#the colony welcomes a challenge

[knot-doing-it]

Asking my roommate how he's feeling since he just ate a bit too much and he says it's fine, it's for the colony.

Friendly reminder that you are a colony. A diverse colony of weird niche specialists and uncountable generalists who all want what's best for you. Next time you're struggling with self care just yell "FOR THE COLONY!" and then eat that pizza.

[rheya28]

IronWorks Fitness Centre ♥ The Sims 4: Speed Build // CC

Welcome to Ironworks Fitness Centre. This stunning space combines a sleek design with cutting-edge fitness technology to provide the perfect workout environment. You can take a refreshing dip in the stylish pool or challenge yourself to a boxing match in the boxing ring. Ironworks Fitness Centre's state-of-the-art gym equipment is designed to meet all your fitness needs, whether you're looking to build strength or improve your cardio. The facility offers an energizing cycling classes to get your heart pumping and blood flowing for those who need an extra boost.

➽ I was talking to one of my lovely friend @marilynjeansims about building in Oasis Spring. I realize that I have not build anything for this world so here I am! hehe I am planning on filling up this community strip so watch out for more oasis spring modern and midcentury builds in the future! Megan suggested a few community lot types which I think will be perfect for this world so I'm excited!

➽ Important Notes:

●Please make sure to turn bb.moveobjects on! ● Please DO NOT reupload or claim as your own. ● Feel free to tag me if you are using it, I love seeing my build in other peoples save file ● Feel free to edit/tweak my builds, but please make sure to credit me as the original creator! ● Thank you to all CC Creators● Please let me know if there's any problem with the build

➽ Speed Build Video

00:00 Beginning 00:02 Intro 00:57 Speed Build 22:30 Photos

Female Sims used in the video are by the lovely @largetaytertots Gwen & Solana

➽ Lot Details

Lot Name: IronWorks Fitness Centre Lot type: Gym Lot size: 40 x 30 Location: Oasis Spring

➽ MODS

● Tool Mod by Twisted Mexi ● Let's Get Fit Fanmade Modpack by Cepzid ● Everyday clutterkits become functional by Cepzid

➽ CC List

Note: I reuse a lot of the same cc in all my builds, specifically cc's from felixandre, HeyHarrie, Tuds, and Pierisim so if you're interested in downloading past, present, future build from me i suggest getting all their cc sets to make downloading a little easier! other creators include Sooky, Charlypancakes, Sixam, Thecluttercat, Myshunosun, awingedllama, Peacemaker, kiwisim4. This will also ensure that the lots are complete and are not missing any items upon downloading ! DSCO ● Hunter Fitness set House of Harlix ● Bafroom ● Harluxe ● Orjanic Bbygyal123 ● The balance collection Charlypancakes ● Munch ● Smol Felixandre ● Colonial pt [3] ● Grove pt [3][4] ● Soho (all) Harrie ●Brutalist ● Klean pt [3] ● Spoons pt [2] ● Jardane ● Kichen (shelves only) LittleDica ● Country Side Cabin ● Rise & Grind Peacemaker ● Hudson Bathroom [towel] Pierisim ● Coldbrew ● MCM pt [1][3] ● Oak House pt [2] ● Unfold ● Winter Garden ● Woodland Ranch (ceiling/floor tiles only) Max 20 ● Poolside Lounge Pack Simkoos ● Everyday Clutterkit Addon (rolled yoga mat only) ● Taget Store (Signs only) Sixam ● Hotel Bedroom (desk) ● Small spaces Laundry Room (laundry basket only) Syboulette ● Ballet (mirrors only) ● Fitness ● Karaoke (neon signs only) Tuds ● Brut (ceiling light only) ● Cross ● Cave ● Ind Around the sims ● Swimming pool foam lane ● Swimming pool Starting block

● Tray File: Patreon Page ● Origin ID: Applez ● Twitter: Rheya28__ ● Tiktok: Rheya28__ ● Patreon: Rheya28 ● Youtube: Rheya28__

[gilbirda]

The king's dead (long live the king) - Masterpost

In this post I'll be updating everything I have on this AU. The tag will be "Eldritch Ghost King!Danny" if you want to search my blog!

It was a big project I wanted to challenge myself with, with crazy lore and worldbuilding, with a lot of exploration of eldritchness and angst. But I just got absorbed by DPxDC crossover, saw my niche in writing romance, got obsessed with Jason and Jazz and the rest is history.

I feel it's a crime none of this will probably see the light of day, so. Here. Chaotic mode it is. Fish my posts boy. I will post sporadically about this AU. You have been warned.

If someone wants to take anything from the lore or ideas, you are welcome to! Tag me so I can check it out!

Also I'm down for discussing AU with people 👀✨

What is this fic about?

This was supposed to be my magnum opus. It's the "main" fic in my AO3 series You and me and our best friends make three. So far the series has side stories or one shots located in different moments of the story. The main fic was supposed to tell the full story on how it happened, how we ended up here.

Back in 2021, when I went down the rabbit hole with Danny Phantom, I envisioned a neat AU where Danny was this eldritch ghost king... with a twist.

I love eldritch Danny (those who know me can confirm) but I wanted to explore something I haven't seen a lot even in the angst torture-vivisection saturated market of this 20 year old fandom:

What if the Ghost King is not power, but a sacrifice?

What if it is not known that the Ghost King is actually the host of a powerful entity (I called it The Whisper, because it talks in your mind in whispers) who is always hungry. Always. Hungry. And if it doesn't have a host will eat all the Infinite Realms then the Living World.

The Ghost King makes a pact with the Whisper. The King can tap into the ectoplasm, the energy, of every creature, object, city, etc. in the Realms and convert that energy into food for the Whisper.

But nobody knows this. Is a secret shared from King to King, and you only find out after accepting the crown.

Why would you refuse? Is the King, it's an honor, is power, is greatness. Who would deny the Whisper its food?

Only one managed to sever the connection.

His name was Pariah Dark.

He went insane.

What is The Whisper?

Basically this ⬆

Is a cosmic entity that was stranded on Earth a loooong time ago. It created the Infinite Realms with its flesh and blood (ectoplasm) and all ectoplasmic creatures come from it.

But its hungry.

-----

Posted chunks of story so far and their order in the timeline:

Act I:

Desired - Danny meets the Core for the first time

Ceremony - Danny is crowned King

Party like you are dead - the Ghost King invites all of Amity Park to his castle. Reveals all around.

Act II:

Never judge a book by its cover (dpxdc crossover)(my very first dpxdc work!) - Justice League summons the Ghost King to help deal with an eldritch creature. What they get may be a worse monster

Hidden identities? Never heard of them (dpxdc crossover) - direct sequel to the previous part. Batman and some of the colony go to Amity to investigate. They catch glimpses of horrors that they can't help but wonder

Remedy (+18!!!)(my very first DP fanfic!) - self indulgent Porn Without Plot in this universe. Placed in a distant future where everything is fine

Race ya! - funny haha thing set a bit after Remedy

[arkipelagic]

Asian slaves, indigenous Americans, and identity in colonial era Mexico

The Spanish Philippines had a diverse slave population for local labor and export, including Filipino Indians [i.e. natives; indios], Muslim war captives (moros), and foreign slaves from as far away as Portuguese India.

… Upon their arrival, chino slaves [i.e. any Asian slave, not just Chinese] were absorbed by the urban economy of Mexico City, where they mainly worked as domestic servants or in textile mills (obrajes) … For their part, working in the city provided chinos with some possibilities for manumission. Chinos in domestic service were especially apt to embrace the limited opportunities available to them and to experience some social mobility. In the obrajes, chinos had few of the freedoms given to domestic servants, but they did benefit from government oversight of the industry. During official visits, chino slaves appealed for protection from overt exploitation by claiming that they were Indians (even if they were from Portuguese India). Remarkably, visiting inspectors listened to their complaints, and they often responded by liberating individual chinos under the assumption that they were indeed native vassals and could thus not be held in bondage. The overall experience of chinos in the viceroyal capital confirms the benefits of living close to the center of colonial power.

The presence of free indigenous immigrants from the Spanish Philippines in Mexico reinforced the idea that all chinos were Indians. The complex governing structure of colonial Mexico involved two republics or political communities (the república de indios and the república de españoles); this organization separated the indigenous majority from everyone else to facilitate the collection of tribute and the ministry of the Catholic Church … [N]ative immigrants from the Philippines purposely sought to confirm their membership in the Republic because corporate status provided personal advantages. They asked to be tallied in tribute rolls in Mexico to benefit from concomitant privileges, such as trading rights and legal representation through the General Indian Court. At the same time, free Filipinos were frequently confused with chino slaves - a situation that had serious consequences for Filipinos' relations with colonial institutions and enslaved individuals. Some immigrants resented having their indigenous identity questioned and sought to maintain a sense of their Indian-ness by keeping their distance from chino slaves. The majority, however, expressed solidarity with chino slaves. Filipino artisans, for example, took on chino slaves as apprentices and taught them marketable skills. Similarly, Filipino traders incorporated chinos into their own credit networks to facilitate self-purchase.

Individual chinos who were manumitted also embraced an Indian identity, regardless of whether they were from Goa, Macau, or other places in South and Southeast Asia. In this way, chinos challenged official attempts to define them solely as former slaves. Instead, they sought to join the free republic. The possibility for this kind of social integration caused widespread concern among slave owners. To defend their property rights, masters started to brand chino slaves on the face, rather than on the chest or arm as they did with Africans, in order to dissuade them from fleeing and "passing" as free Indians. This horrifying development shows that Indian communities welcomed runaway chino slaves and, by extension, that slave owners sought visible markers of their slaves' status.

Excerpt from the Introduction to “Asian Slaves in Colonial Mexico: From Chinos to Indians” (2014) by Tatiana Seijas

[the-garbanzo-annex-jr]

by Benjamin Kerstein

The U.S. decision to finally end Iran’s perennial impunity and force its theocratic regime to pay a price for its genocidal imperialism is welcome, but it means we are about to meet a familiar personage once again: the weeping terrorist.

The weeping terrorist is a bifurcated creature. First, there is the terrorist part: He slaughters large numbers of people in the most sadistic and public way imaginable; wipes out entire religious, ethnic and racial groups of which he disapproves; undermines and topples governments; foments civil war; props up dictators and tyrants; and finally commits genocide.

Then comes the weeping part: When the victims retaliate, the terrorist erupts into floods of tears at his unprecedented and unspeakable suffering, the brutal assault on his rights and freedoms, the vile racism and bigotry of those who persecute him, the immutable purity of his motives and the righteousness of his cause.

The weeping terrorist has been here before, particularly in his Palestinian nationalist form.

For over a century, the Palestinian national movement has murdered, raped, dismembered, incinerated, assaulted, slandered, demonized, ethnically cleansed and religiously persecuted not only Jews and Israelis but anyone who stood in its way. For just as long, the Palestinians have responded to any retaliation with a deluge of tears. No one has suffered as much as they, they sputter, no one’s “resistance” has ever been more justified, and no people has faced such racist and genocidal enemies. After all, look at all these dead women and children, the weeping terrorist wails after having murdered scores of women and children.

This piece of theater has been performed by many empires, nations and religions. But it must be said that it is embedded particularly deep in the history of Islam. To this day, Muslims view Muhammad as a persecuted prophet without honor in his own country, when he was an immensely powerful and notably aggressive warlord. One may feel he was justified in being so, but the fact that he was is incontrovertible.

The Muslim world today often brands its enemies as “crusaders,” although the Crusades were essentially a belated response to the Muslim conquest of the entirety of the Middle East and North Africa, the subjugation of their indigenous populations, and the establishment of a settler-colonial empire. Indeed, Muslims still lament the loss of Andalusia, even though they had merely lost what they had conquered and colonized from Christians a few centuries before.

[ofliterarynature]

TBR TAKEDOWN: Week 13 (Aug 25)

TLDR: I have too many unread books, and I’m asking tumblr to help me downsize. Pick one or none, and comment if you can - a convincing sentence is worth a dozen votes! You’re also welcome to just choose the one that sounds the worst :D Book descriptions below the cut, see my pinned post for more info.

Artemis by Andy Weir

[For reference, I *did* like The Martian but did *not* like Project Hail Mary]

Jasmine Bashara never signed up to be a hero. She just wanted to get rich.

Not crazy, eccentric-billionaire rich, like many of the visitors to her hometown of Artemis, humanity's first and only lunar colony. Just rich enough to move out of her coffin-sized apartment and eat something better than flavored algae. Rich enough to pay off a debt she's owed for a long time.

So when a chance at a huge score finally comes her way, Jazz can't say no. Sure, it requires her to graduate from small-time smuggler to full-on criminal mastermind. And it calls for a particular combination of cunning, technical skills, and large explosions--not to mention sheer brazen swagger. But Jazz has never run into a challenge her intellect can't handle, and she figures she's got the 'swagger' part down.

The trouble is, engineering the perfect crime is just the start of Jazz's problems. Because her little heist is about to land her in the middle of a conspiracy for control of Artemis itself.

Trapped between competing forces, pursued by a killer and the law alike, even Jazz has to admit she's in way over her head. She'll have to hatch a truly spectacular scheme to have a chance at staying alive and saving her city.

Jazz is no hero, but she is a very good criminal.

That'll have to do.

The Probability of Miracles by Wendy Wunder

Dry, sarcastic, sixteen-year-old Cam Cooper has spent the last seven years in and out hospitals. The last thing she wants to do in the short life she has left is move 1,500 miles away to Promise, Maine - a place known for the miraculous events that occur there. But it's undeniable that strange things happen in Promise: everlasting sunsets; purple dandelions; flamingoes in the frigid Atlantic; an elusive boy named Asher; and finally, a mysterious envelope containing a list of things for Cam to do before she dies. As Cam checks each item off the list, she finally learns to believe - in love, in herself, and even in miracles.

A debut novel from an immensely talented new writer, The Probability of Miracles crackles with wit, romance and humor and will leave readers laughing and crying with each turn of the page.

Merchants of Culture by John B Thompson

For nearly five centuries, the world of book publishing remained largely static. But at the dawn of the twenty-first century, the industry faces a combination of economic pressures and technological change that is forcing publishers to alter their practices and think hard about the future of the book.

John Thompson's riveting account dissects the roles of publishers, agents, and booksellers in the United States and Britain, charting their transformation since the 1960s. Offering an in-depth analysis of how the digital revolution is changing the game today, Merchants of Culture is the one book that anyone with a stake in the industry needs to read.

[inklings-challenge]

Genre Thoughts: Adventure

Chesterton famously said, "An inconvenience is an adventure wrongly considered," which suggests that adventure as a genre is less about the story elements and more about the attitude one takes toward them. Lots of genres can incorporate adventure, because adventure is largely defined by the tone. An adventure puts the characters in danger, but it gives the characters a chance to go exciting places and do exciting things, and generally takes an optimistic tone--this adventure is a good, exciting thing, and the characters are privileged to experience it.

Not that every adventure has enthusiastic and optimistic characters. Reluctant heroes are a staple of the adventure genre--someone who is pulled out of their comfortable life and into a realm of intrigue and danger. But the audience knows that the adventure, as inconvenient as it is, is a welcome escape from the safe routine of daily life, and will give the main character a chance to prove their mettle and become a hero.

Which makes adventure an ideal genre for promoting courage. Adventure lets the audience see that staying in their safe routine isn't always the best way to find happiness, that the problems in life can be opportunities, rather than inconveniences, if we take the right view of them, and have courage in facing them. As Christians, our life is an adventure that offers a lot of dangers and pitfalls, but also lots of opportunities for heroism.

As I said, almost any genre can incorporate adventure, but for Inklings Challenge purposes, we need to incorporate some type of fantasy or science fiction element. To differentiate it from the adventures that could be written by other teams--with their alternate universes or other planets--it could be best to try to keep the action largely focused on past, present, future, or an alternate Earth. Which still offers lots of opportunities for imagination. This is where writers can play with alternate history, steampunk, cyberpunk, dieselpunk (all sorts of -punks), fascinating future Earths, or even just someone in our ordinary world getting caught up, say, in a mad scientist's plot or involved in the political intrigues of elves. Your characters can go on Indiana-Jones-style quests, or Jules-Verne travel adventures, or anything else your imagination can think of!

Some types of adventure stories:

Mysteries

Spy stories

Thrillers

Quests

Treasure hunts

Superhero stories

Alternate history

Steampunk, cyberpunk, other "-punk" type universes

Dystopian/post-apocalyptic fiction

Writing Prompts

A person living in an underwater colony on a future Earth goes on a quest to find lost technology that could save their home from destruction.

Someone gets a package with a invisibility cloak and uses it to go on the run from nefarious criminals who'd do anything to get their hands on it.

On a post-apocalyptic Earth, the leader of a peaceful settlement must decide whether to trust the stranger and accompany him on a quest to find a food cache that could get the village through the winter.

In a steampunk world, a dead inventor's notebook leads his son on a quest to find a rare element that could revolutionize airship technology.

A woman is mistaken for a lost elven princess and must evade those who would assassinate her.

[theresattrpgforthat]

I'm a TTRPG designer, and also a big fan of the video game Terraria. I'm stuck on fun ways to handle material gathering and crafting. Send me some inspiration! Thanks!

THEME: Gathering and Crafting

Hello friend! Putting this one together was very fun. I hope you enjoy it!

Stoneburner, by Fari RPGs.

Stoneburner is a sci-fantasy solo-friendly demon-hunting community-building tabletop role-playing game.Inspired by the new school revolution movement, players take on the role of a group of dwarves who must assume control of a demon haunted mine, along with its accompanying settlement, which they inherited after the death of their distant relative.The game focuses on the dwarves' journey as they navigate the challenges of their new responsibilities, rebuild a new thriving community, and clear the mine of its fire spitting monsters.

A techno-fantasy game of exploration and survival. You’ll be delving into a mine to extract resources and attempting to maintain and protect your community not just from magical beasts, but also greedy and plotting rivals. The system is built on Breathless, which is pretty rules-lite on the face but has a lot of possibility to expand, borrowing quite a bit from the NSR but giving the GM specific cues where they have a license to complicate the story. You’ll find a lot of familiar pieces here, with character classes, special abilities, and loot tables. Stoneburner isn’t fully ready to be published quite yet, but in the meantime you can check out the free preview!

Hostile (Rules and Setting), by Zozer Games.

Welcome to the gritty, retro-future universe of HOSTILE. Based on the Cepheus Engine, these rules add in realistic combat rules as well as setting-specific rules from some of the eighteen HOSTILE supplements. When combined with its companion book, the HOSTILE Setting, you will have a complete, stand-alone, retro-future sci-fi game. HOSTILE is a gritty, near future roleplaying setting that is inspired by movies like Outland, Bladerunner and Alien. It is a universe of mining installations, harsh moons, industrial facilities, hostile planets and brutal, utilitarian spacecraft.

When I looked up info about this game, HOSTILE was described as not an ALIEN RPG, but rather an RPG that you could plug Alien into. It’s a space horror setting, but what kind of space horror is up to you. The Rulebook has rules on trade, salvaging, and other pieces of resource management, while the setting book contains construction rules for your own mega-ton spaceship. There’s also plenty of colonies, survival rules, campaign advice and encounter tables. If this is interesting to you, I’d recommend checking out the Double Shift Bundle, which offers both the Rulebook and the Setting Book for 20% off.

Forbidden Lands, by Free League Publishing.

Forbidden Lands is a new take on classic fantasy roleplaying. In this open-world survival roleplaying game, you’re not heroes sent on missions dictated by others - instead, you are raiders and rogues bent on making your own mark on a cursed world. You will discover lost tombs, fight terrible monsters, wander the wild lands and, if you live long enough, build your own stronghold to defend.

As raiders and rogues, in Forbidden Lands you will need to scavenge to survive. Built on Free League’s Year Zero Engine, this game uses an abstract resource called consumables which your characters will have to find regularly, because food goes bad and you can only carry so many things. The game focuses on the dangers of the road, although not all dangers are terrifying - you’re not fighting orcs all the time - sometimes you’re just battling mosquitoes and cold weather. There’s also rules about building, maintaining, and defending a stronghold, which sounds kind of similar to building and defending your house in Terraria. There’s a lot to keep track of in Forbidden Lands, and as long as you don’t mind playing characters with a somewhat loose moral compass, this game might be for you!

A Fistful of Darkness, by monkeyEcho.

A Fistful of Darkness is a Weird West Fantasy hack of Blades in the Dark with heavy emphasis on the fantasy part. It’s not intended to be an accurate history lesson or a simulation of past times. It is designed to be a cinematic game which lets you play all those Weird West tropes towards the end of the world.

Imagine a world with the magic and mystery of the frontier: wide open plains of the Old Wild West in all its beauty and madness, where violence and sacrifice dominate every single day. Now add the Hellstone rush, underground mayhem in mines and brand new sciences & machines. Don’t forget immigration, injustice, vigilante justice, outlaws, gunslingers, slick talkers and setting suns. This all in the face of an impending doom: Demons and the four riders bringing the end of the world as you know it. How do you make it to the top of this powder keg, which side will you take in the impending war and how much will your soul suffer? Let’s play to find out!

Forged in the Dark games abstract your resources a bit, but the Hellstone of A Fistful of Darkness is so important to the setting that you’ll find yourselves doing whatever you can to get your hands on it. It’s a crafting material, it’s currency, and it’s the bringer of mutations and curses, what with it being a demonic material and all. Because you’ll be running a group playbook alongside your own characters, you’ll be working together to improve your tools, allies, abilities and home base, especially if you choose the Scavengers Posse. If you like action and suspense as much as you like inventory and communal goals, then this game is for you.

LOOT, by Gila RPGs.

Do you love loot? Then you're in the right place.

Go on quests, find loot, do it all over again. Your character is entirely defined by the loot they wear and carry. Loot is generated and passed out at the end of each quest with a dynamic loot pool system.

This is an application of the LUMEN system that eschews dice. Players have a number of uses for each of their approaches, which can be spent to overcome obstacles. Complications arise when you have to cobble together a solution using a different approach, or when you avoid marking an approach at all. This is a game still in a free playtest, so the designer is happy to hear feedback if you decide to give it a whirl!

[miscellaneouscanine]

I’m doing a series of wof headcannons! In no specific order,

SEAWINGS!

1. Newly hatched seawings have very dim bioluminescence, as not to attract predators looking for an easy snack

However, more recently as dragons start living and hatching young in colonies, a rare condition can be found where a hatchling cannot control their lights, and it’s brighter than it should be, it seems to fade/come into control within a few weeks! Sadly they wouldn’t call it “Rudolph Syndrome”

2. Seawings are the largest tribe, however they start out VERY small, hatchlings weigh only about 1 or 2 pounds, however an adult can reach a couple tons at time of death. Also hatchlings are often nicknamed “Fry”

3. Seawings are known to have tendrils used in sensing vibrations in the water, males have 2 on each side of their forehead, these are rudimentary antenna! Early Seawings are actually an ancestor of the beetlewing!

4. Seawings and Icewings have a high hybrid rate, due to the fact that Whalers often bump into each other, and until recently, the tension has been low between tribes. The hybrids are well adapted to the icy waters, and welcomed into both the kingdoms as valuable, specialized dragons.

5. SOME MISC ORCA HC’S! since I rlly like her :)

5b. Orca is trans! mtf to be specific, a very few old timers in the kingdom disagreed with letting her challenge for the throne because of this, but for the most part everyone was chill

5c. Orca was a profound artist, and after it was found out that she was was an animus aswell some speculated that she enchanted her work to be more appealing to people, however this is unlikely, as she was very strategic with her casting. She was just really good at art :)

5d. Orca wore an earring with the pearls of different sizes, feeling the need to connect with her daughter after death, Coral began wearing it aswell, it may or may not be enchanted to give the wearer confidence and ambition.

5e. Auklet is the reincarnation of Orca! Though they do look a bit different part of it is because Auklet is still just lil baby and doesn’t have her adult scales yet :)

That is all the headcannons for now! I may add to this post later!

[askvectorprime]

We heard of several significant exploits regarding the return of the titanmasters - namely, a siege on Cybertron and of chaos reigning on Velocitron. Can you tell us anything about the missions Arcee and Grotusque went on to acquire Ultra Magnus and Scorponok?

Dear Adventurous Asker,

When last we spoke, I told you of four legendary Titan Masters, two of whom were involved in the conflicts you mention. The other two you speak of, however, were well-guarded secrets indeed.

While these events were taking place, Arcee and her Titan Master partner Leinad took a ship with Cloudraker to the planet Caminus, in search of the Titan Master fabled to confer the ultimate intelligence boost. Relations with the colony world had been strained following the theft of space bridge codes by Galvatron’s infiltration cell, so they were forced to carry out the mission undercover. Scanning from the air, Cloudraker was able to track the Titan Master to one of Caminus’ universities. To gather information, Arcee ended up posing as a student, joining a sorority. It turned out that there was an urban myth amongst the student body: supposedly, a bot known as the Headmaster roamed the building after dark. He would punish lazy students for engaging in plagiarism or cheating in exams, but would sometimes reward a hard-working student by giving them a flash of inspiration, if he came across them staying up all night to meet a challenging deadline.

In her inexperience as a spy, Arcee struggled with the stress of feeling like an imposter, and came close to abandoning the ruse��but the students welcomed her warmly, and Leinad was able to convince her to persevere. Never in Arcee’s life had she been surrounded by so many other female Transformers, and she was surprised at how much of an impact this had on her. They attended classes together during working hours, searching the basements and closets during free periods for any sign of the Headmaster. She came to learn that many of her classmates had their own issues with feelings of inadequacy, whether in their academic ability, or in struggling to find an Amica Endura, or in having the wrong alt-mode.

They tried a number of schemes to flush out the Headmaster: designing fiendish puzzles which he wouldn’t be able to resist solving; deliberately putting off revision in order to allow for desperate last-minute cramming; Velocity even offered to try sneaking notes into one of her medical exams. In the end, they were truly stumped—but as Arcee looked at her friends, racking their brain modules to try and help her, she had a sudden realization: what if the Headmaster had never existed, and the urban legend was just a product of the imposter syndrome endemic amongst the students, a way for them to offload onto someone else the credit for their own achievements and breakthroughs? They didn’t need a legendary Titan Master to pass their final examinations—each and every one of them was smart and talented enough to succeed!

At that point, Proxima shrieked and pointed at the ceiling. A tiny robot was hiding in the roof, having just given Arcee her supernatural flash of insight! Everyone scrambled after him, chasing him through the halls, thrilled that all their hard work was about to pay off.

Unfortunately for them, Megatron had decided to take a more direct approach. He carpet-bombed the university, taking them completely by surprise thanks to his new camouflage and the radiation-dampening powers of his latest Titan Master partner, Kiloton. As Arcee scrambled to pull her classmates from the rubble, Megatron scooped up the Headmaster and placed him on his shoulders. His new face shifted to a smirk of triumph… then, to a snarl of disgust. For his plans of universal domination to come to fruition, he needed raw power—this new Titan Master, however, gave him nothing but a head full of trivia and factoids! With the Headmaster being of no use to him, he ripped his new head off and prepared to obliterate it, to prevent any Autobot from using the knowledge to their benefit.

Thankfully, the students had backup: Iron Apex, a massive suit of experimental drone armor piloted by Optimus Prime’s former Titan Master partner, the product of an entire semester’s work on a group project. Unprepared, Megatron was no match for the artificial warrior, and chose to retreat rather than prolong the fight.

The Headmaster thanked the students for protecting him, and offered to give one of them the ultimate intelligence boost to help pass their final exam. As Arcee had been on the brink of failing her classes, they all looked to her… and at last, she decided to come clean, explaining that she wasn’t a student, but rather a Cybertronian spy. To her surprise, it turned out they’d known all along, having worked it out almost immediately! She asked the Headmaster to accompany her back to Cybertron, to lend his knowledge to Optimus Prime, in the hopes that it would let the Autobot leader think of a way to end their war. Reluctantly, he agreed. Meanwhile, with Iron Apex having passed his first real test with flying colors, he too decided it was time to join the fight on Cybertron. Though Arcee’s new friends were sorry to see her go, they promised she’d always be welcome to return to her studies in the future.

As Cloudraker took them out of atmosphere, Arcee remarked to the Headmaster that he reminded her of a close friend of hers: Ultra Magnus. He was taken aback. Long ago, during Magnus’ days as a galactic peacekeeper, he’d met the Autobot by chance. Ultra Magnus left a strong impression on the Titan Master, and he decided he too wanted to become an agent for truth and justice in the world. Forced as he was to live in secrecy, the Headmaster admitted that he felt like a fraud, only meddling with students, not evildoers, and failing to accomplish any real good. He was just one tiny ‘bot, playing the role of Ultra Magnus, and trying his best to be worthy of the name. Arcee promised that, once all was said and done, she would set up a meeting between him and Ultra Magnus—as she knew they’d have more in common than he thought.

Now then, I still have yet to tell you about the last of these ultimate Titan Masters. I beg your patience—tomorrow, I will finish my recounting of events!

[intersexbookclub]

January Pick: Envisioning African Intersex

Continuing our trend of alternating between fiction and non-fiction, our pick for January is Envisioning African Intersex: Challenging Colonial and Racist Legacies in South African Medicine, by Amanda Lock Swarr.

This is an academic text, so we won't be reading the whole thing! To make it manageable, we will be reading the first three chapters:

The Introduction: Pathologizing Gender Binaries

Chapter 1: Colonial Observations and Fallacies

Chapter 2: Intersex in Four South African Racial Groups in Durban

To ensure everybody has access to the book, a pdf copy is available through the discord.

Content notice: this book will be talking about the history of intersexism, colonialism, and racism.

When we're meeting We will be meeting to discuss the four chapters on Fri Jan 26, at: - 12:30-14:00 Pacific (Vancouver, San Francisco, etc) - 15:30-17:00 Eastern (Toronto, New York, etc) - 21:30-23:00 Central European (Berlin, Paris, etc) for more time zones see here

To join the discord: https://discord.gg/U8ZucKwGPK Also see: our code of conduct

How much of the book do you need to read? You don’t need to finish it participate! You are welcome to skim and/or skip chapters as desired. Current & future book picks If this isn’t in the cards for you, we’re reading YA portal fantasy Across the Green Grass Fields this month (December), and in February we will be reading the sci-fi short story collection Power To Yield.

We'll be reading another non-fiction selection in March, but it is not yet decided, so let us know in the Discord what would interest you!

[third-world-punks]

✦ THIRD-WORLD PUNKS ✦ INTRODUCTION

“Who are we? We are the global South, that large set of creations and creatures that has been sacrificed to the infinite voracity of capitalism, colonialism, patriarchy, and all their satellite-oppressions. We are present at every cardinal point because our geography is the geography of injustice and oppression. We are not everyone; we are those who do not resign themselves to sacrifice and therefore resist. We have dignity. We are all indigenous peoples because we are where we have always been, before we had owners, masters, or bosses, or because we are where we were taken against our will and where owners, masters, or bosses were imposed on us. They want to impose on us the fear of having a boss and the fear of not having a boss, so that we may not imagine ourselves without fear. We resist. We are widely diverse human beings united by the idea that the understanding of the world is much larger than the Western understanding of the world. We believe that the transformation of the world may also occur in ways not foreseen by the global North. We are animals and plants, biodiversity and water, earth and Pachamama, ancestors and future generations—whose suffering appears less in the news than the suffering of humans but is closely linked to theirs, even though they may be unaware of it.” — Boaventura de Sousa Santos, Epistemologies of the South: Justice Against Epistemicide.

We are THIRD-WORLD PUNKS, a blog devoted to cultivating a dark-academia aesthetic inspired by Latin America and the UK Punk Scene. I'm your host, PHILOSOPHIKA, a 33-year-old British and Colombian philosopher specialising in aesthetics (the branch of philosophy that studies concepts such as beauty and ugliness and investigates the nature of art and the senses) and anti-totalitarian ethics. Keep reading to learn more about the aesthetic's main goals, sources of inspiration, and suggested hashtags.

✦ OUR MISSION

To create a Latin American take on the 'dark academia' aesthetic from the perspective of the region's actual inhabitants. The T.W.P. aesthetic actively avoids depicting the region as a holiday destination (fruity drinks, trendy hotels, sexy pool boys, designer sunglasses, etc.) or representing the culture through a tourist's eyes (for example, as exclusively consisting of festivals or big public events). This aesthetic should provide the viewer with an intimate portrait of what it's actually like to call this region home. Images of local food, daily customs, traditional clothing, distinctive architecture, weather patterns, etc., are encouraged.

To provide a modern fusion between Latin American (principally Colombian) and UK culture that does not reproduce the aesthetics of British colonialism. To this end, the T.W.P. aesthetic steers clear of antique botanical prints, colonial uniforms, overly beige colour palettes, floral chintz wallpapers or decorative accents, leather trunks, and/or anything even faintly reminiscent of a plantation. Emphasis is placed instead on UK Punk fashion and culture (think Camden Market and Vivienne Westwood), extravagant and eclectic UK (& European) architecture and interior design, and Oxbridge academia vibes.

To challenge what traditional academia looks and feels like, as well as its core tenets (eurocentrism, US-centrism, elitism, abelism, etc.). The T.W.P aesthetic celebrates and encourages out-of-the-box thinking, ethnic and racial diversity, neurodivergent and LGBTQIA+ higher education experiences, as well as discussions of postcolonial, queer, and feminist theory, among others (think TWAIL: Third-World Approaches to International Law). Quotations, reading lists, book recommendations or reviews, and catchphrases along these lines are welcome.

✦ SOURCES OF INSPIRATION

— art deco/decopunk — art nouveau — solarpunk— steampunk — gutterpunk — latin american geography, flora & fauna — latin american culture — spanish colonial architecture — pre-columbian latin america — 70's & 80's uk punk scene — elements of cyberpunk — alternative fashion — maximalism — haute boheme aesthetic

✦ RELEVANT HASHTAGS

Do you want to tag something with this aesthetic on your blog? Check out the suggestions below:

#TWP —   #TWPs —   #TWP Aesthetic —   #TWPs Aesthetic | #Third-World Punks —  #Third World Punks —  #Third-World Punks Aesthetic —

[letters-from-dekarios]

{The parchment is handmade- it smells faintly of mushrooms. You know instantly it's from Lillium, your druid partner. While you have been preparing lessons for your eager students, she has been hunkering down in the underdark. Researching the noblestalk, and spending time with the myconids- the first time the two of you went down there you practically had to pry her away from the colony of mushroom dwellers.

It's a relief to hear from her.}

Beloved,

I am alright. Attempts to propagate the noblestalk have proven difficult. I have not quite figured out the proper substrate preferences to procure it on the surface. It does not respond to the language of soils' song at all, like other fungi do.

Sometimes I think I have taken on this holy grail-esque task because I dread returning to the humdrums of daily life. You have taken to your teaching job so...fluidly and in a way I envy that. This fools errand was not for the good of anyone except my anxious mind.

After what we have been through- it all seems so minute. We have seen so many many things...killing that *thing* somehow felt easier than becoming part of the bustling daily livings of Waterdeep. Something about watching the city from the tower sends pangs through my chest ringing ,empty, empty, empty.'

I apologize deeply Gale. I am taking my samples with me and bidding goodbye to the myconids tomorrow. I will miss them dearly, but it doesn't compare to the ache in my chest when I turn in my bedroll and you aren't there nestled in beside me, holding me close.

Please forgive my weakness, I'm coming home. I love you more than anything,

~Lillium

My loveliest Lillium,

I’m elated to hear from you. I am ever encouraged to know you made it there safely, though my heart aches for the disappointment you must feel with your current struggles. Perhaps we could research some spells that might be able to simulate the Underdark’s conditions in a small, controlled environment when you return. In fact, that makes for a perfect lesson! I’m sure the minds of the young will have much more fresh ideas on the matter than I do.

My dearest, do not take my transition back to normalcy so lightly. You forget that this has always been my nature, ever since I was a child. Your attempts are far from futile, and I respect the lengths you go to so you may answer the questions of your heart. This, your “fool's errand”, is your daily living.

Things have changed, yes. I doubt I’ll ever feel the same as how I did before the infection. It’s impossible to achieve, so don’t try. Reaching for something far outside your grasp will only bring your mind more harm, my love. Ease into what you know and do best. You have a keen eye for the nature of things both literally and metaphorically. Take that by the reins and challenge your most nagging desires.

I would never tie you down to a place that leaves your heart longing for more. Perhaps we can have a more thorough discussion on travel plans when you return. As prideful in my teaching expertise as I am, I know my students are safe in the hands of other Wizards for a week or two. I want nothing more for you and us than happiness. If that means adventure, you know I am all the more welcome to it. However, I’d like to avoid adventure that deals with head specimens and the threat of worldwide extinction, if possible.

I will wait by the door every moment until your return, my dearest. Do not be saddened for having left your studies, but be joyous you began a new chapter of research to expand on. Be safe, my love, I long to hold you in my arms once again.

Your love forevermore,

𝑮𝒂𝒍𝒆 𝑫𝒆𝒌𝒂𝒓𝒊𝒐𝒔

text reads: gale dekarios

[workersolidarity]

[ 📹 A group of Palestinian children visiting the graves of those killed in "Israel's" special genocide operation in Gaza are frightened by sudden and intense Zionist machine gunfire, causing the children to jump up in fear and run, a reaction that speaks to the horrors Palestinian children have endured during the Zionist genocide.]

🇮🇱⚔️🇵🇸 🚀🏘️💥🚑 🚨

ISRAELI OCCUPATION LAUNCHES SURPRISE ATTACK ON CENTRAL GAZA ON DAY 188 OF ISRAELI GENOCIDE

On the 188th day of "Israel's" special genocide operation in the Gaza Strip, the Israeli occupation forces (IOF) committed several new massacres of Palestinian families, resulting in the deaths of no less than 63 Palestinians citizens, mostly women and children, while another 45 others have been wounded over the previous 24-hours.

Even as most Arab and Muslim-majority countries have put on hold discussions to normalize relations with the Israeli entity, Indonesia today, in coordination with the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), has reached an agreement for the normalization of relations with the Israeli occupation. The agreement comes as part of an effort to facilitate Indonesia's entry into the OECD.

In return for the normalization, the OECD asked that "Israel" not oppose Indonesia's accession into the organization, while the Israeli occupation authorities said they welcomed the breakthrough.

According to reports, Indonesia was seeking to join the OECD, which requires a consensus from all member-states, as well as normal relations between all members.

Meanwhile, Israeli occupation Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, visited on Thursday an F-15 airbase, where the occupation leader appeared to issue a threat to Iran, stating that "Israel" was ready for any potential attacks from neighboring countries, and added that the occupation would retaliate against anyone who harms the Zionist entity.

Speaking with F-15 pilots, Netanyahu said, “We are in challenging times. We are in the midst of a war in Gaza that is continuing with full force. In addition, we are continuing with ceaseless efforts to return our hostages, but we are also preparing for challenges from other fronts."

According to the Hebrew media, "Israel's" fleet of F-15 fighter jets are the "primary weapon for long-range strikes."

"We set a simple principle: Anyone who hits us, we hit them,” Netanyahu said in apparent reference to Iranian threats of retaliation for last week's bombing of the Iranian consulate in Damascus, the Syrian capital.

“We are ready to fulfill our responsibilities to Israel’s security, in defense and attack," the occupation's Prime Minister added.

As the Zionist occupation's authorities prepared for a potential Iranian strike, the occupation army today launched a surprise assault on the central Gaza Strip.

According to the Zionist media, the IOF announced that it had launched a surprise "targeted operation" against Hamas in the central Gaza Strip, storming the outskirts of the Al-Nuseirat Refugee Camp, which the occupation claims has largely gone "untouched" by Israeli forces until now.

The Zionist occupation army pummeled the Nuseirat Camp with intense airstrikes and artillery shelling at dawn before Israeli soldiers and armored vehicles moved to penetrate the Camp, where local reports say the forces with the Palestinian Resistance confronted the invading Zionist army.

The latest Israeli incursion into central Gaza comes on the heels of the decision by IOF leadership to withdraw all meneuvering ground forces from the Gaza Strip, leaving only a single brigade, the Nahal Brigade, to secure the so-called "Netzarim" corridor, which the Israeli army built to seperate the northern and southern halves of the Gaza Strip, running from Israeli colonial settlements near the border fence with Gaza to Gaza's Mediterranean coast.

According to the Zionist media, upon the opening strikes of the latest offensive, the Israeli occupation air forces bombed a residential building in the Nuseirat Camp, resulting in the deaths of at least 5 Palestinian civilians, while the Israeli media added that other residential buildings were also targeted.

IOF authorities told the Hebrew media that it continues to carry out strikes in the Camp, bombing and shelling dozens of "Hamas" targets, including supposed underground tunnel structures, while the occupation Navy launched several strikes near the Mediterranean coast in support of the ground forces penetrating central Gaza.

The Zionist entity said the operation was launched after receiving intelligence indicating "the presence of terror infrastructure and many terrorists in the area."

Intense battles raged in the early hours of Thursday morning between the invading occupation army and local Palestinian Resistance forces, who popped out from hidden tunnels, leading the Zionist air force to bomb the area where Resistance fighters emerged from.

Meanwhile, Zionist occupation forces ramped up their bombing and shelling across various sectors of the Gaza Strip, instensifying airstrikes on Gaza City, as well as the Nuseirat Camp, along with several strikes on the city of Rafah in the south of Gaza.

In one example, Israeli occupation fighter jets bombed a gathering of Palestinian civilians in the vicinity of the Eastern Cemetery, located to the east of Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip, resulting in the deaths of five Palestinians, who's bodies were transported to Abu Yousef al-Najjar Hospital.

At the same time, Zionist warplanes bombed residential buildings in the al-Geneina neighborhood, east of Rafah, in the south of Gaza, while two civilian were killed when occupation gunboats fired shells bombing Palestinian homes in the Beach Camp, also known as the Al-Shati Camp, west of Gaza City.

Zionist forces then bombed the aforementioned residential building in the Nuseirat Camp, which martyred five Palestinian civilians, while simultaneously, IOF fighter jets launched several firebelts targeting the Dhu al-Nourin Mosque, as well as the Moaz bin Jabal Mosque, north of the Nuseirat Camp.

As the Israeli occupation's bombing and shelling rapidly intensified, Zionist soldiers penetrated north of the Nuseirat Camp from the direction of Salah al-Din Street and the Al-Mughraqa area, while Israeli military helicopters provided machine-gun fire, and Israeli bombers destroyed a "large number of residential towers" in the city of Al-Zahra'a.

In yet another Israeli occupation airstrike, fighter jets targeted one of the Al-Salhi towers, north of Al-Nuseirat, while displaced civilians sheltering inside a UNRWA school reported shrapnel flying into classrooms and the school yard, resulting in fear and panic among the civilians.

Zionist occupation forces also bombarded agricultural lands surrounding the Sultan's palace hall in the Al-Maghazi Camp, in the central Gaza Strip.

In another criminal atrocity, Israeli occupation forces bombed the civilian vehicle belonging to the family of Hamas political leader, Ismail Haniyeh, in the Al-Shati Refugee Camp as they celebrated Eid al-Fatr on Wednesday, killing three of Haniyeh's sons, as well as wounding his daughter. Haniyeh's grandchildren were also killed in the strike, as they were inside the vehicle at the time of the assault.

Several civilian casualties were also recorded in an airstrike targeting a residential home belonging to the Al-Yaziji family on al-Nafaq Street in Gaza City, while at the same time, Zionist air forces bombed a residential home in the Al-Fukhari neighborhood, east of Khan Yunis, in the southern Gaza Strip.

Occupation fighter jets also continued bombarding agricultural lands near the southern Palestine border with Egypt, though luckily, no casualties were reported in the strike.

Shortly before publishing, reports of yet another airstrike came in, with Palestinian media reporting four civilians martyred as a result of an Israeli airstrike targeting the Feras Market area, in central Gaza City.

As a result of "Israel's" special genocide operation in the Gaza Strip, the infinitely rising death toll has now exceeded 33'545 Palestinians martyred, over 25'000 of which being women and children, while another 76'094 others have been wounded since the start of the current round of Zionist aggression beginning on October 7th, 2023.

#source1

#source2

#source3

#source4

#source5

#source6

#source7

#source8

#source9

#source10

#source11

#source12

#videosource

@WorkerSolidarityNews

[surfclangen]

Good and Bad news

Howdy guys! I don't talk to y'all one on one too much, but I want to keep you in the loop.

To start off, I am so super thankful for the support this comic has received!! This is my first real venture into comic making, I am so incredibly grateful to have such a positive reception.

Onto the bad news, y'all may have noticed my posting speed has slowed. I'm very busy in college (graduating with my AA this summer!) between a radio show, being president of the creative writing club, and keeping up with homework, which means I don't have a ton of time to work on personal projects, and when I do, I try to chase what gives me the most dopamine. This isn't super relevant, however, just a peek into my creative process.

The Bad News

Surfclan is going to go onto hiatus after the next two posts so I can work on the overarching story I want to portray. These two posts will finish Arc 1 of Surfclan, which I am happy with and have ironed out, but the draft I have for the rest of the series is kind of cobbled together and not satisfying, certainly not work I'm proud of. If I'm going to dedicate so much time to something, I want it to be work that I am proud of. As a writing student too, it's not right to put so little effort into the writing.

I went into Surfclan without a plan. I wanted a coastal set of clans to worldbuild with, but I had no idea for plot. I let the generator decide what that plot would be, which is fine! But I wasn't given much besides a clan that grew at a decently steady rate and got into occasional shenanigans. I need to put those pieces together properly and figure out how to best portray the themes I want in a respectful manner (right now, there's a heavy theme of colonialism that I just don't think I'm quite ready to handle tactfully.)

If you aren't using Surfclan, can I?

Absolutely! Please feel free to use Surfclan as background characters or cats to fill out gatherings. I am always happy to organize plots in DMs and weave it into Surfclan's eventual finalized script. As long as my babies are kept relatively in character, I have no issues with making it canon. If they aren't, no worries! It just won't be canon to Surfclan. Think of it like an AU!

When will you be back?

I'm not sure, but I'm always happy to answer DMs if you want to chit chat, and I will make a post announcing Surfclan's return when I am ready.

What's the good news then?

Surfclan was always designed to be a "for fun" project that I didn't put too much effort into, hence the scattered upload schedule and art styles, but now that I've experimented a bit, I'm ready to get into comic making more seriously. While I brainstorm ideas for Surfclan I will be shifting focus towards a new Clangen blog loosely based on marshmallow_cat3's Dark Forest challenge and @gray-thistleclan .

Cottonmouth Clan has distinct win and lose conditions and a solidified plot with mysteries to discover. I'm currently working on world building and character design that will be posted to my main blog, @antlermoss. I will have a post up there when I have my details organized with the rules for the challenge, of which you are welcome to use in your own games and comics!

I will reblog Cottonmouth's starter post here when I am ready.

I appreciate your patience and understanding, and hope you guys enjoy the new project (:

[my-naughty-writings-and-musings]

A while back @fuccerito did an absolutely AMAZING comic and I was so inspired I wrote it out as a chaptered fic! They were also kind enough to let me post it!

For the summary: Many less than harmonious pairs of bots, both Autobot and Decepticons, awaken to find themselves unexpected contestants on "Bang for Your Buck", a Quintesson game show where love and making it is the only way to win! Stuck in boxes with no weapons or hope of escape, the stakes become even higher when their hosts offer the Omega Key to the winning pair. Can any of them out aside their differences long enough to endure the increasingly erotic challenges? Read this or the original comic by fuccerito on their Twitter to find out!

Chapter One: Introduction

"Ugh... What...?" Thundercracker moaned as he came to, the entire world spinning around him whilst he tried to lift his helm. Blinking the blur from his optics, he sat up in a daze and found himself in a room unlike any Cybertronian dwelling he'd ever seen, his helm pounding as if he'd downed enough engex to give a Titan a hangover. 

"Where the hell am I?" he asked out loud, trying to feel a bit less dizzy as he looked around for an explanation. Finding quite literally nothing, not even a window along the spotless white walls, he was left thoroughly confused. A room without doors? What the fuck? he vented to himself, having no clear route for attempting an escape. Blinking to clear some of the sleep from his optics, he briefly considered trying to smash his way out before a second voice startled him fully awake.

"Ugh..." 

"Bumblebee?!" he shouted as he beheld the scout rising from the floor. Looking just as haggard as he felt, Bee winced at his booming volume, covering his audials and making an expression of deep annoyance.

"That is so loud..." he whined, not even looking as Thundercracker swung his weapon mounted around for an attack. To his surprise, horror, and mild embarrassment, the Seeker found his arm utterly rid of a gun, not that Bumblebee even bothered to see him as a threat. Squinting around at the lack of windows and doors and appearing just as frustrated as the other mech had felt, the Scout looked ready to make a sarcastic quip before an electric buzz startled them both.

In the blink of an optic, a holographic screen appeared before them, glowing bright with oversaturated colors and a flamboyantly dressed Quintesson beaming into a microphone. 

"Welcome, friends from Cybertron! I bet you're wondering where you are right now!" the alien cracked with a snap of his tentacles, triggering one of the more obviously fake laugh tracks across the galaxy. Both bots exchanged a mutual expression of disbelief and wondered if it was possible to share the same fever dream, only for the background music to swell and confirm everything they were seeing was happening.

"Well, buckle in. You're the lucky bots selected for our prestigious game show - I'm your host; Emceeus!" the charismatic alien announced with a wink and a flourish of the microphone. At the lack of cheers from his captives, the nonplussed host continued, smiling with a level of charm few would have thought possible with so many rows of teeth. Bumblebee briefly started wondering if he might be able to smash his way out as Thundercracker doubled down on the same thought.

"You may notice I am a Quintesson - fear not!" Emceeus assured them, speaking more softly as he closed his eyes in time to a series of tender, mood setting images flowing across the screen. Flowers, hearts, and space puppies played in perfect time to sappy music. "We here are not like our violent brethren - we are a peaceful rogue colony..."

To the gathered bots horror, the screen shifted to a lovely but extremely explicit clip of two bots making passionate love, their campy moans compelling the captive's optics to find the most interesting possible things on the floor.

"And we love love!" the Quintesson announced sweetly over the audio of the mechs going at it, tentacles waving showily before a few space pot leaves made a cameo on the screen. A small addendum acknowledged them as the pre-recorded audience awwed over his words to preserve the mood. " ...And space weed. "

"As for the issue of why you're here, it seemed you were having a battle of sorts in our sector of space - so nasty, it destroyed the comet where we were hosting auditions!" the Quintesson continued over footage of said conflict, which allowed the bots to finally recall what they'd been doing before their unexpected casting. The recorded audience gasped in fake awe as the respective sides maintained fire on one another, filling the void of space with brilliant flashes of cannon fire that beautifully illuminated the aforementioned asteroid... before careless fire from both sides smashed it to pieces. Bumblebee and Thundercracker exchanged a look of guilt and concern before the host clapped his tentacles together with delight.

"What a show of passion! We just had to cast you!" he declared to a repeat of the applause effect from before, absolutely beaming into the camera to the brief relief of the captives. Smashing someone's comet usually got you way worse punishment than a forced game show recruitment.

Elsewhere, perhaps not too far away in a completely identical cell, Starscream and Soundwave glared at a hologram of the same broadcast. 

"...what show?!" Starscream continued to complain, something he'd been doing since the moment he'd woken up. Hands on his hips, the Seeker had already demanded to speak to the alien's manager to no avail, compelling Soundwave to stand in pained silence as their host finally appeared to acknowledge them. 

"You're on; "Bang for Your Buck!" - a show where contestants can show us their love to win a fantastic prize! Our audience will give you a prompt, and you will be given two cycles to complete it! Tap out, and you'll be out of the running!" he explained cheerily, bringing up a diagram to better explain. Three sequential images displayed a pair of contestants getting a prompt to kiss, carrying out the act, then celebrating their victory. The true ramifications of what was being proposed started to dawn on the captive participants, and a wide variety of mostly negative looks were exchanged amongst an intense flurry of even more negative emotions. "You'll see your first prompts appear in s-"

"Excuse me." Bumblebee interrupted as he held up a servo, voice broadcasting out to all the other contestants for the sake of the plot. With strength disproportionate to his size, he addressed their captors with a thoroughly disapproving glare. "What's the prize?"

"That little thing you were all fighting over - the Omega Key!" Emceeus answered just as eagerly, gesturing to a stock photo of the aforementioned artifact. Seemingly oblivious to how displeased his contestants were to be there, the host was equally nonplussed when they all stood up in a panic at his mention of the key, collective attentions now fully engaged.

"What about-" a single bot spoke up before being interrupted by a final sweetening of the deal.

"And five million Shanix!"

"Dope." came the mostly satisfied reply. 

"You'll see your first prompts on your screen!" the host announced as the fake audience cheered, disappearing from view to leave a loading screen. Every bot was left to await their fate for what felt like a purposefully cruel length of time, the annoying suspenseful music making every second drag on like five. In their tiny but not necessarily claustrophobic room, Bumblebee and Thundercracker got their first prompt at the same time as the others, the flowy text scrolling almost mockingly onto the screen.

Hold Hands!

Somehow, the chaste prompt was more embarrassing than the most erotic of acts could have ever been. Both bots flushed bright pink, turning to each other with an expression of hopeless despair mixed with embarrassment. It was abundantly clear there would be no escape; without weapons or anything resembling a weak point in the structure around them, they had few reasons not to comply. With those reasons consisting of nothing but schoolgirl levels of bashful self consciousness, they both more or less came to the same conclusion after powering through their reservations. Neither would forsake their duty for fear of cooties.

This is so ridiculous, but I guess I need to get that key... Bumblebee thought to himself, raising a hand as he faced the other mech. Thundercracker didn't look any more pleased with the situation, but he at least appeared willing to cooperate, albeit with the same level of hesitation. The Seeker gulped and flexed his digits.

Shit. I guess this is happening. This is straight out of one of my favorite fanfics... he thought in a rush, able to clearly recall multiple bookmarked fics with the exact same premise. When he'd read those, however, he had been imagining anything but Bumblebee. Not that he found the scout ugly or anything, he just typically didn't fantasize about bots with Autobot insignias... Considering what was at stake, he swiftly set about convincing himself to face the challenge, as overwhelming as it may have been.

"Well, if..." Bumblebee started, turning to face the floor as he shuffled forward and started to offer his hand. Following the lead, Thundercracker began blindly groping for the other mech, nodding along as they both continued to avert their optics while convincing themselves. 

"If it's for the Omega Key...?" he added with open uncertainty, stepping backwards and blushing that much harder as they got closer. If this succeeded there would still be a battle for the prize, but at least it would be back in Cybertronian control. For the good of their species, he needed to persevere. 

"...We all need to get it." Bumblebee continued as he squeezed his optics shut and turned away entirely, blushing so fiercely he was sure his face would be combusting at any moment. He was halfway certain he'd hit his head during the battle and would wake up at any moment, the absurdity of it all feeling more like a concussion dream than anything with any basis in reality. The warmth steadily approaching his outstretched digits challenged that theory.

"Yeah." Thundercracker covered his closed optics as their hands finally touched, arms held nearly straight to keep as much distance between the two of them as physically possible. Barely able to nod, he summoned all the courage remaining in his spark and did what needed to be done. Their hands came together with a burst of pure embarrassment that was mirrored by their fellow contestants, though most of the aforementioned bots were feeling far more murderous than bashful. 

Mere feet away, a mercifully soundproofed room was still trembling from the raw outrage within, its display screen buzzing a most infuriating prompt to the furious occupants. 

Kiss with Tongue

There were few bots who would have taken the idea well in regards to their greatest nemesis, but Megatron was uniquely incensed, his rage so overpowering it could have warped time and space had the Quintessons not used their technology to bolster it just in case.

" WHAT IS THIS BULLSHIT?! " the Decepticon leader roared, optics and veins bulging as the mech at his side expressed his equal rage with significantly more decorum.  

"This is heinous to ask of enemies!" Optimus agreed, stressing the final word to remind their captors and himself that he had NO interest in Megatron. Their feelings to one another consisted of nothing but hatred mixed with an acceptable amount of respect for the other's physical prowess... nothing else, not in the slightest. Megatron made to shatter the screen just before the cameras shifted most conveniently to the next room over, his explosive rage making it clear he had much more yelling to do before they could hope to enter the competition for real. 

" GIVE ME THE OMEGA KEY, I DEMAND- "

In the next room over, a mech who would have given any number of things to be napping at that moment was glaring at his own screen, the bags beneath his optics almost as deep as his dissatisfaction with his assigned partner. Said partner was looking mischievous and delighted, his lips curling up for a fang accented grin as he secured a hold on Ratchet's shoulder. The older mech could almost feel Drift's optics staring a hole in the most sensitive region of his neck. Worse, the buzzing screen seemed to mock him with the simplicity of its request. 

Bite

Oh, Primus... he thought with an internal sigh, utterly done even before they'd had a chance to begin. How had he ended up with the only mech that managed to be as hot as he was infuriating?

Back in the room where Starscream and Soundwave miraculously hadn't murdered one another, the two were tapping into their competitive nature to tackle their embarrassing but mostly manageable prompt. 

Wing Massage

"Ow! You're doing it wrong!" Starscream hissed as Soundwave roughly handled the Seeker's wings in what could only be called the loosest approximation of a massage. It looked as ridiculous as it felt, but both mechs soldiered on, the former grumbling as the latter doubled down.

"Soundwave: simply giving Starscream what he deserves." he said tensely, motivating himself with thoughts of all the revenge he'd enjoy once they were free. Putting on a good show was a humiliating but simple enough challenge, and he was fully confident there'd be no character development of any kind along the way, not from himself or any of the cast. They'd all just have to double down for a thoroughly unsexy time...