#An Unburied Conflict

[mysticonsheadcanons]

Mysticons Next Quest 2 Episode 11: An Unburied Conflict

Note: I know I named the elvish town, then just kept calling it the elvish town. I named it later, and didn't want to rewrite every instance of it.

Arkayna sees Em researching the mine, and asks about it. Em says that she was just curious about both the elvish and dwarvish equipment at the mine, and wondered which group worked at the mine first. Just then, Queen Goodfey calls the Mysticons to the palace.

They hurry to the palace, as Queen Goodfey seemed worried about what happened. Queen Goodfey tells them that there is a conflict between the elvish town, Liadon, and Rudick’s Hollow. Em wonders if it has anything to do with the past, and Queen Goodfey reveals that there was a war centuries ago, but when the mine was sealed in a way that the mine couldn’t possibly break through, the two groups made a peace treaty, knowing that continuing the war for a resource they couldn’t get wouldn’t benefit either party. They decide to split up, to see if there’s anything they can do to help.

Em, Zarya, and Sharise go to Rudick’s Hollow, where they find a group of elves attacking. They manage to help fend off the attack, and the elves leave. Various dwarves in the village talk about how the elves from the village are stealing the mine, and that the elvish town was where Necrafa initially came from, and assumes that the elves there still worship Necrafa.

Meanwhile, Piper, Arkayna, and Choko are in the elvish town, and they see some dwarves fighting against the elves, and thanks to the Mysticons’ previous visits to Rudick’s Hollow, they decide to give the Mysticons a day to make the elves concede that the mine should belong to Rudick’s Hollow  before leaving. The elves thank the Mysticons for helping them get rid of the dwarves, and they claim that the dwarves will never care about anything other than money, and that they probably don’t care who uses the precious minerals they use, as well as they’re paid.

The Mysticons regroup in Rudick’s Hollow, as they believe that Em’s parents would realize that there is more to the story, and feel as though they would listen to what the Mysticons have to say. Citrine and Malachite tell them about how there was a letter that was sent to the mayor of Rudick’s Hollow from the elves, saying that they will take the mine back if Rudick’s Hollow doesn’t give up rights to the mine. Zarya brings up that, as the attacks on both villages happened at the same time, perhaps the elves had enough warning that Rudick’s Hollow wouldn’t agree. Malachite also tells them that dwarves are allowed to go to the mine certain days, but not others, as part of a treaty that the elves gave to give some time in the mine until they come to their senses. Malachite thinks it’s to make themselves look more reasonable than those at Rudick’s Hollow, but Piper says that she’s not sure.

They go to the mayor of the elvish town, and while they try to reason with him, he doesn’t listen. They find time when he leaves briefly to snoop through the office, and they not only find out that the elvish village got the same letter as Rudick’s Hollow, but they were also supposedly given special days to go into the mines from the mayor of Rudick’s Hollow. As they suspect someone is putting them up to it, they go back to the mine.

At the mine, they find Larine, working on a mask, and putting minerals on certain places of it. A fight ensues, and Sharise threatens to tell both settlements what’s really going on. Larine laughs, saying that neither place will ever fully be able to trust them, since she could convince them that they are siding with a group due to connections. Piper says that she doesn’t have any connection to the town, and Larine smirks saying that that Piper is either lying, or unaware. A fight ensues, and while the Mysticons are forced to flee, as Larine’s magic is extremely strong and too much fighting would make the mine unstable, Choko does get some of the mysterious mineral.

As they are leaving, the Mysticons talk about what they learned. Zarya asks Piper if she really doesn’t know what Larine was talking about, and Piper admits that she doesn’t, but it does worry her. While Arkayna admits that it is worrying, especially since they don’t know what Larine would tell Liadon so they can’t counteract it, she is confident that stopping Larine will stop the conflict.

[havendance]

New Comics Time!

Shazam! #17 -- So the green lightning bolt that gave Freddy powers is exerting a sinister influence on him. Who could've seen this coming? Anyway, this was another fun issue. I enjoyed the conflict between Billy and Freddy and I loved Hephaestus' design--it worked really well with the art style. I think my one complaint is that Mary's subplot got a little confusing at the end. She was clearly getting into a bit of a pinch, but the how was unclear from the art. Hopefully that'll be cleared up next issue though.

Batgirl #1 -- Cass! This was really fun. I'm having trouble articulating my thoughts than I was for comics I was less excited about reading. I loved both Cass and Shiva in it. There's a couple moments for Shiva that really reminded me of O'Neil's Shiva, and there's a lot of great moments for Cass with all of her attitude and skill. (I love her little 'Good Luck' and 'I am an orphan by choice'--an elegant way of tying together her past with her present and her attitude toward Shiva with whom she is currently fighting) I'm not sure how invested in this whole 'Unburied' thing for now, but we'll see where it goes because the relationship between Cass and Shiva very much is interesting here. Cass' internal monologue did feel a bit much at points, but I understand the necessity of setting things up and introuducing her in the first new solo she's had in like, decades. Art and colors were both very good and I am looking forward to seeing where it goes next!

Absolute Batman #1 -- The best part of this comic was Julia telling Alfred to never contact her again (haha joking, unless...) Overall, this was a good Batman comic. Not necessarily my favorite and I don't think it really feels revolutionary in the way that DC is trying to hype these absolute titles, but I can appreciate. I think all of the fake-outs that Snyder put into this before Bruce finally showed up is well done, as well as the moments where he brings a character in and then re-contextualizes them by introducing them like he did with Barbara and Martha. I know I'm not the target audience for this, but at the same time, I do very much appreciate the bat ear-knives and bat-symbol ax in the same way that I appreciate some of the crazier stunts that Batman pulls in the first arc of Tom King's Batman. I'll keep reading for now and we'll see where it goes from here.

Action Comics #1070 -- This was very much an issue that was laying the foundation for both stories. I am admittedly not as familiar with the Superman side of comics, but I do think it's kind of funny that Superman's like 'If something's happening to the Phantom Zone,I can't let people suffer in my prison void dimension.' Like, I get that it's a matter of degrees and there's a prison vs torture prison dimension to it all, but also. You're locking up your enemies in the prison void dimension. There's a certain level of not-fun that entails. Anyway, the Supergirl backup had very pretty art and is certainly intriguing, but it did leave me wanting a couple more answers rather than feeling like one giant cliffhanger.

Batman and Robin #14 -- I have not been following this book previously, so I can't comment on the Damian characterization discourse I've been seeing, but this was enjoyable enough. I liked the villain, he seems cool. The art was nice and I wanted to like the coloring, but it felt, hmmm, a little washed out to me. I can see what it's going for, but I'm not sure if it's working for me.

[transgenderer]

While a lot is written about urine marking, primarily because people find it unacceptable when it occurs in the house, actual data from field situations is often conflicting regarding the apparent function of the behavior (Feldman, 1994a; Gorman and Trowbridge, 1989; Natoli, 1985b;Passanisi and Macdonald, 1990; Verberne and de Boer, 1976). For example, while urine marking is commonly credited with being a form of territorial marking, Feldman (1994a) recorded deposition of urine and feces and found no evidence that either was used as a territorial marker. Indeed, while cats are often referred to as territorial, there is no good evidence that they actually are territorial, i.e. defend a piece of property. Urine marking occurs in a variety of contexts and doubtless has a variety of functions that probablyinclude:

Communicating specific identifying information, e.g. ‘intact female’

Communicating location information, e.g. ‘I entered this field X hours ago’

Communicating emotional information, e.g. ‘I am here and I am highly aroused’

Attempting to attribute a single function or message to urine marking is somewhat like attempting to attribute a single message to all human speech. Substantial further study is required to truly understand this behavior.

Feral cats have been observed to leave feces unburied in the peripheral areas of their home range, but bury the feces in the core areas of their home range (Macdonald et al., 1987;Feldman, 1994a). While it is possible that surface feces serve as a signal to strange cats entering the home range, there are no reports of strange cats departing from an area immediately upon encounter with feces of a resident cat. It may be the case that feces are typically buried in the core area for control of odors and parasites, but that the effort of this behavior is not necessary in peripheral areas.

! cats may be misinterpreted as terrritorial

[ring-rong-rang-rung]

It's time for posting in 2023's @tf-bigbang! Despite my fears at several points that I really had bit off more than I could chew this year, it's finished. It's the longest single piece of writing I've ever completed.

I was delighted to work with @lush-specimen as an artist, and @satellitesoundwave as a beta reader! Thank you both so much for everything you did to help this fic get off the ground successfully. I can't thank you enough here, so I'm thanking you in the AO3 notes as well.

Now, without giving away everything here on Tumblr (although it's all properly tagged on AO3), here's the basics.

RATING: Mature WARNINGS: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings MAIN PAIRING: HotLock (Hot Rod/Deadlock) ADDITIONAL TAGS: Decepticon AU, Decepticon Hot Rod, Mafia princess Hot Rod and long suffering bodyguard Deadlock SUMMARY: Hot Rod has grown up in this war knowing his place in the broader conflict. He's the son of Megatron, and heir to the Decepticon Cause. But something lurks in his past, desperate to catch up with him after his first battle. Following an attempted abduction, Megatron decides the best option is to send Hot Rod into hiding. Hot Rod is less than thrilled, as is the mech selected for this assignment. Hot Rod and Deadlock will have to learn to work together and coexist for their own survival, while the Autobots try to find Hot Rod to reveal secrets that some hope will never be unburied. Part One of Prodigal

Chapters 1-4 are up now. Chapters 5-7 will be up on September 23rd, and chapters 8-12 will be up on the 24th.

[ancient-frog-enthusiast]

I’ve seen talk about theriantheopy/being alterhuman can stem from trauma, which makes sense, but what I’m wondering is can trauma take away someone’s therianthropy?

Disclaimer if I seem to spread any misconceptions/misinformation with what I’m about to say please correct me (politely, preferably?) I’m just trying to describe and figure out my own experience

Also I’m gonna be vaguely mentioning trauma/my response to it so just like… read at your own caution?

Four or five years ago I was definitely therian. I had dreams, much more shifting than I do now, and thought of myself as a cat born in a human body. I hadnt even heard the term therian then, these were conclusions I drew on my own.

The thing is, various life events and traumas occurred around that time which caused me to essentially burry a lot of aspects of myself very deeply in order to protect myself. Here today I’m very happy with where I’m at in life and feel like I don’t miss much of myself from back then, but I’m also still unburying a lot and having a lot of conflicting thoughts about like “that part of me is dead and has to stay that way” but also “I enjoyed it once didnt I? Could I be that way again?”

And for the record it’s not other people I’m scared of it’s myself. I buried myself so deeply in self sabatoge and unhealthy coping mechanisms that I had to burry this and a lot of other “harmless” things (like maladaptive daydreaming for example) in order to drag myself out of it, and I’m scarred that if I indulge even a little in those old parts of me that it will send me spiraling again.

I just want to get rid of it to be honest

[creatureofseafoam]

The more episodes we get from s3 without Trent confessing his feelings to Ted (that we basically know he has) the more I feel like it has a chance to be endgame.

If and when Ted finds out/is told that Trent has feelings for him, it has so much potential to cause conflict. This is the e kind of conflict that would last for several episodes, though.

Now my thinking (delusional) is that when Ted finds out somehow someway Ted will either a.) reciprocate or b.) go on a short journey of self discovery where he unburied the homosexual truth that lies within…

In summary: the fewer episodes it takes for Trent to confess to Ted, the higher chance of them becoming an item or Ted reciprocating. Now, there is the chance that it would also take time for Ted to realize he is queer and become comfortable with being with him, the slow burn has already happened. That’s what we’ve been watching these past three seasons, now Trent is just building up courage.

[catilinas]

do you have any recommendations for readings you think ought to accompany lucan's pharsalia? (i am especially hoping for readings that might explore the historical context, as we didn't talk about the battle of pharsalus in my latin classes.)

hi! i Do. for historical context you are extremely in luck because lucan's imperial world: the bellum civile in its contemporary contexts ed. laura zientek and mark thorne is a whole book full of Exactly That. there's also a section in brill's companion to lucan ed. paulo asso on literary contexts which might be interesting but i think is less relevant to what you're asking! for book-specific stuff, reading lucan's civil war: a critical guide ed. paul roche is v useful too.

you might also like lucan and the history of civil war by a.w. lintott in oxford readings in classical studies: lucan ed. charles tesoriero. in the same book is lucan/the word at war by john henderson which is mostly incomprehensible to me but i still reread it like. monthly. but it is worth trying to hopefully pick up at least 10% of The Vibe. + i am a massive fan of the chapter unburied past: lucan's bellum civile in abused bodies in roman epic by andrew mcclellan.

for conflict(?) between lucan and caesar's narratives of the civil war A Lot of scholarship will reference poetry and civil war in lucan's bellum civile by jamie masters, even if masters does eventually argue that lucan was a caesarian, so like. important book but one that has Some Big Problems In It. responding to that is lucan and caesar: epic and commentarius by andrew zissos in generic interfaces in latin literature ed. theodore papanghelis, stephen harrison, and stavros frangoulidis. there is also caesar in vergil and lucan by timothy a. joseph in the cambridge companion to the writings of julius caesar ed. lucan grillo and christopher krebs. but also a Lot of reading lucan against caesar involves close reading of what is Not There. so you could also just read caesar's account of pharsalus (BC book 3) and think very hard about e.g. the fact that he never mentions the name of pharsalus at any point. ever.

also i know i say this in every ask about lucan but. ideology in cold blood: a reading of lucan's civil war by shadi bartsch was the first scholarship i ever read on lucan and i think it permanently changed the shape of my brain.

hopefully that is vaguely helpful! feel free also to dm me if you need help Locating Pdfs of any of these (i am beset by one million lucan pdfs) :-)

[reidhalstead]

For: @kingofthehunt

Music is a constant. Whilst everything else may fade away into oblivion. The collection of sounds in a piece has a power in itself to draw and conquer any foe. Like when book chapters are opened, closed and well-read; it doesn't die, if it lives In the mind. Few things continue to exist, and shift forms and have the flexibility of adjustment. A constant metamorphosis, never entirely complete; a composition that'll never be finished.

Reid only goes into the forest for a few reasons now. To hunt — in every form; in every single painful version of the act. This perverse thing that's a rabbit, or a fox splayed drained at his feet against the idea that there's something sharp strapped to his belt and a freshly new awareness of everything that breathes around him.

He wants the things that don't, mostly.

Halstead has never feared going too far or too deep. Not having anything that scared him — and now, there's a hundred things that do. The articles taking root in his soul are endless (does he have one? he hates to consider he doesn't.), but it's a wandering commodity; the act of fearlessness.

Notes linger in the air, travelling like a beacon that draws him ever closer. E sharp, to an F. It's a detail Reid knows because he picked up the guitar once, learned the occasional chord then was told he simply would never have time for such a hobby.

Time. What a funny contrivance now.

He knows this place, he thinks. The house buried in the thick of the overgrowth, the vegetable garden that's seen a variety of moon phases. A quiet man is inside, and Reid really shouldn't be there. He's balancing on the precipice of worlds; hunters, and monsters.

Roles are reversed, depending on who one speaks to.

Halstead decides against this fight — because Elias had always been a difficult man; a glorious hunter, but difficult. Reid's meandered too far into the woods, and he's turning to run — to flee —

He's not one to ever flee. And he should know better, even after years away that a hunter always knows; they know when a monster stands in their garden, boots threatening to rip up the mud, and grime of one's homeland. The door's already being ripped open — and Reid's barely taken a step to bail —

Cat and mouse; predator and prey, and panic and desire all flood his system with conflicting wants. "...Elias — Eli, just wait, listen — I wasn't —"

He gets to the gate, backing up — cowering, almost. Until he stumbles out of the garden, only to feel his boot graze against the animals Reid's left unburied. He knows it's a lost cause now. "I can explain."

[aspoonofsugar]

Inside

Inside A new me, I'm ready But who will I find? Inside I've gotta let go but could I lose my mind?

So, we are midway through our journey in volume 9...

Let's see if we can understand something more about the opening song, shall we?

In short, I think it is obvious now the song describes the idea of ascension and (probably) Ruby's feelings when it comes to this practice. The refrain keeps mentioning Ruby's main conflict. The need to let go of herself, but also the fear of who she is deep inside.

There is the hope of finding an easy way out. And the fear of discovering one's real identity.

That said, the interesting parts are the other stanzas, which are slowly acquiring more meaning as we discover more about the story.

Let's focus for example on the second part of the song:

Waves of gold overwhelm my senses A fire blooms Why should I fight to connect with a world I cannot exhume?

(Trusted love) That world is ungrateful A family estranged (Hatred won) What I'd give in exchange To be happy without trying

To her tree

The first stanza reminds me of the Blacksmith. After all, it mentions gold and a fire:

The Blacksmith forges new selves. She turns metals into gold and brings them to a new level of refinement and perfection (alchemy). And she does so through fire obviously. So, it is not farfetched to think these lines are describing the process of ascension from the point of view of someone experiencing it.

The second stanza describes Ruby's feelings over losing in Atlas (trusted love, hatred won) and how she is slowly losing hope. That said, there is an interesting tidbit about michrocosm and machrocosm:

That world is ungrateful A family estranged

The world (Salem) and the family (Summer). Ruby's 2 main burdens. The external conflict and the internal one. It is to escape both Ruby is thinking about ascension:

What I'd give in exchange To be happy without trying

Still, she is clearly misinterpreting what ascension really is about. It is supposed to be transformation through acceptance and not falling apart through oblivion.

Finally, this part still has two rather mysterious verses:

Why should I fight to connect with a world I cannot exhume?

What is the song talking about here? The macrochosm or the microchosm? The word world seems to suggest former, but the very final verse gives us an alternative interpretative key:

Inside our worlds unwind

A world can also be someone's inner universe, which I think is the case here. Exhume means to unbury. The world Ruby doesn't want to dig up is her own personal world. What's inside of her.

And then we arrive to:

To her tree

This verse is sang by a chorus. The chorus with the exception of the (trusted love) and (hatred won) seems to be relating Alyx's story. For example, let's consider the first part:

Sinking down into depths of nowhere I am undone Clasping tight onto memories I know They'll be overrun

(By a girl) We must live with balance But balance is blind (Lost her world) Vengeance is a riptide In a fairy tale, she'll find

Once again these two stanzas seem to describe for the most part the process of ascension. Losing yourself into nothingness and losing all your memories. The second stanzas specifically conveys anger and the idea of revenge. I wonder is this is meant to refer to Neo, as a mirror of Ruby's internilized anger. Or something. Still, the parts in parenthesis are the most interesting ones:

By a girl - Lost her world

To this we add:

In a fairy tale, she'll find - To her tree

The majority of the song is sung in first person. It is I or we, at most. It is not difficult to imagine Ruby singing it to herself, given her current state in the series. Still, some parts are just she. As if there is a story within the story. Alyx's. Or someone else's?

Is the she still Ruby? And others are simply commenting on her pain? This might be the case for Lost her world and In a fairy tale, she'll find. What about memories overrun by a girl? Is this a reference to how Ruby herself may choose to overrun her own memories? Or is the one overriding memories someone else? Someone who can say the tree is hers?

Has Alyx become the tree herself? Has she ascended into the tree? Or is maybe the tree and the she the Blacksmith?

Time will tell :P

Also, obviously this might all be wrong :''') Not all songs and not all parts of a song are meant to have a plot-related meaning. Inside is pretty clear thematically and it might just convey the idea of a story within the story and RWBY's struggle to reach the tree.

[sassenashsworld]

WIP Wednesday, baby! (even if it's sunday)

Tagged by @totally-not-deacon!! Gonna tag : @maccreadysbaby, @jasmineofthecommonwealth, @derinthescarletpescatarian because even if you're not in my Fallout community I know you are an amazing author and... yeah, as I am bold, I will be bold to the brim : @chadfallout76podcast

If @badastronaut27, @atombonniebaby, and @willinglyghoulified want to make my day.... feel free!

Now for my part... I like to write scene between Danse and Nick. They have a kind of torturous relation where each other doesn't dare to said out loud they respect each other... but they are

Danse is no longer subtle; he gestures with his hand and surely he wants to be discreetly asking me to get closer, but I believe that if our two friends weren't so preoccupied, they wouldn't have missed it. Before I join him, I apologize to Sturges and Nora. He pushes me inside Nora's house and slams the door behind him, as if he's worried that someone has been following us. His actions are becoming increasingly odd. "Was that— 

"I have committed a grievous error." Born or being involved with the Brotherhoods? He walks around the room nervously, passing his hands one after the other through his hair, as if he can't determine which one will calm him down. I light a cigarette and settle calmly on the couch. "What kind of mistake?" I ask him without looking up. He pulls a holotape from his pocket. I admit that for a brief minute, I was at a loss for words. How did he get hold of that? Which of these is it? Then I notice something strange. It's not one of Eddie Winter's or Jonathan's holotapes. It's one I've never seen before, I believe.

"I-I-I… It inadvertently escaped from Nora's bag. I surmised that it had some connection with the Railroad. I am aware that she is currently engaged in handling the situation, and I have been instructed to dutifully divulge any pertinent information— 

"Ready to betray a dear friend?" That I sardonically let down. "This is irrelevant." "I consider it is an extremely important matter. Are you truly willing to sell the Rail Road, knowing how valuable it is to your friend?" He sinks into the sofa and places the holotape on the living room table. 'Hi honey!' is now totally legible to me. In the land of no-joy, it does smell horrible. "All right, moral question number two for later. Is this from Nate?" "Affirmative. Initially, I failed to comprehend the objects that reached my hearing. I must insist that the information conveyed in this audio log appeared rather perplexing to my understanding. I possessed scarce knowledge regarding Nora… prior to the cataclysmic conflict.” Personally, I'm shocked by my curiosity. I understand that this tape must be incredibly intimate, especially given Danse's unsettled aura, but the investigator in me wants to know, and this band in the middle of the table requests that I read it. I resist temptation by closing my eyes. "I heeded every word." He decrees it as if he had perpetrated the world's worst abomination. I'm not sure what's on that tape, but given who owns it, I believe it's in those waters. "I guess she doesn't know you got your hands on it." "Affirmative. That is precisely why I am beseeching your assistance." I'm not feeling it. "We must endeavor to replace the holotape within Knight Nora's bag. I require your assistance, for she permits only her synthetic pet to approach." The synth pet send you to hell. However, we don't require a crisis among the companions. We'll need to invest in the Institute shortly, and sending a crazed or disturbed Nora isn't a good idea. "All right, I'll do it. It's especially satisfying to know that a high Brotherhood officer will owe me." As the man in front of me expresses terror, I silently savor my cigarette. I admit that I may have just unburied the hatchet between us, but one thing is certain: it is far better to be beholden to me than to any other relative of Nora's capable of sending the holotape on to her luggage. "Don't worry, I'm not that crazy. I just want you to remember who helped you on the day my life will be on the line." He nods slowly, recognizing my first remark was quite amusing. He may grow to grasp my nature better over time, probably a long time. "Also, let me tell you 'bout a day I thought I was peeking at a case, and it was Nora's diary." His look shifts from shock to fury and comprehension. "You are human, despite your armor and pompous titles. Humans make mistakes. Just be cautious the next time."

[fromjannah]

same anon thanks for the answer! I couldn't listen to it yet but that's so disappointing to hear about Bruce's characterisation tbh. the way he was characterised was my favorite part in unburied, the mix between earnestness and vulnerability, occasional goofiness and the competent mysterious vigilante bit was so perfect? and like u said after the events of unburied he should have been better not worse since his whole arc was abt healing and realising he doesn't just want to enact revenge but protect victims and create a better life for everyone. his insistence on all of the rogues and arkham inmates deserving better and his promise to make things better for them too...and ofc the whole Egypt scene that read kind of like an agreement to be on friendlier terms? if they changed that for the sake of creating more easier conflict between him and Eddie that's kinda sad. i get it makes it easier to elevate Eddie as the protagonist and to give them more conflict etc but man. also kind of unfair to the new actor tbh ofc he's not gonna live up to Duke's Bruce if he doesn't really get a chance to

good to hear they kept the other characters mostly consistent tho

yeah i love youuuu unburied bruce!! i feel like i would've still enjoyed bickering/a level of conflict between bruce and eddie -- the arguments they did have were honestly really interesting and enjoyable for me -- but it just did nottt feel like it took place after unburied!!!! i feel like it was for conflict but also just to make batman a flatter thing to bounce off of which is so so unfortunate <//3

[sesshy380]

TKB 2nd chance Chapter 2 rewrite is done!

Also, good news (in case you didn't see my post earlier), I've come up with a title! Yay! (Let me know what you think)

Title: A Soul's Reality

Rating: Teen+ (going to try my hardest to keep from passing over into Mature rating)

Chapter Warnings: Referenced Middle East conflicts/ISIS-like organization (not sure if that needs to be a warning, but it's there just in-case)

Summary: (still a WiP, willing to take suggestions based on the few chapters so far)

Wordcount: 1241

Chapter 2 below the cut!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Chapter 2: Bakhure ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The Thief King awoke to a stabbing pain radiating from near his right eye. He rolled over onto his right side to bury that portion of his face into the pillow beneath his head. It was as though his entire body had decided that doing this was the only solution to make the pain go away.

“Here. These usually help.”

The Thief King’s unburied eye shot open, staring wide at the concerned Pharaoh holding some pills and a small glass of water. With his free hand he swatted it all away, causing the glass to shatter on the floor.

Atem sighed heavily, then walked into what appeared to be an adjoining bathroom, returning with a large towel moments later. He knelt down, silently cleaning up the mess. Once he’d finished, and everything properly taken care of, he leaned on the wall across from the Thief King, then slid down while burying his face in his hands.

“Bakhure…I can’t keep doing this,” he quietly choked out.

The Thief King sat up, gently massaging the scar near his eye. The pain had thankfully dulled to a much more tolerable low throb.

“Listen, I don’t know what this is, and frankly I don’t care. I just want to wake up from this stupid nightmare. I’ve dealt with enough bullshit over the past several millennia, and I’m not really in the mood to deal it with any more. So do me a favor, and use your stupid ‘Power of Friendship’ magic-crap to just send my ass back to-...to-…”

The Thief King paused to think. He knew he didn’t belong wherever here was, but he couldn’t recall where he’d been before. All that came to him each time he tried to remember was that place with a name that wouldn’t leave his tongue. He could clearly remember Kul Elna, the Millennium Items, Zorc, and fighting the Pharaoh. He also remembered being entrapped within the Millennium Ring, and a part of him becoming twisted by Zorc into something he barely recognized. He even remembered Ryou.

Atem leaned his head back to rest against the wall, his face streaked with tears as he lowered his hands and gazed tiredly across the room.

“I am so sick of having to repeat this. I’m not a magic Pharaoh. You’re not the ‘Thief King’. There aren’t any cursed relics made from the souls of murdered people.” Atem’s words came out as though he’d said them no less than a hundred times before. “You are Bakhure. I am your cousin, Atem. You were in a coma for five months after an attack on our family that occurred several years ago. The things you ‘remember’ are all part of a grief-related coping mechanism, because it’s easier for you to accept than what really happened.”

“You’re full of shit. You really expect me to believe that?!”

Atem closed his eyes and shook his head, appearing wholeheartedly defeated. “Believe whatever you want. I don’t care anymore. We’ve had this same discussion more times than I can count. You managed two weeks without a relapse, but instead of having everything all jumbled up this time, you seem to be back at square one. I can’t do it again.”

More tears streamed down his face. “I’m sorry…I just…can’t keep doing this.” He miserably choked back a sob.

A small, black feline walked up and rubbed against Atem’s side, ‘mrrr’-ing to get his attention. Atem picked up the cat and held it against his chest.

“Thank you, Sanura. You always have such impeccable timing,” he said as he rubbed his cheek against the feline’s forehead. Sanura purred loudly from the attention.

“Sanura?!” The Thief King’s eyes went wide as another fragmented visual from before he’d woken up came to him. He stood quickly, pointing a sharp finger at the cat.

“That’s not a cat! It’s a demigod! She’s the one responsible for why I remember everything and you don’t!”

Atem sniffled as he placed the feline on the floor. “Is this true, Sanura? Are you a demigod?”

The cat stretched a hind leg high in the air, then began to clean herself.

“Ah yes. Very ‘demigod’ like,” Atem stated boredly.

The Thief King plopped down on the bed in disappointment. “Do you honestly think a demigod pretending to be a cat would actually admit that they are indeed a demigod?”

Atem shook his head again in exasperation. “It doesn’t matter what I think. You will only believe what you want to believe. Your mind takes things from reality and warps it to fit your dissociative fantasy. Even if and when you start to believe the truth, in a week or so, something will trip you up and I’ll be doing this again.”

The Thief King…Bakhure…folded his arms across his chest. “So you’re saying that I created the massacre of my village in my head? I know I’m mentally fucked up, but that’s a bit much…even for me.”

“According to your therapist, it’s your way of processing the attack on our family. You are in complete control of the fantasy, meaning you can alter it in any way that you like.”

Bakhure took a moment to contemplate the information.

“What about the Dark God, Zorc? If my mind warps the reality around me, where did he come from?”

“ZORC is the acronym for the militant extremist organization that attacked our family back home.”

“Back home? So…we’re not from wherever here is?”

Atem slowly shook his head. “No. We come from Egypt. We’ve been living the past three years in the U.S. under political asylum. You came here first after being medically evacuated from overseas to the nearby hospital. The rest of us came not long after.”

“Why did I have to be medically evacuated?” Bakhure asked in earnest.

“You were badly injured in the attack on our family. A piece of shrapnel pierced just below your right eye. The doctors back home said removing it would kill you. My…father,” Atem choked the word. He took in a steadying breath before finishing the sentence. ”...he refused to accept that.”

Bakhure felt a portion of his chest tighten, causing him to look down and realize his posture had changed, and that he was now clutching his shirt right above where his heart was located.

He felt conflicted. What if Atem was right? What if everything he ‘remembered’ was only in his head? There were a few too many parallels for the things he’d just been told, compared to what he remembered, to be a coincidence.

Bakhure relaxed further as he decided to give into this.

“So…the people in my head…they’re all real…just not how I remember them, right?”

“Pretty much,” Atem replied. He appeared more relaxed as well, compared to his defeated behavior from before.

Bakhure nervously drummed his fingers while biting the inside of his lip. “The guy that tackled me earlier…Amir…does he have a brother that looks like him, but acts like a spoiled bitch?”

Atem chuckled as he wiped dried salt from his face and stood. “C’mon. I’m certain everyone has been wanting to get the reintroduction part done and over with. I can guarantee Rishid is probably having a fit that he had to delay dinner. I hear he had fattah planned to celebrate two weeks without any relapse. Maybe you’ll get lucky and he won’t change his mind.”

“Rishid’s a chef?!”

Atem just smiled as he opened the door and motioned for Bakhure to follow.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Prologue, Ch1

[mybeingthere]

Richard Mosse, b 1980

General Février, 2010

71.12 x 88.9 cm Framed: 73.66 x 91.44 x 4.76 cm

Credit Line IMMA Collection: Purchase, assisted by funding from David Kronn, 2012.

General Février2010

"I tend to work in places of war and conflict, and that has tended to mean that the unburied ghost of colonial past is still wreaking tragedy in its gyre of resolution or dissolution, like a series of cyclones devastating a helpless undeveloped nation. Since I am a white male, my white-male gaze has made my positions quite defenseless, and I have sometimes been criticized for taking politically incorrect views (and I don’t tend to take positions in my practice, though I have them personally, of course, but do try to assume a neutral, non-didactic aesthetic strategy, which is itself a position, though it may not immediately appear to be). Being Irish, though, has allowed me to remain unapologetic, steering clear of the horrors of political correctness that white males often have thrust upon them in the course of their privileged, embarrassed discourse. It has also allowed me to travel freely in rogue nations who feel kinship with us Irish rogues. So, being Irish has allowed me to be more fully me, even though I don’t at all subscribe to any national identity."

Richard Mosse artist statement Changing States: Contemporary Irish Art and Francis Bacon’s Studio exhibition (2013)

[batmanisagatewaydrug]

ngl a lot of what I'm hearing about the spin off makes me really conflicted on wether I'd even want to listen to it or not. sounds very hit or miss. since it's 'just' a spin off tho do you think that the actual season 2 -if it gets made- might go back to Bruce's kinder characterisation from season 1 and the more nuanced way of handling things or do you think it would be better if a season 2 didn't happen at all and they just leave well enough alone?

idk man as far as I'm concerned this *is* season 2, there's really no reason not to think of it as such when it's a direct continuation of the story from Unburied.

I think if there are more future installations set in the same universe it's literally a complete toss-up how Bruce - or anyone else! - will be characterized, especially if they keep rotating writers for each installment. which is, you know, kind of disappointing, but also not SURPRISING because that's how comic books work in the first place. no matter how much you love a character, there are going to be creative teams that write them in a way you just cannot and will not fuck with ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

tbh I didn't ever really want another season to begin with (partly because Unburied was so neatly self-contained and partly because I had an EXTREMELY specific image of what I would want that story to be and knew that anything else would be disappointing lmaooo) so as far am I'm concerned they can cool it and never do another on of these but I am like. 85% sure they're going to inflict a Barbara-centric series on us as well so I will be back to complain more bitterly than ever about whatever they do to my favorite girl in the whole world.

[ring-rong-rang-rung]

TF Big Bang 2023 Preview for prodigal

prodigal is a Decepticon Hot Rod HotLock AU set in a continuity soup blend (largely IDW1 and TFP).

Hot Rod has grown up in this war knowing his place in the broader conflict. He's the son of Megatron, and heir to the Decepticon Cause. But something lurks in his past, desperate to catch up with him after his first battle. Following an attempted abduction, Megatron decides the best option is to send Hot Rod into hiding. Hot Rod is less than thrilled, as is the mech selected for this assignment. Hot Rod and Deadlock will have to learn to work together and coexist for their own survival, while the Autobots try to find Hot Rod to reveal secrets that some hope will never be unburied.

My sibling's summary is shorter: Decepticon mafia princess Hot Rod and long suffering bodyguard Deadlock on the run.

I've been able to work with the wonderful @lush-specimen. Check out her art preview here!

And under the read more, there's a sneak peak of what's coming to AO3 sometime between September 22nd-24th.

***

Hot Rod, the Decepticon prince (unofficially, of course). Megatron and Starscream’s sparkling, if the rumors were to be believed, although only Megatron claimed him publicly. Most of the images Ironhide had seen over the years could have been summed up as the ‘Cons appealing to their masses about the future they were fighting for, embodied by this red and yellow sparkling with crimson optics.

Crimson optics that were currently diving out of the way of Ironhide’s blows as she tried to deal with the threat. She needed to get to Optimus, and this mech was hardly more than a youngling. She’d get him out of her way and leave him for his parents to find on the battlefield.

...

“A good effort, little princeling. Maybe practice before the next battle.” She looked for a good non-vital place to run the ‘Con through to pin him here. Although in time, she or any other Autobot might have to dispatch him, she recognized the bravado of a mech in their first battle. And gutting a mechling just in his adult upgrades wasn’t something Ironhide herself could do today.

But as she looked for a place to shove the bar through, the mechling looked back at her through his shattered optics. Except they weren’t shattered. 

One optic, the one on the opposite side from where her punch had landed, still gleamed a brilliant red with some minor cracking. But the other-

Shards of crimson glass were gone from a false optic cover, revealing a piercing blue light underneath from an intact optic.

Ironhide felt all the energon in her system freeze as she stared at a frightened mech barely old enough to fight, with bright blue optics hidden under red glass. His fans were running at full tilt, and he clearly expected he was about to die.

And Ironhide was wondering if she already had.

“You- you can’t be-” She almost stopped keeping the mech pinned, considering instead the option of cupping the mechling’s cheek and asking him what he knew. She’d forget her previous orders. It was more important to get this one back to the Ark. Jazz would have to be enough to get Optimus to safety today, and he’d understand once he saw him. Prowl, although he wouldn’t be pleased, would understand as well once he’d been debriefed on the reality of the situation.

However, Ironhide had let herself become distracted as she tried to decide how to proceed, and a red and black winged cassette flew directly into her face. She could hardly grapple for Laserbeak as she was forced a few steps back in surprise at the cassette’s direct interference.

She heard Hot Rod scrambling out of the ditch, and his transformation sequence as he gunned his engine back towards his own side. Laserbeak wasn’t far behind him as Ironhide stared towards where the mech had been. For a moment, she remained in complete shock.

How had they missed this?

She didn’t have much time, but she reached down and scooped up the glass shards from the shattered optic cover, tucking it into a tiny pocket of her subspace. She might need it as evidence later.

[peppermintbubble]

I didn't expect The Riddler: Secrets in the Dark audio play to drop all at once, but it did. And I binged it. And I'm conflicted. (Minor spoiler warning I guess? I'm trying to write generally without saying anything specific about the plot or anything.)

Riddler's basically been my comfort character for almost ten years now and Batman Unburied is my favorite piece of Batman media ever, and that version of Riddler was incredible so I was really excited! And... Secrets in the Dark is good. It has great dialogue and performances. It's very thrilling and intense. I loved what they did with some of the side characters. I audibly gasped when the killer's name was revealed! I laughed a lot! And yet... I can't help but be kind of disappointed.

Batman Unburied was a beautiful complete story with twists and turns and laughs and tears! It offered resolution to Bruce's personal conflict in an immesnefly satisfying way. It left room for more story in this "world" but didn't necessarily need it.

The Riddler: Secrets in the Dark to me feels like... "Midquel syndrome", kind of. The plot is thrilling but it feels like it's setting up for more rather than being a fully complete story in on itself. A lot happens quickly but at the same time it weirdly feels like not much changed between the first and last episodes. To me the Riddler is given some elements of a character arc but there's no proper payoff at the end. It goes hand in hand with how this story ends up feeling darker than Unburied to me, because it lacks the emotional highs from that audio play. There were some really strong moments of genuine sweetness and optimism and human connection, at least to me. Here I kinda feel like the emotional moments are fewer, and don't get as much room to breathe. In fact, I kinda think Riddler was more compelling in Unburied because he had more genuine vulnerability in it. They upped the ante on just how huge of a jerk he is at every single turn in a way that makes him feel... Shallower and less interesting to me. I still consider this an exceptionally entertaining and fleshed out version of the Riddler! It just smarts so much that my high expectations for my favorite character weren't met in an otherwise pretty solid story.

That all being said I know this is a spinoff. Perhaps the whole point was to just set up plot threads for a season 2 of Batman Unburied, which was supposed to be in the works last I checked? Perhaps that's why there was no major character development for the main characters. Or maybe they have plans for more Riddler adventures in a 2nd season of this spinoff. I would really like this Riddler to get a full character arc with proper emotional payoff, but maybe the writers don't want that, at least for the time being.