#Weed Smokescreen

[jadenryan77]

"Komm her und lass dir was drehen... 📍Budapest, Ungarn..."

[sgrplmjnxxx]

Intoxicated 🚬 cw// bong,smoking

It will take forever to finish this again so i didn't lined it (stressful af)

Yeee,so,I wanna draw robots vaping,smoking or whatever. The best character choice will be smokecreen ofc,he's hitting dark energon,probably? or more legal substance than dark energon. That good shit probably addictive? contagious? or something >:3

also its been forever since i drew them together. They're also besties bitches <3

[love-ces4r-us]

[thoughtsandfeelings18]

[disgruntled-detectives]

I’m gonna say something that’s been weighing on me a bit lately.

I wish to hell that non-Jews hadn’t learned the word antisemitism. Hear me out.

I just watched a video of an anti-racism content creator. She is Black, but not Jewish. She had a video that was directed at Jewish people about her “concern” about the “misuse, harm, abuse, weaponization of the term “antisemitic” levied by Jews at anyone who is pro-Palestinian. And I just blocked her in disgust.

Because first of all, YES. the charge of antisemitism HAS been used to silence any criticism of Israel by bad faith actors. Do you wanna know who I see this THE MOST from?! RIGHT WING GENTILE POLITICIANS.

Most of the time, when Jews say it, it’s because it’s there. And I’m SICK of non Jews gaslighting us about it. This shit is baked into our culture here in the west. It’s fucking everywhere, and unless you have actively done the work to unlearn your biases and unpack your personal antisemitism, you aren’t qualified to speak about it. And you certainly are not qualified to speak over Jewish voices who are begging you to see it.

Have I seen some Jews reflexively saying pro-Palestine content is antisemitic? Yes. Yes I have. But. Jews are fucking traumatized. I don’t know a single Jewish person that wasn’t in some way personally affected by October 7th. Whether it’s a family member, friend, acquaintance being murdered or kidnapped, or even just knowing that 1300 of our people were murdered and several hundred were kidnapped, and over a hundred remain hostages months later. October 7th 2023 was the single biggest massacre of Jews since the fucking Holocaust. And antisemitism in the diaspora has grown to a frightening degree. My friends synagogue was bomb threatened. Synagogues all across the diaspora have been threatened. I personally have had absolutely disgusting things said to me both IRL and online and I’m thankful it’s only been words. A man was arrested in London for being openly Jewish walking past a protest. A Jewish student was jabbed in the eye by a protester with a Palestinian flag. And so no. I don’t fucking blame Jews for having a traumatized response. I believe Jews have a responsibility to try and see past their trauma. To advocate for the freedom and liberation of all peoples. To repair the world. Tikkun Olam. But I don’t blame them if they can’t.

But the number of Jews levying the charge of antisemitism at something that inherently isn’t utterly pales in comparison to the amount of bad faith right wing gentiles I’ve seen using it as a smokescreen for their Islamophobia.

I’m sick of Jews being accused of making this shit up as a result. Because it IS there. Not all the time. Not in everything. But it still there. Just because YOU don’t see it gentiles, doesn’t mean it’s not fucking there. And it’s YOUR responsibility as non Jews to weed that shit out and keep it out of your pro-Palestinian protests.

[transformers-spike]

hi, greened out anon LOL i dont think i meant literal gardening, i meant getting h!gh like off lil gummies and stuff 😅 sorry I didnt make it clear, im shocked i even typed that coherently. You dont have to write that if you dont want obvi, still love you/your content 🖤

THAT'S A EUPHAMISM??? I had noooo fucking idea honestly Honestly bots dealing with humans high on weed is rlly funny to me. I'm sure they have their own drugs, but just the idea of them trying to figure how to act around their human is hilarious Idk if they can truly smell the weed, but I'm sure they can tell you're acting all different. TFP Ratchet does not care as long as you don't bother him - but if you don't move for the next 2 hours he's going be concerned Soundwave just films you saying the wildest shit and keeps replaying it when he needs a laugh. Chances are, Laserbeak's going to watch over you for a bit so you don't get yourself killed by accident Airachnid gets a kick out of how easy it is to give you a bad trip. And if that doesn't work, she'll just play around with you like a fly in her web. Don't recommend hanging around her The only ones who would actually fuck you in your baked state are Smokescreen and Knock Out. Smokescreen because he's down for everything - and Knock Out because you're so cute when you're high, and so very reactive to his touches

Oh and Megatron too I guess. But he'd fuck you just about anytime so... he doesn't count Everyone else is concerned/apathetic about it. You do you. Some get a kick out of your high state - others not so much

Meanwhile TFA team Optimus is smoking weed with you in solidarity. It doesn't even work on them, they're just exhausted with life and if this is a human bonding activity then spark-dammit, they'll participate

[bennett-ametyst]

For the meme, I present:

The self indulgent tf armada AU where everyone lives in Rome, the Daje AU (part 1)

(Translations under the cut)

🟥🟨🟥🟨🟥🟨🟥🟨🟥

Optimus Prime (25 yo)

-Follows the literature course in Sapienza (the BIGgest uni in Rome)

-Popular among this peers for his "Boy Next Door" charm, his idealism, and the lecture notes which offers for free (most of the time students sell their notes), and his good looks

-"Education is the right of all sentient beings"

-Politically engaged, organize protests and events for the faculty

-Despite this, he is extremely shy

-Has a backpack with an embarassing amount of pockets and useful things

-He did judo, but stopped at blue belt

-He's a tutor to high school students for classical subjects

-Few know this, but he attended the ITIS in Tor Sapienza (a zone in east Rome, unrelated to the university) with Megatron, when they often fought (people in ITIS fight a lot)

-Now he moved to Tufello (a chill zone in north Rome)

Red Alert (24 yo)

-He follows and does medicine at Policlinico (famed hospital and also were Sapienza's medicine courses are)

-Childhood friend of Optimus and Jetfire

-No one ever saw him sleep (medicine students have the most insane schedules, even if the degree course lasts 7 years)

-He doesn't accept less than 27/30 (exam votes)

-Miraculously on time with the exams schedule

-"Imagine how cool it must be living near Uni" (he took an apartment, dormitories aren't really a thing here)

-Since he lives near, they always assign him night shifts

-Consuming inhuman amounts of coffee has made him nearly immune to caffeine, so he purposely invented a more powerful distillate to stay awake

-Sometimes he tells about his special internship at Tivoli's hospital, he remembers it like a Vietnam flashback

-Always pissed off 24/7, but under all of that he cares a lot about his friends

-During the exam period, he smokes like a chimney ("I'll stop when I get that degree")

Jetfire (24 yo) (I think I'm in love with this drawing)

-He follows the philosophy course in Sapienza (literature's same faculty, the name is literally called "literature and philosophy")

-Optimus' best friend since forever

-He lives in Tufello since he was born

-Part of the Young Communist Front and the Congregation of Stoners at Uni

-Once he starts talking about the fight against capitalism, no one can stop him

-He always has a few grams of weed hidden somewere, (where the police will never find it)

-Every situation is a good situation to start stadium choirs (stadium choirs don't always have to do with football)

-On campus he dresses colorfully, but he has a battle outfit specific for protests (he's the one who brings fumogens)

-He's always seen on the Pratone (big ass lawn at the campus were students rest) smoking weed or playing SOAD on his acoustic guitar, nobody knows if he actually goes to class.

-Was an AS Roma die-hard fan before the Captain Totti left, now he pretends he doesn't care about the team (holding back tears)

-He attended the Liceo Artistico at Ripetta (art high school in the center), he wanted to do the painter, however the fact that in Italy this work sector it is not taken seriously or protected at all in which you can't do what you want or studied for a living or else you'll end up under a bridge, the other option it's taking orders from a company to make deceptive graphics, was enough to radicalize him.

-He had an accident with his scooter, breaking both his left leg and the muretto* of his house (for some obscure reason the scooter remained intact and I cant find an english word for *low walls we use with fences)

Smokescreen (26 yo)

-He follows engineering in Roma 3 (another big university in Rome but they forgot to change from the default name)

-Always doing internships at construction sites, "It's to gain experience" he says

-He lives in Rione Testaccio, here he spends Saturday evenings in the movida with his friends or the other workers

-"What are those idiots doing? The next rains will destroy everything" (looking at workers trying to fix something the wrong way)

-He did the professional high school, probably the only one in class that was committed to learning

-Gymbro with a almost infinite set of skills as mason, mechanic, and nutritionist

-"How much do you bench press?"

-Despite his rough appearance, he's a cinnamon roll ready for everything for his friends, expressing it in small jobs in his field, personalized training plans and telling them they should have a healthier lifestyle over every single problem they have (especially Red Alert and Jetfire)

-When Jetfire crashed with his scooter, he fixed his muretto, in exchange Jet would quit smoking for at least 6 months (he didn't succeed)

-His daily routine: 5:30 wake up; 6:00 breakfast with an apple and cappuccino; 6:30 jogging around Mount Testaccio; 7:07 bus up to the construction site; 7:45 coffee with the other workers; 8:00 to 12:00 internship work; 12:15 square pizza for lunch from Pinuccio; 13:00-16:00 course lessons at San Paolo; 18:30 gym; 20:00 dinner with 200g of pasta and rotisserie chicken; 21:00 herbal tea and then sleep.

-Bonus: he doesn't have a car, he always prefers public transport, it's "less stressful" (if course, he lives in the center)

[a-cat-in-toffee]

do you guys want a mechaninc and wight drabble? i bet you guys want a mechanic and wight drabble. here ive got a mechaninc and wight drabble for you guys.

“I mean, really, is it actually coincidence how the people you’re close to are all powerful? The type who could protect you when it all comes down to it?” Wight lounges lazily on one of the counters, having shoved Mechanic’s projects to the sides. He ignores Wight, focusing on the blueprints w2 had given him.  Wight frowns. “Come on, Mechanic, at least play along a little.”

He sighs, and damn him, he does. “I’m not like you, Wight, I genuinely enjoy being around them.” Mechanic doesn’t look up, but he can hear the cheshire like grin in Wight’s voice.

“But you are. We’ve established that, haven’t we?” the hefty weight of a screwdriver in his hand, familiar, safe. Boiling anger beneath his skin, taunting words. Blood on his newly cleaned floors. “Hacker wouldn’t speak a word of I'll about you socially, would he? And you’ve certainly got Smokescreen wrapped around your finger.”

“And you don’t?” Not like it was hard.

Wight laughs, stabbing into Mechanics brain like a particularly bad headache. “Not the way you do. And Ghost? Constantly looking through his cameras? Hell, even me. People know me, Wisperer listens to me on occasion- oh! And how could I forget w2? Poor paranoid and worried Scales, she’s soo trusting of you.”

“People like me. Boohoo. Are you jealous?” He looks up, unable to focus on the words he’s trying to read. Wight just smiles at him.

“Does Ghost know I had to talk you down from hating Seam?”

“Shut up.”

“Does w2 know you’re the reason there's blood on the floors most of the time?”

“Shut up.” Mechanic sighs, more annoyed than anything. He just wanted to work on his fucking project.

“Does Hacker know about the time you drank just a bit too much, and showed up pounding on my apartment door, mumbling all sorts of things and-”

He picked up a nearby scrap of metal, chucking it at Wight’s head. It's enough to get him to finally stop talking. More laughter. He knew he was playing into the reactions that Wight wanted from him, giving into his need for attention.

“What was it you said? That you can’t let them see you like that? That you were worried Hacker would judge you? You always smell like cigarette smoke, Mechanic, you’re not fooling anyone.”

Mechanic picks up another thing, he doesn’t even care what, and throws it again at Wight. “Fuck off, there are other people for you to go annoy.”

He giggles, sliding off the counter, leaning over closer to Mechanic for one intoxicating second. “I could fix you, y’know? Get in there and weed out everything wrong with you.”

“We have very different definitions of ‘fixed.’”

“Maybe so.” He shrugs, leaning back. “Smokes in his apartment?”

“Yep.” 

Wight walks off without another word.

[melloneah]

it took me over a year but....INTRO POST TIME

HI! WELCOME!!! im helena (or hela), i use my main blog mostly for random rb’s, a little bit of death note and personal stuff tagged with #helayaps

MY SIDE BLOGS:

One Piece: zoro5onoa (im on the skypiea arc rn! getting through it slowly)

Jujutsu Kaisen: cho5o

I draw a little, you can find my fanart here :3

My AO3 is melloneah

I have a few fics out: SMOKESCREEN - fandom: death note - pairing: meronia - status: incomplete - warnings: weed? lmao If you're going to throw your life away, he better have a G-Wagon

- fandom: JJK - pairing: choso x todo skhfgskj - status: complete - warnings: crack fic. kinda

Teacher's Pet (collab with @vorareromantic)

- fandom: death note - EXPLICIT - pairing: mello x soichiro - status: incomplete - warnings: all of it. dead dove. if you wanna read Mind The Tags

my main ships include: - death note: meronia, m2, mattmisa - jujutsu kaisen: itafushi, stsg, sukugo, chodo - one piece: zosan (but just u wait, ill find some niche ones to write the first fic for on ao3 soon) not opposed to stuff not on the list tho. these just take up the most space in my brain :3 uhhh a few things about me: - im chill with shipping pretty much anything that isnt insanely fucked up 🤝 i often think up random rarepairs and get super into them trying to dissect the dynamics lmao it's very fun - im open to make friends :3 im very nice. prommy - i love asks!!!

aight i think that's it lmao

thanks for reading my lovelies!! <3

[x-manson-annotated]

X-Manson Annotated Chapter 5 - Part Four: Adrenochrome.

This chapter delves into some shit that I only thought was within recent conspiracy culture. The cult has been harvesting adrenochrome and making it from cloned pituitary glands.

*Gun sales, human trafficking, outright theft from FBI agents?

**Charlie's selling a line to the general public.

***So the church kind of spawned after Xavier established the school. That accounts for how normal the property looked when the o5 class, the Giant Size staff, and the New Mutants generation of students were there. The actual belief systems began to be established once Cable got on the scene and started collaborating with Xavier.

*The Church of The Mutant Messiah, some kind of mix between X-Force and The Askani cult from the comics?

**When Captain America throws his mighty shield! 🎶All those who oppose the shield mu- Oh sweet merciful Christ, there's a bunch of body parts in here!

*Banner went back to his usual human form. Given the relatively short amount of time between events, does this version of him have more control over the hulk aspect of himself? How old is Bruce Banner? If everyone's ageing in real time, he'd probably be in his sixties or so by 2000, right?

***Here's where we get into the weeds of things. Adrenochrome is a real chemical compound that has been synthesized in some small aspects into a drug. It doesn't work how conspiracy theorists say it does. As far as I can tell it doesn't produce a tangible high.

****The recreational drug aspect of it is an invention of writers who when they first put pen to paper, probably believed that Adrenochrome caused schizophrenia. This is notably shown within the movie and book "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas" by Hunter S. Thompson. Some cite this as being where most myths about the compound originate. The then germinates into the conspiracy theories that are just The Blood Libel revamped for the modern age.

People saying "Oh they're harvesting the blood of scared children to retain their youth or to get the greatest high of all" is a myth made up by people broken by capitalism.

Doctor Benway seems to be operating in a similar vein to these conspiracy theories, but I didn't know they existed within the early 2000s. I mostly know it from Qanon and Pizza Gate conspiracy theories, myself.

*I think the technology came from them killing Essex and taking his shit too.

**I wonder if Hank really believes that.

*Possible.

**GRID: Gay Related Immune Deficiency, the early name given to HIV/AIDS, but because Hank cured it, it never progressed to have that name, I suppose.

*Sour Grapes? Are you being serious, Bruce?

**Possibly to act as a smokescreen for his involvement with the cult?

***What sort of lie did Hank spin to Bruce Banner?

*I feel like out of all of the Avengers, Simon is probably not super well equipped to deal with any of this.

**Also, if we're thinking...Simon was turned into a being made of energy by a nazi super scientist...so in addition to all this other alternate-history nonsense, that also probably exists.

Six in the Lake:

Bobby Drake

Sean Cassidy

Rogue

Unknown

Unknown

Unknown

*How did you know she was dead?

*I don't know, wiseass, because she was a body in the lake!

**Organs were intact because of the Kree shift in body makeup?

*Pour one out for a real one.

*Jesus fucking christ, they made it harder to identify bodies.

*Failed attempts at making a messiah.

[jadenryan77]

[booksandchainmail]

Pale 11.1

“More than you’d think.  But it’s like… secrets in a small town type stuff.  Blood in the streets, a struggling defense against invaders.  Killings, gunmen, cannibalism, underage drinking…” “What shows are you watching?” “…But the cannibal types are on the side of the good guys, I think.  When they aren’t too hungry.” “Is this from a game?” “There’s not much game about it.  It’s deathly serious.  But it’s the kind of serious where you have to joke about it and play it off as non-serious to your mom, while she’s all confused, you know?” “I’m definitely confused.  I do like your imagination though.  I wish I could keep up with it.”

Verona really does just tell her parents what's going on, secure in the knowledge that they won't follow up about it. I mean sure, I don't blame Verona's mom for not realizing everything Verona said has happened, but I think saying "There's something dangerous and serious in a way where I have to joke like it's a game to you." should raise some questions

Verona said, deciding it was best not to push things too far, fun as it was. As important as it was to leave a trail of breadcrumbs in case something bad happened.

oh. Well that's grim, but probably a good idea. Though if the girls die suddenly and violently, I think having had a trail of clues indicating that this was an ongoing problem parents didn't notice might make it worse.

“Mom.  Did you pay him?  Or threaten him?  It matters if I’m eventually going back there.  I want to know what’s going on.”

incredibly depressing to be able to put an exact financial value on how much your presence is worth to your father

“No.  No, not bad.  I hope not, anyway.  It seemed easy and streamlined, me leaving you with your dad while I got set up, and then with how bitter you were, and distance?  It felt easier to not force things.”

Verona also often takes an easy route in daily life, but not about things that matter to her. Which means either she's unlike her mother in that, or it implies some bad things about how important Verona is to her mother.

“High school daughters,” Lucy countered.

congratulations!

“Feels shitty.  It’s like, I’ve got this impulse to, I dunno, do stuff.  Like, picking up a broom and sweeping and doing laundry and helping out and-”

I get this when I visit people, and that's under normal circumstance

She drew the symbols necessary and then arranged the papers around the room.  She pressed two against the big window at one side of Lucy’s room. It would obscure any vision of spying eyes and confuse any listening ears. “We good?” Lucy asked. She gave Lucy a nod.

huh, was the disagreement a smokescreen? IIRC they've don that before

She set the pieces of her mask aside, sorted out books, put pens and markers into her left pants pocket, ground up glamour from the flower Guilherme had given her in her right pants pocket with three folded up bits of paper with feathers sticking up out of them, ready to quickly deploy transformations.  Back right pants pocket held a stack of spell cards.

petition to get Verona some cargo pants

Avery wore running shorts and an athletic tee with a pocket, which seemed like an oxymoron when it came to the shirt’s purpose.

does anyone ever use breast pockets on shirts?

Shadows deepened, then the light shone through, as if a cloud had passed over the moon and then let it shine brighter immediately after.  What looked like dense trees and a patch of nature at the corner of this area was opened up like an optical illusion had revealed itself, showing the narrow one-lane street that extended into the trees, and the tall, not-especially-taken-care-of house tucked into the trees.  The skeleton of a for-sale sign was set into the lawn, the top portion with the realtor’s face worn by weather, the lower half that hung from the horizontal part of the post had fallen off and was mostly covered in weeds and tall grass. “City magic is so badass,” Avery said.

Agreed

Possible Demesne for Verona?

“They’re definitely more active, and more sloppy,” Lucy said.  “Edith especially.  But it doesn’t feel scared.”

and getting the cube back wasn't brought up in Edith and Maricica's conversation

Lucy shook her head.  “Which takes us back full circle to the big fat question of why they aren’t freaking out.  And I have this sick little feeling in my stomach that makes no sense, but… what if we have it wrong?”

goddammit. My theories!

“But none of them know for absolute sure who did it, I don’t think,” Lucy replied.  “And this sick feeling in my gut is… what if it’s our soldier friend?  What if we have it wrong and he would get both coup and claim?” “Hasn’t he said he doesn’t want it?” Verona asked.  “But he’ll take it anyway?” “Could be he doesn’t want it but he needs it?” Lucy asked.  “What if our soldier friend isn’t a friend but a major culprit, we screwed up when interviewing him or jumped to conclusions, and the furs are… I dunno.  Secondary?”

huh. I don't think so. I hope not! I don't John was involved with making the Choir out of Yalda, he seemed surprised to find out about that. I suppose he could have been recruited later? But that seems shaky. Maybe becoming the Carmine Judge would let him help Yalda, but I don't see how.

“E was making clothes, right?” Avery asked.

I missed that, can you check the measurements?

“This isn’t going to be one of those situations where we get to gather the information and do a big badass whodunnit moment, huh?” Verona asked.

:(

“When I went to check in with the Judges, I asked if they could give us any kind of protection,” Avery said.  “They kind of said no.  Uhh, as I remember it, the protection we get for taking care of Kennet is what we get, karmically speaking.  We make our own karma.” “I’m finding myself struggling to realize what the point of them is,” Lucy said.

lol. But also yes. Maybe their role is more as arbiters than as criminal judges? Settling property disputes, overseeing contracts, offering a neutral enforcing party for negotiations

“I think they handle the stuff that’s really broken,” Verona said.  “There wasn’t anything super relevant in the books, but there were figures that seemed judge-like who would set quests and point the right people in the right ways to handle anything that was really bad.  In other places you get Lords and committees deciding what needs handling.  The Others who are threatening the seal of Solomon, monsters too big for any one person to defeat, breaches between worlds, stuff.”

or that! Scary to think this doesn't rise to their attention

“That’s the exact kind of moment you should be super cool and confident.  Unflappable, badass Avery,” Verona told her, grinning.

I would like to think that being very flappable and earnest can also work.

“Three times we were wronged,” Verona mused aloud, “That deserves righting.  We can ask for the judges to hand us the ability to right the wrong.  If they can control how karma happens, then let that karma be protection during and immediately after the arrest.  Access to any power that might be held back from us as we try to put it into effect. We need answers from her so we’re not asking for her to be forsworn.”

So like I was saying, arbiters of fairness not of criminal cases

“She was hurting, she was alone, she tried to reach out, and I was busy feeling sorry for myself.  Hurt, Booker gone, having to leave out information for my mom, mostly staying in my room, trying to think of a good way through this whole situation, you know?”

Oof yeah, and Avery gets hurt more by feeling left out, while Lucy reacts strongly to feeling like she has to manage things for other people

“Yeah,” Lucy said, one side of her mouth pulling back hard, disappointed, upset.  “I was scared.” That disappointment and upset gave way to something else, fleeting, deeper, vulnerable.  Lucy looked away a moment later.

and she almost died! And didn't have anyone on hand to talk about it with, and I'm guessing she didn't want to admit to Avery how scared she was

“Really, really close.  And then I was scared too, of what if being in close contact with a ghoul infected me.  Close calls with death, right?”

gods that sounds terrifying.

“I wanted to ask someone for clarification on that but didn’t know who to trust, and didn’t really trust anyone, for a little bit there, and I didn’t even want to go outside.”

And to extend Lucy's fox symbolism, this reminds me of the thing that some wild animals do when injured/sick, of holing up alone and just waiting to see if they die. (Note: I do not know if this applies specifically to foxes). This is mostly not a useful behavior for humans, but man if the urge to just cut down on contact and be terrified and emotional in private isn't relatable (thinking back to Lucy not wanting her mother to see her cry)

“Talk to me?  Send me a frigging mail?  You say you didn’t know who to reach out and talk to?  Me!  Me me me me or Avery or your mom or me!  I can frigging take it, Luce!”

yeah!

“We are cosmically frigging bound together, you jerk!"

I like this line. More frustrated expressions of endless affection please

Worst of both worlds when I can tell something’s wrong and you won’t let me help!

yeah :(

“Avery needs something like this too,” Lucy said.  “The big intense hug.  It’s harder to figure out.”

I'm not sure if the pre-hug scuffling would work on Avery or not

“Okay.  Why don’t we call Avery’s parents and see about her coming over?  Be ready for them to say it’s too late.”

sleepover!

Verona pointed toward the window.  Avery turned, looking, and Verona lunged, rising up out of the bed, and hauled her down, backwards, onto the bed.  Avery lay there, barely on the edge of the bed, Verona holding her from behind, feet still on the ground.  After about ten seconds she tried to get her feet up onto the bed, failed twice, and succeeded on the third try.  They shuffled over so Avery wasn’t constantly on the verge of falling off the bed.

:)

[love-ces4r-us]

[ask-smokescreen]

"CRISIS? MAKING THIS FOR YOU."

He's got Smokescreen a gift. At first glance, it appears to be some kind of miniaturized cable tree, trimmed and trained to stay in a rather small pot. Upon closer inspection, it's just some weirdly bushy weed, absolutely thriving in there.

YEAH!! It's Cranberry!!! Happy Cranberry!!

And, aww- you made this for me, Dere? All by yourself? Woah.

/He will, in return, put a wreath on Derecho. It's a fake plant, but a plant nonetheless, and even comes with exclusive pinecones and ribbons!/

[flipping-the-coin]

Guardsman Recruit - Paradox: Entry #001

[10 Vorns after the restoration of Cybertron]

[Cycle 1 of training]

[Recording begins]

══════════════════

Is this thing on? I think so...

Right, my designation is Paradox! I was told by my Commander that I needed to begin keeping a record of my time in training so that once I finish I can review it. He says its so that when the time comes we can see how much we have changed for the better. I think its a little silly, but I am not going to be the one to tell the mech who served under the last Prime "no".

Anyway, as I said, my designation is Paradox and I was drafted into the ranks of the elite guard after I proved my worth in the trials. My Nurturer is a wonderful femme, but she's always been religious. As soon as she heard the guard were looking for young recruits, she sent me out to go try. I didn't see the harm in making the attempt, I already wanted to join up with the military and the guard are kind of military affiliated right? If nothing else it made my Nurturer happy, so I gave it a shot and somehow succeeded. She very nearly started crying when I came home to pack up my things and head to boot camp! She gave me a holo projector with a picture of us together so I don't forget to come visit her once and a while.

I asked the Commander if I could send her messages, but he said no. He said something about training being a time to step away from mortal attachments to become something greater. I don't mean to be rude or anything, seriously no shade toward Commander Smokescreen, I know he fought in the war and all... but I think he might have a screw loose somewhere. Its just boot camp and he's treating it like we are about to go on some sacred pilgrimage. I know the guard are tied to the Primacy and that's an organization that's religious as scrap, but still, feels a bit over the top.

But enough about that, let me tell you, those trials were no joke! Only mecha under five vorns were allowed to enter them, then we had to go through all sorts of slag to pass!

There was a medical assessment where some Primacy doctors took energon samples, poked at all of my components, scanned every part of me, and made me do a physical fitness test. I thought I was going to die with how many strange poses they made me do and how many laps I had to run. I think I did well though since at least half of the others who joined me were weeded out during the examination. There was even a poor mech who ended up overheating two laps in. It was probably best he didn't get past the trials, I think he would have rolled over and died honestly.

Once we finished that, the head doctor sent us into a separate room where we were given a pretty tough assessment. There was a fully fledged guardsman there and she was armed to the denta. No joke, she looked ready for war. Her entire frame was covered in this intricate armor that I think was magnetized to her plating or something. She had all these super intricate engravings all over her as well, and I couldn't read any of them. I think they were in the old language or something. I'd never seen a guardsman up close until then, and I couldn't help but admire the care that went into her armor and the way the gold and blue meshed. With that said, it still felt a little over the top, although I am sure there is a slag ton of symbolism or something behind it.

Anyway, she lined us up and then stared us all down one by one. I don't know what she was looking for, but three of the others were dismissed after she looked into their optics. That put me on edge I will admit, but not nearly as much as when she sat us down and gave each of us a written test. The questions were very odd. Some were expected, mainly math, reading comprehension, writing, and science. But then as I answered those, there were more and more questions all about topics with no active relation to academic studies. The questions were ones like "What is a Prime?", "What does it mean to be loyal?", "If forced to choose, would you die for the benefit of the people as a whole or flee to survive?", and "How important is individualism?". Super strange stuff, but I answered as best as I could.

The guardsman looked our answers over and graded them way faster than I ever thought possible. It took maybe ten Kliks and that was with nearly fifty different tests! But as soon as she finished another twenty mecha were dismissed and taken away. Those of us that remained were quickly herded into some sort of training ground. There we were each allowed to pick a weapon of our choosing. We weren't told what was going on, so to be safe I chose a spear. I don't mean to brag, but my Nurturer was pretty fragging fine with the spear and I inherited that skillset! I doubt anyone but the most battle hardened could beat me when I've got my weapon on me! And that's even after I got my aft handed to me!

It was literally the most terrifying thing ever when all of us suddenly found ourselves facing off against actual guardsmen! I swear on Primus's name we fought ACTUAL guardsmen! I got pitted against a particularly large guardsman with that same elaborate gold and blue armor. His face was largely covered by a mask, but I could see these super intricate engravings around his optics that were so small I only saw them as he charged at me.

I thought I was going to die as I desperately fended off the guardsman's blade. I looked everywhere, begging for help with my field... but not a spark moved. My fellows were in the same position and the watching guardsman merely stared us down with optics that were... so cold... so very apathetic and calculating. Looking back... I don't think they would have cared if we died...

But that is beside the point. I am unsure how long I struggled for, but I did much better than the others thanks to my Nurturer's training. I was by no means winning or even driving the guardsman back, but I was keeping myself alive. I was covered in small cuts and minor gashes, and honestly I think he was toying with me. The guardsman's field was held close, silent and without emotion. It startled me... but the way he used his blade told me that if he really wanted to, he could have ended me with one simple swing.

Time seemed to blur as I fought with my spear. I stopped paying attention to the others or the guardsman that watched my struggle without a care in the world. I was desperate and I could only keep my optics on where I thought my enemy would strike next. My fans burned and my frame hurt in so many places, but I was scared... I didn't want to die... so I kept fighting. I kept trying to buy myself but a moment longer. Then just as the guardsman finally swept my pedes out from under me, I think I had a bit of a revelation.

I saw the guardsman raise his blade above my helm. I saw his optics as they shone and I saw the cold and simple resolve there. And in that moment... I wasn't afraid anymore. I saw the blade, I knew what it meant, but I found myself unworried. I fought as hard as I could, and that was all there was to it.

Then the blade dug into the ground next to my helm and the guardsman stood, reaching down to help me get back onto my pedes. I was shocked and I could hardly think, but the guardsman watching gave an approving nod and instead of being sent away with the doctors like ten others that made it to the last part of the trials, my shoulders were clasped by the guardsman... and I could have sworn on every possible power in this universe that they smiled. Not with their mouths of course, but I could sense it for the briefest of moments in their fields as they brought me among their number and presented me and the remaining potential recruits to Commander Smokescreen.

Commander Smokescreen was shorter than I expected, but then again, according to the records he is only barely out of younglinghood. He had this look to him that was so very contradictory yet that fit him perfectly at the same time. His face was very youthful and the way he held himself spoke of energy with no place to be poured. If one didn't look all that closely I wouldn't blame them for thinking him just another youngling playing soldier. However his optics were just as cold as the other guardsman and his field firmly clamped tight around him. The way he stood was stiff yet prepared his frame to act at a moment's notice. His voice certainly didn't help the oddity of his identity.

He told us we had passed the trials. He told us that we were going to become part of the chosen, the Prime's honor guard and personal attendants. Commander Smokescreen used many sub-glyphs that I don't know and he spoke in a strange accent that hinted at reverence. But as I said before, I am pretty sure he's missing something upstairs, so I don't blame him for sounding weird. Eventually though he ran through some rules and what to expect, answered a few questions, and then directed us to return home to collect our items. We were told to return to the trial grounds in three cycles, and if we failed to turn up that we would be hunted down and dragged back.

A little scary honestly. But the guard are like the army after all. Gotta make a point to keep trouble makers in line I guess. Anyway I followed orders, got a special meal with my Nurturer, packed up, came to the trial grounds, and now I am here. I thought I was going to have to bunk with someone, but nope. Its just me in a small room in the guard barracks. Its pretty plain with just a simple berth, one shelf for my stuff, and a desk with this recording device. The ceiling is covered in Primacy symbols, but I think its mostly for show.

Well, I think that's enough for this cycle. Tomorrow training starts and I think I will try to record my mental state or whatever once a deca-cycle or so. I hope I can finish up training soon so I can show my Nurturer how far I've come. I think she'll be proud.

Elite Guardsman Paradox signing off!

══════════════════

[Recording ends]

[Recording uploaded to guardsman recruit supervisor for review]

[Training plan in development]

[docholligay]

Boy, not to get into the weeds here but man oh manischewitz am I about to.

So we have Junna chasing Nana all around, spouting off these quotations from people, as she often does, about learning and striving and how you have to crawl before you can walk and all these things that are very wise and all that, but I was looking  *25 minutes later after reading a shitton of Goethe* at the at Goethe quote, and I was like, “That has to be from Faust, but it sounds wrong” Faust is a poem. It is not at all structured in the way she quotes him. So I went on a deep dive. And I found the original German. And also, i found out that this PARTICULAR quotation comes from a book called The Volcano, which is referencing Faust, but there is no translation that I can lay hands on that uses that strangely constructed translation. German, of course, has its own stuff going on, but there is absolutely no indication of that ellipsis in the original, NOR anything being left out that would necessitate such a thing.

So I have two choices here:

A) It’s a translation, not error, maybe, but mild laziness. THey googled “Goethe quote striving” or something and found the one that sounded the most like a poetic quote

B) This is saying something about Junna. Junna is getting so wrapped up in how good those words sound, how they could be a credo, something for her to swear by, that she is missing that actual context and meaning of the words themselves, because...is she working? Is she striving? I mean, this isn’t even going into the decontextualization of all the things she says, this is me weirdly focusing on this one thing and how there is a very specific, odd, translation that was used for its own narrative device, being now used for a second narrative idea. And what does that even mean?

ANYWAY, SORRY ABOUT THAT. Back to our regularly scheduled programming, we see that the word star is surrounding Nana, that Junna is attacking using that, defending herself, but they aren’t REAL stars. At the end of the day, they are just words. You can say all the things you want but they are not action, and Junna is using them as a cage and smokescreen that ultimately proves ineffective.