and if you find any papers from our... You know? Burn 'em. Don't want people thinking there's another Arc out there, right, ruining my good name, right? So just... Forget about me, okay? Every story has an end. And this is mine."

MISSION ACCOMPLISHED. CONTACTING BULLHEAD. RENDEZVOUS AT THE LANDING ZONE.

Giving a sigh, you left the outpost and the final cache, hauling the last piece up the stairs. Headmistress Rose would want a full report on all of this, and she was sure so would everyone else who knew Jaune Arc. He was still kind of a jerk, but he did what he was felt was right. And that's a lot to ask for in this day and age, isn't it?

#rwby #destiny #jaune arc #destiny 2 #my answers #my answer

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