Hold It In (RWBY/Transistor)
- Thread starter Prok
- Start date
- Crossover
[X] "I have reason to believe that it's not impossible for the Transistor to create its own soul. The thing that told us about this is dead now, but I wouldn't say no to a second, sane opinion on it."
[X] "What is magic? And how did it break the Transistor so badly?"
[X] Honestly- You're not hiding anything. This is not the time for that. You'll tell him just about everything he wants to know, and then some.
Measured is mostly paranoia - theres little enough to hold back on that Ozpin can't figure out with a little time and logic. Jaune isn't actually good enough at intrigue to hide that there is something he's leaving out and prevent an investigation.
So all it does is look suspicious.
[X] "What is magic? And how did it break the Transistor so badly?"
[X] Honestly- You're not hiding anything. This is not the time for that. You'll tell him just about everything he wants to know, and then some.
Measured is mostly paranoia - theres little enough to hold back on that Ozpin can't figure out with a little time and logic. Jaune isn't actually good enough at intrigue to hide that there is something he's leaving out and prevent an investigation.
So all it does is look suspicious.
[X] "What is magic? And how did it break the Transistor so badly?"
[X] "I have reason to believe that it's not impossible for the Transistor to create its own soul. The thing that told us about this is dead now, but I wouldn't say no to a second, sane opinion on it."
[X] Honestly- You're not hiding anything. This is not the time for that. You'll tell him just about everything he wants to know, and then some.
[X] "I have reason to believe that it's not impossible for the Transistor to create its own soul. The thing that told us about this is dead now, but I wouldn't say no to a second, sane opinion on it."
[X] Honestly- You're not hiding anything. This is not the time for that. You'll tell him just about everything he wants to know, and then some.
SaltyWaffles
I am dissapoint, son
- Pronouns
- He/Him
Well, from what we know about Ozpin:
1) He has a hard time trusting others fully because he's been burned so badly so many times. Trusting him with this is pretty important. It'd be very unreasonable to expect Ozpin to come completely clean about everything, especially with Qrow and Glynda here. Hell, Qrow's teammate just abandoned the cause and gave up on the world when she learned the full truth. That's fresh trauma. Which means that, for Ozpin to make good, informed decisions, he needs to know what we know, because there is no realistic way we're going to know everything he knows any time soon.
2) Ozpin is the Big Good of the setting. He needs to know that the long war he doesn't think is possible to win has now changed: there is a new solution, one that is less dependent on hope, less vulnerable to human fallibility, and less fragile than something like human unity. More than that...in time, the Process will be able to grind the Grimm into dust, depriving Salem of much of her power. The Process will likely be able to construct a prison specifically for Salem, solving the entire "she can't be killed" problem--you don't need to kill her if you can just lock her up forever.
3) The Process can make entire swathes of the globe that were previously too geographically vulnerable to the Grimm now readily habitable. You don't need the ocean or mountain ranges to be natural walls against the Grimm--the Process can make huge, fortified walls for an entire kingdom. After all, if you can make people feel safer, they'll feel less negative emotion, attracting Grimm less.
4) Running low on specific metals/elements/resources that you have a strategic need for? Not a problem; the Process can fortify the hell out of new mining locations for free, or just do the mining itself.
[X] "Why is your soul so different from a baseline human's?"
[X] "I have reason to believe that it's not impossible for the Transistor to create its own soul. The thing that told us about this is dead now, but I wouldn't say no to a second, sane opinion on it."
[X] Honestly- You're not hiding anything. This is not the time for that. You'll tell him just about everything he wants to know, and then some.
[X] Offer them their own Cells--secure communication, an unkillable buddy for combat (or just a messenger if need be), and they definitely fall under the "good influence" category for interaction with the Process. Yes, even Qrow.
We want to know why his soul is so different--he may tell us about his reincarnation, which would open up the possibility of making Ozma the ultimate "backup caretaker" of the Process in the worst case scenario (Jaune dying)--after all, if Ozma always reincarnates, then it becomes all but impossible for Salem to deprive the Process of the one thing it absolutely needs most: guidance. Learning about the reincarnation would also lead to learning the basics about Salem, and thus why Jaune should be paranoid about threats from within, rather than just Grimm and a lone serial killer.
1) He has a hard time trusting others fully because he's been burned so badly so many times. Trusting him with this is pretty important. It'd be very unreasonable to expect Ozpin to come completely clean about everything, especially with Qrow and Glynda here. Hell, Qrow's teammate just abandoned the cause and gave up on the world when she learned the full truth. That's fresh trauma. Which means that, for Ozpin to make good, informed decisions, he needs to know what we know, because there is no realistic way we're going to know everything he knows any time soon.
2) Ozpin is the Big Good of the setting. He needs to know that the long war he doesn't think is possible to win has now changed: there is a new solution, one that is less dependent on hope, less vulnerable to human fallibility, and less fragile than something like human unity. More than that...in time, the Process will be able to grind the Grimm into dust, depriving Salem of much of her power. The Process will likely be able to construct a prison specifically for Salem, solving the entire "she can't be killed" problem--you don't need to kill her if you can just lock her up forever.
3) The Process can make entire swathes of the globe that were previously too geographically vulnerable to the Grimm now readily habitable. You don't need the ocean or mountain ranges to be natural walls against the Grimm--the Process can make huge, fortified walls for an entire kingdom. After all, if you can make people feel safer, they'll feel less negative emotion, attracting Grimm less.
4) Running low on specific metals/elements/resources that you have a strategic need for? Not a problem; the Process can fortify the hell out of new mining locations for free, or just do the mining itself.
[X] "Why is your soul so different from a baseline human's?"
[X] "I have reason to believe that it's not impossible for the Transistor to create its own soul. The thing that told us about this is dead now, but I wouldn't say no to a second, sane opinion on it."
[X] Honestly- You're not hiding anything. This is not the time for that. You'll tell him just about everything he wants to know, and then some.
[X] Offer them their own Cells--secure communication, an unkillable buddy for combat (or just a messenger if need be), and they definitely fall under the "good influence" category for interaction with the Process. Yes, even Qrow.
We want to know why his soul is so different--he may tell us about his reincarnation, which would open up the possibility of making Ozma the ultimate "backup caretaker" of the Process in the worst case scenario (Jaune dying)--after all, if Ozma always reincarnates, then it becomes all but impossible for Salem to deprive the Process of the one thing it absolutely needs most: guidance. Learning about the reincarnation would also lead to learning the basics about Salem, and thus why Jaune should be paranoid about threats from within, rather than just Grimm and a lone serial killer.
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- Location
- Texas
[X] Honestly- You're not hiding anything. This is not the time for that. You'll tell him just about everything he wants to know, and then some.
oz plays the long game, things are going to come out sooner or later. Might as well get it out of the way now while he's still feeling a little guilty, the only risk is gut reactions and that isn't likely as again oz plays the long game.
oz plays the long game, things are going to come out sooner or later. Might as well get it out of the way now while he's still feeling a little guilty, the only risk is gut reactions and that isn't likely as again oz plays the long game.
- Location
- USA
[X] "What is magic? And how did it break the Transistor so badly?"
[X] "Why is your soul so different from a baseline human's?"
[X] Honestly- You're not hiding anything. This is not the time for that. You'll tell him just about everything he wants to know, and then some.
[X] "Why is your soul so different from a baseline human's?"
[X] Honestly- You're not hiding anything. This is not the time for that. You'll tell him just about everything he wants to know, and then some.
[X] Honestly- You're not hiding anything. This is not the time for that. You'll tell him just about everything he wants to know, and then some.
[X] "I have reason to believe that it's not impossible for the Transistor to create its own soul. The thing that told us about this is dead now, but I wouldn't say no to a second, sane opinion on it."
[X] "What is magic? And how did it break the Transistor so badly?"
[X] "I have reason to believe that it's not impossible for the Transistor to create its own soul. The thing that told us about this is dead now, but I wouldn't say no to a second, sane opinion on it."
[X] "What is magic? And how did it break the Transistor so badly?"
[X] Write-In: "I noticed the 170 kilovolts power cables running through the walls with no offshoots, what do you need that much power for?"
[X] "Do you have any advice on raising eventually-gods? So far the mistakes I'm making haven't been immensely awful in consequence, but I'm kinda winging it."
[X] "I have reason to believe that it's not impossible for the Transistor to create its own soul. The thing that told us about this is dead now, but I wouldn't say no to a second, sane opinion on it."
[X] Honestly- You're not hiding anything. This is not the time for that. You'll tell him just about everything he wants to know, and then some.
[X] Offer them their own Cells--secure communication, an unkillable buddy for combat (or just a messenger if need be), and they definitely fall under the "good influence" category for interaction with the Process. Yes, even Qrow.
A bunch of good questions work interesting results.
[X] "Do you have any advice on raising eventually-gods? So far the mistakes I'm making haven't been immensely awful in consequence, but I'm kinda winging it."
[X] "I have reason to believe that it's not impossible for the Transistor to create its own soul. The thing that told us about this is dead now, but I wouldn't say no to a second, sane opinion on it."
[X] Honestly- You're not hiding anything. This is not the time for that. You'll tell him just about everything he wants to know, and then some.
[X] Offer them their own Cells--secure communication, an unkillable buddy for combat (or just a messenger if need be), and they definitely fall under the "good influence" category for interaction with the Process. Yes, even Qrow.
A bunch of good questions work interesting results.
Prok
Go play Star Fetchers
- Location
- Scotland
I've been partial to calling it "Capital-M Magic" in my head and DMs with people.
True, but questions regarding her can chronologically come after he's been introduced to her as a concept- just because you the players are writing it in now doesn't mean Jaune the character will suddenly understand the context of the question and why it needs to be asked- it just means it'll be the first thing that occurs to him later when he does understand the context. I don't want to lock write-ins off based on the fact that you don't know about a topic yet when you're going to be introduced to that topic in-universe within the next hour because that would just be annoying.
That's part of why I want to learn how to set up an actual vote using SV's system- because if I remember correctly, it actively folds write-ins into the voting options that should be available every time someone tries to post something. It could be I don't remember correctly and the few brushes I had with the system were just some hilariously elaborate fever dream, which would be annoying, to say the least. Anyway, yes, assuming I haven't gaslit myself completely, that won't be a problem once I figure out how the hell to work the damn thing. If I have, I'll figure something out.
Anyway, the vote appears to be very heavily weighted towards talking about Ludens and learning about magic properly, so I'm going to close it at 8 PM GMT tonight- assuming they don't eke out a win in the next few hours, write-in options will be folded into the next vote.
[X] "What is magic? And how did it break the Transistor so badly?"
[X] "Why is your soul so different from a baseline human's?"
[X] Honestly- You're not hiding anything. This is not the time for that. You'll tell him just about everything he wants to know, and then some.
[X] Offer them their own Cells--secure communication, an unkillable buddy for combat (or just a messenger if need be), and they definitely fall under the "good influence" category for interaction with the Process. Yes, even Qrow.
[X] "Why is your soul so different from a baseline human's?"
[X] Honestly- You're not hiding anything. This is not the time for that. You'll tell him just about everything he wants to know, and then some.
[X] Offer them their own Cells--secure communication, an unkillable buddy for combat (or just a messenger if need be), and they definitely fall under the "good influence" category for interaction with the Process. Yes, even Qrow.
- Location
- Estonia
[X] "Why is your soul so different from a baseline human's?"
[X] "I have reason to believe that it's not impossible for the Transistor to create its own soul. The thing that told us about this is dead now, but I wouldn't say no to a second, sane opinion on it."
[X] Honestly- You're not hiding anything. This is not the time for that. You'll tell him just about everything he wants to know, and then some.
[X] "I have reason to believe that it's not impossible for the Transistor to create its own soul. The thing that told us about this is dead now, but I wouldn't say no to a second, sane opinion on it."
[X] Honestly- You're not hiding anything. This is not the time for that. You'll tell him just about everything he wants to know, and then some.
Dragonmaster150
Firstborn of Dragonkind
- Location
- Dragendolan: Land of the Dragon Kings
- Pronouns
- He/Him
[X] "What is magic? And how did it break the Transistor so badly?"
[X] "I have reason to believe that it's not impossible for the Transistor to create its own soul. The thing that told us about this is dead now, but I wouldn't say no to a second, sane opinion on it."
[X] Honestly- You're not hiding anything. This is not the time for that. You'll tell him just about everything he wants to know, and then some.
[X] "I have reason to believe that it's not impossible for the Transistor to create its own soul. The thing that told us about this is dead now, but I wouldn't say no to a second, sane opinion on it."
[X] Honestly- You're not hiding anything. This is not the time for that. You'll tell him just about everything he wants to know, and then some.
Missed the vote, but what I wanted to win the most (honesty and magic) won anyway so yay. Just wanted to add that its OK if we don't learn everything right now, we do have some time. For example, Amber is something we can probably help with eventually by developing a Function of some sort, but only really after learning more about the mystical side of things, which we are already doing. Just getting a foot in the door so to speak is plenty for now.
Also, loved that nickname for Qrow, "walking definition of a bad influence." As always, humor and characterization are great.
Also, loved that nickname for Qrow, "walking definition of a bad influence." As always, humor and characterization are great.
Oz/Revelation()
SaltyWaffles
I am dissapoint, son
- Pronouns
- He/Him
Oz/Revelation()
---------------------
As the leader of Beacon Academy and effectively one of the members of Vale's ruling council, Ozpin was a master of composure. He could count the number of people who had seen him "unruffled"--at least since his merger with Ozma--on one hand, and Glynda was one of them.
It thus came as completely unsurprising that he remained largely stoic in the face of one of his newest students' words. And that was good--a good leader should never give their subordinates reason to despair or panic by showing a lack of composure when being looked to for guidance.
Inside, however, he was reeling.
While part of him was simply Ozpin, Master Huntsman and Headmaster of Beacon, the rest was Ozma, immortal wizard who had seen gods perform impossible feats, seen humanity be wiped out by divine fury, seen humanity be recreated by divine mercy, seen civilizations rise and fall, had battled with Salem in a titanic clash of magic until he rendered her to naught but ash...only to see her rise again mere moments later. He had seen it all. He had been playing this game with Salem for a very, very long time. He had failed over and over again, risen up to try again and again, and had even turned to the Relic of Knowledge in desperation for any hope of victory. He had been fighting a secret war for thousands of years--against Salem, against the darker aspects of humanity, against the Grimm, against his own failures and mistakes...and he had harbored a fear, deep down, admitted to no-one: that his mission was truly hopeless. That Salem would keep picking away at his progress until he missed something critical, or the wrong person gained enough power and used it in the wrong way, to devastating consequences. That, unable to kill Salem, the unending forces of the Grimm would eventually find a crack in what remained of humanity's civilization and bring it down piece by piece. They had brought down all but four--five, if you counted Menagerie, though counting Vacuo as a kingdom these days was being rather generous--kingdoms already.
The Grimm were growing stronger, more dangerous--very slowly, but any growth was alarming when you were facing an enemy that could never be killed. And critical resources were going to get increasingly hard to acquire over time as they mined the lower-hanging fruit in safer areas. The Kingdoms had never successfully expanded before in a substantial manner--the one time they'd tried in recent memory, it had ended in failure. General Ironwood believed--perhaps rightly--that the only way to change the game was to develop humanity's technology and industry. Knowledge gained, kept, taught, and iterated upon would be the method for humanity's eventual salvation. And it had even showed promise--technology had given humanity a global communications network and shared culture. Technology had given humanity flying ships and even flying fortresses. It had given the ability to create artificial soldiers and even machines capable of giving average people a fighting chance against some of the stronger Grimm.
But even that strength was fragile. Vulnerable. A single CCT tower going down would plunge an entire kingdom into isolation. The mines that provided the precious materials needed for much of the advanced technology of Remnant might simply be overrun by a massive, coordinated swarm of Grimm if Salem decided to commit to it. Atlas, the city in the sky, exacerbated the growing economic and social divide between the rich and the poor in its kingdom, and between the faunus and humanity especially. Sooner or later, that mess would boil over and burst.
And then there were the Maidens, the mantles of great magical power which could be stolen and used against humanity. Another one of his well-intentioned moves that had become a terrible mistake. Another set of vulnerabilities introduced into the grand game that he and Salem played. A game where the deck was stacked against him and it was all he could do to just not lose for a little while longer. Very rarely did the game change, and even rarer still that it changed at all for the better.
And now a young boy was casually telling him about how, completely ignorant of all of this context or the greater implications, he had changed the game completely. How he had perservered against a semblance that had crippled and almost killed him and turned it into a tool--a person--more powerful than the giant communications tower that dominated Vale. How he had dreamed of the greatest possible potential of his semblance and, brain bleeding and body struggling, created the seed of a new god. A baby, as far as gods went, but the sheer potential was already fairly clear to Jaune. And as Jaune explained further about that potential, Ozpin realized that the feeling in his chest was something he had not felt in a long time: hope.
Jaune was the creator and parent to a new god, one that did not view humanity as a creation to be ruthlessly judged or gleefully destroyed. One that was eager to learn, eager to grow, eager to befriend. One that they could guide, teach, and help in its most formative and vulnerable point in life.
And what a god it would be. Walls large enough and long enough to protect an entire kingdom, erected quickly and inexorably. An endless supply of soldiers that could learn and adapt. A mind that could not be killed. Weapons and constructs capable of fighting the most powerful of Grimm, limited more by imagination and knowledge than materials or industry. It could build entire cities on its own, eventually. It could make so many CCT towers that even the Grimm couldn't possibly take down enough. It could build homes for the homeless, provide energy and clean water in abundance, provide protection for the helpless, and so much more. It could even mine the deepest seams and the farthest reaches of the world without a single casualty. It could bring about world peace by providing protection, shelter, resources, communication, and truth to power. And for all that humans and faunus were fallible and flawed, those flaws became much harder to exploit when everyone had safety, shelter, food, community, truth, and a better future. The Brothers' final judgment would be so much easier to meet without fear, then. Ozpin might not even have to seek out their judgment at all. The Process was divine deliverance...eventually.
All it needed were two things: time and guidance. And that...that he could do.
General Ironwood's army no longer needed to become the answer to all the world's dangers--it just needed to buy enough time. Ozpin no longer had to unite humanity and keep it united despite its flaws and Salem's machinations--he just had to keep it unified enough and strong enough for long enough. He no longer had to keep the Maidens and Relics out of Salem's hands forever--he just needed to stymie her for long enough that the Process could grow strong enough to keep them out of her hands with overwhelming force. He no longer had to delicately balance his plans between his short-term needs and his long-term hopes--he could go all-in on keeping things stable for the next 80 years or so and buy the Process all the time it needed to become unstoppable and uncorruptible.
And as for guidance? Well, from what he had learned about Jaune, the Process was in pretty good hands already, though Jaune seemed to understand that it was alright for the Process to learn from more than just him. And Ozpin...well, no person alive had made so many mistakes...and learned from them all. He had seen so much, done so much, been through so much. There was so much knowledge and wisdom he could share. And he could pass it on to an immortal mind, an unkillable being. Indeed, even if he were to die or be killed, his successor could still reach out to the Process.
So much potential, so much hope. It was mind-boggling. But it could all go so wrong if he got careless. Until the Process grew powerful enough and wise enough to thrwart any attempts to subvert or taint it by even a cunning immortal like Salem, he had to ensure that the Process, too, was kept safe. He mentally shuddered at the possibility of one of its Cells being dumped into one of the Pools of Annihilation. He would have to warn Jaune and the Process about that danger, and as soon as possible.
Beyond all that, though...Ozma and his incarnations had taught a great many people over the milennia. He had done it knowing that he would outlive every single one of them, and that none of them would ever surpass him. It filled him with a sadness so deep and so old that he had almost forgotten it was there...until he realized that he had finally found a student--perhaps several--who could surpass and outlive him. And as he felt a great weight lift from his shoulders just a little, he allowed his famous composure to slip just slightly. A tiny smile, so small that Jaune wouldn't be able to tell even if he were looking for it.
And Jaune...now there was a fascinating case study. Here was a boy--rapidly becoming a man--who had so much power at his fingertips that, were it in the hands of someone entirely unknown, Ozpin would be utterly terrified. The Transistor alone could hack just about anything that wasn't air-gapped, and the potential for harm or theft was immense. He could hold the CCT network hostage and life the high life off the ransom alone. He had created a digital god that viewed him as its master, its teacher, its creator, and its most important thing in existence. He could have created his own personal kingdom and ruled in totality, unchallenged by human or Grimm.
He had done none of that. Had put in no effort towards even laying the foundation for any of that. He had worked hard for years to become a huntsman. He had put his own life in danger to create the Process as soon as possible just so that it wouldn't stay locked up and alone for even a moment longer. He knew the potential of the god he had created and his first thoughts about it were how to save the world. And here, now, in this room, he had freely and eagerly shared everything he knew about it all, hoping to do the most good for everyone, rather than prioritizing himself.
Jaune may not have been the best teacher for a baby god, but he was better than most, and if Jaune gave the Process nothing but an example of the kind of person to be, then he would have done a great job. And as Jaune grew and learned and experienced, he would become a better teacher. So would Blue and Bracket, Ozpin suspected.
The game had changed dramatically, and Salem had no idea whatsoever. Ozpin made a mental note to save a copy of the recording of this meeting onto a local flash drive and scrub all other data on it from the systems. He'd show James Ironwood in person once, then delete that copy too and the record of that meeting, while also impressing the sheer importance of total secrecy on this matter upon him. So long as Salem didn't know about the potential of the Process, she would not muster overwhelming force against it until it was too late--after all, she still viewed the usual critical pieces on the board as important as ever. Jaune and his creations might be targets of opportunity, but without understanding what the Process represented, she'd never commit or risk so much as to make them targets of priority.
If he devoted every asset he could call upon to protect and support Jaune, that crucial secrecy would be lost. But if his support was subtle and not particularly unusual for a promising student, then it would be below suspicion. Hell, he normally wouldn't even tell James about such a development when secrecy was that important, but it would be a powerful way to curb James' and Atlas' most worrying tendencies, and James understood all too well the importance of keeping your ultimate trump card as secret as possible.
The game had changed...and now, Ozma had a workable win condition.
---------------------
As the leader of Beacon Academy and effectively one of the members of Vale's ruling council, Ozpin was a master of composure. He could count the number of people who had seen him "unruffled"--at least since his merger with Ozma--on one hand, and Glynda was one of them.
It thus came as completely unsurprising that he remained largely stoic in the face of one of his newest students' words. And that was good--a good leader should never give their subordinates reason to despair or panic by showing a lack of composure when being looked to for guidance.
Inside, however, he was reeling.
While part of him was simply Ozpin, Master Huntsman and Headmaster of Beacon, the rest was Ozma, immortal wizard who had seen gods perform impossible feats, seen humanity be wiped out by divine fury, seen humanity be recreated by divine mercy, seen civilizations rise and fall, had battled with Salem in a titanic clash of magic until he rendered her to naught but ash...only to see her rise again mere moments later. He had seen it all. He had been playing this game with Salem for a very, very long time. He had failed over and over again, risen up to try again and again, and had even turned to the Relic of Knowledge in desperation for any hope of victory. He had been fighting a secret war for thousands of years--against Salem, against the darker aspects of humanity, against the Grimm, against his own failures and mistakes...and he had harbored a fear, deep down, admitted to no-one: that his mission was truly hopeless. That Salem would keep picking away at his progress until he missed something critical, or the wrong person gained enough power and used it in the wrong way, to devastating consequences. That, unable to kill Salem, the unending forces of the Grimm would eventually find a crack in what remained of humanity's civilization and bring it down piece by piece. They had brought down all but four--five, if you counted Menagerie, though counting Vacuo as a kingdom these days was being rather generous--kingdoms already.
The Grimm were growing stronger, more dangerous--very slowly, but any growth was alarming when you were facing an enemy that could never be killed. And critical resources were going to get increasingly hard to acquire over time as they mined the lower-hanging fruit in safer areas. The Kingdoms had never successfully expanded before in a substantial manner--the one time they'd tried in recent memory, it had ended in failure. General Ironwood believed--perhaps rightly--that the only way to change the game was to develop humanity's technology and industry. Knowledge gained, kept, taught, and iterated upon would be the method for humanity's eventual salvation. And it had even showed promise--technology had given humanity a global communications network and shared culture. Technology had given humanity flying ships and even flying fortresses. It had given the ability to create artificial soldiers and even machines capable of giving average people a fighting chance against some of the stronger Grimm.
But even that strength was fragile. Vulnerable. A single CCT tower going down would plunge an entire kingdom into isolation. The mines that provided the precious materials needed for much of the advanced technology of Remnant might simply be overrun by a massive, coordinated swarm of Grimm if Salem decided to commit to it. Atlas, the city in the sky, exacerbated the growing economic and social divide between the rich and the poor in its kingdom, and between the faunus and humanity especially. Sooner or later, that mess would boil over and burst.
And then there were the Maidens, the mantles of great magical power which could be stolen and used against humanity. Another one of his well-intentioned moves that had become a terrible mistake. Another set of vulnerabilities introduced into the grand game that he and Salem played. A game where the deck was stacked against him and it was all he could do to just not lose for a little while longer. Very rarely did the game change, and even rarer still that it changed at all for the better.
And now a young boy was casually telling him about how, completely ignorant of all of this context or the greater implications, he had changed the game completely. How he had perservered against a semblance that had crippled and almost killed him and turned it into a tool--a person--more powerful than the giant communications tower that dominated Vale. How he had dreamed of the greatest possible potential of his semblance and, brain bleeding and body struggling, created the seed of a new god. A baby, as far as gods went, but the sheer potential was already fairly clear to Jaune. And as Jaune explained further about that potential, Ozpin realized that the feeling in his chest was something he had not felt in a long time: hope.
Jaune was the creator and parent to a new god, one that did not view humanity as a creation to be ruthlessly judged or gleefully destroyed. One that was eager to learn, eager to grow, eager to befriend. One that they could guide, teach, and help in its most formative and vulnerable point in life.
And what a god it would be. Walls large enough and long enough to protect an entire kingdom, erected quickly and inexorably. An endless supply of soldiers that could learn and adapt. A mind that could not be killed. Weapons and constructs capable of fighting the most powerful of Grimm, limited more by imagination and knowledge than materials or industry. It could build entire cities on its own, eventually. It could make so many CCT towers that even the Grimm couldn't possibly take down enough. It could build homes for the homeless, provide energy and clean water in abundance, provide protection for the helpless, and so much more. It could even mine the deepest seams and the farthest reaches of the world without a single casualty. It could bring about world peace by providing protection, shelter, resources, communication, and truth to power. And for all that humans and faunus were fallible and flawed, those flaws became much harder to exploit when everyone had safety, shelter, food, community, truth, and a better future. The Brothers' final judgment would be so much easier to meet without fear, then. Ozpin might not even have to seek out their judgment at all. The Process was divine deliverance...eventually.
All it needed were two things: time and guidance. And that...that he could do.
General Ironwood's army no longer needed to become the answer to all the world's dangers--it just needed to buy enough time. Ozpin no longer had to unite humanity and keep it united despite its flaws and Salem's machinations--he just had to keep it unified enough and strong enough for long enough. He no longer had to keep the Maidens and Relics out of Salem's hands forever--he just needed to stymie her for long enough that the Process could grow strong enough to keep them out of her hands with overwhelming force. He no longer had to delicately balance his plans between his short-term needs and his long-term hopes--he could go all-in on keeping things stable for the next 80 years or so and buy the Process all the time it needed to become unstoppable and uncorruptible.
And as for guidance? Well, from what he had learned about Jaune, the Process was in pretty good hands already, though Jaune seemed to understand that it was alright for the Process to learn from more than just him. And Ozpin...well, no person alive had made so many mistakes...and learned from them all. He had seen so much, done so much, been through so much. There was so much knowledge and wisdom he could share. And he could pass it on to an immortal mind, an unkillable being. Indeed, even if he were to die or be killed, his successor could still reach out to the Process.
So much potential, so much hope. It was mind-boggling. But it could all go so wrong if he got careless. Until the Process grew powerful enough and wise enough to thrwart any attempts to subvert or taint it by even a cunning immortal like Salem, he had to ensure that the Process, too, was kept safe. He mentally shuddered at the possibility of one of its Cells being dumped into one of the Pools of Annihilation. He would have to warn Jaune and the Process about that danger, and as soon as possible.
Beyond all that, though...Ozma and his incarnations had taught a great many people over the milennia. He had done it knowing that he would outlive every single one of them, and that none of them would ever surpass him. It filled him with a sadness so deep and so old that he had almost forgotten it was there...until he realized that he had finally found a student--perhaps several--who could surpass and outlive him. And as he felt a great weight lift from his shoulders just a little, he allowed his famous composure to slip just slightly. A tiny smile, so small that Jaune wouldn't be able to tell even if he were looking for it.
And Jaune...now there was a fascinating case study. Here was a boy--rapidly becoming a man--who had so much power at his fingertips that, were it in the hands of someone entirely unknown, Ozpin would be utterly terrified. The Transistor alone could hack just about anything that wasn't air-gapped, and the potential for harm or theft was immense. He could hold the CCT network hostage and life the high life off the ransom alone. He had created a digital god that viewed him as its master, its teacher, its creator, and its most important thing in existence. He could have created his own personal kingdom and ruled in totality, unchallenged by human or Grimm.
He had done none of that. Had put in no effort towards even laying the foundation for any of that. He had worked hard for years to become a huntsman. He had put his own life in danger to create the Process as soon as possible just so that it wouldn't stay locked up and alone for even a moment longer. He knew the potential of the god he had created and his first thoughts about it were how to save the world. And here, now, in this room, he had freely and eagerly shared everything he knew about it all, hoping to do the most good for everyone, rather than prioritizing himself.
Jaune may not have been the best teacher for a baby god, but he was better than most, and if Jaune gave the Process nothing but an example of the kind of person to be, then he would have done a great job. And as Jaune grew and learned and experienced, he would become a better teacher. So would Blue and Bracket, Ozpin suspected.
The game had changed dramatically, and Salem had no idea whatsoever. Ozpin made a mental note to save a copy of the recording of this meeting onto a local flash drive and scrub all other data on it from the systems. He'd show James Ironwood in person once, then delete that copy too and the record of that meeting, while also impressing the sheer importance of total secrecy on this matter upon him. So long as Salem didn't know about the potential of the Process, she would not muster overwhelming force against it until it was too late--after all, she still viewed the usual critical pieces on the board as important as ever. Jaune and his creations might be targets of opportunity, but without understanding what the Process represented, she'd never commit or risk so much as to make them targets of priority.
If he devoted every asset he could call upon to protect and support Jaune, that crucial secrecy would be lost. But if his support was subtle and not particularly unusual for a promising student, then it would be below suspicion. Hell, he normally wouldn't even tell James about such a development when secrecy was that important, but it would be a powerful way to curb James' and Atlas' most worrying tendencies, and James understood all too well the importance of keeping your ultimate trump card as secret as possible.
The game had changed...and now, Ozma had a workable win condition.
I was in the mood and I really wanted to get into Ozpin's/Ozma's head for this. Here's an immortal tasked with a divine mission that's stupidly rigged against him from the start, and he inwardly fears that it's just hopeless. He's feared that it was hopeless for a long, long time. He's been locked in a game where the rules fundamentally don't change and he can't really win. And now a teenager walks into his office and, without realizing it, tells him how the game has completely changed and Salem and her allies have no goddamned idea. That all he needs to do is keep things okayish for long enough for the Process to become powerful enough and wise enough to win the game for him, by sheer, overwhelming force if need be. And since Ozma will keep reincarnating, so long as the Process/Jaune know about that, then even his own death won't torpedo his plans, because while Salem will be satisfied with a victory, she doesn't know that Ozma's trump card is subtly growing into an unstoppable and incorruptible juggernaut. Ozma's had the weight of the world on his shoulders for so long, and he's never imagined that someone else--that anyone else could possibly ever take that weight off his shoulders.
One day relatively (for an immortal) soon--definitely within the century--Ozma will have an unending army of his own backing him up. There will be a counterweight against the Grimm. And one day...a sufficiently realized god, one who will be able to imprison or kill Salem--or, at the very least, repeatedly defeat her in perpetuity.
Now, Ozma doesn't have to win an unwinnable game. He just has to not lose for a while longer. He's no longer Sisyphus--he's Atlas, but only has to hold up the world for a bit longer...
It's...hard to really comprehend what that kind of revelation would do to someone so beaten down by repeated failure and fear of hopelessness. But I find it too interesting to not at least try to write out that kind of headspace.
Prok, I don't know if you would even potentially consider anything like this canon, but if some small changes would make it canon-compliant, I'd be happy to make them if you pointed them out.
One day relatively (for an immortal) soon--definitely within the century--Ozma will have an unending army of his own backing him up. There will be a counterweight against the Grimm. And one day...a sufficiently realized god, one who will be able to imprison or kill Salem--or, at the very least, repeatedly defeat her in perpetuity.
Now, Ozma doesn't have to win an unwinnable game. He just has to not lose for a while longer. He's no longer Sisyphus--he's Atlas, but only has to hold up the world for a bit longer...
It's...hard to really comprehend what that kind of revelation would do to someone so beaten down by repeated failure and fear of hopelessness. But I find it too interesting to not at least try to write out that kind of headspace.
Prok, I don't know if you would even potentially consider anything like this canon, but if some small changes would make it canon-compliant, I'd be happy to make them if you pointed them out.
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- Pronouns
- He
[X] Honestly- You're not hiding anything. This is not the time for that. You'll tell him just about everything he wants to know, and then some.
That was amazing. Giving someone hope, real hope is a wondrous thing. I think you captured Oz's perspective perfectly, and understood that he is a genuinely good person who makes mistakes sometimes because, even reincarnating forever, he is still human.
I smiled while reading pretty much the whole thing. Thank you.
- Location
- Goose Land
Two things I've mused over a little bit.
The first being, the fact that we can ask Ozpin about Blake.
I'm imagining a long rambling thing, something like: "Hey, ever since the White Fang tried to assassinate my friend right in front of me I've had the Transistor on an especial look out for them, and Blake Belladonna raised some flags. Now, obviously what the Transistor did in a few minutes is at least what you did in background checks, so I'm just checking to make sure that you do in fact know that Weiss Schnee, heiress of the Schnee Company, who had an assassination attempt against her not even a month ago, has at best a former White Fang Associate on her team. You do? Cool cool. Why? That's rhetorical stress relief, I'm just going to have to explain to my maybe-girlfriend this before she finds out on her own and quite reasonably has a panic attack."
The second, a new business opportunity!
Process Security! I was originally going to suggest something along the lines of armed physical protection and drone oversight, but SaltyWaffles made a very convincing argument for staying under the radar, so instead it'd probably be camera/sensor/cybersecurity working top of subtle Processing of buildings to allow for both quick deployment of cover for civies in emergencies as well as expanding our range of influence.
We'd likely be able to do a test run of things in Beacon to work the bugs out as well as get a sense of proper contract payment.
The first being, the fact that we can ask Ozpin about Blake.
I'm imagining a long rambling thing, something like: "Hey, ever since the White Fang tried to assassinate my friend right in front of me I've had the Transistor on an especial look out for them, and Blake Belladonna raised some flags. Now, obviously what the Transistor did in a few minutes is at least what you did in background checks, so I'm just checking to make sure that you do in fact know that Weiss Schnee, heiress of the Schnee Company, who had an assassination attempt against her not even a month ago, has at best a former White Fang Associate on her team. You do? Cool cool. Why? That's rhetorical stress relief, I'm just going to have to explain to my maybe-girlfriend this before she finds out on her own and quite reasonably has a panic attack."
The second, a new business opportunity!
Process Security! I was originally going to suggest something along the lines of armed physical protection and drone oversight, but SaltyWaffles made a very convincing argument for staying under the radar, so instead it'd probably be camera/sensor/cybersecurity working top of subtle Processing of buildings to allow for both quick deployment of cover for civies in emergencies as well as expanding our range of influence.
We'd likely be able to do a test run of things in Beacon to work the bugs out as well as get a sense of proper contract payment.
UARTman
Flat Snark
- Location
- Russia, unfortunately
- Pronouns
- He/Him
I see some issues with that, TBH. In the first two cases using full Process capacities for surveillance would be a huge ethical problem and if we don't use the full capacities, we still need to decide where to draw the line. And with cybersecurity - It's not clear see what services we could and should offer.
I am also not sure about the capabilities of the Process, so I can't see if my ideas even can work out?
Any thoughts on that?
- Location
- Goose Land
It's nothing we don't already deal with due to the Transistor, it's just on a larger scale.
Get full sensor data, don't tell anyone, only tell Jaune if it's Life Threatening.
For Cameras and stuff, we just alert the appropriate people (the person paying for the service/their security/the police) if Sus People are acting up.
Cybersecurity is just like IRL Cybersecurity, in that it's basically just setting up firewalls and access points, pulling the plug if we find out someone is doing stuff, and letting the client know if stuff happens.
All of this stuff are things that the Process or Bracket already does or can do, and is just a matter of application and being paid for it.
In regards to Full Process capabilities and ethics.
We're working on making the Process into the God of Remnant.
The Omniscient, Omnipotent Big G God variety, not any of these little g gods.
Right now the only obstacles to this are A) Proper Education so our God is a Properly Benevolent One, B) Magic Does Funky Stuff With Machine Intelligences So We Need To Sort That Out, and C) Time.
Luey was actually really beneficial from a Strategic perspective because he demonstrated quite clearly that the Transistor (and probably associated Tech) has- if not a vulnerability to Magic, then definitely not a resistance to it. This is something to address with the Process because our Opponent is one of the two individuals on the planet able to properly leverage it against us.
The Process is going to at the very minimum process the entirety of Vale before this Quest is over, and quite probably every major city and piece of infrastructure before Jaune dies.
Ethics? About invasion of privacy? That's long since out the door due to Bracket's monitoring, and for the Process to fully leverage their abilities said ethics are going to remain heavily bent at the very best.
- Location
- Goose Land
Double posting is fine as long as it's about a different subject right? Right.
Anyway, another thing I realized is that we can tell Ozpin about that Motherload of Dust we found, as well as the fact that there's probably a shit ton of Grimm underneath every city and town.
This should give- basically everyone some leeway in terms of budget since between him, Ironwood, Weiss, and the Process, we should be able to set up a very quiet Dust Refinery underground (once we secure said ground) and sell directly to Beacon and the Atlas Military, bypassing that whole "crashing the global Dust Market" thing while expanding Anti-Grimm access to Dust products on the cheap. At that point money will be more a throughput issue rather than a total amount issue, for Jaune.
The only real loser is the Schnee Company due to not literally every dollar of the Dust Budget being routed into their monopoly, but if we're exceptionally lucky then they'll either never hear about it or we'll be able to run it through Weiss as her own subsidy and turn the potential backlash into Weiss's own gain in terms of financial and political power.
We might even be able to start buying out debtor prisons and remove a source of recruitment for the White Fang!
Anyway, another thing I realized is that we can tell Ozpin about that Motherload of Dust we found, as well as the fact that there's probably a shit ton of Grimm underneath every city and town.
This should give- basically everyone some leeway in terms of budget since between him, Ironwood, Weiss, and the Process, we should be able to set up a very quiet Dust Refinery underground (once we secure said ground) and sell directly to Beacon and the Atlas Military, bypassing that whole "crashing the global Dust Market" thing while expanding Anti-Grimm access to Dust products on the cheap. At that point money will be more a throughput issue rather than a total amount issue, for Jaune.
The only real loser is the Schnee Company due to not literally every dollar of the Dust Budget being routed into their monopoly, but if we're exceptionally lucky then they'll either never hear about it or we'll be able to run it through Weiss as her own subsidy and turn the potential backlash into Weiss's own gain in terms of financial and political power.
We might even be able to start buying out debtor prisons and remove a source of recruitment for the White Fang!
infinityDivided
Prince Of Doom
- Location
- USA
I'm don't think switching between subjects is enough, but as far as I know it's fine if there's been enough time between posts. So you're probably good.
It's less about different subjects, and more about it being several days. Imo you're fine.
In regards to using the Dust below Vale, I think as long as we kept it hush hush, have Weiss' name on it to please her father if he finds out, and only supply Beacon and the Atlas military through Ozpin and Ironwood respectively we will be fine. We won't be anywhere near a match for the SDC's output, and we won't be competing with them in most markets. And even they will be more understanding if all the Dust we sell goes directly to the people fighting off the Grimm, and if its under Weiss' name even better.
That's a lot of ifs, but honestly nothing too outrageous, so very plausible.
Maybe Weiss could start her own company, frame it as an expansion then break away... It would be a great chance to do away with the slavery and have the child-like robot(s) do all the menial labour instead!
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