#laurie keller

[loldental]

what do you guys think abed’s fav cougar town joke (or fav to reference) would be? I think it would be “laugh!”

[artemismatchalatte]

2023 Pinterest 50 books Reading Challenge

32. A Book from Your Childhood

The Scrambled States of America by Laurie Keller

[lillbitdramatic]

i can’t believe i never posted this academy x chart i made last year 😭

academy x stan’s have fun! the legend is merely a suggestion, chart whatever.

[lovecatsys]

made as many Academy X babies as I could in this thing!

Especially happy with Nori's, Laura looks so similar to her in Evo which I'm proud of. Of course I didn't expect to be able to make Santo, and there were no unnatural skin tones for Josh or Cessily, but I was disappointed there was no niqabi option for Sooraya :/

[starrrrr-dreeeeam]

[sofiamantegafan110]

NEW X-MEN, SEASON 3!!!!!!

MERRY CHRISTMAS, EVERYONE! FOR MY GIFT TO YOU, I GIVE YOU THE FIRST EPISODE OF NXM SEASON 3!

EPISODE 1- RISE OF APOCALYPSE, PART 1

WE OPEN UP IN EGYPT AS TWO EXPLORERS, JEFF AND LISA, ARE DIGGING THROUGH A SANDY DESERT. FINALLY, THEY FIND A SMALL HATCH THAT THEY SLIP INTO AND AFTER WALKING DOWN A DARK CORRIDOR, THEY APPEAR IN A GOLD TEMPLE WITH FOUR SARCOPHAGI IN THE CENTER. THE EXPLORERS LOOK AMAZED AS THEY WONDER WHOSE TOMB THIS BELONGS TO.

SUDDENLY, THEY HEAR A VOICE AND TURN AROUND, REVEALING APOCALYPSE AND HIS HORSEMEN. DAKEN AKIHIRO IS STANDING IN A BROWN AND ORANGE SUIT AND BESIDE HIM IS KIMURA IN HER COMBAT GEAR. KEVIN LURKS TO THE SIDE IN ALL BLACK WHILE SOFIA HOVERS ABOVE HIM RELUCTANTLY, WEARING A BEAUTIFUL WHITE DRESS. APOCALYPSE STANDS IN THE CENTER IN HIS GOLDEN MASK, LOOKING AT THE SCARED HUMANS.

APOCALYPSE: IT IS MINE. IT WAS ALWAYS MINE.

APOCALYPSE LOOKS AROUND AS KIMURA SCOFFS, SAYING THAT THIS DOESN’T LOOK LIKE A PROMISING HOME BASE. APOCALYPSE TELLS HER THAT IT DOESN’T MATTER. SOON, THEY WILL BEGIN THEIR CONQUEST OF THIS WORLD. AND THEN, HUMANITY WILL BEND ITS KNEES BEFORE HIM. DAKEN ASKS WHAT THEY SHOULD DO ABOUT THE EXPLORERS, AND APOCALYPSE SIGHS, TURNING TO KEVIN.

APOCALYPSE: IT IS ONLY FAIR THAT THEY BE REWARDED FOR THEIR HELP. KEVIN, SHOW THEM OUR APPRECIATION.

AS KEVIN WALKS TOWARD THE EXPLORERS, THE CAMERA FOCUSES ON SOFIA AS SHE LOOKS ON APOLOGETICALLY. THE CAMERA FADES TO BLACK AS THE EXPLORERS’ SCREAMS FILL THE AIR.

CUE INTRO AND CREDITS.

SLOWLY, THE CAMERA OPENS UP, REVEALING HENRY MCCOY’S FUZZY BLUE FACE. JULIAN WAKES UP WITH A JERK, LOOKING AROUND AND REALIZING THAT HE’S IN THE MEDBAY. NOT NOTICING THE BANDAGED STUMPS THAT USED TO BE HIS HANDS, HE ASKS BEAST WHAT HAPPENED.

BEAST: WELL, LONG STORY SHORT, APOCALYPSE HAPPENED. HE ATTACKED THE SCHOOL AND TOOK SOFIA. MUCH OF THE STUDENT BODY IS INJURED, BUT IT COULD HAVE BEEN WORSE. YOU PROTECTED THEM… AT A GREAT COST.

JULIAN FINALLY NOTICES HIS HANDS AND LOOKS AT BEAST IN DISBELIEF.

JULIAN: NO… IT CAN’T BE…

BEAST: I’M SORRY, JULIAN. YOU USED A TK SHIELD TO PROTECT EVERYONE FROM THE EXPLOSION. BUT THE BLAST WAS TOO STRONG. IT CAUTERIZED YOUR HANDS.

JULIAN: NO… NO!!!!

BEAST SIGHS, TELLING JULIAN THAT WHILE HE WAS UNCONSCIOUS, HE WAS ABLE TO MAKE SOME PROSTHETICS FOR HIM. HE ASSURES HIM THAT THEY FUNCTION JUST AS WELL AS HIS OLD ONES. JULIAN SIGHS, BEFORE LOOKING AT BEAST.

JULIAN: WHAT ABOUT THE OTHERS? WHERE’S CLARICE?

BEAST: SHE’S… SHE’S COPING.

WE THEN FADE OUT TO CLARICE AND LAURIE’S ROOM AS CLARICE SITS ALONE ON HER BED. ‘IT’S A SHAME’ BY WILL HOGE PLAYS AS WE CUT TO A MONTAGE OF CLARICE IN THE ROOM. IN THIS MONTAGE, WE SEE HER WALKING AROUND THE ROOM BEFORE LIGHTING A CIGARETTE. AS SHE SMOKES, SHE WALKS OVER TO THE BATHROOM AND LOOKS AT HERSELF IN THE MIRROR. SHE THEN WALKS BACK INTO THE ROOM AND FLOPS DOWN ON HER BED, LOOKING UP AT THE CEILING. SHE THEN TURNS OVER AND SEES SOFIA’S BRACELET, HER EYES FILLING UP WITH TEARS.

AS THE SONG ENDS, LAURIE WALKS INTO THE ROOM, COUGHING AND COMMENTING ON THE OBVIOUS SMELL OF WEED. SHE THEN TELLS CLARICE THAT SHE NEEDS TO GET HER CAPRIS AND THEN SHE’LL LEAVE HER ALONE. WHEN CLARICE DOESN’T RESPOND, LAURIE LOOKS AT HER IN CONCERN.

LAURIE: Y’KNOW, THIS ISN’T HEALTHY, CLARICE. IT’S NOT RIGHT TO GRIEVE LIKE THIS. I’VE RESPECTED YOUR SPACE, WHICH IS WHY I’VE BEEN SHARING A ROOM WITH JOSH AND JAY FOR FIVE DAYS, BUT I CAN’T DO THIS FOREVER. YOU NEED TO STOP WALLOWING IN SELF-PITY AND GO FIND SOFIA.

CLARICE: WE WERE GONNA HAVE A ROOM TOGETHER, LAURIE. WE WERE GONNA BE TOGETHER FOREVER.

LAURIE: I KNOW, CLARICE. I KNOW.

LAURIE TURNS TO LEAVE, BUT THEN TURNS BACK TO LOOK AT CLARICE.

LAURIE: YOU KNOW, SOFIA WOULD NEVER GIVE UP ON YOU. NOT LIKE WHAT YOU’RE DOING NOW.

WITH THAT, SHE CLOSES THE DOOR, LEAVING CLARICE IN SOLITUDE ONCE AGAIN.

WE THEN CUT OVER TO THE LOUNGE AS CESSILY PACES BACK AND FORTH. MEGAN, JOSH, JAY AND SANTO SIT WITH HER AS LAURIE ENTERS, REPORTING THAT SHE’S NOT COMING OUT.

CESSILY: I KNEW IT. SHIT, I’M SO STUPID. I KNEW THIS WOULDN’T WORK.

MEGAN: CESS, DON’T BLAME YOURSELF. YOU’RE A GINGER; YOU’RE PROBABLY GOING TO HELL ANYWAY.

JAY: NOT HELPFUL, MEGAN.

CESSILY SIGHS BEFORE FLOPPING DOWN ON THE COUCH. JAY TELLS HER THAT HE KNOWS SHE’S UPSET. THEY ALL WANT TO GET SOFIA BACK, AND THEY CAN’T DO THAT WITHOUT CLARICE. CESSILY NODS, SAYING THAT THEY NEED TO GET CLARICE BACK INTO SHAPE.

SANTO’S PHONE BUZZES SUDDENLY AND HE LOOKS AT CESSILY, SAYING THAT JULIAN’S AWAKE. CESSILY NODS BEFORE ORDERING THE OTHERS TO TRY AGAIN. WITH THAT, SHE WALKS OFF WITH SANTO, WHO COMMENTS THAT SHE’S BEING EXTRA BOSSY TODAY. CESSILY SIGHS.

CESSILY: SANTO, YOU ARE SUCH AN IDIOT. THE TRUTH IS, I’M BARELY HOLDING IT TOGETHER. MY BEST FRIEND IS GONE AND THE CHANCES OF GETTING HER BACK SEEM SLIMMER AND SLIMMER. BUT I NEED TO BE STRONG. FOR MY FRIENDS.

SANTO STOPS HER WITH A HUG, AND SHE SMILES AS SHE HUGS HIM BACK.

SANTO: IT’LL BE OKAY, CESS.

CESSILY: WILL IT?

MEANWHILE, ROXY ENTERS THE GYM TO FIND LAURA GOING ALL OUT ON A PUNCHING BAG. SHE SIGHS AND ASKS HER HOW SHE’S HOLDING UP. LAURA STOPS AND LOOKS UP AT HER AS BLOOD DRIPS FROM HER KNUCKLES.

ROXY: LAURA, YOU CAN’T KEEP HURTING YOURSELF OVER JULIAN. HE’LL BE FINE.

LAURA: IT’S NOT JULIAN. YOU WEREN’T THERE IN KENTUCKY. YOU DON’T KNOW HOW EVIL KIMURA IS. SHE BROKE SOFIA’S LEG AND INJURED MEMBERS OF OUT TEAM AND HUSK’S. SHE ALMOST KILLED ME. SHE’S GOING TO KILL ME IF I DON’T KILL HER FIRST.

ROXY: YEAH, BUT ISN’T THE BITCH INDESTRUCTIBLE?

LAURA SIGHS AND EXAMINES THE BLOOD ON HER FISTS. SHE TELLS ROXY TO MAKE NO MISTAKE. KIMURA IS A MONSTER. AND SHE WON’T STOP HURTING PEOPLE UNTIL LAURA PUTS HER DOWN. ROXY MOVES TO PUT A HAND ON LAURA’S SHOULDER BUT SHE MOVES AWAY AND CONTINUES PUNCHING THE BAG. ROXY MOVES TO EXIT THE GYM.

ROXY: I MISS SOFIA TOO.

IN THE INFIRMARY, JULIAN SITS ALONE, LOOKING AT HIS NEW PROSTHETIC HANDS. SUDDENLY, CESSILY OPENS THE DOOR, WHEELING IN A CART FULL OF THINGS WITH A BIG SMILE ON HER FACE.

CESSILY: I HEARD THERE WAS SOMEONE WHO NEEDED CHEERING UP!

JULIAN: CESS, WHAT THE FUCK IS THIS?

CESSILY: I’M YOUR FRIENDLY NEIGHBORHOOD CANDY STRIPER, OF COURSE! HERE TO MAKE YOU FEEL BETTER!

JULIAN: PLEASE LEAVE.

CESSILY SITS DOWN NEXT TO JULIAN AND PROCEEDS TO EMPTY HER CART FULL OF PLUSHIES, CANDY, AND SEVERAL DVDS OF RUPAUL’S DRAG RACE. JULIAN CONTINUES TO LOOK AT HER LIKE SHE’S CRAZY AS CESSILY ASKS HIM WHAT’S WRONG.

JULIAN: WHAT’S WRONG? WHAT’S WRONG?! I LOST MY FUCKING HANDS! LOOK AT ME, CESSILY! EVERYTHING IS FUCKING WRONG!

AS JULIAN SPEAKS, OBJECTS IN THE ROOM BEGIN TO LEVITATE WITH TELEKINETIC ENERGY. CESSILY SLOWLY STARTS LOSING HER PATIENCE, UNTIL…

CESSILY: WOULD YOU STOP FEELING SO FUCKING SORRY FOR YOURSELF AND JUST SHUT THE FUCK UP?!

JULIAN STARES AT CESSILY, GOBSMACKED. SEVERAL BEAKERS THAT WERE PREVIOUSLY LEVITATED FALL AND SMASH TO PIECES ON THE GROUND.

CESSILY: I’M SICK OF YOUR BITCHING! DID YOU REALLY THINK YOU COULD BE AN X-MAN AND JUST WALK AWAY SCOT-FREE?!

JULIAN: I…

CESSILY: BALONEY! WE ALL HAVE SCARS AND WE NEED TO EMBRACE THEM! THIS ISN’T ABOUT YOU OR YOUR HANDS! THIS IS ABOUT PROTECTING PEOPLE WHO NEED OUR HELP AND RIGHT NOW, THAT IS SOFIA! MY BEST FRIEND! BUT NOOO! INSTEAD OF GOING TO FIND HER, I’M STUCK LISTENING TO YOU BOO-HOOING ABOUT YOUR STUPID HANDS! YOU’RE A DISGRACE TO THIS SCHOOL. AND TO WHAT THE X-MEN REPRESENT.

JULIAN LOOKS AT CESSILY AS SHE SLOWLY STARTS TO WALK AWAY. HE HESITATES AND THEN CALLS FOR HER TO STOP. SHE TURNS, AND LOOKS AT HIM.

JULIAN: I’M SORRY. I DIDN’T THINK OF HOW MUCH PRESSURE YOU WERE UNDER. I KNOW YOU WANT TO SAVE SOFIA AND I GET IT. I’M REALLY TRYING TO BE A BETTER PERSON, CESSILY. AND I NEED YOUR HELP.

CESSILY’S EXPRESSION SOFTENS AND SHE SITS BACK DOWN.

CESSILY: WE HAVE TO GET HER BACK, JULIAN.

JULIAN: I KNOW, CESS. I KNOW.

MEANWHILE, CLARICE IS STILL IN BED WHEN THE DOOR OPENS, REVEALING NOCTURNE, MORPH, BEAK, ANGEL, AND THEIR KIDS. CLARICE SHRIEKS AS SHE’S OVERWHELMED BY HUGS AND TJ LAUGHS, SAYING THAT THIS WAS SUPPOSED TO BE A SURPRISE. BEAK IMMEDIATELY STARTS RUNNING AFTER THE KIDS AS ANGEL SITS ON THE BED, ASKING CLARICE IF SHE’S OKAY. CLARICE SIGHS, SAYING THAT SHE DOESN’T KNOW.

ANGEL: CLARICE, LISTEN TO ME. I GET IT. WHEN I WAS PREGNANT, I WAS SO WORRIED FOR THE FUTURE. I COULDN’T IMAGINE BEING A MOM. BUT THEN YOU HELPED ME. AND NOW LOOK AT ME! I’M A MOM!

MORPH: YOU MEAN YOU’RE A MILF!

TALIA: KEVIN, NOT NOW.

CLARICE SIGHS AGAIN AS TALIA TELLS HER THAT SOFIA’S COUNTING ON HER TO GET HER BACK. SHE CAN’T LET HER DOWN. CLARICE DOESN’T RESPOND AND LOOKS OUT THE WINDOW AND BEAK IMMEDIATELY GATHERS THE KIDS, TELLING THEM THAT IT’S TIME TO GO.

TALIA: THINK ABOUT IT, CLARICE.

AS THEY LEAVE, CLARICE BRIEFLY WAVES THEM GOODBYE BEFORE LOOKING OUT THE WINDOW AGAIN.

MEANWHILE, IN EGYPT, SOFIA IS PACING AROUND THE TEMPLE WHEN SOMEONE STARTLES HER FROM BEHIND. SHE GROANS WHEN SHE SEES DAKEN AND HE ASKS HER HOW SHE’S SETTLING IN. SOFIA DOESN’T RESPOND AND HE ASKS IF SHE’S OKAY.

DAKEN: YOU MISS HER, DON’T YOU?

SOFIA: I DON’T WANT TO BE HERE. I… I HAD NO CHOICE BUT TO COME HERE. HE WAS GOING TO KILL CLARICE. HOW… HOW CAN YOU FOLLOW HIM?

DAKEN LOOKS AT HER WITH A SERIOUS FACE.

DAKEN: APOCALYPSE GAVE ME A PURPOSE. A REASON FOR BEING. AND TRUST ME, IN THE END, YOU’LL FEEL THE SAME WAY. YOU’LL SEE THAT THIS IS FOR THE BEST.

AS DAKEN LEAVES THE EMPTY ROOM, SOFIA FALLS TO HER KNEES AND WEEPS.

IN THE MEDBAY, JULIAN AND CESSILY ARE LAUGHING AND TALKING. AS CESSILY FINISHES A STORY, SHE SEES JULIAN LOOKING AT HIS HANDS AND TELLS HIM THAT ON THE BRIGHT SIDE, AT LEAST HE CAN WANK LIKE A ROBOT NOW. JULIAN CHUCKLES BRIEFLY BEFORE SAYING THAT IT’S GONNA TAKE SOME GETTING USED TO, BUT HE’LL TRY TO MANAGE. CESSILY GRINS AND PATS HIS SHOULDER.

CESSILY: LOOK, I KNOW IT’S HARD. NOT SEEING YOURSELF AS A REAL HUMAN. BUT IT’S GONNA BE FINE.

JULIAN: YEAH, CESS. I GOT IT. NOW, WHEN ARE WE GONNA DO SOMETHING ABOUT SOFIA?

CESSILY: I’M NOT SURE. FIRST, LET’S DEAL WITH CLARICE, THEN WE’LL SEE WHAT WE CAN DO.

CESSILY STANDS UP, BUT JULIAN CLUTCHES HER WRIST.

JULIAN: ONE WAY OR ANOTHER, WE WILL GET SOFIA BACK. I PROMISE.

BACK IN CLARICE’S ROOM, A KNOCK SOUNDS AT THE DOOR. CLARICE GROANS, ASKING IF THIS IS HER GHOST OF CHRISTMAS FUTURE BEFORE TURNING AROUND. SHE STOPS SUDDENLY AND THEN RUNS OVER TO HUG DEREK WHO STANDS IN THE DOORWAY.

A FEW MINUTES LATER, THE TWO OF THEM ARE SITTING ON CLARICE’S BED AS CLARICE RECAPS THE EVENTS AT PROM. DEREK NODS, SYMPATHETIC, AS CLARICE TALKS ABOUT HOW POWERLESS SHE FEELS. SHE REALLY WANTS TO SAVE SOFIA, BUT SHE’S SCARED THAT SHE’LL END UP HURTING HER IN THE PROCESS.

DEREK: BELIEVE ME, CLARICE, I UNDERSTAND. SOFIA’S… SOFIA’S VERY IMPORTANT TO ME. WHEN SHE FIRST CAME TO HER DAD’S, I COULD TELL SHE WAS LONELY. SHE NEEDED GUIDANCE. SHE NEEDED SOMEONE TO BE A DAD TO HER. AND I TRIED MY DAMNDEST. I HELPED HER LEARN ENGLISH AND DO SCHOOLWORK AND EVERYTHING. AND BECAUSE OF THAT, SHE SHOWED ME WHERE MY LIFE WAS HEADED IF I CONTINUED WORKING FOR HER DAD. I KNEW HE DIDN’T GIVE A DAMN ABOUT ME OTHER THAN JUST BEING HIS BUTLER, BUT I NEVER HAD THE COURAGE TO TELL HIM HOW I FELT UNTIL I SAW HOW HE TREATED SOFIA. SHE’S A VERY SPECIAL PERSON. SHE BRINGS OUT THE GOOD IN PEOPLE AND LEADS THEM TO A BETTER LIFE.

CLARICE: YEAH. LIKE… LIKE AN ANGEL.

CLARICE PICKS UP SOFIA’S BRACELET AND PUTS HER HEAD ON DEREK’S SHOULDER. SHE SIGHS, ASKING HIM WHAT SHE’S GOING TO DO.

DEREK: YOU ALREADY KNOW, CLARICE.

DEREK IMMEDIATELY GIVES CLARICE A BIG HUG THAT SHE LEANS INTO, HUGGING HIM BACK.

DEREK: BRING OUR GIRL BACK, CLARICE.

CLARICE NODS AND WIPES HER EYES, BEFORE STANDING UP AND STARTING TOWARD THE DOOR, DETERMINED.

CLARICE: I WILL. COME HELL OR HIGH WATER.

MEANWHILE, BACK IN EGYPT, APOCALYPSE STANDS ALONE IN A DARK ROOM. WHEN HE SEES THAT NO ONE’S WITH HIM, HE TAKES OFF HIS MASK, HIS FACE CONTORTED IN PAIN.

APOCALYPSE: PLEASE… PLEASE, NO MORE… THIS IS NOT WHAT I WANTED… I JUST WANT TO SEE HER AGAIN…

SUDDENLY, A VOICE, SLICK AND SHARP LIKE A RAZOR, SPEAKS, AND APOCALYPSE ACTUALLY LOOKS AFRAID.

VOICE: AND YOU WILL. BUT IN ORDER TO DO THAT, YOU MUST DO AS I SAY. NOW, GO AND FIND KIMURA. TELL HER THAT YOUR PLAN STARTS NOW.

APOCALYPSE NODS BEFORE PUTTING THE MASK BACK ON. ONCE HE DOES, HIS BODY RETURNS TO ITS REGAL COMPOSURE AND HE EXITS THE ROOM, THE DOOR FRAME SERVING AS A SINGLE SLIVER OF LIGHT IN THE DARKNESS AS THE CAMERA FADES TO BLACK.

[theredqueenandthebloodwyrm]

My brain just short-circuited. Like I knew from secondhand sources (and reading some of the Krakoa-era comics) that Xavier's disability tends to get "fixed" / disappear every so often but to see it firsthand is something else.

Like where is my man's wheelchair? wtf? what happened here??

ALSO MUTANT CLASS GEARED TOWARDS SPECIFIC MUTANT ABILTIES / SKILLSETS YES PLEASE MORE PLEASE

Telekinesis class looks fun, I wanna join.

Xavier: Your additional classes will vary based on your mutant abilities. This is a class for telekinetics. It seems today that they are honing their skills through a game of Jenga.

Ooo I love this too!

It looks like the art class is filled somewhat with psionics / telekinetics possibly? that one girl with the short red hair could be a telekinetic? or if the material is clay then maybe a power of controlling clay / dirt? some sort of physical manipulation power.

What's up with Northstar? is he usually such an ass? like that doesn't even make sense? Sofia did something of her own volition (albeit to prove Julian wrong) but then Julian gets a bad grade because she messed up landing? He isn't her keeper yknow? Like at worst give them both a scolding. Man I wouldn't want Northstar as my teacher, he gives asshole teacher vibes.

Sofia: Your powers are pheromones right? So unless you find me attractive, we should not have a problem?

Sofia: Do you find me attractive?

I can't read her facial expression very well in this panel, but I like to imagine it as a giant smile filled with anticipation.

and then Laurie panicking and being like "NO" and then realizing 'shit I hope she didn't think I was calling her ugly or anything'. so then she's like "No offense, but..."

[dweemeister]

Children of a Lesser God (1986)

In narrative art that features individuals with deafness or hearing loss, these films tend not to portray such characters on their own terms, failing to centralize the story around them. Neither Jane Wyman’s character in Johnny Belinda (1948) nor Patty Duke’s portrayal of Helen Keller in The Miracle Worker (1962) frame their respective films; both movies rely on a hearing character to do so. Looking beyond the United States, the same is true of The Shop on Main Street (1965, Czechoslovakia) and the anime film A Silent Voice (2016, Japan) – once more, it is the hearing character who becomes the audience’s proxy. No deaf or hard of hearing actors played the roles referenced in this paragraph.

Such is also the case in Randa Haines’ Children of a Lesser God, with one significant exception – a deaf actress, Marlee Matlin, plays the deaf main character. In the late 1980s, such representation was a revelation, and simply unheard of. Matlin, deaf since she was eighteen months old, came to the producers’ attention after starring in a Chicago-area stage play. While auditioning for the role, she and actor William Hurt struck up a relationship – questionable timing, as both actors got the part (more on their troubled relationship much later).

Haines’ film, distributed by Paramount and from a screenplay by Hesper Anderson and Mark Medoff (adapting his own stage play of the same name), is a capable romantic drama with two great performances. Its portrayal of a deaf character by a deaf actress was indeed significant for its time; the decision to position the film through the hearing character’s experiences fails to distinguish it from its fellow films and numerous films since.

Somewhere in New England, James Leeds (William Hurt) arrives for his new job: as a teacher at a school for the deaf and hard of hearing. His enthusiastic teaching style rubs off on most of his students, as he emphasizes that, as important as it is to sign and read lips, they must also learn to speak. Also working at the school is Sarah Norman (Matlin), a former standout student who works as the school’s custodian. While the school’s hearing staff, for reasons initially unclear, dislike Sarah, the students appreciate her. James falls quickly for Sarah and they eventually begin dating, after a few rebuffs on her part. What follows is a romance where our two protagonists navigate through his desire to help her adjust to the world beyond the school walls and her lack of trust in others. Drifting in and out of the film are the school’s hearing principal, Dr. Curtis Franklin (Philip Bosco), and Sarah’s mother (Piper Laurie) to give both main characters advice, encouragement, and dramatic obstacles.

Children of a Lesser God suffers from its emphasis on James’ perspectives. Between James and Sarah, it is James who demands the most in any compromises between the two. When he first asks Sarah whether she would want to move in with him, James’ approach is, at times, more demanding than it is a genuine query. His insistence on Sarah speaking phonetically to hearing people, from the onset, seems to disregard whatever personal reasons Sarah might have for refusing to do so. Late in the film, the most heated discussion between the couple on this topic comes in perhaps the most inappropriate way – he wants to hear her say his name during sex. Both James and Sarah carry into this relationship sizable foibles and broken pasts, but the former’s communication style can be abrasive and domineering. At times, it makes Children of a Lesser God seem like yet another savior narrative.

Certainly, Sarah’s reluctance to speak phonetically is a defensive mechanism – one to shield her from the pain of past interactions with hearing people and a refusal to have anybody to speak on her behalf. The film also implies that she may be a survivor of sexual abuse. Matlin is magnificent in this role (my goodness, does she sign quickly or what?) and there are a few key scenes where, as Sarah, her character truly shines without James’ input. Interestingly, both scenes involve music. The first instance comes on their first date at a restaurant, when Sarah insists on dancing to “I’ll Take You There” by the Staple Singers. Feeling the vibrations of the music “through [her] nose”, Sarah grooves, eyes closed, to the music. Rather than shaking her hips and moving her head with the beat, she sways, and gracefully moves her arms to the song – released from the bounds of the musical and lyrical phrasing.

Later in the film, Sarah does not betray any irritation when James claims he cannot enjoy his favorite piece of classical music (in this case, the second movement to J.S. Bach’s Double Violin Concerto) because she is unable to enjoy it. Instead of showing her discomfort or lashing out, she asks James to “show [her] the music”, similar to how she “felt” the music on the first date. James fails to do so, but not for lack of trying. Here, Matlin, as Sarah, is fully observational – one can see, through her eyes and face, a sincere attempt to understand what the Bach “feels” like. Where others might point out Matlin’s emotionally fraught scenes in this movie as the best exemplars of her work (any of the fights with Hurt’s James, her jealousy while watching the school show, her reconciliation with her mother), Matlin’s command in these less dramatically important moments also deserve praise.

Matlin’s performance, however, cannot stop Children of a Lesser God from depicting Sarah as the otherized character that must change the most. The film, released in a decade of popular cinema with a more cavalier attitude towards relationship violence than previously seen, puts so little on Hurt’s James. It is fine to portray an imbalanced romantic relationship in a movie. But the film seems tepidly interested in Sarah in stretches, and fails to truly allow the audience to connect with her in moments where that might be possible. Additionally, whenever Sarah or anyone else who is deaf or hard of hearing signs in the film, there are no subtitles. Instead, it is up to James or another hearing character to verbalize the sign language – disallowing the opportunity for any viewer to find, in Sarah, a chance to see the events of the film through her. This, like CODA (2021; which incidentally also stars Marlee Matlin and concentrates on a hearing character, albeit a child of deaf adults), makes Children of a Lesser God a film not for the deaf or hard of hearing community, but for hearing audiences. Sarah’s deafness becomes an obstacle in this film – indeed, some of this is on the original stage play, but there surely were ways to address this.

The chilly New England atmosphere of this movie lends it a coziness that no stage play could possibly replicate. John Seale’s (1996’s The English Patient, 2015’s Mad Max: Fury Road) cinematography and Michael Convertino’s (1988’s Bull Durham, 1994’s The Santa Clause) electronic-heavy score (electronic-heavy scores tend to date quickly, and this is no exception), however, are merely functional. Children of a Lesser God, lacking in any technical accoutrements, relies solely on the strength of its actors and its adapted screenplay and the odd autumnal landscape of red-orange tree leaves and mist wafting over water in the early mornings. Director Randa Haines had never made a theatrical film prior to this, with her directorial career only covering network television and television movies until Children of a Lesser God. Her direction is here is unremarkable, but at least is sufficient for the purposes of this adaptation.

Hurt and Matlin began a romantic relationship shortly after auditioning for Children of a Lesser God – establishing a tricky situation of power dynamics on set during the making of the film. Matlin, seen as the ingénue, knew she had much to learn from Hurt (one year removed from his Academy Award-winning role in Kiss of the Spider Woman and one year away from Broadcast News) and everyone else on set. Matlin has always praised her fellow cast and crew members for that education in filmmaking. She moved in with Hurt shortly after shooting ended on Children of a Lesser God, but that was the beginning of the end of their relationship. The relationship, marked by drug and verbal abuse and rape, continued through the 59th Academy Awards in March 1987 (that evening, on the way home, Hurt questioned the legitimacy of Matlin’s Best Actress win, callously comparing Matlin to the other four nominees) but ended several months thereafter. In later years, following the publication of Matlin’s memoir detailing the worst aspects of their relationship, Hurt apologized for any harm he inflicted on Matlin and her family, wishing them all well. After Hurt’s death in 2022, Matlin reflected on her time making Children of a Lesser God and noted that Hollywood had “lost a really great actor”.

When Children of a Lesser God received five Academy Award nominations and won Marlee Matlin her Best Actress Oscar, speculation abounded regarding changes in the portrayals of deaf characters and opportunities for deaf and hard of hearing actors. Matlin was the incarnation of a potential groundswell of such representation in Hollywood. That groundswell has been less dramatic than anticipated (as are all such movements to address underrepresentation in American films), but Matlin’s win has, slowly, in its own way, opened a wealth of new opportunities for deaf and hearing-impaired actors in the United States in film and television. Children of a Lesser God might not be the revolutionary film that many non-viewers may have heard of. Nevertheless, its positive impacts continue to create small ripples through American filmmaking, belatedly, more frequently than ever before.

My rating: 7/10

^ Based on my personal imdb rating. My interpretation of that ratings system can be found in the “Ratings system” page on my blog. Half-points are always rounded down.

For more of my reviews tagged “My Movie Odyssey”, check out the tag of the same name on my blog.

[afaimscorner]

Liste der 97 besten X-Comics-Charaktere

Rogue (Anna Marie LeBeau) (1981)

Kitty Pryde (Shadowkat) (1980)

Gambit (Remy LeBeau) (1990)

Laura Kinney (Wolverine) (2004)

Carol Danvers (Captain Marvel) (1967)

Dani Moonstar (Mirage) (1982)

Illyana Rasputin (Magik) (1975)

Magneto (Max Eisenhart) (1963)

Alex Summers (Havok) (1969)

Jean Grey (Phoenix) (1963)

Scott Summers (Cylops) (1963)

Rahne Sinclair (Wolfsbane) (1982)

Lorna Dane (Polaris) (1968)

Doug Ramsey (Cypher) (1984)

Storm (Ororo Munroe) (1975)

Nightcrawler (Kurt Wagner) (1975)

Banshee (Sean Cassidy) (1967)

 Siryn (Theresa Rourke) (1981)

Cannonball (Sam Guthrie) (1982)

Sunspot (Roberto DaCosta) (1982)

Rictor (Julio Esteban Richter) (1987)

Northstar (Jean Paul Beaubier) (1979)

Husk (Paige Guthrie) (1986)

Blink (Exiles) (Clarice Ferguson) (1994)

Multiple Man (Jamie Madrox) (1974)

Quicksilver (Pietro Maximoff) (1964)

Rachel Summers (Askani) (1981)

Mimic (Exiles) (Calvin Rankin) (2001)

Hellion (Julian Keller) (2003)

Elixir (Josh Foley) (2003)

Mercury (Cessily Kincaid) (2003)

Warren Worthington III (Archangel) (1963)

Iceman (Bobby Drake) (1963)

Logan (Wolverine, James Howlett) (1974)

Tabby (Tabitha Smith, Boom Boom) (1985)

Karma (Shi’an McCoy) (1980)

M (Monet St. Croix) (1994)

Alison Blair (Dazzler) (1980)

Strong Guy (Guido Carosella) (1985)

Juggernaut (Cain Marko) (1965)

Nocturne (T. J. Wagner) (2001)

Betsy Braddock (Captain Britain) (1976)

Brian Braddock (Captain Avalon) (1976)

Mystique (Raven Darkholm) (1978)

Maddie Pryor (Goblin Queen) (1983)

Madison Jeffries (1983)

Jay Guthrie (Icarus) (1984)

Lila Cheney (1984)

Rusty Collins (1986)

Skids (Sally Belvins) (1986)

Domino (Neena Thurman) (1992)

Nate Grey (X-Man) (1995)

Pete Wisdom (1995)

Dust (Sooraya Qadir)(2002)

Noriko Ashida (Surge) (2004)

Heather Mac Daniel Hudson (Sasquatch) (Exiles) (2002)

Quentin Quire (Kid Omega) (2003)

Laurie Collins (Wallflower) (2003)

Santo Vaccarro (Rockslide) (2003)

Pixie (Meggan Gwyn) (2004)

Amor (Hisako Ichiki) (2004)

Layla Miller (2006)

Gabby Kinney (Scout) ((2015)

Hope Summers (2007)

Magma (Amara Aquilla) (1983)

Warlock (1984)

Mindee Cuckoo (2001)

Longshot (1985)

Chamber (Jonathan Starsmore) (1994)

Destiny (Irene Adler) (1981)

Empath (Manuel Alfonzo Rodrigo de la Rocha)(1984)

Emma Frost (White Queen) (1980)

Cecilia Reyes (1997)

Callisto (1983)

Caliban (1981)

Scarlet Witch (Wanda Maximoff) (1964)

Snowbird (Naya Eason) (1979)

Oya (Idie Okonkwo) 2010)

Vulcan (Gabriel Summer) (2006)

Eva Bell (2012)

Goldballs (Fabio Medina, Egg) (2013)

Christopher Summers (Corsair) (1977)

Hepzibah (1977)

Moira MacTaggert (1975)

Mac (James Hudson, Guardian) (1978)

Heather McDonalds (Nemesis) (1980)

Aurora (Jeanne Marie Beaubier) (1979)

Daken (Akihiro, Fang) (2006)

Eyeboy (Trevor Hawkins) (2012)

Phoebe Cuckoo (2001)

Celeste Cuckoo (2001)

Trance (Hope Abbot) (2005)

Deadpool (Wade Wilson) (1991)

Gabriel Cohuelo (Velocidad) (2010)

Blindfold (Ruth Aldine) (2005)

Sabretooth (AoA) (Viktor Creed) (1994)

Jubilee (Jubilation Lee) (1989)

[nightwhispcrs]

post-event / post-hiatus starter call !! i've been gone for what feels like a year so i really want to have fresh threads — don't be shy ! may increase the caps if i get drafts done early .

adam newman , 33 , young & the restless ( 2 / 4 ) — faith newman , drusilla keeble charlie dalton , 26 , dead poets society ( 0 / 4 ) — craig manning , 23 , degrassi ( 1 / 4 ) — marco del rossi eli joseph stock , 22 , along for the ride ( 3 / 4 ) — ally of wonderland , auden west , kiara carrera enjolras , 26 , les mis ( 2 / 4 ) — peyton halliwell , charlotte emily fred flintstone , 40 , the flintstones ( 1 / 3 ) — nigel thornberry irina denali , 28 , twilight ( 4 / 4 ) — eric northman , faye chamberlain , heidi volturi , laurent da revin jack shephard , 35 , LOST ( 1 / 4 ) — lexie grey katniss everdeen , 22 , the hunger games ( 4 / 4 ) — chris hartley , annie cresta , celeste kipper , a-xing lee jordan , 28 , harry potter ( 2 / 4 ) — ginny weasley , bill weasley max goodwin , 34 , new amsterdam ( 1 / 4 ) — kevin keller michael guerin , 31 , roswell new mexico ( 2 / 4 ) — ainsley whitly , lorelai gilmore monica geller , 27 , friends ( 2 / 4 ) — ji euntak , laurie strode naomi pierce , 32 , succession ( 1 / 4 ) — kenna de poitiers ramona flowers , 25 , scott pilgrim ( 2 / 4 ) — marceline , felicia hardy robin buckley , 24 , stranger things ( 3 / 4 ) — nancy wheeler , liv hawthorne , eloise roman roy , 36 , succession ( 2 / 4 ) — sam giddings , galadriel tucker mccall , 45 , young & the restless ( 2 / 4 ) — kallias , kendall roy zoe rivas , 24 , degrassi ( 4 / 4 ) — zoya nazyalensky , nimona , miles hollingsworth iii , victorie weasley

[forever-a-lake-effect-kid]

okay, actual introductory post now! hi!

my deal:

i'm sonder!

i'm 19

i'm white

i use any pronouns (prefer it if you alternate them!)

i'm jewish

i have adhd and anxiety which is a killer x2 combo

my main blog is bread--quest so follows/likes will be from there

i'm also the host of a system! this isn't really relevant except that at least one of the members is also a geography nerd and just wants you to know that she is posting on this blog in spirit. her name is mnemosyne :)

i read laurie keller's scrambled states of america one too many times as a kid and i've had an obsession with personified locations ever since

i'm also a huge history and geography nerd in general!

this blog's deal

i originally created this sideblog for wttt stuff but it's now sort of a general sideblog for personification stuff (aka stuff i feel is too cringe for main blog 😔). specifically you might see socialstuck and paris burning/citiesverse things occasionally. and also maybe my wtnv personifications au community gardens :3

also read the city we became by nk jemisin

please do not mistake any of my content for het/alia, it Will make me feel really weird. please see here for why

random extra bonus info under the cut!

i live in maine usually but i moved to pennsylvania for college and am feeling Definitely Super Normal About It (no i'm not) (i hypothesize that refixating on states and wttt specifically might have been because of this in fact). i will probably make a habit of showing up in people's notes to go MAINE MENTIONED whenever anyone mentions maine. oh also i was born in chicago, as if you couldn't guess by the fall out boy song referenced in my url and header, and then we moved when i was 5 which i was and am also Definitely Super Normal About.

[tolgaerbak]

Cougar Town

Kabul etmek lazım ki 2019 yılı Cougar Town keşfi için biraz geç kalmış bir sene. Ama gelin görün ki; 2010’ların başındaki sitcom curcunası o kadar kalabalıkken sıranın Cougar Town’a kadar ilerlememiş olması da bizlerin kabahati olamaz.

Hayali bir yer olan Gulfhaven, Florida’da geçen Cougar Town’ın başrolünde Friends’in Monica’sı Courteney Cox var. Friends’in ardından geçen yıllar Cox’u 40’lı yaşlarında “single mother” rollerine taşırken, hayat verdiği karakterin ismi ise Jules Cobb. Jules, bir türlü büyüyememiş kocası Bobby’den ayrıldıktan sonra oğlu Travis’le beraber yaşıyor. Jules ve Travis’in paylaştıkları hayat, aynı zamanda dizinin komedi unsurları içinde de güzel bir yer tutuyor.

“Ayrıldık, bir daha görüşmeyiz” ya da “sadece Travis için görüşebiliriz”den çok, Jules ve Bobby’nin ilişkisi arkadaşlık seviyesinde kalma işini fazlasıyla başarmış durumda. Birbirlerinin ilişki durumlarına sonuna kadar saygı duyan ikili, oğulları Travis’e de ihtiyacı olandan fazla ilgiyi göstermekte eksik kalmıyorlar.

Sırada, Bobby’nin evden karadaki bir tekneye taşınmadan önceki, Jules’ın ise halihazırdaki yan komşuları Torres’ler var. Ellie, Jules’ın en yakın arkadaşı. Eşi Andy de Bobby’nin hayranı ve ona göre Bobby en iyi arkadaşı. Ellie’nin baskın karakteri karşısında durumu idare ediyor gibi görünüp zamanla pek çok şeye hakim olduğunu anladığımız Andy, tam bir anlatılmayıp yaşanacak bir karakter. İkisi de eğlenceye katkıları oldukça yüksek bir ikili ve bebekleri Stan’le atılacakları daha çok macera var..

Cougar Town adına bahsedeceğimiz son “ikili” ise Grayson Ellis ve Laurie Keller. Gray’s Pub’ın sahibi ve Jules’un karşı komşusu Grayson, Jules gibi boşanmış ve yalnız yaşamasına rağmen ilişkiler konusunda Jules’un birkaç kat önde gibi bir hava estiriyor Cougar Town’da. Elbette dizi, ilerleyen bölümde altında yatan sebepleri fazlasıyla irdelemekten geri kalmıyor.

Jules’ın emlakçı iş arkadaşı ve Ellie ile aralarında seçim yapamadığı “en iyi arkadaşlık adayı” Laurie Keller ise, oyuncusu Busy Philipps’in Dawson’s Creek’teki devam karakteri ile karşımıza çıkıyor adeta. Sorunlu bir aile geçmişi, tek başına sürdürülen bir hayat gibi gibi.. Oyuncuların üzerine yapışan karakterler olur ya, Dawson’s Creek’in Audrey’i gider, aldığı yaşları üzerine ekleyen kopyası Cougar Town’un Laurie’si gelir. Busy Philipps de onu yaşıyor adeta. Peki Cougar Town’a yakışıyor mu? Yakışıyor. Bu da esasen tartışma bitirici nokta.

Toparlarsak, 2009-2015 arasında altı sezon yayınlanmış eğlenceli bir dizi Cougar Town. Başlangıçta adapte olmak için hızla izlediğiniz, ikinci sezon gibi ise, her gün bir bölüm harcamaktan kaçınarak hemen bitmemesi ruh haline büründüğünüz sıcak bir yapım. Sitcom ihtiyacınıza fazlasıyla yanıt vereceğine kuşkunuz olmasın. Üstelik sürpriz Friends cameo’ları da cabası!

[terrortwinz]

Ok ok ok so I’m binge watching Cougar Town for the first time and I’m forced to admit that my style icon is Laurie Keller.

[lovecatsys]

Some Random, unorganized, Academy X Headcanons

Because I've been thinking about them a lot lately, again.

More under the cut cuz this is really long, also cw for one headcanon that talks about self harm, grooming and sexual trauma (because. Kevin) it's the 7th dot.

Laurie should have a period of being besties with and being corrupted by Esme Cuckoo, this could take place either during or post Krakoa, or in an au where she doesn't die/m day doesn't happen, probably after the Garrison arc would have concluded.

Kevin has a slight southern accent, probably not super strong because he's from Atlanta, but enough to tell that he's not from the north. This goes in contrast with his style of course which makes it more interesting.

On naturally windy days, Sofia likes to train herself by going outside and immersing herself in the wind, and playing around with her powers, seeing how she can make her wind flow with, and against the natural wind. She likes to think of it as "flirting with mother nature." She even talks to "her" sometimes.

Brian playfully flirts with David when their squads still have a rivalry, long before David discovers his own bisexuality. He is completely clueless, has no idea that Brian is flirting with him. Sometimes this pisses Julian off, usually because HE'S supposed to be the one who has a rivalry with David, but when its a little more rude, they often play off of each other. This only adds to David's insecurity about himself, along with confusing him.

Nori has a lot of difficulty with relationships after she and David break up. She has an on again, off again thing with Julian that's really messy and toxic, mostly fueled by older teenage horniness and the close bond they develop post M day. She struggles with trusting that the people she gets close to aren't going to die or get terribly hurt, so she either pushes people away or clings to them really hard in an attempt to protect them. When Julian loses his hands, she's not only incredibly devastated but she begins to avoid him and push him away even more, which furthers his own complex about losing his hands, thinking that she's avoiding him because of his disability.

Nori also explores her sexuality as she gets older, becomes progressively more masculine, gets an even shorter haircut, probably an undercut, and has a lot of casual sex with a bunch of her female classmates, but never allows herself to get close to them or for it to mean anything other than meaningless sex to get by. While she tries to wear her sexuality with pride, she's still insecure about it, and thinks of her relationships with guys as more meaningful than those with girls, mostly because she's still scared of getting too close and losing them. She finds it easier with guys to pull off a complicated relationship like the one she has with Julian. She deeply longs to have a healthier relationship with a girl or a boy, like the one she had with David, but she's convinced herself that it's not safe because of the trauma she's endured.

I don't think Kevin should learn to control his powers, kind of in the same way I don't think Scott should ever lose his visor. But I think he would grow into learning how to live with them. I think he has a really complicated relationship with his own body, which was furthered by his sexual trauma from Selene. I think it also takes him a LONG time after he's resurrected to not think of Selene as like. the love of his life, because of the grooming and also because he craved the fact that she could touch him. I think Kevin also struggles with self harm, the fact that no one can touch him and he has to keep himself covered most of the time makes it really easy to get away with, and because of his complicated relationship with his body, he takes comfort in it. I think it would take a really long time and a lot of therapy for him to unlearn this habit like it would for him to learn that Selene had abused and traumatized him.

More on the first thing in the last note: I personally ship Kevin and Josh as endgame, and while I think their relationship would be unhealthy and weird for both of them at first, I think they could grow to be very healthy for each other. I imagine they would have a specialized house built with as few organic materials as possible, and if they had biological children somehow, their children would be immune to Kevin's powers. I think they would both work at some sort of mutant clinic, figuring out how to use their powers in tandem to cure cancer and other diseases, while Josh works there full time doing other things, Kevin would only do part time and spend his spare time making his industrial art. I think as he improves, his art would become a reflection of his pain. Frida Kahlo is probably his biggest inspiration, though she painted instead of sculpted.

Julian was able to bounce back from his bad post schism era with Emma's help at the start of Krakoa, I imagine she kind of fished him out of the gutter and helped him start his life anew, attempting to make up for the way she neglected him when the X-Men first moved to San Francisco. He mostly went along with it at first because of the promise of seeing Sofia again, but he becomes sold when he learns that Brian is going to be resurrected. (Also, meeting the OG Hellions was a motivator for sure, but he's a little disappointed when he learns that most of them were just nice, chill people, except for Empath, who he likes at first, but then upon learning how Truly awful he us, despises.) Brian's resurrection ends up proving to be not what he had hoped, because Brian is still a teenager, and is overwhelmed by how much Julian has changed, how much older he is and how all the traumas he went through after Brian's death affected him. When Sofia returns, they get back together very quickly, and while they both have pain about what they both endured after M Day, it gets easier and better for them quickly.

Jay and Laurie become closer after they've both been resurrected, they can both relate to the disconnection from their friends and previous romantic interests due to the age gaps and gaps in experiences. I think they could end up becoming one of those couples who you don't necessarily think would be into each other at first, but they just become close and it ends up working. I think Jay could be a very forgiving person for Laurie, especially because he was never personally attached to the drama she had with Josh and Kevin. I think he could also make her better in a weird way, and she could bring out a much happier side in him.

When Kevin is resurrected on Krakoa, I think he is isolated from the hellions and other academy x kids at first; they all try to forgive him and help him out, but he simply isn't ready to be helped yet. He doesn't want to believe that he was a victim of Selene like they all say, and he hates that they try to treat him as such. Emma however, feels incredibly guilty for what happened to him and as he was like a son to her before m day, she invites him to live in her castle and has a specialized room built for him with no organics. He mostly isolates himself there, especially because the island is almost entirely organic. While there, he interacts with Julian a lot, and while they try to avoid each other at first, they end up becoming like brothers, and Kevin likes interacting with him more than the other people because he doesn't treat him like a victim or walk on egg shells around him, he says things like they are, despite his own guilt complex about what happened to Kevin. Emma considers them both to be like the sons she's never had, so she encourages them to be close again as well.

When Selene is elected onto the council, Emma sends Kevin off of the island, not telling him why, but he agrees to it because he's tired of being cooped up on an island where he can't do much. She pays rent for his apartment, while he goes back to getting a job in a junk yard, and taking online high school classes so he can eventually go to art school. Julian visits him occasionally to hang out, even though its awkward, he's the only person that Kevin allows to make an effort to spend time with him. (Emma is able to keep Kevin well shielded and safe during the Orchis nonsense, of course.)

Okay I'm gonna have to continue this in reblogs lol. See the rbs for more!

[jawhip5]

Check out this listing I just added to my Poshmark closet: The Scrambled States Of America Hardcover Book By Laurie Keller.

[sofiamantegafan110]

NEW X-MEN EPISODE 8 (SEASON FINALE!)

EPISODE 8- DANCE WITH THE DEVIL

WE OPEN UP IN CESSILY AND SOFIA’S ROOM AS THE TWO OF THEM, PLUS CLARICE, ARE RELAXING. CESSILY IS ON HER LAPTOP, SOFIA IS SITTING ON A LYRA WHICH WAS PROBABLY BOUGHT IN BETWEEN THIS EPISODE AND THE LAST, AND CLARICE IS LOUNGING IN SOFIA’S BED. CESSILY CAN’T HELP BUT COMMENT ON HOW GOOD IT IS TO HAVE SOME GIRL TIME, AND CLARICE AGREES, SAYING THAT WITH FINAL EXAMS, THINGS ARE PRETTY STRESSFUL AT XAVIER’S.

SOFIA GRINS AND STARTS TALKING ABOUT THE UPCOMING PROM, WHICH SHE SAYS IS HER FIRST OFFICIAL SCHOOL DANCE. CESSILY STATES HER EXCITEMENT AND SAYS THAT ROXY ALREADY ASKED HER, AND THEY’RE HOPING TO WIN PROM QUEENS. ACCORDING TO ROXY, JULIAN AND MONET RAN UNOPPOSED LAST YEAR, AND CLARICE SAYS THAT CESSILY WILL HAVE TO WATCH HER BACK, BECAUSE SHE AND SOFIA MIGHT RUN.

EVENTUALLY, CESSILY CLOSES HER LAPTOP AND TELLS THEM THAT SHE HAS AN IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT. THE END OF THE YEAR IS COMING UP AND SHE’S EXCITED FOR SOPHOMORE YEAR, BUT SHE’S BEEN PLANNING WITH ROXY AND THEY MIGHT MOVE IN TOGETHER, AND SHE SAYS THAT SOFIA AND CLARICE COULD HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO DO THE SAME. SOFIA IS TOUCHED BY CESSILY’S CONSIDERATION, AND CESSILY SAYS THAT ULTIMATELY, IT’LL BE GOOD FOR EVERYONE, EXCEPT FOR THE FACT THAT MEGAN AND LAURIE WILL NOW BE ROOMMATES. SOFIA GLADLY ACCEPTS, GETTING OFF THE LYRA AND HUGGING CESSILY BEFORE SAYING THAT NO MATTER WHAT, THEY’LL ALWAYS BE BEST FRIENDS.

CLARICE: SO… WE’RE NOW THAT KIND OF COUPLE, HUH?

SOFIA: WELL, AT LEAST WE WON’T HAVE TO KEEP ON HOOKING UP IN MY ROOM.

CLARICE: RIGHT. NOW WE HAVE OUR OWN ROOM TO HAVE SEX IN.

CESSILY: YES, THAT WAS MY TOP PRIORITY.

SOFIA KISSES CLARICE AND SAYS THAT SHE’LL BE GOING SHOPPING FOR A PROM DRESS IN A BIT, AND CLARICE AGREES TO TAG ALONG. AS THEY LEAVE, WE CUT OVER TO A MYSTERY LOCATION AS AN UNKNOWN FIGURE SAYS THAT IT’S ALMOST TIME.

CUE INTRO AND CREDITS

WE THEN CUT OVER TO JULIAN AND SANTO’S ROOM WHERE JULIAN IS HAVING A MIDLIFE CRISIS; HE HAS NOTHING TO WEAR TO PROM. SANTO IMMEDIATELY SUGGESTS A SOPHISTICATED TUX, BUT JULIAN SAYS THAT IT’S TOO FANCY FOR LAURA. WITH MONET, HE HAD TO WORRY A LOT ABOUT HOW HE LOOKED, SO IT’S KIND OF A REFLEX OF HIS NOW THAT HE HAS A NEW GIRLFRIEND.

SANTO TRIES TO REASSURE HIM, SAYING THAT LAURA LIKES HIM BECAUSE OF WHO HE IS, BUT JULIAN IS PRETTY ADAMANT ON IMPRESSING HER. SANTO GROANS AS JULIAN RIFLES THROUGH HIS CLOTHES BEFORE ANNOUNCING THAT THEY’RE GOING SHOPPING. BEFORE SANTO CAN EVEN GET A WORD OUT, JULIAN USES HIS TELEKINESIS TO DRAG HIM OUT THE DOOR.

MEANWHILE, SOFIA, CLARICE, CESSILY, ROXY, MONET, LAURA, LAURIE, ALANI, MEGAN, AND THE CUCKOOS ARE LOOKING THROUGH SOME CLOTHES, TRYING TO FIND A GOOD PROM DRESS. LAURA LOOKS RATHER OUT OF PLACE AS MEGAN IS CONSTANTLY PICKING OUT CLOTHES FOR HER, AND LAURIE FINDS A CUTE PINK DRESS THAT SHE DECIDES TO SETTLE ON. HOWEVER, THE OTHERS ARE UNABLE TO FIND GOOD ENOUGH OUTFITS, AND IF THEY DO FIND A GOOD ONE, IT DOESN’T MEET UP TO MONET’S STANDARDS. AFTER GOING THROUGH SEVERAL STORES, MONET NOTICES AN AD FOR A BOUTIQUE CALLED JUMBO’S, AND SHE DECIDES TO TAKE THEM THERE. WHILE THEY STROLL THROUGH THE MALL, THEY PASS JULIAN AND SANTO, WHO ARE PICKING OUT CLOTHES IN A MENSWEAR STORE.

THE GIRLS SOON ARRIVE AT JUMBO’S AND ARE GREETED BY A VERY CHEERFUL BALD MAN WITH SIX ARMS WHO IS DRESSED IN A BLUE FUR COAT. CESSILY IMMEDIATELY RECOGNIZES HIM AS JUMBO CARNATION, THE FIRST AND ONLY MUTANT DESIGNER. JUMBO GRINS AS CESSILY SINGS HIS PRAISES AND OBSERVES AND COMPLIMENTS EACH ONE OF THEM.

SOFIA: WE NEED PROM DRESSES. THINK YOU COULD HELP US?

JUMBO: CAN I HELP YOU? OF COURSE, MAMACITA! I DESIGN CLOTHES THAT SUIT THE WEARERS AND SHOW OFF THEIR PERSONAL STYLE! AND YOU’RE NOT THE ONLY ONES TO TURN TO ME FOR HELP! JUST THINK OF ME AS YOUR FAIRY GODMOTHER, LADIES!

CESSILY: SO YOU DESIGN OUTFITS SPECIFICALLY FOR YOUR CUSTOMERS?

JUMBO: THAT’S RIGHT! NOW, LET’S GET TO IT.

JUMBO CLAPS HIS HANDS AND TWO FEMALE STYLISTS, WHO HE REFERS TO AS STITCH AND CASSIE, APPEAR. HE TELLS THEM TO GET READY, BECAUSE THEY HAVE A LOT OF WORK TO DO.

WE THEN BEGIN A MONTAGE TO TORI V’S “THIS SONG” AS THE GIRLS TRY ON OUTFITS. SEVERAL OUTFITS, FANS MAY NOTE, ARE ACTUALLY CANON HELLFIRE GALA OUTFITS BELONGING TO STORM OR JEAN GREY, ETC. IN THE COMICS. THESE OUTFITS ARE REJECTED AS THEY SHOW THEM OFF. FINALLY, THEY’RE ABLE TO FIND SOME GOOD ONES. MONET IS DRESSED IN HER OUTFIT WITH LOOSE-FITTING PANTS AND A PENANCE HEADPIECE FROM THE FIRST GALA, LAURA IS DRESSED IN HER YELLOW AND BLUE DRESS WITH AN UNEVEN HEM, ALSO FROM THE FIRST GALA, MEGAN LOOKS DAZZLING IN HER BLACK DRESS COMPLETE WITH BUTTERFLY ACCESSORIES, ROXY IS DRESSED IN HER COILED OUTFIT FROM THE SECOND GALA, CESSILY IS DRESSED ONLY IN BODY PAINT WHILE ALANI LOOKS AMAZING IN HER LIONFISH DRESS, THE CUCKOOS ARE WEARING THEIR SPARKLING WHITE DRESSES WITH PLATINUM BOB HAIRCUTS FROM THE THIRD GALA, CLARICE HAS ON BLACK LEGGINGS AND A TOP MADE FROM HER PINK CRYSTAL PIKES (INSPIRED BY A FAN ART DESIGN) AND SOFIA IS DRESSED IN A BEAUTIFUL WHITE GODDESS-STYLE DRESS. THE GIRLS SASHAY AND POSE LIKE MODELS IN THEIR DRESSING ROOM AND SHOW OFF THEIR OUTFITS.

LATER, THEY WALK OUT OF JUMBO’S, AND SOFIA ACCIDENTALLY BUMPS INTO A YOUNG MAN OF ASIAN DESCENT, WHO APOLOGIZES FOR NOT LOOKING WHERE HE WAS GOING. HE INTRODUCES HIMSELF AS AKIHIRO, AND TELLS SOFIA THAT SHE ACTUALLY LOOKS REALLY BEAUTIFUL. CLARICE STARTS TO GET A BIT JEALOUS, AND SOFIA TELLS THE MAN THAT SHE HAS A GIRLFRIEND. HE APOLOGIZES, AND THE GIRLS START TO WALK OFF, WITH LAURA LOOKING OVER AT AKIHIRO SUSPICIOUSLY.

LAURIE: YOU OKAY, LAURA?

LAURA: YES. SOMETHING ABOUT THAT MAN SEEMED… FAMILIAR.

WE THEN CUT OVER TO THE SCHOOL THAT NIGHT AS “2012” BY JAY SEAN STARTS TO PLAY. JULIAN AND SANTO, DRESSED IN TRADITIONAL TUXEDOS, WAIT OUTSIDE LAURA AND SOORAYA’S DOOR AS LAURA WALKS OUT. JULIAN KISSES HER HAND AND THEY WALK OFF. SOORAYA WALKS OUT AFTER THEM AND JAY ASKS HER TO THE DANCE AS FRIENDS. SHE ACCEPTS. MEANWHILE, ROXY AND CESSILY AND SOFIA AND CLARICE ENTER THE GYM, AMAZED AT THE DAZZLING LIGHTS. LOTS OF STUDENTS ARE ALREADY DANCING, AND THEY GET ON THE DANCE FLOOR.

DANI SMILES AS THE GROUP WALKS INTO THE GYM AND THEY STOP AS SHE TAKES A PICTURE OF THEM ALL TOGETHER. EVENTUALLY, THEY ALL HEAD OVER TO THE DANCE FLOOR AS MEGAN COMPLIMENTS THEIR OUTFITS. SOFIA SMILES AND THE GIRLS BEGIN DANCING ALONG TO THE MUSIC.

AFTER A BRIEF MONTAGE, WE SEE CLARICE HEADING OVER TO WHERE LAURIE AND JOSH ARE TRYING PUNCH. JOSH IMMEDIATELY COMMENTS THAT SAID PUNCH IS CLEARLY SPIKED, AND ALL SIGNS POINT TO MORPH. CLARICE LAUGHS AND NOTICES LAURIE’S DISTANT LOOK. SHE IMMEDIATELY ASKS HER WHAT’S UP.

LAURIE: I DUNNO. IT’S BEEN A WHILE AND, WEIRD AS IT SOUNDS, I CAN’T STOP THINKING ABOUT KEVIN.

CLARICE: WE KNOW, HONEY. IT’S SAD THAT HE LEFT, BUT MAYBE HE’LL HAVE BETTER LUCK AT THE LATVERIAN SCHOOL.

LAURIE: I JUST WISH WE WERE ON GOOD TERMS BEFORE HE LEFT. I MEAN, I TOLD HIM I HATED HIM.

JOSH: DON’T FORGET WHAT HE DID TO YOU, LAURIE. HE DESERVES WHAT HAPPENED TO HIM.

LAURIE LIFTS UP HER MANGLED WRIST AND TELLS JOSH THAT IT’S OKAY FOR HIM TO BE ANGRY AT KEVIN, BUT SHE STILL MISSES HIM AND WISHES THEY COULD STILL BE FRIENDS. CLARICE GIVES HER A PAT ON THE BACK BEFORE MOVING TO JOIN MORPH AND TJ.

MEANWHILE, SOFIA WATCHES CLARICE WITH A SMILE BEFORE A FIGURE WALKS UP TO HER. SHE GROANS BEFORE ADDRESSING THE PERSON IN FRONT OF HER; A SMUG-LOOKING BOY WITH A PINK FAUX-HAWK DRESSED IN A ‘MAGNETO WAS RIGHT’ T-SHIRT. THE BOY, QUENTIN, CAN’T HELP BUT COMPLIMENT ON HOW NICE THEY ALL LOOK TONIGHT, BEFORE ASKING SOFIA IF SHE’S TOLD ANYONE ABOUT CLARICE’S SECRET. SOFIA’S EYES WIDEN AS SHE LOOKS AT HIM.

QUENTIN: TELEPATH, REMEMBER? I KNOW EVERYONE’S DIRTY LITTLE SECRETS, AND CLARICE’S IS ESPECIALLY JUICY. I WONDER HOW EVERYONE WOULD REACT IF THEY FOUND OUT SHE’S A DESCENDANT OF APOCALYPSE, AND THAT YOU KNEW ABOUT IT ALL THIS TIME?

SOFIA: BACK OFF, QUENTIN. YOU WOULDN’T DARE.

QUENTIN: THEN YOU DON’T KNOW ME THAT WELL, SOFIA. I’M LOOKING TO CAUSE SOME CHAOS IN THIS SCHOOL NOW THAT I’VE REPLACED THAT LOSER FORD IN THE HELLIONS. NOW, WHAT ARE YOU GONNA DO TO CONVINCE ME NOT TO TELL?

MONET SIGHS AS SHE WALKS BEHIND QUENTIN, SAYING THAT SOFIA’S OBVIOUSLY NOT GONNA BLOW HIM, SO HE SHOULD QUIT WHILE HE STILL HAS HIS DIGNITY. QUENTIN TURNS TO HER AND SHE SMIRKS, SAYING THAT IF HE LIKES SECRETS SO MUCH, HE SHOULD START BY EXPOSING HIS OWN GINORMOUS SECRET.

MONET: DON’T FORGET. AS LEADER OF THE HELLIONS, I AM YOUR SUPERIOR. ANYTHING YOU DO, I’LL FIND OUT ABOUT, QUENTIN. OR SHOULD I SAY, ‘QUINTAVIUS QUIRINIUS QUIRE’?

QUENTIN FLUSHES IN EMBARRASSMENT BEFORE STORMING OVER TO THE DANCE FLOOR. SOFIA CHUCKLES AND THEN THANKS MONET. SHE SMILES SIMPLY BEFORE SAYING THAT QUENTIN DOES HAVE A POINT; CLARICE SHOULD COME CLEAN SOON BEFORE JERKS LIKE QUENTIN DECIDE TO EXPLOIT THE BOTH OF THEM. SHE THEN REMINDS SOFIA THAT SHE’S ALSO A TELEPATH AND SHE WAS ABLE TO PICK UP THAT THOUGHT FROM SOFIA’S MIND WHILE THEY WERE IN CESSILY AND ALANI’S MINDSCAPE. SHE THEN ASSURES HER THAT SHE WON’T TELL A SOUL, BUT SHE THINKS IT’S BEST IF CLARICE OR SOFIA DOES SO BEFORE IT’S TOO LATE.

SOFIA NODS, BEFORE TELLING MONET THAT THERE’S SOMETHING SHE’S BEEN MEANING TO TALK TO HER ABOUT. NOW THAT THE YEAR IS ENDING, SHE WANTS A CLEAN START. AND AS SUCH, THERE’S ONE INJUSTICE THAT SHE NEEDS TO FIX.

SOFIA: STARTING NEXT YEAR, I RELINQUISH THE ROLE OF CHEER CAPTAIN TO YOU, MONET. YOU WERE BORN TO LEAD. IT’S IN YOUR BLOOD. AND IT’S NOT FAIR OF ME TO TAKE THAT AWAY FROM YOU.

MONET ASKS SOFIA IF SHE’S SURE AND SOFIA NODS. SHE THEN THANKS SOFIA BEFORE LOOKING OVER TO WHERE CLARICE IS LOOKING OVER AT THEM BEFORE TELLING SOFIA THAT SHE THINKS HER GIRL WANTS TO DANCE. SOFIA SMILES BEFORE WALKING OVER TO CLARICE.

MEANWHILE, A DISGRUNTLED QUENTIN BUMPS INTO JULIAN ON THE DANCE FLOOR, CAUSING HIM TO SPILL HIS PUNCH ALL OVER LAURA. EMBARRASSED, JULIAN TRIES TO CLEAN IT UP, BUT LAURA TELLS HIM IT’S OKAY. JULIAN SIGHS, AND SHE ASKS HIM IF SOMETHING’S ON HIS MIND.

JULIAN: IT’S JUST… I REALLY WANTED THIS NIGHT TO BE PERFECT. I… I WANT US TO BE PERFECT, LAURA. BECAUSE… I DUNNO, THAT WAS HOW IT WAS WITH MONET AND…

LAURA STOPS HIM WITH A KISS.

LAURA: THAT MAY HAVE BEEN HOW IT WAS BEFORE, BUT IT DOESN’T HAVE TO BE HOW IT IS NOW. YOU DON’T HAVE TO BE PERFECT FOR ME, JULIAN. JUST BE WHO YOU ARE.

JULIAN SMILES BEFORE LOOKING OVER AT SANTO, WHO IS CURRENTLY WITH THE CUCKOOS. HE MOUTHS ‘I TOLD YOU SO’.

MEANWHILE, MONET WATCHES JULIAN AND LAURA DANCE, A BIT ENVIOUS. SUDDENLY, A BALD AFRICAN-AMERICAN BOY WALKS UP TO HER, DRESSED IN A BOWLER HAT AND A PSYCHEDELIC RAINBOW JACKET. SHE BRIEFLY LOOKS OVER AT HIM.

BOY: HEY… UH, MONET? IT’S ME, EVERETT. EVERETT THOMAS? FROM THE CORSAIRS? I WAS JUST WONDERING IF MAYBE YOU’D LIKE TO…

MONET: SURE. C’MON.

MONET LEADS EVERETT OVER TO THE DANCE FLOOR AS MARK SHEPPARD ANNOUNCES THAT IT’S TIME TO GRAB DANCE PARTNERS AND GET READY FOR A SLOW DANCE. WITH THAT, “THINKING OUT LOUD” BY ED SHEERAN PLAYS AND SOFIA TELLS CLARICE THAT SHE LOVES THIS SONG.

AS THE COUPLES SLOW DANCE, WE LOOK OVER AT ROXY AND CESSILY, DANCING TOGETHER WITH SMILES ON THEIR FACES. NEXT, WE CUT TO JAY AND SOORAYA, TRYING TO SEEM PLATONIC AND LOOKING EMBARRASSED AS PEOPLE LOOK AT THEM. SANTO IS DANCING WITH ALL THREE CUCKOOS WHILE MONET IS DANCING WITH EVERETT, SLOWLY STARTING TO ENJOY HIS COMPANY. LAURIE AND JOSH ARE DANCING WHOLEHEARTEDLY, JOSH TRYING NOT TO GRAB TOO HARD ON LAURIE’S WOUNDED ARM. MEANWHILE, JULIAN AND LAURA ARE ENJOYING THEMSELVES, DANCING PASSIONATELY.

HOWEVER, ALL EYES ARE ON CLARICE AND SOFIA AS THEY DANCE. CLARICE SMILES AND TELLS SOFIA THAT AS FAR AS PROMS GO, THIS ONE BY FAR BEATS THE ONE IN CARRIE. SOFIA GRINS, SAYING THAT IT’S NOT OVER YET. THE NIGHT IS YOUNG, AND MAYBE, THEY CAN SPEND ONE LAST NIGHT TOGETHER IN THE BEDROOM. CLARICE GRINS BEFORE KISSING HER PASSIONATELY.

THE WIND SWIRLS AROUND THEIR LEGS AND BOTH GIRLS BEGIN TO SLOWLY FLOAT IN THE AIR. CLARICE LOOKS A BIT SHOCKED AT FIRST AND SOFIA CHUCKLES MISCHIEVOUSLY BEFORE THEY CONTINUE TO DANCE.

CLARICE: PEOPLE ARE STARING.

SOFIA: LET THEM. I LOVE YOU, CLARICE FERGUSON.

CLARICE: AND I LOVE YOU, SOFIA MANTEGA.

AS THE SONG REACHES ITS CRESCENDO, BOTH GIRLS MOVE IN TO KISS.

IN SLOW MOTION, JULIAN LOOKS OVER, AND A SHOCKED LOOK APPEARS ON HIS FACE AS THE WALL STARTS TO COME APART. A SLOW EXPLOSION ENCROACHES THE GYM AS JULIAN RUNS IN FRONT OF THE STUDENTS, PUTTING UP A TELEKINETIC WALL. THE EXPLOSION ROCKS THE GYMNASIUM AS STUDENTS TURN IN FRIGHT. JULIAN SCREAMS AS THE WALL STARTS TO CRUMBLE. SLOWLY BUT SURELY, THE EXPLOSION PUSHES HIM BACK AND SUDDENLY, THE WALL DROPS, THE EXPLOSION DISINTEGRATING JULIAN’S HANDS.

THE EXPLOSION FILLS THE CAMERA AS DEBRIS IS FLOWN EVERYWHERE. THEN, SLOWLY, THE CAMERA FOCUSES ON CLARICE IN HER TATTERED OUTFIT. SHE LOOKS AROUND AT THE RUINED GYMNASIUM. THE STUDENTS AND FACULTY ARE ALIVE BUT SLIGHTLY INJURED, AND JULIAN IS UNCONSCIOUS, HIS HANDS GONE AND REPLACED BY CAUTERIZED STUMPS. LAURA REMAINS AT HIS SIDE. SOFIA RUNS OVER TO CLARICE AS CYCLOPS AND THE X-MEN STAND READY, WONDERING WHAT HAPPENED.

SUDDENLY, A TALL BURLY FIGURE APPEARS THROUGH THE HOLE IN THE WALL. HE’S DRESSED IN ANCIENT CEREMONIAL BATTLE GARB, HIS FISTS CLENCHED. HIS SKIN IS BLUE, BUT HIS FACE IS HIDDEN BEHIND A GOLDEN MASK. EVEN SO, THE X-MEN ARE ABLE TO KNOW WHO HE IS, AND SO DOES CLARICE AS HER EYES WIDEN IN REALIZATION.

CLARICE: APOCALYPSE.

APOCALYPSE STANDS FIRM AS THREE SHADOWS APPEAR BEHIND HIM, SLOWLY COMING INTO VIEW. LAURA TENSES AS THE FIRST FIGURE COMES INTO VIEW, REVEALING KIMURA. LAURIE AND JOSH LOOK ON IN FEAR AS WITHER APPEARS NEXT, AND SOFIA IS SHOCKED AS THE FINAL SHADOW IS REVEALED TO BE AKIHIRO. ALL FOUR OF THEM STAND READY, DETERMINATION IN THEIR EYES.

APOCALYPSE: FOR THOSE WHO DO NOT KNOW ME, I AM EN SABAH NUR. THE ONE KNOWN AS APOCALYPSE. AND I HAVE COME TO CLAIM WHAT IS MINE.

CYCLOPS: APOCALYPSE, I’M WARNING YOU. LEAVE NOW AND THERE WON’T BE A FIGHT.

APOCALYPSE CHUCKLES AS LAURIE LOOKS AT KEVIN, ASKING WHAT HAPPENED TO HIM. HE DOES NOT REPLY.

KIMURA: HEY, X. LONG TIME, NO SEE.

LAURA GLARES AT HER AS APOCALYPSE CONTINUES TO SPEAK. HE EXPLAINS THAT HE HAS COME FOR ONE PERSON IN PARTICULAR. ONE OF THE X-MEN’S STUDENTS, THAT RIGHTFULLY BELONG TO HIM. LAURIE GETS UP, TRYING TO RADIATE FEAR PHEROMONES, BUT AKIHIRO SMIRKS AS THE PHEROMONES ARE NEUTRALIZED.

LAURIE: WHAT…?

AKIHIRO: SURPRISE, LITTLE GIRL. MY PHEROMONES ARE WELL EQUIPPED TO CANCEL OUT YOURS. DON’T EVEN BOTHER TRYING AGAIN.

CESSILY: YOU… YOU’RE THAT CREEP FROM THE MALL!

APOCALYPSE: INDEED. DAKEN AKIHIRO’S ABILITIES ARE WHAT CALLED HIM TO ME. TO BECOME MY HORSEMAN OF PESTILENCE, ALONG WITH MY HORSEMEN OF WAR AND DEATH.

KIMURA: ENOUGH CHATTER. YOU HEARD THE MAN. GIVE US WHAT WE WANT, AND NO ONE HAS TO GET HURT… MUCH.

SUDDENLY, CLARICE STANDS UP, TELLING APOCALYPSE THAT SHE KNOWS WHAT HE WANTS AND SHE’S WILLING TO GO WITH HIM AS LONG AS NO ONE HAS TO SUFFER.

CLARICE: I KNOW I’M YOUR DESCENDANT, AND I WILL GO WITH YOU. JUST PLEASE DON’T HURT ANYONE ELSE.

THE OTHERS LOOK ON IN SHOCK. EVEN A SEMI-CONSCIOUS JULIAN TURNS HIS HEAD TO CLARICE. SLOWLY, APOCALYPSE STARTS TO LAUGH.

APOCALYPSE: MY DESCENDANT YOU MAY BE, GIRL, BUT THAT IS NOT WHAT I REQUIRE. IT IS NOT YOU THAT I NEED, SWEETLING…

THE CAMERA FOCUSES ON APOCALYPSE AS HE BEGINS TO POINT HIS FINGER…

…AT SOFIA.

APOCALYPSE: …IT IS HER.

SOFIA GASPS AS CLARICE BRANDISHES HER TELEPORTATION SPIKES. AKIHIRO SMIRKS BEFORE FLEXING HIS FINGERS. SUDDENLY, THREE ADAMANTIUM CLAWS ERUPT FROM HIS WRISTS, CAUSING LAURA TO LOOK IN SHOCK.

SOFIA: ME? WH-WHY?

APOCALYPSE: YOU, SOFIA MANTEGA, ARE A BEING OF PURE POWER LEFT UNDISCOVERED. AS AN ELEMENTAL MUTANT, YOU COULD PROVE USEFUL AS WE WORK TO PUT THE MUTANT RACE WHERE THEY RIGHTFULLY BELONG. AS MY HORSEMAN OF FAMINE, YOU WILL BE IMMORTAL.

CLARICE: LIKE HELL! IF YOU WANT HER, YOU’RE GONNA HAVE TO GO THROUGH ME.

APOCALYPSE: PRECISELY.

SUDDENLY, APOCALYPSE LUNGES FORWARD AND GRABS CLARICE BY THE NECK.

APOCALYPSE: THE TIME IS TICKING, SOFIA. MAKE YOUR CHOICE, OR I CRUSH HER SKULL.

TEARS SPRING TO SOFIA’S EYES AS SHE LOOKS AT CLARICE STRUGGLING IN PAIN. SHE LOOKS CONFUSED AT FIRST, BUT THEN DETERMINED AS SHE SPEAKS.

SOFIA: STOP! PLEASE! I… I’LL GO WITH YOU! JUST LET HER GO!

APOCALYPSE NODS BEFORE RELEASING CLARICE. HE THEN TELLS SOFIA TO SAY HER GOODBYES, BECAUSE THEY ARE LEAVING SOON. BILLIE EILISH’S “WHAT WAS I MADE FOR?” PLAYS IN THE BACKGROUND AS CLARICE APPROACHES SOFIA, BOTH IN TEARS.

CLARICE: SOFIA, PLEASE DON’T DO THIS…

SOFIA: SHHH. IT’S OKAY, CLARICE. PLEASE JUST LISTEN…

CLARICE: NO! I’M NOT GONNA LOSE YOU! NOT LIKE I LOST MY PARENTS! YOU CAN’T GO, SOFIA! PLEASE!

TEARS FLOW DOWN SOFIA’S CHEEKS AS SHE CUPS CLARICE’S FACE.

SOFIA: I KNOW. AND YOU WON’T LOSE ME. I’M COUNTING ON YOU, CLARICE, YOU HEAR ME? I KNOW YOU’LL BE ABLE TO SAVE ME WHILE I TRY TO BUY YOU SOME TIME. MAYBE I CAN TRY TO HOLD HIM OFF LONG ENOUGH FOR YOU TO MAKE A PLAN. I’M COUNTING ON YOU TO BRING ME BACK, OKAY? BUT FOR NOW, I HAVE TO GO.

CLARICE: THERE HAS TO BE ANOTHER WAY! SOFIA, PLEASE!

SOFIA: THERE ISN’T. AND I CAN’T AFFORD TO LOSE YOU. I COULDN’T LIVE WITH MYSELF IF YOU GOT HURT. PLEASE, CLARICE. THIS IS MY CHOICE. AND I KNOW WE’LL BE TOGETHER SOON.

CLARICE: I… I LOVE YOU, SOFIA.

SOFIA: AND I LOVE YOU.

AS THE TWO GIRLS KISS IN A SAD EMBRACE, WE LOOK BACK ON THE EVENTS FROM THE PAST TWO SEASONS. FROM THEIR FIRST ENCOUNTER AND THEIR FIRST KISS, ALL THE WAY OVER TO THEM FIGHTING SIDE-BY-SIDE AND SHARING ONE FINAL DANCE MERE MINUTES AGO. WE THEN FOCUS ON THE PRESENT AS THE KISS FADES. SOFIA HOLDS CLARICE’S HAND AND SQUEEZES IT TIGHT.

SOFIA: FIND ME. I’LL BE WAITING FOR YOU. ALWAYS AND FOREVER.

SOFIA THEN STANDS UP AND WALKS OVER TO APOCALYPSE AND THE HORSEMEN. SHE SHARES ONE SAD LOOK AT CLARICE BEFORE THE FIVE OF THEM VANISH IN BLUE LIGHT.

THE CAMERA FOCUSES ON THE RUINS OF THE GYM. CESSILY IS CRYING AND HOLDING ON TO ROXY. SANTO AND LAURA LOOK ON IN DISBELIEF WHILE NURSING AN INJURED JULIAN. JAY WATCHES THE SCENE AROUND HIM, HOLDING SOORAYA’S HAND. OTHERS LIKE MONET, LAURIE, JOSH, MORPH, TALIA, AND MEGAN STAND IN SILENCE AS DANI CLUTCHES XUAN TIGHTLY.

THE CAMERA THEN FOCUSES ON CLARICE AS SHE FALLS TO HER KNEES. SHE SUDDENLY NOTICES SOMETHING IN HER HAND, AND OPENS HER PALM, REVEALING SOFIA’S CHARM BRACELET GIVEN TO HER BY HER MOTHER.

THE SONG ENDS AS CLARICE THROWS HER HEAD UP AND LETS OUT A BLOODCURDLING SCREAM AS THE EPISODE, AND SEASON 2, ENDS, SIGNIFYING VERY DARK THINGS TO COME.

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THAT'S RIGHT, I'M BACK, BITCHES! HOPE Y'ALL ENJOYED THIS EPISODE, BECAUSE YOU AIN'T SEEN NOTHING YET! SEASON 3 WILL BEGIN SOON, SO GET READY!