#and tarn has committed many

[cherrytimemachine]

always felt Atomizer's death was stupid as hell. I mean Getaway's already killed dozens of people for trival reasons, he won't hesistate to murder you for betraying him. dumbass

I honestly hate the direction they took Getaway in. I felt bad for Atomizer the whole time he had to deal with this fucker. I think the the point where it got super over the top evil for me was when Getaway went out of his way to verbally berate Riptide right before trying to kill him just for the sake of it. And Atomizer, loyal Atomizer, he looked at Getaway and told him that what he’d done was excessive. Getaway could’ve been a much better villain, but I don’t fully blame Jro for that since Hasbro cut the length of their story. They had planned a season 3 and 4, but Hasbro gave them a limit they had to follow. Hasbro cutting production time for their shows or cutting corners for toy sales at the expense of the creators they hired seems to be a recurring theme the more I learn about them.

Give me a reasonable conflict that still tests the moral limits Atomizer is willing to accept for supporting Getaway. They could’ve kept Froid and Sunder in the mix, but instead of Getaway being outwardly evil out of nowhere, Froid encourages him to make harmful decisions and choices. Froid is intrigued by the thought processes and minds of people like Sunder, who commit horrible crimes, so why wouldn’t he try and do a social experiment where he pushes someone to the brink of becoming a worse person to test how the mind responds under pressure from an influence? Have Froid release Sunder himself, have Sunder threaten Getaway and his crew if he didn’t give in to their demands. I imagine it like Pharma’s situation with Tarn, but we get to see it in action. There is potential to seeing Getaway breaking behind the scenes with the added inclusion of Atomizer as someone who’s trying to help his friend, but Getaway pushes him away so he doesn’t get involved.

At one point he’s faced with the choice of killing Atomizer or sparing him, and Getaway has to choose whether to kill one or let them all die. They hold singular lives above his head and make him feed Sunder’s hunger as a means of saving the many for the sacrifice of he one. Sunder torments Getaway, tells him to kill Atomizer, and Getaway has to come to terms with how far he’s been strung up by these people. Because above all, he’s afraid of dying if he refuses, so he complies out of fear for his own life and others like him. That point would tie back in really nicely to his experience watching his fellow MTOs die during the battle of Corcapsia and the trauma responses that led him to where he is now.

He had such understandable motives as a villain, and that’s something I loved about him when I read MTMTE. They totally squashed that in Lost Light and I’m still unhappy about it.

#the entire ll comic was a pain to read at least for me #volumes two and three especially #getaway #atomizer #tf riptide #froid #sunder #pharma #tarn #decepticon justice division #mtmte spoilers #idw mtmte #lost light spoilers #idw lost light #idw g1 #transformers idw #transformers #ask cherry #cherry monologues

[rawmeknockout]

https://www.tumblr.com/rawmeknockout/733381767371816960/lets-try-this-again-since-tumblr-crashed-the?source=share

Me: -Eats this ask-

Ahem.

Knowing how Tarn is, i wouldn't be surprised if he just goes completely unhinged upon finding out that humans can be cyberformed. If there's any chance of reader going back to their human form, Tarn wouldn't be above to go hell and back to find a way to keep them "perfect" aka cyberformed.

Not only that but the amount of mods for to better fit the decepticons ideals, going from a complete paintjob to mnemo surgeries. Tarn lays awake at his berth upon imagining the possibilities he could have with cyberformed reader. Just like how Megatron did to him once upon a time...

Suave!Tarn might sound appealling, but Incel virgin!Tarn not knowing how to be normal around mech!reader (especially diva femech!reader. I love him S2) is very interesting 👀👀

Let's not forget that we are talking about one djd bastard. Primus knows what the other four are thinking about cyberformed reader, especially a certain blind "Pet" keeper guy.

yes because there’s so many ways to change a mech honestly i know the DJD focuses on killing and torture to get what they want and to fulfill their objective but it’s so fun to think about the other methods a decepticon can employ to reach the end they want because there are so many canon ways to fuck with a mech since their logical processor IS just data and mechanics so it’s can be,,, fiddled with in a way a humans can’t

ofc the djd has limited resources but tarn has a few favors he can call in and threaten out of ex decepticons and if he really needs to use them he will

he’ll only use these methods after he’s emotionally attached tho tarn sees himself as very logical and rational and it wouldn’t be a good look to go all in when he’s not committed to this mech

but after they’ve been enmeshed in the peaceful tyranny, now the whole djd is attached and this mech knows Secrets that they can’t just walk away with

i feel like at a certain point, unless the humans body is kept alive by brainstorm, it’ll start to rot away? which is how i separate cyberformed humans via decepticons vs on the lost light, brainstorm could theoretically put the human back in their body but the decepticons just let the human bodies die bc now they can’t go back

sorry if me jumping between askers is getting confusing lol

#asks

[beardedmrbean]

When President Emmanuel Macron picked Élisabeth Borne as France’s new prime minister earlier this month, not too many French people knew about the 61-year-old career bureaucrat’s family background.

Borne, who became France’s first female prime minister since the 1990s, has been discreet about her private life and her family heritage, which was marked by the horrors of World War II.

Her father Joseph, a Jewish resistance fighter, was deported to the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp in 1944. While he was freed a year later, the ghosts of the past – the atrocities at Auschwitz, the loss of loved ones – continued to haunt him. Joseph Borne committed suicide when his daughter was only 11 years old.

"It wasn't always easy. I lost my father when I was very young. And so, we ended up with my mother, who had two daughters and did not have much of an income," she told French channel C8 in a 2021 interview.

Borne traces her family’s roots to Poland. Her grandfather Zelig Bornstein – who perished in the camps along with two of his sons – fled anti-Semitism in the 1920s for Belgium, where he found work with a diamond dealer. Joseph was born in Antwerp in 1925 under the surname Bornstein. He was one of four boys, Léon born in 1921, Isaac in 1923 and Albert in 1930.

When World War II broke out, the family was forced into exile once again, fleeing to southern France where they sought refuge in Toulouse, Montauban, and then in Nîmes. The Bornstein boys’ mother, Anna, died aged 36.

Joining the French Jewish Resistance

In August 1942, Joseph and his brother Isaac were arrested for the first time as stateless Jews and taken to the Camp de Rivesaltes, a transit and internment centre in southern France. "Zelig went to Rivesaltes and managed to bribe a guard, who let Isaac and Joseph 'escape'. They returned to Nîmes at the end of 1942 and decided to join the resistance," Jean-Paul Boré, vice-president of AFMD (Amis de la Fondation pour la Mémoire de la Déportation), told the Cultea website.

Meanwhile Albert, the youngest child, was also arrested. He was deported with Convoy 51 on March 6, 1943, to the Sobibor extermination camp in eastern Poland, where he was murdered.

The surviving three Bornstein brothers shortened the family name to Borne and joined the resistance in France. Their mission was to transport men and women from the eastern French city of Grenoble to the scrublands in the southern Tarn region to join the French Jewish Resistance led by one of the group's founders, Abraham Polonski, according to French weekly Le Point.

But on December 24, 1943, Zelig and his three sons – Joseph, Isaac and Albert – were arrested by the Gestapo in Grenoble. "We had false papers, and when the police stormed into the apartment at 10pm, they made us drop our pants...They were looking for Jews. They were bent on getting people to denounce others. We were also subjected to what was called 'the bathtub' at that time. It's a board which they tipped into the water. It was a very, very hard interrogation," Isaac told the French Institut National de l’Audiovisuel (INA) in recorded testimony.

‘That is your parents, who are going to heaven’

The family was then transferred to Drancy, near Paris, before being deported to Auschwitz-Birkenau in Convoy 66 on January 20, 1944.

There they discovered hell. "There were rows of SS and Sonderkommando people,” said Isaac, referring to the Sonderkommando groups of Jewish prisoners forced to perform a variety of duties in the Nazi camp system. “There were dogs, and the screams: 'Raus, raus, raus' ['Out, out, out,' in German]. We had to get out quickly. It was already snowing. And that's when my brother Joseph and I were selected" to work, recounted Isaac. Zelig and Albert were taken directly to the gas chamber.

Joseph and Isaac went to work in Buna-Monowitz, or Auschwitz III, one of the three large camps in the vast prison system. "When we arrived, the ashes were flying up into the air. When it was windy and the chimneys were burning, it smelled foul everywhere. And the elders, the elders who were in the camp, said to us, 'You see, that is your parents who are going to heaven. They are burning."

For a year, the Borne brothers managed to survive thanks, in particular, to their spirit of solidarity, according to Isaac. "We always shared everything, he with me and I with him, because I watched him like milk on the boil.”

In early 1945, as the Soviet Red Army advanced from the east, the Borne brothers were evacuated further west to the Buchenwald camp, from which they were liberated by the US military on April 11, 1945.

After the war, when the brothers returned to France, Isaac reconnected with Odette, a young woman he had met in Nice. Joseph meanwhile recovered in Calvados, in the northern Normandy region, where he met Marguerite Lescene, a pharmacist. He converted to Christianity and married her. The couple had two daughters, including Elisabeth, who was born in 1961.

But Joseph remained traumatised by his wartime experience. According to Isaac, his younger brother could not bear to talk about those years. In 1972, aged only 47, Joseph committed suicide by jumping out of a window. While the reasons for the suicide are not known, Isaac believed Joseph suffered from a sort of guilt after having lost his father and two of his brothers in the camps. "Guilty of what? We don't always know. But I believe that each person, on losing loved ones, always says to him- or herself, even today: 'I should have, would have, if only I had known...'"

Borne, who was 11 when her father died, became a “Pupil of the Nation” – a status in France given to the children of victims of war, terrorist attacks or those who have perished while serving the country. This meant she received a full scholarship for her education, which she pursued with honours.

In a 2015 interview with French daily Libération, Borne confided that she thought about her father when, as a public servant, she presented naturalisation certificates to new French citizens. "That I, the daughter of a stateless refugee, who only became French in 1950, should be doing this, says something about integration." 

#nunyas news

[catsofwillowclan]

Tarnclan Tattooing

Tarnclan is a clan from the northern plains and glacial foothills, mainly located around a collection of glacial lakes or 'tarns'. Their culture is largely nomadic, traveling with herds of caribou and the seasons to gather herbs and maintain traditional campsites. Their rituals take place at glacial lakes with glassy, smooth surfaces that reflect the night sky, bringing Starclan to touch the earth.

Tarnclan has a rich tradition of tattoo practices, which act as markers for coming of age and certain life events, act as protection from evil, and serve as identifying markers so that Starclan may always know to watch over them, even when they're in lands far from their home territories.

---

Facial tattoos are a common coming-of-age ceremony in Tarnclan traditions. Tarnclan's apprentice ceremony takes place around the application and receiving of facial tattoos that mark ones journey onto the warrior path and commitment to becoming a part of the clan as a whole, and identify you as an adult within Tarnclan society. The facial tattoos for apprentices can typically cover the cheeks between the bottom of the nose to the bottom of the brows, following the curves of the face, and use motifs that connect to the apprentice's given name or relate to them symbolically in some way.

The other facial tattoo that is given is the mark of a mentor, which is received after an apprentice is given their marks and granted their mentor. The chosen mentor receives a 'crown' of sorts, which traditionally covers from the brows up and features a distinct motif at the center of the forehead to signify their wisdom and earned respect as a teacher in the clan. Mentors are chosen very carefully, and to guide an apprentice on their path to earn their warrior name is one of the most noble pursuits one can take on in Tarnclan.

---

Warrior tattoos are given across the upper back and shoulders, almost as a mantle, and typically mirror the style of one's apprentice marks. These tattoos can take many hours, if not days, and receiving them is a rite of passage to mark ones strength and devotion to following the Warrior Path. Smaller tattoos may only cover the tops of the shoulders, but larger pieces can cover the back all the way to the shoulder blades, and even go down onto the sides of the chest depending on what the warrior is able to sit through. Larger tattoos are a mark of great discipline, endurance, and patience.

---

Medicine cats do not receive traditional warrior tattoos along their shoulders. Instead, they receive what is called the Healer's Bands, which begin at the upper arm and go all the way down to the wrist. These bands represent their earned knowledge and skill, and mark them as a healer or one with gifted hands that serves the clan and it's people. The motifs and spirits called upon in each band traditionally represent different healing plants, making them not only a mark of their knowledge but of their connection to Starclan, and serve as a way to channel healing through them during their work.

Leaders receive the Nine Stars during their ceremony, which is a large tattoo that goes from the nape of the neck all the way down to the lower back along the spine, branching out at the shoulders to connect to their warrior marks. This is a representation of their place as a chosen avatar of Starclan, and their role as a 'pillar' connecting the two together. This tattoo traditionally has nine stars places along the spine within the design - these stars are a mark of the wisdom and skill they were granted by Starclan, and are filled or covered with a grieving ceremony upon the loss of a life.

Ceremonial tattoos for leaders and medicine cats are spiritually intense and often involve long periods of fasting, meditation, and receiving visions. Both before and during the ceremonies. These tattoos are often done in pigmented colors as opposed to the traditional brown and black inks used on typical tattoos, as those dyes are more rare and coveted and only used on the most sacred of markings.

---

While these tattoos are representations of ranks and places in the clan that are earned, there are also marks for other significant life events a member may go through, such as becoming a parent (hips and lower back), choosing a mate (back of the hands), embarking on a journey (lower legs), or completing their first hunt (bands at the wrists).

#lore #clangen #warriors

[earaercircular]

Low-carbon industry: these companies are accelerating the transition

Monabee, a specialist in photovoltaic energy, has just developed solar charging for electric cars and aims to triple its turnover in 2023, to 21 million euros

Bio sourced materials, eco-design and renewable energies are part of the daily life of companies that have made of transition a pillar of their strategy and economic model.

Barring the way to inflation and boosting growth: such would be the effects of “orderly, announced in advance, credible and ambitious” ecological transition policies, according to a study by the Banque de France[1]. "The earlier we do it, the less costly the transition will be from a macroeconomic point of view", confides Stéphane Dées, co-author of this report to "Echos". This observation is already illustrated by the actions of committed companies, some in biomaterials, others in renewable energies, and whose acceleration is due to several factors. In addition to awareness of the climate emergency and the development of support ecosystems, these innovators have acquired expertise that is still not very widespread, and therefore attractive.

“It's true that the more skills you gain, the more interesting you become in the eyes of customers, subcontractors and even talents,” summarizes Vianney Fichet, co-founder with Clara Trevisiol of Monabee[2]. Launched near Lyon in 2012, this young sprout specialising in solar energy should triple its turnover in 2023, to 21 million euros. An acceleration generated in particular by the quest to respond to new needs. “We are learning from the evolution of uses and customer expectations, in both BtoB and BtoC”, emphasizes Vianney Fichet. And the manager mentions a solar charging station[3]  for electric cars, born from the fact that, "in the age of teleworking[4], many drivers now spend the day at home and can therefore recharge their car as soon as there is sun ".

Customer-Funded Innovation

In addition to instigating innovation, the client sometimes contributes to financing it. "Since the 2017 law on the duty of vigilance[5], major clients are required to control risks throughout their value chain, therefore among their subcontractors who are often small companies", explains Rebecca Stekelorum, assistant professor in strategy and entrepreneurship at the ICN Business School, whose research focuses on the ecological transition[6] of SMEs. She cites in particular the Renault group, which contributed to the Afiler project[7] allowing the financing of the new production tool of Filatures du Parc[8], a family business in the Tarn whose fabrics made from recycled materials dress the Renault Zoé[9].

Another lever for acceleration is belonging to "a community that goes in the same direction", according to Jérôme Schatzman, the director of the Centre for Social and Ecological Innovation[10] at Essec Business School and of the social enterprise accelerator Antropia[11], which , since its creation in 2008, has served as a launching pad for more than 400 project leaders, particularly in the circular economy, new consumption patterns, energy transition... "Within an accelerator or a movement , like the Business Climate Convention (Convention des entreprises pour le climat), exchanges between peers make it possible to support each other on the path to transition, and to more easily identify the aid and support available, knowing that there is a lot ! » he explains, recalling nevertheless that « the definition of a clear strategy, based on a diagnosis, must remain the first step ».

Federate competitors

Confirming that "federating between players in the same sector allows you to defend your market and progress more quickly", Vianney Fichet mentions the AuRA Digital Solaire[12] union, of which his associate is the vice-president. “Moving forward together, even if we are competitors, enables us, for example, to bring our subjects to the government,” he says. Because the legislator seems to retain a prominent place on the podium of accelerators. Thus, Jérémie Lagarrigue, the general manager of EODev[13], a company producing hydrogen-powered generators, resulting from the Energy Observer project[14] (the first ship to have completed a round-the-world trip in energy autonomy), mentions an action of the Ile-de-France region which, as part of its air quality plan, has decided to “subsidize events using non-polluting generators”.

In addition to the events sector, EODev - that achieved 9 million euros in turnover in 2022 - has clients in the construction industry, telecoms and even the film industry. "Our generators are used from construction sites to film shoots, via the supply of relay antennas", explains the manager, convinced that "the major clients are the first to be able to give the 'impulse ". "However, there are still many who want to decarbonize their model, but by paying less, which is not always compatible," he concludes.

Source

Julie Le Bolzer, Industrie décarbonée : ces entreprises qui accélèrent la transition, in : Les Echos, 8-06-2023 ; https://www.lesechos.fr/thema/articles/industrie-decarbonee-ces-entreprises-qui-accelerent-la-transition-1950194

[1] According to a study by the Banque de France published on Wednesday, the sooner and more gradually it will be implemented, the less the risk of inflation will be. https://www.lesechos.fr/politique-societe/societe/comment-la-transition-ecologique-va-toucher-la-croissance-et-les-prix-1932372

[2] Monabee is a French company specializing in solar energy near Lyon offering a range of complete products and services for self-consumption. https://www.monabee.fr/entreprise/

[3] The linchpin of the energy transition, Enedis will enter into the hard investments to be deployed to keep pace with the energy transition. Its "network development plan" shows for the first time the extent of the investments needed in the medium and low voltage electricity distribution network to meet the energy transition objectives while maintaining a very low level of power outages. current each year on the network. Enedis indicates in it that it expects an increase “of around 20% in its investments over the period 2022-2032 to reach more than 5 billion euros annually”. https://www.lesechos.fr/industrie-services/energie-environnement/bornes-de-recharge-eolien-solaire-enedis-prevoit-presque-100-milliards-dinvestissements-1914746

[4] It is not the aficionados of face-to-face work who will tell you the opposite. Compared to those who work from home, workers who commute to the office spend an average of 25% more time developing their careers, according to WFH Research. In detail, this team of American economists - who have been analyzing telework since the start of the pandemic - estimated that face-to-face workers devoted, each week, around 40 minutes more to mentoring, nearly 25 minutes more to train in a 'formal' way and about 15 more minutes to do it in an 'informal' way. https://www.lesechos.fr/idees-debats/leadership-management/teletravail-ou-presentiel-comment-doper-sa-carriere-1935181

[5] The French law of March 27, 2017 relating to the duty of vigilance of parent companies and ordering companies, establishes, in the commercial code, new obligations of vigilance with regard to the most important companies, which must establish and implement effectively implement a vigilance plan. The law provides for their liability in the event of failure to comply with these new obligations aimed at preventing the risk of serious violations of human rights and the environment, including g when they are committed by their direct or indirect subsidiaries, in France and the rest of the world. https://www.vie-publique.fr/rapport/284174-devoir-de-vigilance-des-societes-meres-et-entreprises-donneuses-d-ordre#:~:text=Pr%C3%A9sentation-,La%20loi%20du%2027%20mars%202017%20relative%20au%20devoir%20de,effective%20un%20plan%20de%20vigilance.

[6] Created in December 2020, the Convention des entreprises pour le climat (CEC) is a recognized Association of general interest whose vocation is to organise awareness and transformation courses for economic decision-makers. https://cec-impact.org/association/

[7] Afiler is a study launched in 2015 by Filatures du Parc and Renault to manufacture carded yarn from automotive waste. https://www.environnement-magazine.fr/recyclage/article/2017/03/08/49138/projet-afiler-recycle-les-ceintures-securite

[8] The Filatures du Parc in Brassac (Tarn) were the first in France to produce yarn by recycling old clothes. This carded wool spinning mill with 30 employees filed a patent in 2007 on the transformation of used clothing into long fibres. It invested 1 million euros in 2018 in machines for defibrating old textiles to enable manufacturers to make recycled jeans and sweaters. But it no longer produces recycled yarn for seat fabrics for the Renault Zoé electric car, as it had to close for a year after its warehouse fire in April 2020 and lost that market. The old fabrics are impregnated with a mixture of water and oil, then defibred on rollers. The fibers are integrated into the yarn manufacturing lines. https://www.lesechos.fr/pme-regions/occitanie/textile-80-marques-utilisent-le-fil-recycle-des-filatures-du-parc-1399628

[9] For more than three decades, Renault has officially brought the stars to Cannes: R25, Safrane, Vel Satis… All the big diamond sedans have had their hour of glory there. But that was before the pandemic and a more environmentally sensitive planet. This year, Renault is thus banking on the smallest or almost of its cars, the Zoé, barely 4 m long... European bestseller on the market of electric models and redesigned last season, it now offers autonomy flirting with the 400 kilometers between each recharge, a rarity for such a small "sedan" operating only on the strength of kilowatts. All the more attractive as this second generation of Zoé improves its handling, its presentation and its comfort. Passengers are welcomed without contortion in the rear seats, pampered by the tranquility of an electric mechanism quieter than a Rolls and which promises the driver the dynamism of a quasi GTI of the 1980s... A Zoé which has everything to please, including a pleasant braking (another rarity for an electric!) and a finish called "Exception" not stingy in sensations. https://www.lesechos.fr/weekend/high-tech-auto/la-renault-zoe-star-de-la-croisette-1328909

[10] The CISE (Centre Innovation Sociale et Ecologique, in English: Social and Ecological Innovation Centre) aims to develop concrete initiatives in the service of social and ecological transition.

[11] Antropia ESSEC was created in 2008 by ESSEC's Impact Entrepreneurship and Innovation Chair to support social entrepreneurs who create, develop and maximize the impact of organizations that are socially useful, environmentally virtuous and economically sustainable.  As the first social enterprise accelerator supported by a major management school, Antropia ESSEC's mission is to strengthen the capacity to act of these entrepreneurs, by training them, equipping them and offering them support adapted to their stage of development (emergence, consolidation and change of scale, measurement of social impact, establishment in the Val d'Oise, etc.). https://antropia-essec.fr/decouvrir/

[12] Union of solar companies and digital/digital solutions applied to energy. We are solar and digital entrepreneurs and leaders. We share the desire to federate to build an industrial sector of the future in the territories. https://www.auradigitalsolaire.fr/

[13] EODev (Energy Observer Developments) is the result of the unique experience acquired on board Energy Observer: the first clean energy self-sufficient hydrogen vessel, developing innovative solutions for the environment. Created in March 2019, The company's mission is to accelerate the energy transition by offering sustainable, reliable, efficient, and affordable industrial solutions. https://www.eo-dev.com/about

[14] Launched in 2017, Energy Observer 1 continues its odyssey on the seas to raise awareness of the decarbonization of maritime transport. Announced this weekend, the Energy Observer 2 project concerns the construction of a 120 meter long boat, which will run on liquid hydrogen and will require an investment of 70 to 100 million euros. Energy Observer 1 continues its odyssey which will end in 2025 after the Paris Olympics. Since its launch in 2017 in Saint-Malo, this boat, which runs on hydrogen produced on board, photovoltaics and sail propulsion, has already traveled 48,000 miles (more than 88,000 km) on the different oceans. to raise awareness of the decarbonization of maritime activities. "With Energy Observer 2, we will take the next step, since it will be a trans-European freight ship", says Victorien Erussard, who initiated the project, of which he reveals the first sketches. 120 meters long and 22 meters wide, it will be able to transport up to 5,000 tonnes of goods. It will be propelled without emitting CO2 or other polluting emissions since it “will operate from liquid hydrogen”, continues the captain. https://www.lesechos.fr/pme-regions/innovateurs/energy-observer-2-aura-pour-mission-de-decarboner-le-fret-transeuropeen-1384844

#circular economy #recycled fabrics #ecological transition

[localrobosexual]

For the Q&A for a Transformers Fan: Out of all the Transformers figures you own, which is your favorite?

OH WITHOUT A DOUBT THAT'D BE MY FLAME TOYS TARN!!!! he was my BIGGEST dreamie figure for a good long while and after I got my stimulus check last year I was like WELL NOW I JUST HAVE TO PREORDER HIM NOW HUH and so I did!!!! and even tho his shipping and delivery got SUPER fucking delayed bc it was apparently illegal to ship out of japan for a while (bc covid regulations and all) he was WELL worth the wait and every penny spent :'3 he's so so SO gorgeous in pics and even moreso in person! The amount of detail and articulation they put into this fig is INSANE and I literally could just stare at him for hours tbh

I'm a big dumb idiot though and keep forgetting to get the batteries to power his biolights, but once I do, he's going STRAIGHT into my PC tower bc there's a window on the side where u can see into all the parts and just the PERFECT little free space for him to stand. And that's also been my dream to do since my brother showed me a reddit thread of ppl keeping their funko pops and other figs in their builds and stuff. But for now he's just chilling on my dresser!

#meg replies #ask #coolhegey8132 #bad and naught robots get locked in the PC tower to atone for their sins #and tarn has committed many #MANY sins #i still dunno what pose to put him in tho once i do get him in there lmAO WHOOPS

[iliterallydecepticanteven]

So I know Tarn and the DJD are seen as this terrifying, brutal, relentless force that will stop at nothing to complete their mission and get Megatron's approval. And so everyone is terrified of them and rightfully so. But it would be hilarious if the TFA DJD were as violent and brutal as their comic counterparts but seen as these obnoxious, annoying, and suffocating assholes by the rest of the Decepticon higher ups who have just tolerate dealing with them.

Like Megatron has all of his officers together for a meeting about finances and colony politics and other stuff. And he announces that the DJD will be visiting and everyone in the room except for him groans in annoyance. Everyone has a different reason for hating the DJD (but mostly Tarn). And the only reason they're still alive is because Megatron said don't kill them I need them to run pointless grunt work level errands for me.

The first time the DJD is mentioned after an Autobot-Decepticon team up, the Autobots are terrified because they've heard so many horror stories about the atrocities they commit. They're very surprised when every Decepticon around them just replies "oh primus not those fraggers again they're so annoying."

#tfa #transformers animated #megatron #djd #tarn #my ramblings #it would just be so funny if like these literal boogeymen are actually just annoying assholes that no one wants to deal with #it came from the queue

[decepti-thots]

How much do you want people to read the OP ongoing? Tell us your opinions. Also tarnma for the ask meme if no one’s asked that yet

OK so listen. While the OP ongoing had some very glaring flaws (that is: barber is obsessive about canon in a way that can be extremely detrimental to the overall story at times, to put it very mildly, lol), structrually it just really GOT something frankly no other IDW comic ever managed for me. Including Barber's other work! Namely, it was a comic about OP, and specifically about the OP we had seen up til that point, the OP that was rightfully widely derided for being an asshole because so many phase one IDW comics just went in a really dumb direction for years, with no actual goal in mind for said assholery, just edgelord nonsense because it was unfortunately often written by people bothered at the mere concept they might like something not entirely for Mature Audiences TM. And it actually looked really hard at it like "ok, well, this happened. what does it mean for the universe we're writing in that it happened?" and just went with it. and I respect it so much bc that is a WAY harder option than going "errr look the old writers were just kinda bad, let's just write OP to be basically OK now and pretend that didn't happen" tbh!

I like the fact that Barber responded not by doing a retcon to "fix" it but instead actually took it to its logical conclusion, and I like the way he did so. See, IMO, in OP, the main character is not Optimus. Optimus is much more what I'd call a focal character than a protagonist. He is the focus. Other characters and consequences orbit around him; they are satellites, and the series as a whole follows their orbit. It explores why other characters respond to him. It has comparatively little interest in him specifically at many points; it's interested less in "redeeming" OP, often, and more in exploring his impact. And it's good at that.

It's not a comic about making IDW OP a great person after all. It's the much more awkward proposition of "well, we got handed this character, what do we do with him?" and I love it for that. (Also: it has such a great commitment to its extended cast. It's where Aileron and late IDW phase 2 arcee and pyra and idw jazz content all lives!!!)

I know a lot of people really hate IDW1's Unicron finale specifically. I very much disagree and enjoy it greatly. But I think specifically even if you do feel that way, I have found that apparently a lot of people do not know that the actual epilogue/final issue of IDW period is OP #25, which is narrated by Arcee after OP's death, with other characters interspersed. I will say that maybe the OP ongoing isn't for everyone, but if you read Unicron and didn't read OP #25, do so. It caps it off so beautifully. (Bonus: if you are a Starscream fan and didn't do this, do it, IMO, you missed a couple very important pages if you didn't.)

Anyway. I like Barber's work on IDW, and I like his work on OP specifically. Shrug. (Also, Jazz is THERE, I know we all complain abt Jazz never being in anything but he actually gets some shit in this one, guys, he SHOWS UP and it's GOOD,)

As a thank you for listening to all that, here's a response for tarnma. Congrats you got my first "don't ship" but it's a little more complicated actually SO let's get into specifics:

Don't Ship It

Why don't you ship it?: so in canon, it just doesn't appeal to me. I love a good enemies to lovers, and I love some good hatesex vibes even, but the thing is, it's just not personal enough on Tarn's side. I can see the vibe there for Pharma, but I don't see it for Tarn, and without that intensity, I can't find something to latch onto, personally. I will say it's not necessarily the "tarn abuses pharma" vibes that I know turn a lot of people off, because I think there's plenty of opportunities for that dynamic to be a temporary thing that is less "actual abusive realistic dynamic" and more "look these are cartoon alien robot villains on opposite sides of a fake war, if you develop them outta that cartoon war before they're involved I'm interested", and especially I can see a post luna-1 pharma just being on Tarn's level, but it just feels so asymmetric on Pharma's side, the personal element.

What would have made you like it?: so the exception to the above is, listen: can you make me an AU where it is personal for both? Because if so, I'm interested. Convince me Tarn is as invested in Pharma as the reverse and I am intrigued. There are AUs I would/will read for this! Or write for this, even!

Despite not shipping it, do you have anything positive to say about it?: absolutely. I think anyone who writes this purely to be horny as hell is god tier and I salute them, because they do not get enough credit for being on their entirely respectable bullshit, IMO. good for them. Also, I respect anyone who cares about Pharma, whomst've i love, period, so.

#ask meme #long post

[thanksjro]

Spotlight: Hoist - This One’s About the Guy I Keep Mistaking for Hound.

It’s time to focus on the straight man. Not, like, straight as in hetero. Don’t get it twisted, Hoist is queer by default just like every Cybertronian in IDW, not that that’s been established in-canon just yet. No, Hoist is the straight man because he’s the grounding line in this issue.

Hoist, as established during Spotlight: Trailcutter, is off the Lost Light currently on a mission. At this exact moment, he’s running from something.

Well, it was nice knowing you, Hoist!

No, he manages to escape Tarn’s grasp by doing some sweet grappling hook drifting using his tow line, and books it for the crashed shuttle that all his fellow mission-goers are hiding out in. Missionaries, if you will. Looks like Swerve left right after Trailcutter hung up on him, so it’s probably for the best that he didn’t get that forcefield around his voice box. Can’t imagine it working at that long a range. Sunstreaker’s here, along with his pet, Bob. Sunstreaker’s feeling a little salty right now, probably because he’s supposed to be the handsome one, and instead he’s got some sort of face thing going on in this issue.

Yeah, nobody looks quite right in Spotlight: Hoist. Then again, maybe I just don’t get Cybertronian beauty standards.

On that note, let’s take a real quick look at our interior artist for this issue, Agustin Padilla. Padilla doesn’t have a ton of work within the Transformers franchise, but he’s worked on some iconic pieces- specifically, MTMTE #16, The Gloaming. 

Yeah, THAT one. We’ll get more into his work when we hit that issue, I promise.

Back to the story at hand: Hoist puts on the cloaking device for the ship, hiding them from Tarn, then gripes to Swerve about the scanner scope being a huge friggin’ liar, because it said that there wasn’t a gotdang thing out there, because there clearly is. Swerve is less than thrilled by the prospect of having Tarn in the general vicinity, to the point that he forgets how to talk for a solid .5 seconds. Swerve’s seen the DJD in action, and it’s not pretty.

They’ve got six hours before the cloaking shields drain the power, then it’s goodbye Safetytown, hello Murderville. So, what better way to spend their final hours than by sniping at one another over things like fault and who’s gotten the shortest end of the stick here?

Looks like Perceptor has a pretty strong lead on all the other guys, seeing as his legs have become one with the ship. Hoist’s busy trying to get in touch with the Lost Light, though no one’s picking up. Gee, wonder why.

Swerve is really in a needling mood, as he asks Sunstreaker where his apology is, seeing as he was the one piloting the ship when they crashed. Sunstreaker blows a gasket for a second over the fact that all he seems to do these days is apologize. Hoist manages to calm the situation and change the topic pretty smoothly, as he fiddles around with the internals of the shuttle to try and get the Lost Light’s attention.

Good at multitasking, Hoist is.

We get the backstory on Bob, who Sunstreaker found after Metroplex woke up and decimated the local Insecticon population on Cybertron, almost certainly upsetting the balance of the ecosystem and traumatizing poor Bob. Yes, even our dog stand-ins have trauma in MTMTE. Sunstreaker, in true pet-owner fashion, baby-talks Bob, saying that he’ll bite that big, nasty Tarn if he gets near them, won’t he? Oh yes he will! Yes he will! What a good boy, yes you are!

Swerve isn’t so optimistic.

Well, that’s certainly a sentence I just read with my own two eyes. Really hoping this is a bit of hyperbole, because I’d hate to think just what sort of life Swerve’s led that resulted in him watching a guy triple his size give himself an enema.

Sunstreaker, who knows that Swerve is kind of a massive baby, isn’t terribly impressed with how scared the DJD made Swerve, accidentally strokes the guy’s ego for a moment.

Swerve, completely on the defensive now, lists off the five things he’s afraid of. Hoist butts in to point out the implausibility of Swerve’s fears.

Smash cut to four hours later, and Swerve hasn’t slowed down a bit, having talked to the point that he doesn’t even realize he’s doing it anymore. Sunstreaker’s about had it with this marathon bashing he’s receiving, and suggests that Swerve pick on Hoist for a change. Swerve declines, saying that there just isn’t enough material to work with, because Hoist is boring.

Fun fact, this is his character quote for his introductory paragraph on the Wiki article. He had so little characterization up to this point, this is what they went with. Such is the fate of many of the Transformers who didn’t enter the original 80s cartoon until the second season. Roberts decided to run with it and take the rare opportunity to NOT give someone mental illness so severe and unchecked it’s simultaneously sad and hilarious. Hoist is probably the only dude in the entirety of the IDW run to just be a regular person.

After Swerve confirms that he does in fact know his colors, we blow past another hour, to find Hoist hard at work cutting Perceptor off of the ceiling/floor- Hoist, like most everyone on the Lost Light, is a doctor- as Sunstreaker and Swerve discuss previous scrapes they’ve gotten through. Apparently Sunstreaker fell off a bridge forever ago that was named after a biblical reference, because it doesn’t matter how little you believe in a higher power, you CANNOT escape the pull of the 𝐂𝐡𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐚𝐧 𝐀𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐭𝐢𝐜.

Swerve asks Hoist if he has anything to contribute to the discussion, and while Hoist does have experience in near-death situations, he’d really rather not talk about it. Swerve respects his privacy.

Well, he tries.

Hoist indulges our little red and white idiot, because it’ll get everyone the Swerve-equivalent of peace and quiet, and begins his tale.

Long story short, it looks like another hotshot pilot had the same idea as Hoist’s, and things got a little crashy-explodey-everyone’s-deady. Hoist was the only survivor, and had to walk his sorry butt back to civilization. Then the exhaustion set in, and he was forced to sit there, fully convinced that he would die alone in the middle of nowhere.

Once he’s finished with his story, Hoist makes the horrific discovery that Swerve’s been bleeding to death over the last five hours, and failed to mention it.

No, Sunstreaker, he’s honestly just like that all the time.

Swerve’s spark casing has ruptured, which I can only imagine is somewhat similar to having a hole poked in your heart. A problem, to put it lightly. Sunstreaker and Hoist decide that, to keep Swerve from biting it, they’ll take the fight to the DJD, in an attempt to get some sort of transport back to the Lost Light and all the tasty medical equipment on board.

Man, it really is unfortunate that Rung’s still not got a head at this point in the timeline, because Swerve is like a jelly donut filled with self-loathing. God just took a jumbo-sized bakery syringe and jammed it right in there.

Hoist and Sunstreaker ignore Swerve’s protests/pained screaming, and gear up for a fight with what they can find. Hoist manages to make two working crossbows and a butt-ton of arrows, not to mention a couple bowie knives in about five minutes, and they head out to kick some tushie.

The lads split up, keeping in touch via communicators, and Sunstreaker manages to get found by Tarn. He gets his ass kicked, because of course he does- the DJD aren’t famous for their macramé and pies, they’re famous for super-murder and being horny for the Decepticause. As Sunstreaker has the realization that he’s leaving his beloved Bob behind, Hoist finds him. Sunstreaker’s in quite the pickle, because he’s had his chest blown in, and Tarn’s been replaced by Shockwave, Megatron, Sixshot, and Overlord.

This just gets better and better doesn’t it?

Then this happens:

Welp.

Swerve’s theory may hold some water, but we can’t worry about that right now, because Hoist is going to try and fight this bastard. Good luck with that, Hoist.

Yeah, that went about as well as it could have.

Hoist is about to get stomped like a bug, when the Con-biner suddenly phases out of existence. Weird.

Hoist runs back to the shuttle, I guess just leaving Sunstreaker in the middle of that clearing, even though he literally is a tow truck. He returns to find that Swerve’s passed out from blood loss, but Perceptor’s still awake, which is good, because there’s some grade-A bullshit going on on this planet, and we need the smart guy to info-dump for the sake of the plot.

Man, this is such a cool plot device, and I’m so mad it never comes up again after this Spotlight.

So, Tarn and all the big bads that Hoist ran into weren’t real, but projections of his and his team’s worst fears. It was feeding off of Swerve, but now that he’s down for the count, it’ll probably go for either Hoist or Perceptor next.

Then there’s what feels like an earthquake, one so powerful it finally removes Perceptor from the ceiling, letting what’s left of his body fall. Hoist runs outside to see just what the hell’s happening now, only to find Metroplex outside and closing in.

The phobia shields work on sub-sentient creatures too? Good lord, this thing just never stops, does it?

Thinking quickly, Hoist scoops up Swerve and the upper half of Perceptor and bolts for the edge of the cliff their ship is sitting next to. He must have been training for the Robot Olympics or something, because he makes the leap by a large margin, even when weighed down by two limp bodies.

Then he punches Perceptor in the face, knocking him out cold.

Then he commits an act of animal abuse as he knocks Bob out with his tow hook.

Our hero, folks! Let’s give him a hand!

As Metroplex fades out of existence, Hoist remembers that he is not immune to trauma, as he’s forced to sit there, completely alone, until help arrives.

No wonder he got that massive Rodimus Star. What a trooper.

Thus ends Spotlight: Hoist, as well as the Spotlight series as a whole.

So, Swerve may not have much of a read on Hoist, but I figure I can try and take a stab at it. Hoist is… helpful. The entire issue, he’s the one who never stops doing things. If he’s not trying to repair the shuttle, he’s cutting Perceptor out of the floor, or he’s patrolling the perimeter, or trying to defuse the tension between his crewmates, or building weaponry, or punching people in the face for the greater good.

The folks he’s surrounded with for his Spotlight accent the characteristics he lacks- he’s not insanely smart like Perceptor, or strikingly handsome like Sunstreaker is intended to be, or capable of holding a conversation like Swerve. He blends into the background, always has and always will, both within canon and as a character.

He’s just a guy. He’s the guy,  a jack of all trades, master of none. And that’s okay.

#transformers #jro #mtmte #spotlight #maccadam #Hannzreads #text post #long post #comic script writing #overthinking about robots

[edgymegatronus]

Vehicons on the Nemesis

I had some Headcannons and such about Vehicon life ( they are so cute and so much more could’ve been done with them ) in Transformers Prime, so heres a disjointed drabble about it - 

The cold and vacant halls of the Nemesis were inhabited by many hot, Cybertronain bodies. The majority of the populous being Decepticon cannon fodder in the form of Vehicons. Treated as one body by their uppers, save for a couple more lenient Decepticon elites. Though each one has their own story and background and personality. Things they love and hate and believe in. Those whom they relish and those who they despise – all amongst their ranks. Each Vehicon’s has a numerical designation, but these are scarcely used amongst themselves. Instead, meaningful nicknames are given. Based on personality traits, things they like, or the memories they’ve shared. None of these self-given titles were especially intricate and they had to be careful not to use them in front of their uppers.

One of the most popular Vehicons, who often delivered information back to his brothers-in-arms from Breakdown was given the nickname Kingston and was well respected. Another, a clumsy mech who had been shot so many times in the field but had somehow never been killed had taken the name ‘Respawn’. These were just a couple in a sea names given by friends and lovers. Flippers, Specks, Jon, Hot Wheels, Afty, Bonkers, Legs, Tosser – All mechs with separate identities and sparks that had been transplanted into identical bodies. During the war, there were two main routes to becoming a Vehicon. The more digestible one being the origin of ‘Runners’ on Cybertron as the war progressed. As the planet began to fall into dormancy, or die – only a few ‘Hot Spots’ were left. These patches of heat on the planets’ surface brought forth some of the last life Primus ever birthed. Sparks would appear in these vast areas, and it was a race. Decepticon and Autobot runners alike would race across the miles to be the first to collect the spark and bring it back to their respective base, where it would be crafted into whatever they wanted.

Which was at most times, for a regular spark, a Vehicon mode. One could say that the Vehicons weren’t the most agile, or best at aiming – because they were more than literally in the wrong bodies. But it suited the Decepticon cause just fine, and that was all they ever knew, so they carried on. The other method was much more uncomfortable.

The majority of Vehicons got along well. They had to, living and working in such close proximity to each other. The separate groups mostly stuck to themselves, divided by alt modes or job descriptions. Flyers or ‘Eradicons’ were the most prestigious in the hierarchy, as flight superiority was valued the most – a ghost of prospect from a dead culture of Cybertron. This ran all the way down to the servant-class mining mechs, who drilled for energon beneath the crust of the earth. They seemed mostly contented to stay out of the way, glad that they didn’t come in contact with the likes of Starscream and Megatron all too often, much to the laughability of those who lived aboard the Nemesis.

Life aboard the floating husk of dormant metal was unforgiving. Although many Decepticons had first supported Megatron of Tarn because of his words and great speeches of equality and revolution, the eons had given way to sickening irony. It was glaringly obvious that not all aboard the Nemesis were equal, or even valued. Vehicons that perished to the light of Autobot cannons were mourned only between their subsections of soldiers. Never again to be mentioned by their leaders. The promise of a perfect Cybertron had been strayed so far from it was a common belief between them that it would never occur. Deceived by their own cause. Now they clung to a lifeless ultimatum of war because it was all they knew, and harboured their life’s service. Besides, if any committed treason in a trifling attempt to leave the Cause or abandon their post, the immediate punishment was the death penalty. It made sense, of course. One couldn’t just leave. They could be captured by Autobots and leak sensitive information or turn on the cause, later on, causing a multitude of issues. No, it was far more efficient that they perish. It was loyalty to the ghost of a great movement or an early meeting with the Allspark. Discontent was an ill-fitting word, but the Vehicons filled the holes with self-made methods.

Deep in mining wells, or in forgotten rooms aboard the warship, over commlinks they met. They met and they complained and they schemed and they wished. More importantly, they humoured each other and reminded one another that they were not alone. They held moments of silence for their lost comrades. They spoke about the direction of the cause, and gossip between who was in and out of Megatron’s favour at the precise moment, and predicted who would be in the future. Starscream was always mentioned. Together they shared smuggled high-grade and energon snacks and assured each other that soon, they could remove their visors.

However, the most thrilling meeting came once a week, at the permission of Megatron. The Nemesis was equipped with more than one towering hall, the smallest of which had been converted into something similar to what many troops may have known on Cybertron. It shared many commonalities with drinking bars and taverns that were littered across the less esteemed parts of most Cybertronain cities. As a joke, the tavern-like hall had been dubbed ‘The Prime’s Head’. It was open once an earth week and supplied the majority of the motivation the troops needed to keep going. Megatron was also acutely aware that it kept his armies placid, having one outlet was enough to stop short of an uprising. Though it was rumoured to him that during his time in space, Starscream allowed two of these openings a week, a ploy to win favour obviously – but an effective one.

The system was simple enough. Each Vehicon has two high-grade tokens. This restricted any drunkenness or hooliganism that might occur had they been overcharged. They can spend these at the bar, which was run by five Vehicons according to a rota. There was a small selection of different drinks. All mixed expertly by mechs that perhaps would’ve done the same back on Cybertron. The lights in the tavern where dimmed, but it was alight with chatter. Reminiscing about old times, idle gossip, the passing of secret information. Occasionally there was music, but never too much or too loud. It was a humble gathering that kept sparks alight from week to week, and the Vehicons ravished every opportunity for the life they got aboard that dead metal ship. For it was almost assured that some of them would not be present at the next tavern opening.

#tfp #transformers prime #vehicons #maccadam #ooc #megatron #transformers #high-grade

[jeannereames]

Alexander as LGBTQI Icon

(The last blog-tour repost.)

“Was Alexander the Great gay?”

I get that question ALL the time. The poor horse has been beaten to death, and discussion always ends in an examination of Greek terminology that’s largely academic. I’ve written about it before elsewhere.

I’d like to look at this from a different angle, here.

For decades (maybe centuries), Alexander has been an icon in the queer community. That upsets a portion of his fanbase, including some Greeks. When early publicity for Oliver Stone’s 2004 blockbuster hinted that Alexander had male lovers, a group of Greek lawyers threatened to sue him. Yet as in the rest of Europe, the younger generation cares less, and in 2015, Greece passed recognition of same-sex civil unions, even if they couldn’t quite make the leap to call it “marriage.” As a result, resistance to Alexander as gay, or at least bisexual, has lessened in Greece. Somewhat.

In the rest of the Western world, “Was Alexander gay?” has shifted for many to “Alexander was gay.” Question to statement.

How’d we get here? Indulge me in a tour of Alexander’s treatment in modern history and recent fiction. I’ll keep it as brief as possible, but stay for the payoff, ‘kay?

The earliest modern historians of Alexander (late 1800s) wouldn’t even talk about Alexander and men. Then, in the 1930s, W. W. Tarn wrote a “defense” of him from those naughty insinuations in his 2-book biography. It wasn’t very convincing unless you were inclined to be convinced. After, either silence or righteous indignation were the usual responses to the matter, and historians routinely ignored Hephaistion (his probable lover) in their work because it might bring up the homosexual thing.

Then, in 1958, Ernst Badian published, “The Eunuch Bagoas” in The Classical Quarterly, and the ground shook. Yes, his article influenced Mary Renault’s later Persian Boy, but it wasn’t a manifesto on Alexander’s same-sex partners. Badian sought to rehabilitate the ancient sources that Tarn had dismissed because they’d suggested that Bagoas was, you know, REAL. Hence the article title.

After, scholarship began to talk about Alexander and men. Yet a certain discomfort remained. Most ATG (Alexander the Great) historians of the time were cis straight white guys. If many (some of whom I know personally, so can vouch for) were also left-leaning agnostic/atheist liberals, people are products of their era. They might acknowledge that Alexander had male lovers, but thinking too closely about it was outside their comfort zone.*

In addition, this new generation coincided with the “Badian Revision” that attacked Alexander’s image as Romantic Hero or Gentleman Conqueror—fairly, to be honest. He committed some horrific acts. In any case, the then-current trend painted him (and his friends and supporters, including Hephaistion) with a hostile brush, independent of sexual orientation.

Well, maybe. Of them all, Hephaistion faired worst, and a lot of that assessment was colored by his emotional role in Alexander’s life.

About the same time, Mary Renault (herself bisexual) published Fire from Heaven (1969). We might characterize it as a toe in the water; she’s allusive about Alexander and Hephaistion there. But in 1972, she followed it with The Persian Boy, and threw down the damn gauntlet.

Oh, what a difference a riot can make! Hello, Stonewall.

I’ve noticed a tendency among some younger LGBTQI readers to pooh-pooh Renault for her “off the page” takes on Alexander and sex, or for her idealizing of Alexander, and I agree about the idealizing. But we must place her in her proper historical context. At the time, she was a lightning strike. Whatever I may think of her romanticism, I recognize her enormous impact, and salute her. You go, Grrrrl.

I collect ATG fiction for snorts and giggles, have for a long time. But with a couple exceptions where I was asked to review something, I’ve avoided reading any since 1998, in case it even accidentally influenced my own work. After Dancing with the Lion sold, however, I finally read what I hadn’t, then presented conclusions for an academic paper on Alexander and Hephaistion in fiction post-Stonewall (coinciding with the 50th Anniversary of the riot), presented at Emory in Atlanta for the 2019 annual meeting of the Association of Ancient Historians. I won’t detail the books I covered, but will share the PATTERNS I saw, and let you. Gentle Reader, draw conclusions. (This paper has now been enlarged on and published in The Routledge Companion to Greek and Roman Sexualities, Ken Moore, ed., Chpt. 11, out 7/22.)

First, and most importantly, all but one novel presented Alexander and Hephaistion as lovers. If the presentations weren’t universally positive, it marked a sharp break with pre-Stonewall books.

In every novel wherein Alexander and Hephaistion’s love affair was positively portrayed, Hephaistion was also presented positively. Alexander may or may not have been. In every novel wherein Alexander and Hephaistion’s relationship (and homoeroticism) was negativized, Hephaistion was also negativized, and usually Alexander as well.

Yet several novels ticked “neither of the above.” In some, the relationship was problematized, usually for plot reasons; in others, the author sent mixed messages about homoeroticism (I think accidentally). Curiously, in most of these, Hephaistion was presented positively while Alexander was not. Finally, in the single novel where they were not lovers, Hephaistion was positive, but Greek homoerotic activity was ignored.

Take-away: authors who portray the relationship positively, have a positive Hephaistion. Authors who show it negatively make Hephaistion (and Alexander) morally iffy, at best. Otherwise, it’s a crap-shoot.

Here’s the kicker (and I bet you can guess what’s coming): the positive portrayals were all by women, plus one (British-Lebanese) man. Neutral portrayals might be a mixed bag, gender-wise. The negative ones? All guys. And the one where they weren’t lovers? A guy.

That, to me, sends a powerful message about who’s comfortable with the idea, regardless of whether an author publicly supports LGBTQI rights. Several of the negative ones were published before 2000, but others were recent-ish.

If the queer civil rights movement has made great strides in the 21st century, we’re experiencing a predictable cultural backlash. And in the current environment, I think it hugely important not just for LGBTQI people generally, but especially LGBTQI youth to be able to look at history and say, “Hey! Alexander the Great loved a man, and look what he accomplished!” I won’t go into, here, whether Alexander was “gay,” “bi,” or if we should even use modern terms; I’ll be happy to do that elsewhere over a beer.

Here, I want to say that, YES, dammit, it’s not only okay, but important for the LGBTQI community to claim Alexander. The fact the person he loved best in the world was another guy could keep some queer kid from suicide or self-harm, or even just give her/him/them a reason to get out of bed in the morning.

----------------------------------------------------------------- *This has changed substantially in the past 20 years and it’s now inaccurate to assume ATG scholars are mostly male, white, or straight. At the last International Alexander Symposium (2018, Edmonton, AB), hosted by Frances Pownall, a substantial number of women scholars presented, at least a third. Furthermore, Frances is, together with Sabine Műller and Sulochana Asirvatham editing the proceeds: a 3-woman editorial team. Frances is also editing a festschrift for Elizabeth Carney (one of the most prominent female scholars on Alexander, Macedonia, and the Successors) along with two others, another of whom is female. And of course, Sulo is not only not male, she’s not white. This is the new face of Macedonian scholarship.

#Alexander the Great #Queer history #Hephaistion #Hephaestion #Alexander historiography #historical fiction #ancient macedonia #Greek historical fiction #classics #tagamamnon #alexanderthegreat #Mary Renault #Ernst Badian #W. W. Tarn #asks

[obsessionsposts]

Leech

Art belongs to @shokveyv,check them out if you love transformers.

Warning: Slight nsfw that's all.

How long have I been kept here....

A cycle,

A deca-cycle,

A stellar cycle,

Primus knows what.....

Afterall, it wasn't my agenda to be captured by the fraggin' Djd and be kept as a captive, but the strange thing that made processor swirl why haven't they offed me yet.

Based on many rumours my fellow deceptions unit that I've fought with has told me about them. How being in the list was the worst thing a bot could ever be on for death purse and it is in the most horrid way that made my tanks churn.

However, I haven't commited any crime whatsoever so why did they capture me.

As the door slid open to reveal the frame of my own tormentor,kaon, who thinks I am merely a fragile bot who needs to be coddled and preserved rather than be in battlefield with my unit.

That fool...if only I am out of these chains I would've blasted him off to unicorn, but alas I am not.

" Hello, my spark. Are you comfortable? Oh-or do you need me to cuddle you down. You know I missed you ,afterall you're my soulspark", the opticless con spoke close to my audio receptors sending a shiver down my backstrut as he slide his servos to bring me close to him.

If I want to get out here in one piece, I must take advantage of his feelings,but I mustn't let him think I am faking it.

Quite a fool of con, easily influenced, and he gets attached fast as well. Bingo for me.

Faking a smile in my faceplate , I answered.

"Hello, kaon. I missed you. How couldn't I not you're my conjunx endura. My deepest apologizes for the last cycle I was quite a glitch so please forgive me my spark", slithering my servos down to reach his spike and stroking it mischivously which elicited a satisfied whimper from him.

"I forgive you, my dear. You're afraid and you know me well I have a thing for a scared little creature,but let's continue this in our designated habsuite that Tarn gave it me", grinning maniacally as he glued himself on my side.

I'll show you who is a scared little creature

"But how can we continue our interface when I am all locked up",

Smirking internally as my plan is in que, just you wait my unit I'll come back and lead us to victory.

Removing the chains, he gave me a needy kiss as we processed to his habsuite.

If I have to sacrifice my dignity to escape and kill my captor then so be it.

Watching his disgusting pathetic smile unaware of his upcoming doom made me smile sadistically.

#yandere #yandere x reader #yandere x you #yandere transformers #yandere mtmte

[tanadrin]

I think I’m starting to understand the difference in philosophies that underlies the two kinds of video game RPG better. I think of them as the Bethesda and the BioWare RPG, but more accurate terms would be the simulationist and the character-driven RPG. Which is not to say that the two categories are exclusive--they’re different points on a spectrum. The extreme simulationist RPG would be Dwarf Fortress’s Adventure Mode, where the entire world is procedurally generated ex nihilo, including attempts to procedurally generate things like history and politics and whole systems of magic. I’m not sure what the opposite would be--maybe something like the original Mass Effect, whose levels are quite cloistered, or the first Deus Ex, where you’re playing a character who is extremely defined as a person, but you still get to choose how the plot unfolds.

Each has aspects I like. I like that in character-driven games I have a strong narrative I get to operate within, and I get to make choices which affect the emotional outcome of the game. Bethesda games lack that, because for all the influence that in theory you have over the world, the ultimate outcome is usually always the same: Mehrunes Dagon is defeated, Alduin is killed, you’re sitting on a pile of treasure. What outcomes you do control tend to be binary yes/no levers (did you do the College of Winterhold quests? Congrats, you can add “Archmage” to your extremely long list of titles an honors), and moving through the game’s programmatic implementation of the plot feels more lack racking up Steam achievements than anything else.

Buuuut the price you pay for actually feeling like you inhabit these worlds is feeling like the worlds themselves are pretty two-dimensional. Skyrim was the first RPG I played where I felt a strong sense of place, like even though the experience was mediated by a computer screen and a mouse and keyboard, I could imagine what it would be like to stand on the road outside Riverwood and feel the cool breeze and look up and the foggy mountains. At the time I thought it was just the (then) shiny new graphics, but I bought Morrowind the other day just for fun, and I don’t think it is--I think placeness is just a thing Bethesda excels at in their games, because they pay close attention to it like BioWare does to characters. Morrowind’s graphics are much more primitive than Skyrim’s, but Vvardenfell definitely still has many of the same qualities Skyrim does in that respect, even with its blocky character models and super-short draw distance.

(Also, playing a little Morrowind has made me appreciate just how much the Dragonborn DLC is a love letter to Morrowind fans, which is neat.)

Are the two approaches compatible? Like, is one side of the spectrum necessarily exclusive of the other? I think they might be. The problem with the simulationist world (and this is a problem STA:GOB2:DF(AM) has in spades) is that you run the risk of a world a million miles wide and a millimeter deep (see also Elite: Dangerous, and No Man’s Sky reportedly but I haven’t played it myself), but Tarn Adams’ extreme fetish for procedural generation simply throws into relief the problem of a lot of these games, which is that random is not actually a substitute for complex, and even conceptually sophisticated Perlin noise is still just... noise. Utterly interchangeable. You can generate a million Dwarf Fortress worlds, and they’ll all be superficially identical.

Even a world like Daggerfall’s, which is the size of Great Britain, is mostly nothing. And it turns out (as fast travel and compass markers have shown us) that for most people, working your way over miles of empty country road and hunting for quest objectives is not the fun part of epic fantasy narratives, which is why most epic fantasy narratives... skip those parts.

(Tangent 1: I understand the impulse to huge fantasy worlds in video games, and I think it’s a positive one, mostly. Theme parks don’t feel real, which is why Azeroth has no sense of place. It could--it has some wonderfully atmospheric zones--but everything about the placement of NPCs and the way you interact with the world screams animatronic Presidents, Disneyland with the Burning Legion, so it lacks... worldlikeness. The problem with big, detailed, simulationist worlds is that if you’re inhabiting them from a pedestrian’s viewpoint, 99.5% of all that is going to go to waste. Either you will fast-travel past it or it will be Desert Bus With Dragons, but honestly, you don’t need to simulate weather fronts and biomes and a realistic medieval economy if all you’re doing is trying to assemble the Staff of Chaos so you can whack Jagar Tharn over the head with it. As soon as your viewpoint becomes even a little bit more elevated, though, that stuff is interesting, and even important. The fact that every merchant in Spira will buy your stuff for exactly one half the price you sell it for is an irrelevant triviality if all you ever see is one merchant’s storefront at a time. But as soon as you begin to piece together anything like a bigger picture, the world needs to make sense. I would combine this observation with the fact that no matter how important you become to the world of Skyrim, you never actually wield any political or administrative authority. Sure, nobody wants to play Dean of the College of Winterhold or have to spend half their time playing Skyrim marking freshers’ essays on the elementary principles of transmutation, but it’s also weird that you can be one of Skyrim’s foremost property owners, thane of nine holds, political counselor of the High King, and you can’t get a guard to so much as hold your horse for you while you pop into the blacksmith’s. A game where accomplishment actually translates into political authority is a game where the worldbuilder’s urge to detail every element of the life-cycle of the lesser mana stoat becomes a little more important, if, say, you need to manage the mana stoat farmers. Although that doesn’t mean I don’t appreciate nods towards believability--Skyrim’s tiny-ass farms that couldn’t feed a family of four in a wintry climate, much less a tenth of a goddamn continent, are a major failure on that point. Visual believability is important. Noteworthy here also is landscape architecture: one reason Skyrim does well at placeness is that it feels reasonable, even though it’s a geographical absurdity. Something like the world of Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning, where even the “plains” regions are wacky moonscapes designed to maximize walking time, so as to substitute boredom for size, are failures in level design.)

(Tangent 2: I once had the idea for a fantasy film or comic book that involved all the usual players: a Scheming Villain, a Terrible Macguffin of Power, a band of Plucky Heroes, romance, war, intrigue, excitement, etc. Except all the big, exciting moments would be entirely implied; the actual story told would be of all the quiet moments between the battles and confrontations and tragic death scenes. The sitting around the campfire singing songs. The tossing and turning on hard ground or in lumpy, unfamiliar beds. The quiet conversation or the anxious exchange of looks before a battle. The moments of reflection or subtle self-doubt before committing to a course of action that could save or doom the world. I don’t actually know if it would make for an interesting story, but I think it would be a lot of fun to write.)

Bethesda for its part is firmly committed to the tabula rasa silent protagonist, and I think that’s a mistake. I don’t think you increase player agency in a world where your protagonist must remain mute, I think you only highlight the disconnect. I may be unusual here, but one of the things I love most about BioWare games, and which makes me feel most embedded in their plots and connected to their characters, is the fact I get to hear both sides of the conversation, and how I choose to respond has a lasting effect on the kind of person the other characters seem to understand me to be. That feels much more interesting to me that the cipher that moves through Bethesda worlds, about which little can be known, because little can be specified. Yes, such a cipher can have any history you want, but only because such a cipher can have no substantive history--so, like the details of a procedurally generated world, the history of such a protagonist, their motivations and intent, is rendered trivial. And for escapist fantasy, where part of the goal is to not be trivial, but to be important, vital even, I think that’s a failure. Unless your goal is to, like, RP a cabbage merchant, in which case--success!

What I really want, what I really feel is a seriously under-appreciated possibility in video game RPGs, is an open world with some of the simulationist aspects, but built around, or laid on top of, a strong central plot skeleton. One with rich character interaction and consequential, emotional choices (and no, Dawnguard does not qualify), and I think the payoff would be that we are so used to vast worlds that are ultimately quite shallow that even a few substantive concessions in this direction would feel like we had suddenly discovered benthic depths.

#video games #skyrim #bethesda #bioware #rpgs

[dubaicollegelatestnews]

House Reports October 2020

CHICHESTER

First of all, Congratulations to the students who successfully applied for this year’s Chichester leadership team:

House Captains:   Emily and Jafar

Deputy House Captains:   Lia, Auxane and Srish

Year Captains:

Year 7: Sheraya and Alejandra (7JKI) and Azlan and Alize (7SHE)

Year 8: Yousef, Mustafa and Sreya

Year 9: Nethan and Maha

Year 10: Tarn and Munia

Year 11: Simra and Matthew

In the first House Assembly of the year, House Captain Jafar inspired us all with the following Quotation:

‘If anything terrifies me, I must conqueror it’.

This was a quote from Sir Francis Chichester and the House has decided to use this as our motto and to embrace all that it stands for in the future. We have also decided to have our very own mascot ‘Chich the Dragon’

We began the year with a resounding win by our Year 7 in the House quiz competition and have seen our biggest entry yet into the junior, intermediate and senior house music competitions. I would like to wish all the finalist the best of luck in their preparations over half term. We will look forward to a mixed and varied house programme for the rest of the year and the belief is what we always stand by as a house, and that is, ‘team work’ is always the best way!

BARBAROSSA

During the early weeks of Term 1, Ms Dibble and the Barbarossa Sixth Form team sought out to elect year captains and deputy year captains from each year group. Lots of strong applications were sent in, but amongst the stiff competition, we are delighted to announce that the following students will be Barbarossa’s captains for this academic year:

House Captains: Lauren and Kian

Deputy House Captains: Madilyn, Zander, Visser and Aurelien

Year 7 Captains: Maryam (7STU) and Chandoo (7STU)

Deputy Year 7 Captains:  Naduli (7SGA) and Arhan (7SGA)

Year 8 Year Captains: Dana (8SOR) and Dhruv (8TSO)

Deputy Year 8 Captains: Evie (8TSO), Shaurya (8TSO) and Humayl (8SOR)

Year 9 Captains: Hana (9DRI) and Abhir (9DRI)

Deputy Year 9 Captain: Zara (9RVE)

Year 10 Captains:  Zainab (10CSI) and Hyder (10RQU)

Deputy Year 10 Captains: Arya (10GCA) and Hussain (10GCA)

Year 11 Captains: Jodie (11LCA) and Zachary (11SBR)

Deputy Year 11 Captains: Zaara (11ROD) and Aman (11MWD)

The Barbarossa house has also introduced a new role to the leadership team: new student representative. Moving to a new school can be socially challenging, especially in years 8-10. Thus we hope new Barbarossa students will find community and feel welcome at Dubai College with the help of our new lower school student representatives:

New student Reps - Lower School

Aarush (8SOR) and Zara (8SOR)

Congratulations to all the house captains and the new student reps! We look forward to working with you as we lead Barbarossa through another prosperous, victorious year!

This term, the houses have also competed in the Year 7, 8, 9 and 10 House quizzes. With questions about general knowledge, anyone could prove their worth for Barbarossa, and hopefully bring home precious points for the House competition. Following amazing performances from all the students, Barbarossa won the Year 8 House quiz. Well done to all those who took part!

In terms of merits, Barbarossa has done amazingly well, amassing a whopping 1040 house points, and still going! Heyerdahl, who is second has 760, meaning that Barbarossa is strongly in the lead. However, that means we must all continue to work hard to earn house points to ensure a Barbarossa victory at the end of the year.

Go Barbarossa!

COUSTEAU

Cousteau house started this year with a bang, despite the current circumstances, with an impressive number of enthusiastic students participating in the events we’ve had so far, such a House music, and House quiz.

But first we would like to introduce ourselves:

Head of House - Mr Jackson

House Captains - Lorcan & Maya

Deputy House Captains - Will & Farasha

Within the first few weeks of term, we had many impressive applications rolling in for the Heads of Year roll, but ultimately, we had the very hard decision of choosing just 2 for each year group. On behalf of Mr Jackson, and the Cousteau House captains, we are delighted to announce this year’s heads of year group:

Year 7 - Abhinav & Angela

Year 8 - Arush & Inish

Year 9 -  Alex & Aleezah

Year 10 - Anay & Areesha

Year 11 - Dylan & Anna

Once again, we would like to congratulate our new representatives for their appointments.

Our motto – ‘surrender me for the we’ - displays Cousteau’s core value as a House. Teamwork. This is essential to our House as it provides the foundations for success, whether it be in House Music, Sports day or the House quizzes. By working as a team it creates synergy within the House, allowing us to work better together than we could individually. It also forms bonds and friendships between peers which enables the House to perform better as a whole.

The first House event of the year was a general knowledge quiz for Years 7, 8, 9 and 10, in which they performed exceptionally well. The students fully embodied our new motto and worked collectively to earn as many points as possible, placing us in joint first place with Heyerdahl. Well done to all those who took part and congratulations to Year 9, who were the quiz winners for their year group.

This half-term we also experienced our first digital House music, in which we were overwhelmed by the amount of excellent submissions across the House. A huge congratulations to Rosie in the juniors, and Amara and Eman for making it to the intermediate division finals and to Pratyush i and Advay for making it to the senior music finals. As always, your contributions to the House are appreciated and the music department were very impressed with the standards of your entries!

Overall, this half-term has been highly successful for the Cousteau House and we are once again impressed with the levels of enthusiasm that have been shown over the past few weeks.

HEYERDAHL

Representing Heyerdahl in the leadership team this year, we have:

House Captains:  Vardsinh (Ping), Mariam, Zeenat, Mark and Jamie.

For this year’s year-group leaders, we have elected 12 students from year 7 to year 11.

Year 7 Captains: Sophie, Dea, Raleigh, Vivaan Patel 

Year 8 Captains: Sanaaya, Akshay

Year 9 Captains: Karma, Maximilian

Year 10 Captains: Yasmin, Kushaan

Year 11 Captains: Casey, Osian

They have the important roles of communicating information and encouraging their peers to get involved in the House competition. We, as a team, are looking forward to working with these determined year captains. At the start of the academic year, normally, we would have vote based on the enthusiasm of students for particular mascots, whilst delivering our assembly. However, we did it differently this year and instead sent out a poll for students. The majority voted for the ‘Minions’, which, therefore is this year’s mascot for Heyerdahl.

Given the current situation, the House music competition was very different this year. Despite these difficulties, the show had to go on! There were many eager and talented candidates, showcasing their abilities on a wide range of instruments. The finals will be held on the 4th November and our congratulations go to the following finalists: Kevin, Amal, Sourav, Mariam and Vardsinh.

Our congratulations also go to all the students who took part in the House Quizzes, which was clearly a success as Heyerdahl came joint first. We are all determined to keep up the effort, hard work and commitment to the House for the rest of the year.

[pipermca]

Aaaand that’s all. Now for editing, a few little rewrites, and I’ll start sticking this foo up on AO3.

Raw, unedited, read at own risk, etc etc. Prequel to The Renegade and the Hound, contains spoilers for that story.

Vorn 0. Vorn 1. Vorn 3. Vorn 5. Vorn 8. Vorn 9. Vorn 10.

Vorn 11

It took every iota of willpower for Smokescreen to not drum his digits against the arm of his chair. He was here to observe. Interfering would only irritate the King and infuriate the High Priest. Besides, this was Prowl’s fight.

But knowing that didn’t diminish Smokescreen’s desire to give his opinion.

“This is to be a diplomatic mission,” Prowl said, his voice even and calm. Smokescreen watched his brother’s door wings carefully, and was amazed at how steady he kept them. Prowl had always had excellent control over his emotions. “While I appreciate the Temple’s concern, I feel confident that between Lord Fireblade, our attendants and my guards, I would be quite safe, even in Vos. I do not want it to look like we are staging an invasion of every country we visit.”

High Priest Barricade tipped his helm forward and met the King’s optics. “We are concerned not just with the Prince’s safety, Your Majesty, but with the perception that this trip may cause with the people of Praxus.” He glanced at Prowl and smiled ingratiatingly. “The Temple is tasked with safeguarding the Praxian frametype so that a vessel may be produced for Primus. As a member of the Royal family, the Prince is a very visible example of this perfect frame. If we were to allow him to travel outside of the wall of Praxus unattended, we could not in good conscious restrict others from doing the same... And then where would we be?”

Smokescreen finally found his opening to weigh in. “Well, we are slowly loosening the borders,” he said. He tented his digits together and watched Barricade over them. “Do you mean to say that while some Praxians are free to travel now - with appropriate permission, of course – pure Praxians can only leave with a Temple chaperone?”

The High Priest’s door wings twitched, and Smokescreen suppressed a smile. The High Priest knew when he was being needled. “The Temple has protested opening the borders, Your Highness,” he said, the slightest edge of a growl rumbling from his engine. “We believe it is unwise, especially with the darkness we see growing to the west. Perhaps if we had not grown so lax with our borders, the massacre in Tesk might not have happened.”

“Perhaps you did not receive all of the intelligence about the attack. Whatever creatures committed that atrocity also slaughtered our border guards. A lax border had nothing to do with the attack,” Prowl said, cutting through Barricade’s snarl. “The Vosians have experienced similar attacks, and we have heard that Tarn and Iacon may have as well. This is why this mission is so important.”

“Enough!” King Cygnus finally rapped his knuckles on the desk. He glared between Prowl and Barricade for a long moment, his door wings spread wide. “Prowl, the High Priest is correct. It would be unseemly for one of the Princes to travel without a Temple escort. They will be going with you, and that is final.”

Prowl’s expression said nothing, but Smokescreen could read a lot into the hesitation before he spoke. “As you wish, sire.”

The King turned to Barricade as an oily smile spread across the black mech’s lips. “And High Priest, Prowl is also correct. This is a diplomatic mission, and Prowl has final say on how it is conducted. You and your entourage will do nothing to interfere with his task.”

Tipping his door wings upwards in surprise, Barricade sat up straight. Then he inclined his helm. “Your will is law, Your Majesty,” he said quietly.

Finally, the King looked at Smokescreen, who straightened in his chair. “And you are not King yet,” he said sternly. “Do not insinuate yourself into my decisions for which I have not requested your counsel.”

Smokescreen met his sire’s optics for a long moment, then dropped his gaze to the floor in front of him. “Of course, Your Majesty,” he said. He lowered his door wings. “My apologies.”

Pulling a full vent cycle, King Cygnus looked between the two mechs one more time before nodding. “This is an incredibly important trip, for many reasons. It’s been hundreds of vorn since we’ve sent an envoy to our neighbours. It’s imperative that it goes smoothly.”

There was a soft knock on the door of the King’s study, and after a moment the door swung open. Lord Caelum stepped into the room and shut the door behind him. “Pardon me, Your Majesty,” he said, bowing his helm and dipping his door wings. “But perhaps it is time to take a break.”

The King looked at Lord Caelum with wide optics, then an expression of shame flashed across his face. “Yes... Of course,” he said. He looked again at Prowl and Barricade. “Will there be anything else?” When both mechs shook their helms, he stood up. The three other mechs stood up as well.  “Then I will take Lord Caelum’s advice and take a break. Until tomorrow.” He walked across the desk and took Lord Caelum’s arm, and allowed himself to be led from the room.

The High Priest glanced at the two princes, then whirled on a heel and swept out of the King’s study. Once they were alone, Prowl turned to Smokescreen and said, “You really ought not to bait him like that.”

Smokescreen lifted a lip in disgust. “If he didn’t want to be baited, he wouldn’t be such an aft.” He glared at the door through which the High Priest had left. “If it was just a matter of propriety, he would have just sent along some Prelates to keep an optic on you. You know he wants to have input on the diplomatic discussions, especially with Vos.”

“I know.” Prowl blew air from his vents, suddenly looking very tired. “I am not looking forward to having to manage him and the negotiations at the same time.”

“I’m sure you’ll manage,” Smokescreen said, patting Prowl on the shoulder. “If anyone can multitask it’s you.”

A small army of attendants and guards gathered in the palace courtyard the morning of their departure. From the top of the palace stairs, Smokescreen watched the mechs securing the gear for the trip. “Why is it that Barricade has so many more guards going with him than you do?” he asked.

“He only has two more guards than I do,” Prowl said. He was checking his personal gear a final time, and stowed it in his compartments once he was satisfied. “And if you count my attendant, the High Priest only has one more mech going with him than I do.”

“It’s Barricade,” Smokescreen said quietly. “You don’t have to be reasonable when complaining about him.”

Prowl glanced at Smokescreen and smiled. “In that case, it’s utterly unreasonable how many mechs he has going with him,” he said.

“That’s more like it,” Smokescreen said with a grin, cuffing Prowl on the shoulder.

Down in the courtyard, King Cygnus stood next to Lord Caelum, chatting with Lord Fireblade. The noble was a friend of the King’s, and was an excellent negotiator. Prowl had specifically requested his presence in the party. Smokescreen watched as the King put a hand on Fireblade’s arm and said something to him earnestly. The noble frowned, glancing at Lord Caelum, who shrugged. Fireblade looked back to the King, and after a moment nodded. King Cyngus smiled and gripped Fireblade’s forearm.

“I suppose we should get going.” Smokescreen looked away from the odd exchange as Prowl turned to face him. His brother had an odd expression on his face. “I know this mission is important,” Prowl said. “But I wish I could be here for you. The next half vorn or so are going to be critical for you.”

“Don’t I know it,” Smokescreen said. He pushed down the feeling of doubt that rose in him. “But I’m sure I’ll get through it fine. I’ve got almost half the Court on my side. Maybe by the time you get back, I’ll have the rest, too.”

The odd expression stayed on Prowl’s face. “I’ll just settle for you being in one piece.”

Smokescreen glanced to his side. His head guard Strikeback had encouraged Smokescreen to double up his guard until the succession proceedings had been concluded. As time went on, Smokescreen realized how wise that advice had been. “I’ve got the best help,” he said, inclining his helm towards Strikeback and his other guards. “I’m sure everything will be fine.”

Prowl stepped close to his brother and gently bumped their helms together, resting his chevon on Smokescreen’s. “Take care.”

“Go well, Prowl,” Smokescreen said, staring into Prowl’s optics.

Prowl nodded, resting his helm on Smokescreen’s for another moment before pulling away. He descended the stairs and bid farewell to the King and Lord Caelum. Then, he transformed to join the rest of the party, and the group slowly drove out of the palace gates.

“And then there was one,” Smokescreen murmured to himself. He paused at the twist of anxiety those words caused him, and shook his helm. He turned to walk back into the palace. He had work to do.

#my writing #fanfic #tf smokescreen #tf prowl #serial fiction

[j0sgomez-blog]

By Michael Lanza

After years of exploring all over Yosemite on numerous backpacking trips, I’ve learned two lessons about it: Few places possess Yosemite’s breadth and variety of scenery and inspire the same powerful sense of adventure. And its backcountry harbors such an abundance of soaring granite peaks, jagged skylines, rushing creeks, waterfalls, and shimmering alpine lakes—plus, over 700,000 acres of designated wilderness and 750 miles of trails—that you can take many, many trips in America’s third national park without running out of five-star scenery.

There’s only one Yosemite, and it unquestionably belongs on any list of the best national park backpacking trips.

Mark Fenton scaling Half Dome’s cable route in Yosemite.

This article describes the five best backpacking trips in Yosemite, based on my numerous trips exploring every quadrant of the park, from the core between Yosemite Valley and Tuolumne Meadows—including Half Dome—to the John Muir Trail, the Clark Range and southeast corner, and the vast wilderness of northern Yosemite. These trips range in length from three to four days and roughly 30 miles (with shorter options) to more than a week and nearly 90 miles, and from beginner friendly to serious, committing adventures into the park’s farthest reaches, demanding good fitness and skills.

Each trip described below includes a link to a story about it that provides more detail (reading those stories requires a paid subscription; click here to learn more about subscribing), and each also has a link to one of my e-guides describing that trip. Look at a trail map of the park while reading these descriptions, and you will see that the extensive trail system allows for variations on these routes—longer and shorter, and even combining all or parts of these routes.

Yosemite exceeds expectations in many ways, including this truth: Its reputation for crowds just doesn’t square with the reality of backpacking throughout most of the park. Yes, Yosemite Valley sees insane numbers of tourists, and a few of the park’s trails—like the Mist Trail and Half Dome—are among the most popular in the country. But wander into the park’s vast backcountry and you will find vistas that conjure the Valley, along with a surprising degree of solitude.

  Half Dome, Liberty Cap, and Nevada Fall, along the route of “The Best First Backpacking Trip in Yosemite.” Click on photo to learn more about this hike.

Backpack in Yosemite and you will also connect with the history of America’s conservation movement and an idea that changed the world. In a real sense, this is where the 84-million-acre National Park System began.

In 1864, eight years before the designation of Yellowstone as the world’s first national park, President Abraham Lincoln signed a law granting Yosemite Valley and the Mariposa Grove of giant sequoias to the state of California—making them the first lands protected purely for scenic value. Yosemite became America’s third national park in 1890. Walk for days through the backcountry and you will understand what inspired John Muir and others to persuade the nation’s leaders and the public that America must preserve some places in an untarnished, natural state.

  Plan your next great backpacking adventure in Yosemite and other flagship parks using my expert e-guides.

  Looking northeast from Mule Pass in Yosemite National Park.

Understanding Yosemite’s Backcountry Permit System

Yosemite National Park issues free backcountry permits under a somewhat unique system based on trailhead quotas—allowing a specific number of backpackers to start their trip at each trailhead every day. For some of the most-popular trailheads—including Happy Isles in Yosemite Valley and most of the trailheads in the Tuolumne Meadows area and along Tioga Road—those quotas are often filled the first day that the park begins accepting permit reservations, which is up to 24 weeks (168 days) before a hike’s starting date. (For example, to start a trip in late July, submit your application in early February.)

But you may also be able to get a permit a day prior to starting a trip. For each trailhead, 60 percent of available permits can be reserved in advance, but the remaining 40 percent are available only on a first-come, first-served basis no earlier than 11 a.m. the day before starting a hike. Learn the tricks for getting a permit in Yosemite and other popular parks in my “10 Tips For Getting a Hard-to-Get National Park Backcountry Permit.”

  Hi, I’m Michael Lanza, creator of The Big Outside, which has made several top outdoors blog lists. Click here to sign up for my FREE email newsletter, or enter your email address in the box in the left sidebar or at the bottom of this story. Click here to get full access to all of my blog’s stories. Follow my adventures on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Youtube.

  Tell me what you think of the trips described below or suggest your own favorite backpacking trip in Yosemite in the comments section at the bottom of this story.

And definitely don’t plan a backpacking trip in Yosemite without first seeing my e-guides to the best backpacking trips in Yosemite (and other national parks).

  Jeff Wilhelm backpacking over Clouds Rest in Yosemite National Park.

Yosemite Valley to Half Dome, Clouds Rest, and Sunrise

Todd Arndt on “The Visor” of Half Dome in Yosemite.

Planning your first backpacking trip in Yosemite and want to hit all the famous highlights—on a route that’s also beginner-friendly? Take this 37.2-mile hike from Happy Isles Trailhead in Yosemite Valley. It loops through the core of the park, including the Mist Trail past 317-foot Vernal Fall and 594-foot Nevada Fall, the cable route up Half Dome, the spectacular summit of Clouds Rest, a section of the John Muir Trail, and a view of the Cathedral Range from your campsite at Sunrise.

This may be the most popular backpacking trip in Yosemite; it starts from the most popular trailhead, Happy Isles, and includes at least one night at the most popular backcountry campground, Little Yosemite Valley. Expect a lot of competition for this permit and plan alternative routes in case you don’t get it.

Read more about this hike in my blog post “Ask Me: Where to Backpack First Time in Yosemite,” and find detailed information on how to pull it off, including variations of this route and insider tips in getting a permit for it, in my e-guide “The Best First Backpacking Trip in Yosemite.” See also my tips on hiking Half Dome.

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Backpackers hiking to Vogelsang Pass in Yosemite National Park.

Tuolumne Meadows to Tenaya Lake

The roughly 30-mile traverse from the Rafferty Creek Trailhead at the eastern end of Tuolumne Meadows to the Sunrise Lakes Trailhead at Tenaya Lake features not only those two amazing spots, but the panorama of mountains from Vogelsang Pass, the beautiful canyon of the Merced River, the view of the Cathedral Range from Sunrise, and relatively quiet sections of trail.

This hike passes three of the park’s High Sierra Camps— Vogelsang, Merced Lake, and Sunrise—where you can stay in tent cabins and have all meals prepared for you, or stay in DIY backpacker campgrounds. This route is popular because it’s relatively accessible, scenic, and offers the convenience of using the free shuttle buses that operate between trailheads throughout the Tuolumne area.

This is described as an alternative route in my e-guide “The Best First Backpacking Trip in Yosemite,” which provides a wealth of information on how to prepare for and take a backpacking trip in Yosemite.

  See some of Yosemite’s best scenery on any of “The 10 Best Dayhikes in Yosemite.”

  A backpacker at dawn above the Lyell Fork Canyon of the Merced River in Yosemite National Park.

The Clark Range and Southeast Yosemite

This 65-mile hike south of Tuolumne Meadows is arguably the best trip in the park for backpackers who are ready for a remote wilderness trek but still want to tag some iconic, must-see landmarks like thunderous, 594-foot-tall Nevada Fall and two of Yosemite’s best summits: Half Dome high above Yosemite Valley, and Clouds Rest, with a 360-degree panorama from its nearly 10,000-foot summit that encompasses most of the park.

It shows off granite domes and peaks in places like Tuolumne and Vogelsang and crosses Red Peak Pass in the Clark Range—the highest pass reached by a trail in Yosemite—and the granite basins and tarns, lakes, and creeks at the headwaters of the Merced River.

I wrote about this trip in my feature story “Best of Yosemite, Part 1: Backpacking South of Tuolumne Meadows,” which has many photos and a video as well as trip-planning information. You will find much more detail on planning this trip in my e-guide “The Best of Yosemite E-Guide, Part 1: Backpacking South of Tuolumne Meadows.”

  I can help you plan this or any other trip you read about at my blog. Find out more here.

  The Grand Canyon of the Tuolumne River in Yosemite National Park.

The Grand Canyon of the Tuolumne River

Think of the Grand Canyon of the Tuolumne River as a wilderness version of Yosemite Valley—without the roads, buildings, cars, and throngs of people—that’s twice as long. The Tuolumne River plunges through innumerable waterfalls and swimming holes between towering walls of granite, and the trail variously follows the river and climbs high above it. With a shuttle between trailheads, you can hike the canyon on a three- to four-day traverse of a bit over 30 miles from Tuolumne Meadows to White Wolf (west of Tenaya Lake) via Glen Aulin; or in the other direction, White Wolf to Tuolumne.

The Grand Canyon of the Tuolumne River.

Or hike from Tuolumne Meadows down as far as you like into the canyon, then turn around and retrace your steps back out. That option is not only logistically easier, but it allows you to backpack partway down the Grand Canyon of the Tuolumne, grab one of the many great campsites for two nights, and dayhike farther down the canyon with a light pack on your middle day. If you hike from Tuolumne Meadows all the way to Pate Valley, at the southern end of the Grand Canyon of the Tuolumne River, and return the same way, the total out-and-back distance is 39 miles.

I wrote about the Grand Canyon of the Tuolumne as part of a longer trip in my feature story  “Best of Yosemite, Part 2: Backpacking Remote Northern Yosemite,” which has many photos and a video as well as trip-planning information. Backpacking the Grand Canyon of the Tuolumne is also included in my e-guide “The Best of Yosemite E-Guide, Part 2: Backpacking Remote Northern Yosemite.”

  Make your next backpacking trip better with my “Top 5 Tips for Better Ultralight Backpacking.”

  A backpacker in Matterhorn Canyon, Yosemite National Park.

Northern Yosemite

When you’re ready to explore as deeply into the Yosemite backcountry as a person can wander, this 87-mile trek is the high adventure for you. It follows a meandering route north of Tuolumne Meadows, diving into the park’s biggest, loneliest, and most remote chunk of wilderness.

Its many highlights include the rock gardens of Matterhorn Canyon beneath 12,264-foot Matterhorn Peak; three 10,000-foot passes (including Burro Pass, shown in lead photo at top of story); the sprawling, sandy beach at Benson Lake; the Grand Canyon of the Tuolumne River; pretty May Lake; and the 10,850-foot summit of Mount Hoffmann, often described as having “the best 360 in Yosemite.” While you are likely to see other backpackers in camps, especially at lakes, northern Yosemite also gifts you with the longest stretches of solitude.

I wrote about this trip in my feature story  “Best of Yosemite, Part 2: Backpacking Remote Northern Yosemite.” You will find much more detail on planning this trip in my e-guide “The Best of Yosemite E-Guide, Part 2: Backpacking Remote Northern Yosemite.”

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  Find more details about how to get a wilderness permit in Yosemite at nps.gov/yose/planyourvisit/wildpermits.htm, and see my “10 Tips For Getting a Hard-to-Get National Park Backcountry Permit.” And see all of my stories about Yosemite National Park at The Big Outside.

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