#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!”

[biromanticwritergal]

2023 Pinterest 50 books Reading Challenge

32. A Book from Your Childhood

The Scrambled States of America by Laurie Keller

[xfactor7aurora]

You guys have no idea how much academy x art I've drawn in the past few weeks this isn't even half of it

You guys don't get them like I do IM CRAZY BUT IM FREE!!!!!!!!!

[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, EPISODE 2

EPISODE 2: RISE OF APOCALYPSE, PART 2

THE EPISODE OPENS UP IN EGYPT AS APOCALYPSE STANDS IN SOLITUDE, WEARING HIS MASK. SUDDENLY, DAKEN ENTERS AND APOCALYPSE TELLS HIM THAT HE CAN SENSE HIS CONCERN. DAKEN SIGHS AND TELLS HIM THAT HE WANTS TO TALK ABOUT SOFIA.

DAKEN: LISTEN, BOSS. YOU GATHERED US ALL TOGETHER TO GIVE US GREAT POWER. TO GIVE US A BETTER LIFE, A CHANCE AT REVENGE, OR TO FINISH UNFINISHED BUSINESS. BUT SOFIA… SHE DOESN’T WANT TO BE HERE. SHE’S JUST A KID. SHE HAS FRIENDS BACK AT XAVIER’S. SHE HAS A GIRLFRIEND. SHE… I DON’T THINK SOFIA SHOULD BE HERE.

ALL OF A SUDDEN, APOCALYPSE GRABS DAKEN BY THE THROAT, SLAMMING HIM AGAINST THE WALL. HE REMINDS DAKEN ABOUT HIS LIFE BEFORE THIS. BARELY SCRAPING BY IN MADRIPOOR. NECK-DEEP IN BARS AND WHOREHOUSES. HE ASKS HIM IF HE REALLY WANTS TO GO BACK TO THAT LIFE AGAIN.

DAKEN: WH-WHY DO YOU NEED HER ANYWAY? SHE’S JUST A 16-YEAR-OLD KID!

APOCALYPSE RELEASES DAKEN AND CHUCKLES.

APOCALYPSE: SHE MAY SEEM THAT WAY, BUT I SAW HER TRUE POTENTIAL ONCE. WHEN MY FOOLISH DESCENDANT FREDRICK SLADE TRIED TO SACRIFICE HIS GRANDDAUGHTER, I SAW SOFIA FOR WHO SHE REALLY WAS AS SHE DESTROYED SLADE’S MANSION IN A VIOLENT RAGE. SHE IS A BEING OF GREAT POWER AND SOON, SHE COULD CONTROL THE VERY ELEMENTS THEMSELVES WITH MY GUIDANCE. SHE IS NECESSARY FOR MY PLANS, AND UNLIKE YOU, SHE CANNOT BE REPLACED. NOW TELL KIMURA AND WITHER TO PREPARE. PHASE ONE BEGINS NOW.

WITH THAT, DAKEN WALKS OUT, UNSURE, AS APOCALYPSE STANDS IN SOLITUDE AGAIN.

CUE INTRO AND CREDITS

WE THEN CUT TO THE LOUNGE AT XAVIER’S, WHERE CESSILY, JULIAN, LAURA, ROXY, SANTO, JAY, JOSH, MONET, LAURIE, TALIA, MORPH, VICTOR, MEGAN, AND ALANI ARE BUSY ARGUING. THEIR WORDS ARE OVERLAPPED AND INCOHERENT, AND THEY’RE CLEARLY NOT HAPPY. SUDDENLY, FOOTSTEPS EMERGE, AND EVERYONE TURNS TO SEE CLARICE WALKING INTO THE LOUNGE.

CLARICE: DID I MISS ANYTHING?

IMMEDIATELY, CLARICE IS BOMBARDED BY HUGS. SHE LAUGHS AND COMPLIMENTS JULIAN’S NEW HANDS. CESSILY IMMEDIATELY TELLS HER THAT SHE’S ALREADY MADE A JOKE ABOUT MASTURBATION, CAUSING HER TO LAUGH. SHE THEN LOOKS AROUND AND ASKS WHY EVERYONE’S THERE, AND LAURA SAYS THAT THEY’RE THERE TO HELP HER SAVE SOFIA.

MEGAN: …AS SOON AS WE FIGURE OUT OUR NEXT MOVE.

CLARICE: OKAY. WHERE’S DANI?

ALANI: SHE’S BEEN IN A MEETING WITH THE OTHER X-MEN FOR A WHILE. THEY’RE TALKING ABOUT WHAT TO DO.

CLARICE: HAVE THEY REACHED A VERDICT?

JAY: NO.

CLARICE: THAT’S ALL I NEED TO HEAR.

CLARICE THEN WALKS OUT THE LOUNGE AND THE OTHERS LOOK AT EACH OTHER, CONFUSED, BEFORE CESSILY WALKS AFTER HER, FOLLOWED BY JULIAN, LAURA, MONET, AND THEN EVERYONE ELSE.

WE THEN CUT OVER TO THE X-MEN’S WAR ROOM AS THE STAFF ARE CURRENTLY IN A CONVERSATION SIMILAR TO THE ONE IN THE LOUNGE, WITH INCOHERENT WORDS BEING SHOUTED. SUDDENLY, THE DOOR OPENS AND MONET STANDS IN THE ENTRANCE, FLEXING HER FINGERS. IMMEDIATELY, CYCLOPS ASKS WHAT’S GOING ON AND CLARICE WALKS IN, FOLLOWED BY THE OTHERS.

CLARICE: IT’S SIMPLE. WE’VE BEEN SITTING AROUND FOR TOO LONG NOW. WE’RE GOING TO FIND SOFIA AND WHUP APOCALYPSE’S ASS, WITH OR WITHOUT YOUR HELP.

THERE’S A LONG PAUSE, AS IF THE X-MEN ARE WONDERING IF SHE’S SERIOUS, THEN EMMA SPEAKS UP.

EMMA: OUT OF THE QUESTION! ABSOLUTELY NOT! YOU ARE NOT TRAINED ENOUGH! YOU’RE JUST CHILDREN! AND I EXPECTED BETTER OF YOU ESPECIALLY, MONET.

DANI: SHE MAY BE A COW, BUT EMMA’S RIGHT. I’M NOT ABOUT TO PUT YOU GUYS IN DANGER. I KNOW HOW EVERYONE FEELS ABOUT SOFIA, BUT YOU HAVE TO LISTEN TO US.

CLARICE: NO. WE’RE DONE LISTENING. WE’RE DONE SITTING AROUND FEELING SORRY FOR OURSELVES. WE HAVE OUR OWN PLAN.

EMMA: WHICH IS?

CLOSE UP ON CLARICE’S FACE.

CLARICE: IT’S SIMPLE; GET ON BOARD OR GET OUT OF THE WAY.

MORPH: *WHISPERED* I CAN’T BELIEVE SHE JUST SAID THAT.

TALIA: *WHISPERED* DITTO.

MEANWHILE, APOCALYPSE AND HIS HORSEMEN MATERIALIZE IN FRONT OF A BUSY STREET IN MUTANT TOWN. APOCALYPSE THEN NODS TO SOFIA AND TELLS HER TO START THINGS OFF. SOFIA LOOKS A BIT RELUCTANT, BUT THEN CREATES A GIANT WIND GUST WITH A FLOURISH OF HER HAND. CARS, TREES, AND SIGNS GO FLYING AS PEOPLE START TO REALIZE THAT THESE ARE NO ORDINARY RESIDENTS. KIMURA GRINS BEFORE PULLING OUT A GUN, USING IT TO SHOOT AT SHOP WINDOWS AS WITHER DECAYS SEVERAL TELEPHONE POLES AND DAKEN USES HIS PHEROMONES TO INCITE A PANIC. SECONDS LATER, MUTANT TOWN IS IN COMPLETE DISARRAY.

MEANWHILE, THE X-MEN AND THE TRAINEES ARE ARGUING WHEN SUDDENLY, A STUDENT WITH BLUE SKIN AND SHORT RED HAIR RUNS IN, ASKING FOR CYCLOPS. CYCLOPS ASKS THE GIRL, EDIE, WHAT’S WRONG AND SHE TELLS HIM THAT THERE’S SOMETHING THEY NEED TO SEE. SHE THEN TURNS ON THE TV, REVEALING THE HAVOC IN MUTANT TOWN.

REPORTER: TRISH TILBY HERE, REPORTING FROM MUTANT TOWN, WHERE CHAOS HAS ERUPTED. FIVE SUPER-BEINGS APPEARED SUDDENLY AND WROUGHT HAVOC ON THESE BUSY STREETS! ONE OF THEM LOOKS LIKE… APOCALYPSE! SOME LOCALS ARE TRYING TO KEEP THESE ATTACKERS AT BAY, BUT EVERYONE IS ASKING… WHERE ARE THE X-MEN?!

CYCLOPS IMMEDIATELY STANDS UP AND TELLS THE X-MEN TO PREPARE, BUT DANI SUDDENLY INTERRUPTS HIM.

DANI: SCOTT, I HATE TO SAY THIS, BUT THE KIDS ARE RIGHT. THIS IS THEIR BATTLE AND THEIR FRIEND. LET THEM DEAL WITH THIS.

EMMA STANDS UP AS WELL, MUCH TO HER OWN DISMAY.

EMMA: SHE MAY BE A COW, BUT DANIELLE IS RIGHT. THE CHILDREN HAVE PROVEN THEMSELVES TIME AND TIME AGAIN WITH KIMURA IN KENTUCKY, THE U-MEN, THE HELLFIRE CLUB, MYSTIQUE, AND EVEN THAT STRANGE LITTLE CURSED BOARD GAME. EVER SINCE THAT FOOD FIGHT ON THE FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL, THEY HAVE GROWN INTO A TEAM. THEY ARE READY.

FOR THE FIRST TIME IN THE SERIES, DANI SMILES AT EMMA.

SCOTT SIGHS BEFORE SITTING BACK DOWN. DANI TURNS TO THE KIDS AND TELLS THEM TO SUIT UP. IMMEDIATELY, THEY RUN OUT, BUT DANI TELLS LAURIE TO STAY AT THE MANSION. SHE TELLS HER THAT WITH DAKEN AKIHIRO’S POWERS COUNTERING HER PHEROMONES, SHE COULD BE A LIABILITY IN THE FIELD. LAURIE STARTS TO PROTEST, BUT SIGHS, AND LOOKS BACK AT THE OTHERS.

LATER, THE NEW X-MEN APPEAR IN MUTANT TOWN, WHERE THEY WITNESS THE BATTLE IN FRONT OF THEM. A LIZARDLIKE MAN IS PROTECTING TWO OTHERS; A BLONDE GIRL WITH SCRATCH-YOUR-EYES-OUT NAILS, AND A BOY WITH HANDS FOR FEET. A WOMAN IS TOSSED INTO THE AIR BY APOCALYPSE – LUCKILY, SHE CAN FLY – AND A YOUTH THAT CAN’T BE OLDER THAN FIFTEEN IS USING SHARP KNUCKLE BONES TO CUT AWAY AT FLYING DEBRIS. AND IN THE CENTER IS THE HORSEMEN. A GIRL JUMPS AT APOCALYPSE, FISTS RAISED TO ATTACK HIM, WHEN HE SWINGS HIS FIST AT HER. LUCKILY, A PORTAL MOVES HER OVER TO THE SIDELINES AS CLARICE STANDS WITH THE OTHERS.

CLARICE: GUESS WHO’S GOT THE DROP ON WHO NOW!

APOCALYPSE: ON THE CONTRARY, I’VE BEEN EXPECTING YOU ALL.

CLARICE THEN TURNS TO THE OTHERS.

CLARICE: ICARUS, ELIXIR, MORPH, PIXIE, YOU’RE ON CROWD CONTROL! MERCURY, DUST, BLING!, TRY TO SUBDUE KEVIN! X-23, NOCTURNE, YOU HANDLE DAKEN! HELLION, MONET, YOU DEAL WITH KIMURA! ANOLE, LOA, TRY TO TALK TO SOFIA! MAYBE GET HER TO STOP THIS WINDSTORM! ROCKSLIDE, YOU’RE WITH ME! WE’RE GOING STRAIGHT TO THE BIG BOSS.

SANTO: SUH-WEET!

WITH THAT, THE NEW X-MEN CHARGE INTO ACTION.

MEANWHILE, LAURIE SITS OUTSIDE ON THE GRASS, LOOKING AT THE HORIZON. SUDDENLY, AN EYE APPEARS ON THE GROUND, CAUSING LAURIE TO FLINCH A BIT. SHE SAYS HI TO THE EYEBALL, KRAKOA, AND ASKS IF IT SOMETIMES GETS LONELY TOO. SHE SIGHS AND SAYS THAT SHE WANTS TO BE OUT THERE TO HELP HER FRIENDS, BUT BECAUSE OF THAT DAKEN GUY, SHE’S STUCK HERE, TALKING TO THE SCHOOL’S SENTIENT LAWN. SHE JUST WISHED THERE WAS SOMETHING SHE COULD DO.

SUDDENLY, KRAKOA STARTS TO MOVE AWAY AND LAURIE, CONFUSED, ASKS WHERE IT’S GOING. SHE IMMEDIATELY FOLLOWS IT OVER TO A SHADY TREE THAT’S CRACKED DOWN THE MIDDLE. SHE ASKS KRAKOA IF IT’S TRYING TO SHOW HER SOMETHING BEFORE LOOKING AT THE CRACK IN THE TREE. SHE IMMEDIATELY BENDS DOWN AND STARTS TO CRAWL THROUGH THE CRACK, AND ONCE SHE’S IN, SHE NOTICES A STAIRCASE THAT SHE IMMEDIATELY WALKS DOWN.

THE STAIRCASE LEADS LAURIE TO A LARGE ANCIENT LIBRARY FULL OF VINES AND CRYSTALS. LAURIE LOOKS AROUND, AMAZED, WHEN A VINE WITH KRAKOA’S EYEBALL ON TOP OF IT SNAKES DOWN, LEADING LAURIE TO A PEDESTAL WHERE A SCROLL RESTS. UNLIKE THE BOOKS ON THE SHELVES, IT SEEMS BRAND NEW AND LAURIE PICKS IT UP.

LAURIE: “A MUTANT’S HISTORY OF ARAKKO AND THE FALLEN WORLD OF AMENTH, BY IDYLL III OF THE GREAT RING OF ARAKKO.” KRAKOA, IS THIS WHAT YOU WANTED TO SHOW ME?

WHEN KRAKOA DOESN’T RESPOND, LAURIE SITS DOWN AND READS. AS SHE DOES, WE ARE TREATED TO IMAGES BY LENIL FRANCES YU FROM X-MEN #12, DEPICTING THE HISTORY OF ARAKKO.

LAURIE: “THE STORY STARTS AS WAS TOLD TO ME BY MY FATHER, TOLD BY HIS FATHER, LONG AGO: OKKARA, THE ONE TRUE LAND OF MUTANTS. IT WAS ANCIENT BEFORE THAT WORD EXISTED, BUT NOT YET OLD IN THE WAY THEY WERE OLD. THEN, THE TWILIGHT SWORD OF THE ENEMY TORE THE WORLD ASUNDER, AND WHAT WAS ONE, BECAME TWO. AND FROM THAT CHASM BETWEEN THEM – FROM THAT DARK WORLD – THE ENEMY POURED INTO THIS WORLD.”

LAURIE CONTINUES TO READ ALOUD, INTRIGUED.

LAURIE: “UNTIL, AT GREAT COST, THE ARMY OF THE ENEMY – ALONG WITH ARAKKO ITSELF – WERE PUSHED BACK THROUGH, AND THE CHASM WAS SHUT. BUT LIKE ALL STORIES OLD ENOUGH TO GROW IN THE TELLING, IT SOMETIMES BECOMES DIFFICULT TO SEPARATE FACT FROM FICTION… OR TRUTH FROM LIES. SOME SAY A GREAT WARRIOR STAYED BEHIND TO PREVENT THAT WORLD FROM FALLING. TO SEAL THE BREACH AND SAVE WHAT COULD BE SAVED. AFTER ALL, THAT WARRIOR WAS APOCALYPSE, THE WARRIOR-GOD IN BLUE – THE GREAT RESEEDER –THE FIRST MUTANT OF THE SECOND GENERATION OF MUTANTDOM ON EARTH. BUT THERE ARE OTHERS WHO TELL STORIES OF BETRAYAL – OF SACRIFICING HIS FAMILY TO PRESERVE HIMSELF AND WHAT LITTLE COULD BE SAVED.”

AS LAURIE CONTINUES TO READ, AND AS THE SLIDESHOW CONTINUES, WE CUT TO A STILL IMAGE IN MUTANT TOWN. HERE, JAY IS CARRYING A WILLOWY MUTANT GIRL WITH TRANSLUCENT SKIN. JOSH IS BUSY HEALING A BOY MADE OF STONE, MORPH IS STRETCHING TO PROTECT SOME KIDS FROM DEBRIS, AND MEGAN IS SCREAMING AT A CROWD OF GAWKERS TO GET THE HELL OUT OF THERE.

LAURIE: “FINALLY, THERE ARE WHISPERS OF SOMETHING WORSE… JUDGEMENT AND SLAVERY TO FATE – THAT HE WAS A PRISONER TO THE WHIMS OF OTHERS. THE ONLY SURE TRUTH THAT SURVIVES ALL TELLING IS THIS: WHAT SHOULD NEVER HAVE BEEN CLEAVED IN TWO WAS SEPARATED FOREVER… HUSBAND FROM WIFE. PARENT FROM CHILD. ARAKKO FROM KRAKOA. AND FROM ONE TRAUMA, THE MUTANTS OF ARAKKO PLUNGED THEMSELVES INTO THE HELL OF THE NEXT ONE.”

ANOTHER STILL IMAGE APPEARS WITH THE SLIDESHOW STILL IN THE BACKGROUND, TRANSPARENT BUT VISIBLE ENOUGH FOR PEOPLE TO SEE BOTH PICTURES. IN THIS NEW IMAGE, CESSILY IS TRYING TO WRAP AROUND KEVIN WHILE ROXY FIRES CRYSTAL DAGGERS AT HIM AND SOORAYA, IN SAND FORM, SURROUND ALL THREE IN A DUST STORM.

LAURIE: “WHAT WAITED FOR THEM WAS NOT AN ARMY… NO. FOR SOME, IT MEANT MADNESS. FOR THE REST, IT WAS THE WASTELAND OF A WORLD CALLED AMENTH. A BLACK WORLD. A FALLEN WORLD. WHAT THEY SAW SURPRISED THEM. A DESOLATE NOTHING LITTERED WITH THE BODIES OF DEFEATED ENEMIES. ALL KNEW THIS HANDIWORK – ALL RECOGNIZED THE BLACK ACTS OF THE WHITE SWORD AND HIS ONE HUNDRED CHAMPIONS. HE WAS NOWHERE TO BE SEEN – NO TRACE OF HIM REMAINED – BUT HIS BLOODY HAND HAD BROUGHT ARAKKO TIME. AND WITH THAT TIME, WE WORKED WONDERS. IT WAS AN AGE OF LEGENDS. A MIRACLE OF MUTANTDOM. MUCH OF THE WORK DONE BY BRACE MUTANT ALCHEMISTS AND ENGINEERS STILL STANDS TO THIS DAY.”

CUT TO ANOTHER STILL IMAGE. LAURA IS CLASHING WITH DAKEN, CLAWS OUT FOR BOTH, AS THEY ARE LOCKED IN HEATED BATTLE. MEANWHILE, TJ IS NEARBY, FIRING HEX BOLTS AT DAKEN TO LEAVE HIM OPEN FOR LAURA’S ATTACKS.

LAURIE: “NOT ALL, OF COURSE. NOW ONLY A FEW REMAIN, BUT THEN THERE WERE TEN TOWERS, AND THE LAND BETWEEN THEM WAS OURS. AND WHEN THE ARMY OF AMENTH CAME, FINALLY, WE SHOWED THEM NO MERCY. AND FOR THOUSANDS OF YEARS, THE TOWERS HELD AND THE HORDE DIED AT OUR BORDER. GENERATIONS OF MUTANTS LIVED AND DIED NEVER KNOWING DEFEAT. CHILDREN OF WAR – STRONG AND FIT FOR THE DAYS IN WHICH THEY LIVED.”

THE IMAGE CHANGES AGAIN. NOW, KIMURA IS FIRING BULLETS AT HER ATTACKERS WILDLY, BUT THEY EITHER BOUNCE OFF MONET OR FLOAT HARMLESSLY IN FRONT OF JULIAN. MONET IS DELIVERING A PUNCH TO KIMURA’S CHEST AS JULIAN FIRES BLASTS OF TELEKINETIC ENERGY AT HER.

LAURIE: “BUT THEY LIVED ONLY INSIDE OUR WALLS. IT MADE US ARROGANT AND IGNORANT OF WHAT AMENTH TRULY WAS. WHEN MY FATHER, THE HIGH MUTANT PROPHET IDYLL, WENT BLIND AFTER SEEING THE FALL OF OUR GREAT TOWERS, PEOPLE SAY GENESIS LAUGHED AT HIM AND THREATENED TO REMOVE HIS WEAK HEAD FROM HIS WEAK SHOULDERS. GENESIS. THE AUTHORITY OF ARAKKO. THE MOTHER OF THE HORSEMEN. THE WIFE OF APOCALYPSE. AND INSTEAD OF STRIKING HIM DOWN, SHE RAISED AN ARMY…”

THE IMAGE ONCE AGAIN CHANGES. NOW, IT SEEMS THAT ANOLE IS TRYING TO TALK TO A SCARED SOFIA WHILE HOLDING ONTO A TREE CAUGHT IN HER STORM. MEANWHILE, LOA IS PHASING THROUGH DEBRIS, LEAVING IT CRUMBLED IN HER WAKE.

LAURIE: “THEY WERE GONE FOR TWENTY YEARS. EVERY FEW MONTHS, WORD WOULD ARRIVE OF THEIR CONQUESTS – AND ALL OF ARAKKO WOULD CELEBRATE. WE FEASTED ON VICTORY – IT WAS OUR BIRTHRIGHT – AND GENESIS FED US WELL. THEN, TWO CENTURIES AGO, OUR ARMY FELL SILENT. LATER, WE WOULD LEARN THAT THEY HAD REACHED THE IVORY SPIRE; THE STRONGHOLD OF THE LONG-THOUGHT LOST WHITE SWORD, PURITY. HE WAS OUR GREATEST HEALER – IMMORTAL… EXTERNAL. EACH MORNING, THE WHITE SWORD RESURRECTED HIS ONE HUNDRED CHAMPIONS AND RODE OUT TO SLAUGHTER AMENTHI DAEMONS. WARRING UNTIL THE LAST SOLDIER IN HIS ARMY DIED. ONLY TO BEGIN AGAIN THE NEXT DAY.”

A FINAL IMAGE APPEARS. IN THIS ONE, SANTO IS GLEEFULLY EXCHANGING BLOWS WITH APOCALYPSE WHILE HE AVOIDS GETTING SKEWERED BY BLINK’S BLADES. SHE FIGHTS WITH THE SAME DETERMINATION SHOWN BY GENESIS IN THE SLIDESHOW.

LAURIE: “GENESIS SAID THAT THE CYCLE OF DEATH AND RESURRECTION HAD BECOME HIS RELIGION. SHE SAID HE HAD BECOME JUST AS ALIEN AS THE HORDE HE RAGED AGAINST, AND WE MUTANTS OF ARAKKO WERE THE SAME TO HIM. WE TASTED OUR FIRST DEFEAT AT THE HANDS OF OUR OWN. WE HEARD NOTHING FOR SIX YEARS, AND THEN – HAVING ESCAPED BY UNTOLD AND NEVER SPOKEN MEANS – GENESIS AND THE FEW WHO SURVIVED RETURNED HOME TO ARAKKO.”

THE SLIDESHOW RESUMES THE MAIN FOCUS AS LAURIE CONTINUES.

LAURIE: “THEY RETURNED… ONLY TO FIND MORE DEFEAT WAITING FOR THEM. ISCA THE TRAITOR. ISCA THE UNBEATEN. HER MUTANT POWER WAS THAT SHE COULD NOT LOSE – AND IT WAS HER POWER THAT FORCED HER TO JOIN AMENTH IN THE WAR AGAINST HER PEOPLE. UNDERSTAND? THEY HAD TO. THEY WERE GOING TO WIN… AND SHE CANNOT LOSE. ISCA HAD BEEN SENT TO INVITE GENESIS TO PARLAY WITH ANNIHILATION – THE GOD OF AMENTH – AT THE SEAT OF THE GOLDEN HELM’S POWER IN THE CAPITAL CITY OF AMENTH. NO ONE KNOWS WHAT WORDS PASSED BETWEEN THEM, JUST THAT GENESIS ACCEPTED HER SISTER’S INVITATION.”

LAURIE: “IT IS SAID THE GREAT HALL OF ANNIHILATION WAS FULL THAT DAY. THAT THE FULL MIGHT OF AMENTH WAS WITNESSED FOR THE FIRST TIME. AMENTHI DAEMONS AND WORSE WERE WAITING WHEN GENESIS ARRIVED. I WONDER, WERE THEY SILENT AS GENESIS APPROACHED ANNIHILATION’S THRONE? DID THEY SCREAM AND RAGE? OR DID THEY MOCK AND JEER?”

LAURIE: “ALL WE KNOW FOR SURE IS THIS: THEY BATTLED TO THE DEATH WITH THE FATE OF ARAKKO IN THE BALANCE. AND THEN… ANNIHILATION DISAPPEARED. AND IRONICALLY, WITH HER WAS ALL HOPE FOR ARAKKO. YOU SEE, THEIR GOD IS CALLED ANNIHILATION FOR A REASON. FOR ONE HUNDRED YEARS, THE MAD HORDE – THE TRUE MIGHT OF AMENTH – BATTERED THE WALLS OF ARAKKO EVEN WITHOUT THEIR LEADER. MUTANTS DIED. TOWERS FELL. BUT SOMEHOW… WE HELD.”

LAURIE: “BECAUSE THERE WAS STILL HOPE. HOPE THAT SOMEWHERE, THE GREAT WARRIOR HAD RAISED A NEW MUTANT SOCIETY, A GREATER ONE – AND WITH IT, A MUTANT ARMY THAT COULD SAVE US ALL. WE HELD OUT… UNTIL WE COULDN’T ANY LONGER, AND I WAS ORDERED TO WRITE THIS MESSAGE.”

WE THEN CUT BACK TO THE SECRET LIBRARY AS LAURIE FINISHES READING.

LAURIE: “ARAKKO IS UNDER SIEGE. GREAT APOCALYPSE, WE ARE OUT OF TIME. AMENTH IS ON THE MARCH… AND ONLY YOU CAN SAVE US.”

WE THEN CUT BACK OVER TO THE BATTLE IN MUTANT TOWN AS VICTOR YELLS TO SOFIA, TELLING HER TO STOP BEFORE SOMEONE GETS HURT. SOFIA LOOKS AT HIM AND SAYS SHE CAN’T. SHE HAS TO DO THIS FOR CLARICE. VICTOR TELLS HER TO LOOK AROUND. CLARICE IS ALL RIGHT, AND SHE’S FIGHTING FOR SOFIA. HE THEN ASKS HER IF THIS IS WHAT SHE REALLY WANTS.

MEANWHILE, DAKEN COMPLIMENTS LAURA’S SKILL, AND SHE TELLS HIM THAT HE IS CLEARLY A WORTHY OPPONENT, BUT IT’S HIS CLAWS THAT CONFUSE HER. DAKEN SMIRKS AND SAYS THAT IT’S HERS THAT CONFUSE HIM.

DAKEN: PLEASE, DON’T TELL ME YOU’RE ANOTHER PRODUCT OF MY FATHER’S AFFAIRS.

LAURA GASPS.

LAURA: FATHER…?

DAKEN: YEAH. YOU KNOW HIM AS… LOGAN.

LAURA IS SHOCKED, AND DAKEN KICKS HER TO THE GROUND. TALIA YELLS IN SURPRISE AND FIRES MORE HEX BOLTS AT HIM, MEANWHILE, KIMURA TRADES BLOWS WITH MONET, BEFORE TURNING OVER TO A WOUNDED MUTANT BOY WITH BUGLIKE EYES. SHE SMIRKS AS SHE POINTS HER GUN AT HIM, MUCH TO SOFIA’S DISMAY.

SOFIA: KIMURA, NO!

BEFORE KIMURA CAN FIRE, SOFIA EXTENDS HER HAND, AND A GUST OF WIND KNOCKS THE ASSASSIN AGAINST A WALL. APOCALYPSE LOOKS AROUND BEFORE SHOVING SANTO INTO CLARICE. HE THEN ORDERS HIS HORSEMEN TO RETREAT AS CLARICE LOOKS AT SOFIA.

CLARICE: SOFIA, PLEASE! COME BACK WITH US!

SOFIA: I…

BEFORE SOFIA CAN RESPOND, SHE VANISHES ALONG WITH APOCALYPSE AND THE OTHER HORSEMEN, LEAVING THE NEW X-MEN ALONE IN THE STREET. ALL IS QUIET, UNTIL A VOICE IS HEARD.

BOY: X-MEN. X-MEN. X-MEN. X-MEN!

SUDDENLY, MORE VOICES JOIN IN, CHANTING LOUDLY AS THE STUDENTS GET UP AND LOOK AROUND. JULIAN TURNS TO CESSILY AND ASKS WHAT THEY SHOULD DO NOW.

CESSILY: SMILE AND WAVE, BOYS. SMILE AND WAVE.

BACK IN EGYPT, THE HORSEMEN TELEPORT INTO THEIR HIDEOUT AND KIMURA GRABS SOFIA, ASKING HER WHAT SHE WAS THINKING. SOFIA GLARES AT HER AND SAYS THAT SHE WASN’T GOING TO LET HER MURDER AN INNOCENT CHILD. KIMURA HUFFS, TELLING HER THAT SHE’S STILL THINKING LIKE AN X-MAN, AND IF SHE CONTINUES ON, SHE HAS NO PLACE HERE.

SOFIA: I DON’T EVEN WANT TO BE HERE! THIS WAS A MISTAKE! I NEVER SHOULD HAVE AGREED TO THIS!

KIMURA: WELL, NOW. THAT CHANGES THINGS.

KIMURA LOOKS AT SOFIA WITH A SMIRK AND TELLS HER THAT IF SHE WANTS TO LEAVE, THE DOOR IS OPEN. BUT IF SHE DOES, KIMURA WILL SEE TO IT THAT HER GIRLFRIEND WILL GET A BULLET IN HER PRETTY LITTLE SKULL. SOFIA GLARES AT HER BEFORE STORMING OUT THE ROOM.

MEANWHILE, THE TRAINEES ARRIVE BACK AT XAVIER’S TO FIND THEIR FELLOW STUDENTS CELEBRATING THEIR RETURN. THEY SMILE AS THEY’RE BOMBARDED WITH QUESTIONS AND COMMENTS WHILE DANI ADMITS THAT SHE’S PROUD OF THEM. SHE THEN LOOKS AT LAURA AND ASKS HER IF SHE’S ALL RIGHT, AND LAURA TELLS HER THAT SHE NEEDS TO CALL LOGAN.

MEANWHILE, CESSILY TURNS TO CLARICE, WHO’S ABOUT TO LEAVE, AND ASKS HER WHAT’S UP. CLARICE TELLS HER THAT SHE’S TIRED, AND CESSILY NODS, TURNING TO LAURIE AS SHE WALKS IN, SCROLL IN HAND, SAYING THAT THERE’S SOMETHING SHE NEEDS TO SHOW THEM.

IN CLARICE AND LAURIE’S ROOM, CLARICE THROWS HERSELF ONTO HER BED IN TEARS. SHE LOOKS UP AND SEES SOFIA’S BRACELET THAT SHE PLACES IN HER HAND. MUSIC STARTS TO PLAY AS CLARICE STARTS TO SING “GHOST” BY JUSTIN BIEBER, LAMENTING ABOUT HER LONGING FOR SOFIA. AS THE CHORUS STARTS, CLARICE GETS UP AND STARTS TO DANCE TO THE MUSIC, SHOWING HER GRIEF.

MEANWHILE, SOFIA SINGS ALONG AS WELL, SITTING ALONE IN A DARK ROOM. SHE ALSO DANCES ALONG, HER DRESS BLOWING IN THE WIND AS BOTH GIRLS’ VOICES ARE HEARD.

CLARICE: AND IF I CAN’T BE CLOSE TO YOU, I’LL SETTLE FOR THE GHOST OF YOU. I MISS YOU MORE THAN LIFE.

SOFIA: AND IF YOU CAN’T BE NEXT TO ME, YOUR MEMORY IS ECSTASY. I MISS YOU MORE THAN LIFE. I MISS YOU MORE THAN LIFE.

AS THE SONG STARTS TO END, WE SEE CLARICE HOLD SOFIA’S BRACELET IN HER HAND AS SHE CRUMPLES TO THE FLOOR. MEANWHILE, SOFIA FINISHES THE SONG AS SHE WALKS OUT THE ROOM, A SAD BUT DETERMINED LOOK ON HER FACE.

LATER, SOFIA WALKS INTO ANOTHER ROOM WHERE APOCALYPSE STANDS. HE TELLS HER THAT HE’S BEEN EXPECTING HER AND ASKS HER WHAT’S ON HER MIND.

SOFIA: I’M DONE. I MEANT WHAT I SAID BACK THERE, I NEVER SHOULD HAVE AGREED TO YOUR DEAL. I WANT TO GO BACK TO CLARICE. TO MY FRIENDS. IT’S OVER.

APOCALYPSE STARTS TO LAUGH AS SOFIA STANDS DEFIANTLY.

APOCALYPSE: CHILD, YOU KNOW I CAN’T ALLOW THAT.

SOFIA: WHICH IS WHY I’M HERE. TO DO THIS.

IN THE BLINK OF AN EYE, SOFIA GRABS A SWORD MOUNTED ON THE WALL AND CHARGES APOCALYPSE. HOWEVER, HE PARRIES WITH A BLADE OF HIS OWN. APOCALYPSE THEN TELLS HER THAT THIS INTRIGUES HIM, AND HE OFFERS A FIGHT FOR SOFIA’S FREEDOM.

AS THEY BATTLE, APOCALYPSE WARNS SOFIA THAT HE IS A GOD. HE HAS CRUSHED VARIOUS ENEMIES THAT ARE WAY MORE POWERFUL THAN HER. SOFIA DOESN’T CARE, AND CONTINUES TO THRUST HER SWORD FORWARD. APOCALYPSE TELLS HER THAT SHE COULD HAVE BEEN AN ALL-POWERFUL DEMIGOD. SHE COULD RULE THE WORLD.

SOFIA: I WANT NONE OF THAT. I WANT WHAT I HAD, AND I WILL. NOT. FAIL!

SOFIA THEN DELIVERS A KICK TO APOCALYPSE’S FACE, KNOCKING OFF HIS MASK. BEFORE HE CAN RESPOND, SHE THEN THRUSTS HER BLADE FORWARD, STABBING HIM IN THE ABDOMEN. HE FALLS TO HIS KNEES AS SOFIA HOLDS HER BLADE TRIUMPHANTLY.

SOFIA: I WIN.

SUDDENLY, LAUGHTER RINGS THROUGH THE ROOM, AND APOCALYPSE LOOKS AROUND AS IF HE IS SEEING THE ROOM FOR THE FIRST TIME. THEN, HE LOOKS AT THE MASK ON THE GROUND.

APOCALYPSE: NO. NO! CHILD, WHAT HAVE YOU DONE! YOU MUST LEAVE THIS PLACE! NOW!

VOICE: TOO LATE.

ALL OF A SUDDEN, THE GOLDEN MASK SKIDS TO SOFIA’S FEET. CURIOUS, SHE BENDS DOWN AND PICKS IT UP, AND THE MASK LATCHES ON TO HER FACE. SOFIA STRUGGLES FOR A WHILE, BUT EVENTUALLY, SHE STOPS, AND STANDS IN FRONT OF APOCALYPSE, CLAD IN THE GOLDEN MASK.

“SOFIA”: YOU WERE A WORTHY HOST, EN SABAH NUR, BUT THIS CHILD HAS PROVEN HERSELF FIT TO SURVIVE.

APOCALYPSE: WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO HER?

“SOFIA”: I WILL GIVE HER CREDIT. SHE TRIED TO FIGHT ME. BUT IN THE END, IT WAS FUTILE. I BANISHED HER SOUL FROM HER BODY. SHE IS GONE.

APOCALYPSE: NO!

IMMEDIATELY, APOCALYPSE STAGGERS UP, CLUTCHING HIS CHEST. “SOFIA” RAISES HER SWORD, READY TO STRIKE, WHEN APOCALYPSE PRESSES SOMETHING ON HIS BELT AND VANISHES. “SOFIA” TURNS TO SEE DAKEN, KIMURA, AND WITHER STANDING IN THE DOORWAY.

DAKEN: SOFIA? WHAT HAPPENED?

“SOFIA”: THERE IS NO SOFIA ANYMORE. JUST LIKE THERE WAS NO APOCALYPSE. IT WAS ME ALL ALONG.

WITHER: AND WHO ARE YOU?

“SOFIA” STRIDES OUT OF THE ROOM, INTO THE CENTER OF THE HALLWAY. SHE THROWS HER ARMS OUT WIDE AND SPEAKS AGAIN.

“SOFIA”: I AM ANNIHILATION, GODDESS OF DEATH. ONCE, I RULED AMENTH, BUT I WAS BROUGHT HERE BY THAT FOOL, FREDRICK SLADE. I KILLED HIM, OF COURSE, AND NOW, I AM HERE TO CONQUER THIS PLANET, JUST AS I DID A MILLENNIA AGO. AND YOU, MY HORSEMEN, WILL HELP ME DO IT.

THERE’S A BRIEF PAUSE BEFORE KIMURA SPEAKS UP.

KIMURA: SOUNDS FINE TO ME.

WITHER: ME TOO.

ANNIHILATION LOOKS AT DAKEN, HER BODY CONTORTING LIKE A DEMON.

ANNIHILATION: WELL?

DAKEN: I… I’M IN.

ANNIHILATION: EXCELLENT. NOW, IT’S TIME TO GET DOWN TO BUSINESS.

ANNIHILATION THROWS HER HEAD BACK AND LAUGHS AS KIMURA AND WITHER FLANK HER. MEANWHILE, THE CAMERA ZOOMS IN ON DAKEN AS HE LOOKS ALMOST REGRETFUL. WITH THAT, THE CAMERA FADES TO BLACK AND THE EPISODE ENDS.

[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.

[dinelskede]

𝐛𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐬𝐡𝐞𝐥𝐟 ♡︎

violet bent backwards over the grass - lana del rey

letters from a stoic - seneca

crime and punishment - dostoevsky

notes from underground - dostoevsky

the idiot - dostoevsky

karamazov brothers - dostoevsky

bell jar - plath

journals of sylvia plath - plath

collected poems - plath

letters of sylvia plath - plath

stitches - junji ito

kafka: manga adaption - nishioka kyoudai

metamorphosis - kafka

amerika - kafka

the castle - kafka

the trial - kafka

the diaries of franz kafka - kafka

crossing the water - plath

intercourse - dworkin

pornography - dworkin

life and death - dworkin

last days at hot slit - dworkin

myth of sisyphus - camus

beyond good and evil - nietzsche

specter of the absurd - donald a. crosby

the will to power - nietzsche

diary of a young girl - anne frank

reach for the sky - paul brickhill

hiroshima - john hersey

comfort woman - nora okja keller

fathers and sons - ivan turgenev

a short history of decay - e. m. cioran

wintergirls - laurie halse anderson

child of god - mccarthy

winter trees - plath

ariel - plath

exquisite corpse - poppy z. brite

unit 731 - peter williams & david wallace

mercy - dworkin

our blood - dworkin

right wing women - dworkin

invisible monsters - palahniuk

lullaby - palahniuk

when nietzsche wept - irvin d. yalom

a hero of our time - lermontov

devils / demons - dostoevsky

white - bret easton ellis

the stranger - camus

the plague - camus

teatro grottesco - ligotti

the trouble with being born - e. m. cioran

temptation to exist - e. m. cioran

anathemas and admirations - e. m. cioran

the painted bird - kosinski

steps - kosinski

the road - mccarthy

no country for old men - mccarthy

blood meridian - mccarthy

nothing - janne teller

woodcutters - bernhard

the loser - bernhard

concrete - bernhard

goethe dies - bernhard

extinction - bernhard

wittgensteins nephew - bernhard

herscht - krasznahorkai

satantango - krasznahorkai

melancholy of resistance - krasznahorkai

seiobo there below - krasznahorkai

war and war - krasznahorkai

chasing homer - krasznahorkai

the world goes on - krasznahorkai

no exit - jean paul sartre

nausea - jean paul sartre

one hand clapping - burgess

i have 2 of these so far :3

[xprojectrpg]

This Day in X-Project - January 31

PHASE 2

2015: Amanda posts to announce she’s created an area of remembrance for M-Day in an alcove with a stone that has a flame inside it magicked to never go out. Wanda emails Cammie and Jubilee asking to be reimbursed for having to work in a coffee shop all day the day before. Amanda emails the Phase 1 survivors to tell them about the remembrance area she set up. Jean and Warren finally go on their date and Jean learns more about Worthington Industries. Topaz texts Hope A. telling her she has wine. Cecilia posts asking that whoever stole her wine and left her money leave a note next time instead. Laurie posts to inform everyone she is taking Doug for dinner. The Foundation for Genetic Purity in Brownsville, NY collapses in such a way as to baffle authorities. Angelo posts asking if the building collapsed on its own. Adrienne posts to announce that she and Kane are away at the Plaza for the weekend and that she won’t be returning to the mansion afterwards, choosing to stay at her penthouse in the city instead. Julian goes to find Doreen to discuss the death of Monkey Joe.

2016: Operation: Mutant Massacre: Wade provides updates on the Morlock investigation on xp_teams about the Carlysle Medical Center, which is linked to the phone obtained from Sabretooth by X-Factor. The Two Sided Coin of Ambition: X-Factor starts looking into who might benefit from the information stolen from Keller Industries.

2017: Bobby texts Warren asking for help with cheering up Miles. Hope A. meets her father for a meal and they reconnect. Bobby leaves a birthday cake and a stack of visual novels for Miles.

2018: Maya takes over the music room with heavy metal to help her study. Angelica posts a philosophical question about Groundhog Day. Clea talks to Amanda about not talking to her parents about her birth “family” and finds out Snow Valley needs reception help.

2019: Clint expresses his frustration at the impact the government shutdown has had on his scientist contacts’ projects.

2020: Laurie announces she’s about to start her night shift rotation in the ER. Celeste Cuckoo emails Marie-Ange about the Ship of Theseus. Natasha lets people know that Clint has left for an unknown amount of time.

2021:

2022:

2023: Forge e-mails eXcalibur brainstorming ideas for portal containment. Marie-Ange pulls a copy of The Kirby-style Emperor card and needs an explanation.

2024: Finally released from the medlab, Arthur and Haller have a talk about Arthur's previous actions. Stephen posts an update for the medlab. Clarice shares a picture, not missing winter in New York in the slightest. Sam meets Shatterstar and they spar. Following this, Sam emails Kyle and Alani to ask to be involved with the GenX training. Sam texts Clint to tell him about his spar. Amanda uses Kevin S. as a source to help heal Darcy's hand. Liam finds Jessie settling in, and they chat.

[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!

[dailyfocusupward]

THE PRODIGAL GOD | Parable of the Prodigal Son | Powerful Christian Inspiration Sermon

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vvnlFw42ZQQ This powerful compilation of inspirational sermons on the parable Jesus told about the prodigal son, found in the Gospel of Luke, is a story about a father who welcomes back his wayward son with open arms, illustrating God's unconditional love and forgiveness for those who repent and return to Him, no matter how far they have strayed; it emphasizes the theme of grace and the joy of reconciliation when a sinner returns to God. Speakers: Charles Stanley Buddy Owens Gary Hamrick Tim Keller Greg Laurie John Macarthur 🔔 Shine bright in your Christian walk! Subscribe for daily biblical wisdom, empowering sermons, motivational messages, and faith-building content. https://www.youtube.com/@DailyFocusUpward/?sub_confirmation=1 🔗 Stay Connected With Us. 👉 Twitter (X): https://ift.tt/75BQfdW 📩 For Business Inquiries: dailyfocusupward@gmail.com ============================= 🎬 Recommended Playlists 👉 Choose To Know Seek Follow Obey Love Honor God https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLgg7uePLulSnWMCRRjn6s2p8yK9zvd9gG 👉 Shorts https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLgg7uePLulSnCCy3f2G8mMcrVpGag0xd1 🎬 WATCH OUR OTHER VIDEOS: 👉 Put God First | Idols Will Break Your Heart | Prioritize Jesus | Christian Motivation & Inspiration https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PGs66MfXIU8 👉 Thank God Every Night | Bedtime Prayer & Meditation | Calming Sleep Routine | End Your Day In Peace https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=38Ka6OoTciw 👉 Choose to Trust In God | Christian Inspirational & Motivational Video | Sermon on Trusting God https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dqem9mZt6MY 👉 Choose To Be Grateful to God | Christian Inspirational & Motivational Video | Sermon on Thankfulness https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q8p1Ji6Eb0E 👉 Choose To Forgive | The Gift Of Forgiveness | Christian Inspirational & Motivational Video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ws5wiN4gA1o&t=18s ============================= ✅ About Daily Focus Upward. Welcome to our channel, Daily Focus Upward! We aim to communicate Biblical teaching through powerful sermons that inspire, encourage, and equip believers for God's glory. The Christian walk requires daily, upward focus. We pray these videos are a blessing to you, and if so, we encourage you to like, share and subscribe to our channel. "Those who are wise will shine as bright as the sky, and those who lead many to righteousness will shine like the stars forever." Daniel 12:3 For Collaboration and Business inquiries, please use the contact information below: 📩 Email: dailyfocusupward@gmail.com 🔔 Unlock powerful sermons and transform your faith! Subscribe for daily biblical teachings, inspiring messages, and encouraging content. https://www.youtube.com/@DailyFocusUpward/?sub_confirmation=1 ================================= #dailyfocusupward #christianmotivation #christianinspiration #christianencouragement #prodigal ⚠️ DISCLAIMER: We do not accept any liability for any loss or damage incurred from you acting or not acting as a result of watching any of our publications. You acknowledge that you use the information we provide at your own risk. Do your research. Copyright Notice: This video and our YouTube channel contain dialogue, music, and images that are the property of Daily Focus Upward. You are authorized to share the video link and channel and embed this video in your website or others as long as a link back to our YouTube channel is provided. © Daily Focus Upward via Daily Focus Upward https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCREbePCZFUdW8TbVnLbggmA January 03, 2025 at 05:39AM