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#like the only thing keeping me going with corporate animation news

oncomingnight · 10 months

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Yandere! Barbie Girl ⋆ ˚｡⋆୨୧˚

poc reader ᧔𐓪᧓˚ ༘ ೀ⋆｡˚

Unfortunately, I haven't gotten the chance to watch the most recent Barbie movie but I will be seeing Oppenheimer tonight :) very excited. This post was inspired by Margot Robbie as the original Barbie but I didn't make the setting of this piece the Barbie movie, keep that in mind :)! Please feel free to talk to me and request works in my ask box, I love speaking with all of you.

She was absolutely beautiful, always making sure she was properly groomed. $79 glittery pink glass on her plump lips, french tip acrylic nails, gorgeous locs of honey blonde hair falling down her back.

Barbara was a self-made woman. She earned a diploma in international business before becoming the chief executive officer of her own company. Thanks to not only her job but knowledge, she earns enough to set you both for life. Because of the morals her father raised her with, she knows how to treat a wornan, and takes full advantage of this to take care of you.

She is the personification of the quote Dolly Parton made about being an entrepreneur. "You know, I look like a woman but I think like a man And in this world of business, that has helped me a lot. Because by the time they think that I don't know what's goin' on, I then got my money, and gone."

Barbara spends her hard-earned money mindfully. She' donate to her choice of charities, gift inventory to soup kitchens, give away basic needs to shelters, she particularly enjoys fostering animals with you.

Another thing she enjoys using her money for is to show you the beauties of the world. Flying to Istanbul to taste the delicious flavors of a Turkish breakfast, taking you shopping in New York, London, Paris, Dubai and having a hot springs spa day with you.

You're outrageously spoiled and doted on by her. It's HER job to show you exactly how thankful she is for you, it fills her with undetainable rage to think about someone else trying to make you happy and take you away from her. Of course, you'd never leave her for anybody else, she just can't help but overthink.

Because of her severely accomplished corporation, she's expected to attend specific events. Does she have the money to hire a top tier tearn to help ready the two of you? Yes, but she can help you herself. She will zip your dress up. She will apply makeup to your soft and beautifully crafted face, she will be the one to kneel and apply the shoes she carefully selected to your feet.

She will be the one to take your hand in her perfectly manicured one in front of all the cameras.

Soon, your hand will have a ring with a pink sapphire settled on one of your fingers. She'll make sure the proposal goes absolutely perfectly.

She takes you on the loveliest dates and some of them are stay-in nights. She'll take out your matching silk pajamas out of her walk-in closet, place bunches of pillows and plushies onto her couch, prepare your favorite snacks + beverages and get your most favored movie/shows onto the TV.

Every time the two of you go for a day out, you find at least one of her arms wrapped around your waist. Barbara will hug you from the back while settling her face onto your shoulder, either standing in silence or talking to you mindlessly.

"whatcha doin' :)?" "I had a plan for what we could do tonight." "While I was at work today, I was thinking about where we could go for our honeymoon."

She'd admit (without shame) that she's a clingy wife. You could be preparing dough for some baked goods and she'll be hugging you tightly from behind, being shoulder to shoulder with you, holding your hand no matter what you're doing, asking to bathe and shower with you (in a sweet way) so she can help wash you but she just enjoys being near you.

Obviously.

She goes all out during Christmas, anniversaries, holidays, etc. On the morning of your birthday, she'll wake you up with dozens of kisses on your face, presents wrapped in pastel colored paper, your favorite foods that she cooked herself, homemade baked treats she learned to make from her parents, she'll also quickly mention that she booked a cabin and how your flight is set for that exact day.

Better hurry and get ready, babe! :)

Christmas is her absolute favorite holiday as it is for millions of people but no one celebrates like her. The whole house is decked out in decoration, inside and out. A white tree accompanied with ornaments, each painted with individually unique designs by the two of you. She doesn't set out some of the more special presents under the tree because she wants to keep you guessing in the best way. Each present meant for you will have a tag on them that has writing about how much she adores you.

Winter is the best season to cuddle with the one you love. She takes that to her advantage as well! Barbara will set you down onto her pink satin couch that has multiple blankets on it to cuddle in front of the fireplace with you, old timey Christmas music on the record player.

Hello everyone! I hope you enjoyed reading this, it was supposed to come out earlier today but Tumblr was being a bit difficult so I had to make some changes but , hopefully, it still pleased some of you. I'll post some more tomorrow and I will let you know how I liked the Oppenheimer movie :).

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shirecorn · 5 months

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Your reindeer designs give me such childish joy I can't wait to see the rest. What's your process (aka any advice) for designing from scratch with something like just a name or concept?

Redbubble (buy reindeer swag) || Patreon (see all early!) || Ko-fi

See more free tutorials!

You can see my process unfold in real time by joining any tier of my patreon discord. Which doesn't even have to go through patreon! If you want, you can just pay me $20 and let you in for a year (and then lose track and probably keep you anyway)

Here's a preview using comet! (nevermind the preview thing I wrote you a whole lecture lol)

initial sketches in 2021:

Revisited in 2022 and 2023

I was constantly asking which design was the weakest, why, and how to fix it. Whenever I tested without the magical comet behind it, people could only guess who comet was by process of elimination.

I didn't want to rely on throwing icons into the design. I wanted each one to communicate through shape and silhouette alone. It would be like drawing a little cherub with a bow and arrow floating along with cupid. If you have to include a nametag to communicate, your design can be improved.

So I tried a few different strategies to say "comet" before I realized I could twist the antlers into any shape I wanted. I was worried I would have to discard the drawing and restart from scratch! Which is what I did for rudolph about 6 times before I had a breakthrough.

Then I gave my patrons a brief lesson in antlers to explain where and why I was placing the tines. When I stray from the caribou structure, I do so knowingly in order to achieve something that cannot be achieved within the caribou shape, like dancer's tutu. Know the rules before you break them. My goal is to make animal nerds (myself chief among them) happy when they see species-specific anatomy instead of cop outs.

I tried a few things before figuring out antlers could become comet

Another thing that often caribou have is an unsymmetrical "spork" that comes forward off only one antler. I figured this out by looking at hundreds of reindeer pictures and saving them to my reference folder. A few of my designs have this, that's what the little spiral is in the final comet antler design.

When I put comet in my lineup, I realized that the antlers I drew were way more stylized, chunky, and "tribal" than the others. I had already changed the proportions on one of my designs to match, so then I had to hack away at the basic comet rack to make it look natural.

I already knew that comet's colors would be easy because a basic reindeer already Has the big comet on the shoulder. But here's a peak at all the reindeer images I posted for my patrons to look at.

As you can see below, I chose reindeer markings for all my designs instead of other deer or animals. Even vixen is tied to actually possible reindeer patterns rather than copy-pasting a fox. Almost all of my designs have light-colored anklets on dark colored legs, which is very common with caribou of any color. This is the sort of thing no one tells you; you have to observe it yourself.

Ft cupid's early design! I was continually testing out my reindeer silhouettes and colors on new people, taking their feedback, and fixing what wasn't clicking.

I know I could have made vixen sexy and curvy to play into a recognizable trope, but I really wanted them to be scary and fox-like. Sometimes you gotta do what you want and not what you think will appeal to audiences. Reindeer Days is a purposeful exercise in audience resonance. Most of my art is 100% me and what I feel like doing with no regards to anyone else. So it was a fun challenge!

My patrons also got to see me making fun of corporate designs for recognizably/cliches at the expense of literally anything good

One of these is going to get a lot more "that must be vixen!" results from people who aren't constantly thinking about animal colors, markings, hunting strategies, and teeth.

And one rocks.

Vixen changed the least from the initial 2021 concept!

A Vixen is a female fox. In english slang, it means a cunning, fierce human woman, and sometimes sexually attractive or promiscuous. Quite often an insult to someone because she won't date you!

But to me, a vixen is an animal. A predator.

When designing to reference something, I like to hit it at multiple angles, referencing obscure trivia about something to delight and educate. This is done by researching a topic deeply, far below surface level and beyond what you think you need to make your design. Or in my case its just knowing a bunch of animal trivia already.

After researching/dredging your knowledge, sit there and Think. Don't draw anything. Come up with several ideas and then throw them all in at once for the ultimate trivia design.

Trivia about red foxes:

They have Long bushy tails

They have teeth that include large sharp canines, flat incisors, triangular premolars, and chunky molars with points on them that slide scissor-like with the molars above to cut meat via chewing

They hunt rodents in burrows under the snow by jumping into the air, arcing, and slamming down with their face through the snow

They are orange

They have a dark vertical stripe on their snout

They have black legs, with the backs and bottoms being orange

Translated into the design:

Pose based on a fox jumping, about to land in the snow

Antlers twisted to resemble teeth

Long (for a reindeer) bushy tail

black mark on snout

Some adjustment to the pose to be at the top of the arc and flow better.

Tinkering with the design to make it recognizable but not 100% copypasta fox

I was finally happy with a design that absolutely showed "fox" while still being creative and plausibly caribou shaped. This would absolutely communicate who it is! I thought!

The most obvious one of the bunch! After all, everyone knows what a vixen is!

Nope! No they do not

Want to be part of the design process, help me with WIPs months before everyone else, see exclusive doodles every day, and join a funky little community?

(you also get to see photos of my dog)

Connect your discord to your patreon and join any tier to automatically get added to the server. Not a fan of patreon or monthly subscriptions? message me here, on ko-fi, or via email (shirecorn.art@ gmail.com) and ask if you can pay $20 to get put in the server for at least a year and longer if we work it out later!

This was supposed to be a preview to get you to pay me but instead I wrote an entire lecture for free because I can't help myself.

Want to thank me for the free info? Tag me when you use what you learned! Comment and give feedback! If I could pay rent with attention I would never need anything else in life.

You can also thank me by tipping my ko-fi! I use it to buy pens since I die if I have caffeine. But could you imagine??

#shire screams #shire draws #art tips #art tutorial #character design #character design tutorial #tutorial #behind the scenes #design tutorial #design tips #reindeer days #ask #ramble machine

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beatboxing-puppy · 1 month

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saw some posts on this website discussing what sort of videogames the dunmeshi characters would play and i think everyone is wrong. everyone is wrong except for me so im going to spell out exactly who plays what. putting it under a read more because im going on a damn tangent.

Laios: He's not a gamer he does not play games on purpose he will only ever play video games when his friends ask him to join them in their multiplayer things. One day tho Falin told him about Monster Hunter and now thats the only thing he plays aside from Spore and he has sunk countless hours into that damn game. Also he probably has played Some pokemon but he doesnt like PLAYING it he just likes it in concept he knows the name of all the pokemon

marcille: people keep saying she would be a cosy gamer playing animal crossing and stardew and other cute games ^-^ its so lalalaaaa NO!!!!!!! no she does not. Marcille plays games that stress her out on purpose marcille plays overwhelming micromanagey games like lobotomy corporation and rimworld and etc. She also likes games with deep lore and mysteries to discover. The only thing that doesn't fit in this category that she plays is Minecraft shes always in there CREATIVE MODE building virtual dungeons and other crazy shit. Also she plays on her work laptop with trackpad ok

Chilchuck: This one is for me. This one im just basing off my own dad ok. Chilchuck used to be a hardcore gamer in his youth but specifically he was playing stuff like world of warcraft and old school runescape he had really big setups so he could run several instances of the game at once on all his alt accounts so he could beat a boss by himself and he was really good at it. But then he had kids and didnt have time for this sort of thing so he stopped playing videogames aside from occasionally helping his daughters beat a super hard mario level. Later in life he probably discovered some shitty little low-commitment phone game like pokemon go or pikmin bloom or some daily sudoku puzzle thing and he plays it every day but its not that big a deal. He has been pressured by his friends and daughters to make a roblox account but he hasnt played it at all.

Senshi: THIS guy is the one that plays animal crossing. He logs in when he can but hes not on that every day grind. Also he doesnt play the newest one he doesnt play horizons he plays one of the DS ones. Wild world probably. He either doesn't like or doesn't know about the nintendo switch. Whenever one of his villagers say that they want to leave he'll nod solemnly and say smth like "Well... I suppose it'd be selfish to ask ye to stay, friend... Just promise me you'll stay safe and never forget me... Go and explore the world. Wish ye the best." Plus his island would be covered in weeds. He also has some mobile games he enjoys angry birds and candy crush and crosswords (gotta keep the brain in shape!) but other than that he doesn't videogame much because he prefers board games and tabletop stuff he isnt too jazzed about all this modern technology plus a console or a laptop and all that gaming equipment is a lot to lug around and hes a nomad he would NOT have that shit

Falin: Now FALIN is the cosy gamer. kind of. Falin plays animal crossing new horizons sometimes and has fun making a bad island on purpose. Very mildly "bad" tho the worst she'll do is use the drawing feature to hide a giant penis on the beach or whatever. Or she'll give her villagers silly outfits. She also plays minecraft (either skyblock or she makes a new world and explores and builds a couple houses and then forgets about it and makes another new world) and roblox (likes 'trolling' strangers by dressing up funny and acting kind of strange in roleplay servers but she's never actually mean or anything.) But the big thing she likes is story-driven indie rpgmaker games. She's the person who will say shit like "Yeah I played Blums Booglies the quest for Big Dinners and it was so good I cried for 9 hours" completely unironically.

kabru: social gamer like laios but the games he plays on purpose are the sims (he likes to cause them problems) and online multiplayer games (he likes to peoplewatch). I can also see him doing absurd and tortrous challenge runs of games like No items no pokecenter one type hardcore nuzlockes. im correct

izutsumi: ACTUALLY trolls people on roblox. And she plays needlessly gory flash games. Maybe she calls people dumbfucks over valorant voice chat sometimes

#dungeon meshi #dunmeshi #dunmesh #dunmeshi headcanons

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ponett · 10 months

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with the fallout of bandai namco's idiotic "it's up to interpretation" bs, do you think that it's possible to enjoy queer media made in a corporate environment in addition to independent works? is it even worthwhile to attempt making queer media in a corporate environment? i find it special how well the g-witch production team managed to tell the story they wanted even with the challenges and pressures they faced, but i have to admit that independent works like slarpg are always going to more completely tell queer stories. as someone who has resonated with both slarpg and g-witch, i was curious to know your perspective.

i'm probably less cynical about this than a lot of my peers are - not that i can blame anyone for feeling cynical about queer rep from corporate-owned media. (we've been through so many First Ever Gay Disney Characters at this point, and lord knows blizzard loves to tease that another overwatch character might be gay every year or so as a PR move.) unfortunately it's just extremely hard to get something like a full season of an animated series funded and produced independently, so the artists looking to enter these fields and pour their hearts and souls into meaningful queer stories as a full-time job don't have many options

going indie gives you theoretically endless creative freedom to tell your stories without corporate censorship, but it's also a massive gamble. only an extreme minority of indie creatives in any medium are actually able to make a living. the fact that i came out the other side of slarpg's development with enough money that i can keep being a full-time indie instead of being in massive debt makes me one of the lucky ones. and even with my modest success, i sure as hell don't have the money to hire a whole team, which limits the scope of what i can make. so i can't turn my nose up at the queer people writing disney channel cartoons where they can't say the word "gay" out loud. they have health insurance, i don't. for most people, what i do is simply not an option

with the corporate-produced Queer Stories i enjoy, i'm often able to squint and see what the creatives were trying to do, wishing that they could have done more while understanding that they probably had to fight tooth and nail for what's there

in the realm of children's animation in particular, i'm thankful that the people working at these studios ARE fighting for more, because it means that kids today have so many more positive queer stories to relate with. i didn't have a single gay character i felt i could relate to until i read scott pilgrim at age 16 and saw wallace wells. before that, i felt so alone in the world. i denied who i was for years because it felt like there would be no place for me. i didn't know anyone openly gay in real life, growing up in the south, and in fiction gay people either existed as the butt of a joke or not at all. the fact that queer kids are now able to see people like themselves in so many shows means something, even if we still have a long way to go and the big studios continue to be a major obstacle

on the subject of g-witch, i'm honestly unfazed by the statement from bandai-namco. i guess i wish they could've let suletta and miorine kiss, but like... the text of the show is extremely blunt about them being a couple by the end. it's not up for debate. and it's not like a gundam series having a meaningful story in spite of the wishes of the toy-producing overlords is anything new, this is just our latest example

all that being said, i do think people should branch out more and explore more weird indie shit if they want more wholeheartedly, openly queer stories. people gotta suck it up and embrace more outsider art instead of only valuing things with studio-level production values. start looking at ren'py visual novels, rpg maker games, obscure webcomics, zines drawn in sharpie, artists on bandcamp who aren't signed to a label, all that jazz. maybe part of the reason why i'm not more fazed by the state of affairs with corporate-funded fiction is that i'm constantly surrounded by furry artists who are telling their own little gay stories

#tamamayfox #ask

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matt0044 · 2 months

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Why does Indie Animation lend itself to such intense discourse?

If I had to speculate from my own observations (feel free to call me out on an overgeneralizations), it would be that the harsh turn against any given indie project would be akin to a mother scolding a child with, "I expected this from your sibling but you?!"

See also the "We were rooting for you" gif often tossed around.

Indie Animation be it from a small studio or crowdfunded is seen as bypassing the hoops and hurdles of getting your foot in the door of the highly corporatized entertainment industry. With the likes of Disney or Nick or any given streaming service, creator driven projects are subject to the whims of the company who holds the IP.

And those whims are often to said IP's detriment. It'll more often than not be willfully neglected at best or treated as just something to fill a time slot or shove onto a streaming platform as "content." Enough may be allowed to flourish but their either uncerimoniously cut short at best or being dragged out as a franchise at worst.

To keep from going on about the whole Legend of Korra vs. Spongebob thing (I was there people, there was an LoK fandom believe it or not), indie animation has often been seen as small scale but also within the creator's general control since they control how long it goes or how it's written.

Many cartoons like Gravity Falls, Owl House and Amphibia have talked about trying to get their vision across while contending with a lot of Standards and Practices. Their story which had a "kids and adults alike" target audience would have the top brass insist on something more just for the former category.

While they find work arounds, often to stick their tongue out at the FCC, this can be a hard reminder of who has the final say despite it being what you want. Indie animation is seen as an answer to "What if Alex Hirsch didn't have to comprimise elements of Gravity Falls for the FCC?" or "What if Dana Terrence could just blaze her own trail with The Owl House with little to no notes?"

Especially when it comes to animation with queer characters. Animation made to be "fit for kids" have it tough enough even today but adult animation has to "play it for laughs" since comedies have been the defacto standard for that type of cartoon.

However... a show being creator driven or creative team driven comes as a double edged sword for the fandoms they form. Not all stories that play out across multiple episodes of varying lengths are going in the direction YOU might want to.

Creators might tire of a certain direction or formula and mix things up with things that come to mind almost on the spot. Even with a solid plan, the status quo will get a shake up that can and will alienate those who fell in love from episode one.

Indie Pilots spark the imagination something fierce. There's theories as to what any little detail could mean going forward and speculation on what a character's arc could be. These go wild because Fandom is all about the hypothetical, the unknown, the what could've/should've/would've been. Whole phenomenon would be dead in the water otherwise.

Thing is that not all theories will be proven right if any at all. The creators aren't mind readers and even if it isn't a legality like in corporate, they don't read fanfics if only because they don't want their vision to be totally compromised. Any good creator knows not to just give fans what they want. However... trampling over all these fanfics and theories makes it feel like any given fan had their "child" dragged into the streets to be shot.

A harsh phrasing but that's how a lot of fans act when continuing episode bump up against initial impression of this character or that storyline. It was their creation but new lore, new backstory or what have you is liable to override them. It's been an occupational hazard of being a member of fandom for ages yet it's become the center of a lot of discourse now more than ever. Say thank you to social media for creating such a combative environment everybody.

It's this... feeling of ownership that has existed in fandoms of other shows owned by corporations but amplied by the smaller scale of it, how creators seem more... approachable. And THIS is how the YouTube "critic" scene comes in to capitalize.

So... yeah.

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abnerkrill · 1 year

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Conservatism is baked into pro-fidelity adaptation arguments

Aka, what incorrect lessons the Percy Jackson and Avatar: The Last Airbender adaptations taught fandom, and why the Internet is mostly wrong about The Rings of Power.

I don't particularly like the film adaptations of Percy Jackson and Avatar: The Last Airbender, but it's not because they "changed things" (and it's certainly not for Annabeth's hair color.) They're bad films purely because they're bad films, lacking the original texts' (Riordan's books/the ATLA show) charm, personality, point of view, and humor. Crucially, they both lack the essentials of plot and characterization and contain ill-fitting humor, bombastic CGI, and appeals to "mainstream" popularity that didn't actually appeal to any kind of mainstream because audiences are slightly too sensible to fall for something that cheap.

But fandom as a whole, and a whole rash of individual fans, took the wrong lessons away from these failed adaptations. People started to complain solely about superficial changes made (Annabeth's hair, the poor/problematic ATLA casting) and came to the conclusion that if the adaptations were only more faithful to the source material, they would've made good movies. (Which is why Riordan and the ATLA showrunners now are so hellbent on proving their new takes will be faithful. Because the fans are feral and bloodthirsty about it.)

Which is wrong. Because films are films, not books/animated shows. The medium demands fundamental, structural modifications. Films have more compact run-times than books and animated shows, and different dramatic shapes. Films are made for a 1-sitting experience—for this type of heroic quest story, it's always a 3-act structure, play credits. The medium necessitates changes. (Since Percy Jackson/ATLA/ROP are TV shows, not films, I'll caveat that TV shows are structurally even more difficult. Not only do you need to balance season arcs and their dramatic shapes, you need sufficient dramatic push-and-pull on an episode-to-episode basis.) On this level, we can agree fidelity is, to some degree, a myth.

Going deeper, though, I argue that fidelity is not only a myth, but also an innately conservative argument that prioritizes "keeping things the same" at the expense of "making something actually good and worthwhile." Fidelity, of course, means faithfulness, but the only other place you commonly hear the word "fidelity" is in the context of marriage and relationships. Who needs to stay faithful? Husbands and... well, really, mostly wives, in the Christian cultural imagination. Why? Purity and sanctity, and freedom from sin, which sounds a lot like fandom purity culture and the Madonna/whore dichotomy transplanted into another realm. Yes, fandom has created a sanctity/sinning, Madonna/whore dichotomy for adaptations. On one hand are the Good and Pure Adaptations that do not stray from the Lord's course (the author's original text.) On the other hand we have The Very Sinful Whore Adaptations, like Rings of Power.

I know a lot of fans had a deep emotional whiplash to Rings of Power, I among them. I was hesitant because I don't trust large profit-driven corporations like Amazon and especially because I despise Bezos (and would support pirating all Amazon material, let's be real.) I was hesitant also because there was such immediate, widespread backlash to the costumes and casting and trailers, it was easy to jump on the bandwagon and nitpick details—backlash that took advantage of my vulnerable emotional state because of how much I care about Lord of the Rings. LOTR, both books and movies, was incredibly formative and important for me and my whole generation, and if it felt like this new adaptation would taint it—well, you weren't alone in thinking that.

(The ROP writers room, of course, operates independently from Bezos and corporate Amazon. But for those participating in the backlash, nevermind that there are hundreds and thousands of dedicated artists and artisans on the show! We hear Amazon, we have an instinctive response that makes us unable to conceive of the show as an artistic endeavor. Still: the writers and artists on ROP are just that, writers and artists. With Amazon's money, they hired some of the best people working in the industry, and from all accounts there wasn't all that much corporate interference. Or... at least about as much corporate interference that Peter Jackson and every other director and writer deals with.)

(Also pause to note that there was immense and similar backlash to the Peter Jackson films as there currently is to Rings of Power. Even think back to the Hobbit trilogy backlash not one decade ago. This is the exact same phenomenon, we just find ourselves on varying sides of the equation depending on our age and experience.)

I'm sorry to say that everyone who jumped on the ROP backlash bandwagon before the show was even released was manipulated and taken advantage of by alt-right, pro-culture-war trolls, tradcaths, and bad actors. I include myself among those duped by the toxic discourse, because as late as March of 2022 I was telling friends I didn't want to hear a single thing about the LOTR show, I was so mad at it already. Mind you that we'd barely had posters at the time, let alone any real information about the show. It was suspect and evil already in our minds.

How do I know it was trolls and not genuine, good-faith criticism driving the response? Firstly, because pop culture divisiveness is a well-known, extremely effective tool of Russian troll farms to further divide democratic nations. There's an excellent academic paper by Morten Bay at USC about how Russian trolls utilized trolls spreading conservative backlash to Star Wars: The Last Jedi to stoke political division. Guarantee you that ROP casting, Little Mermaid casting, Marvel casting, and every other liberal/conservative divide in pop culture has been used similarly by Russian troll farms to stoke American political division. It's not even up for debate—take a look at Bay's research to see the numbers. ROP is a great target for trolls because it's so important to so many people.

Second, conservative Catholic publications published many reviews and thinkpieces that are highly critical of the show. Imagine my surprise then when well-meaning liberals and progressives on Twitter and Tumblr were sharing these pop culture critiques and fully agreeing with them. Unfortunate times when your own baked-in, uninterrogated need for textual fidelity turns out to be a tradcath line of thinking.

Finally, you have only to look at Youtube and Instagram comments on anything ROP-related to see that the vast majority of anti-ROP vitriol is racist, sexist, and/or tradcath and otherwise fascist in nature. I've read a lot of comments because I lack self-control and the complaints really come in one of two flavors: fidelity arguments, and straight-up nasty racism. Or both. Unsurprisingly the two are married, because both types are yearning for an unpolluted, faithful, and ultimately conservative take on Tolkien.

I liked Rings of Power a lot once I actually watched it, though it took me two or three episodes to break through the unfortunate bandwagoning and negative conditioning I had internalized from social media responses. It's not entirely "faithful", which turns out to be a wonderful thing because there are things Tolkien never acknowledged that the show ought to. Like the degradation and dehumanization of the Uruk race. Or the potential for ostensibly noble Elves like Galadriel to dance on the edge of corruption because of her thirst for vengeance. Or (at least I'm crossing my fingers and hoping that they make good on the hints of this idea in Season 2 and beyond!) how Númenor's fall and destruction is an ultimate test of religious faith for the Faithful because how could Eru have allowed it? We could've had a Rings of Power that ignored those themes and subplots because they're not in Tolkien's texts, but it would've been a loss; they're the most compelling parts of the show.

Okay, I promise I'm leading towards a conclusion. It's this: misdirected Percy Jackson, ATLA, and Rings of Power complaints were born from fan culture transposing Christian purity culture onto adaptations, with extreme and emotionally-charged backlash against adaptations that aren't considered faithful. But adaptational fidelity is both an unrealistic goal and an inherently conservative one. Politically and artistically, progressives should be the first to want interesting, new, surprising, compelling interpretations of favorite texts. That's how new ideas and perspectives can proliferate, sparking conversation and ideas and more forward-thinking instead of stagnation and just repeating the same stories endlessly. (Funny how everyone complains about endless sequels and remakes, but the second adaptations make changes people also complain. Can't win!)

But fan attitudes are also revelatory in that they show how much fandom is only superficially progressive. Tolkien fans—even the most liberal—are desperately, slavishly loyal to the Catholic politics of a 20th century white male author (one who, let us never forget, said his Orcs looked like the ugliest Asians [author's disdainful paraphrase.] and the Romantic, Christian-y, black-and-white morality and aesthetics of Peter Jackson's films. ROP's girlboss Galadriel was a funny jokey meme, nevermind that most of the commentary is disgustingly misogynistic; even liberals don't like girlboss Galadriel because, I suppose, ethereal perfect queen Galadriel with an absolutely static character arc is a more compelling character to them? (Unsure why angry rageful Galadriel isn't a feminist favorite on this website—oh, except there's an obvious answer: people's progressive credentials are shallow and uninterrogated, and we don't like angry women who are in the wrong and need to change.)

And then there's Bronwyn, who I've seen criticized for not being a consistent character (as if she should only be a mom or only a leader or only a lover. I think it's realistic and very cool for her to contain multitudes.) Or Míriel, last queen of Númenor who's bound to die a tragic death—I swear it made me want to grind my teeth into dust when I read that this was bad and racist of the writers because she's a woman of color and her storyline involves her getting deposed and dying. As if it doesn't make complete, heart-wrenching sense for a women of color to desperately fight a losing battle against corrupt enemies. As if women of color don't also deserve to be tragic, noble heroines. I think it goes back to the fact that these women contain multitudes, an immense upgrade from Tolkien's women, who with the notable exception of Eowyn are pretty shallow characters.

I almost went and made a caveat here that it's okay for you to dislike the show if you want. Which, I guess, sure, I'm not making decisions for you. But I suspect that if people interrogated their dislike for ROP's Galadriel, Bronwyn, Arondir, Míriel, and other divisive characters, they might find that they're regurgitating what the tradcaths and trolls taught them to say, because the tradcaths and trolls have perfected the art of making you angry on the Internet. Who really benefits from LOTR remaining a 20th century relic of stagnant politics? Traditionalists who want Tolkien to remain pure, white, and Christian.

I do have two main criticisms of Rings of Power, which are the "The Elves will take your jobs!" line (dumb) and occasionally the pacing (needs work.) And other than the casting of Arondir, Bronwyn, Disa, Míriel, and other important characters with actors of color, it's not a particularly progressive narrative in and of itself. But the Internet backlash stems from the sad fact that while we were all happily ensconced in our safe, superficially progressive fandom spaces, we were all duped into the insidious conservative rhetoric that fidelity is good and ROP's a bad adaptation because it's faithless. Frankly, I'm all for faithlessness, provided it's faithlessness in outdated and harmful politics. Let's take back ground from the tradcaths and trolls, and not let them pre-ordain our decisions for us.

#rings of power #meta #trop

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aeolianblues · 19 days

Text

don’t let anyone tell you your taste in music is childish. Don’t worry if the ‘main demographic’ is 14. Listen to that moody pop. You don’t need to have taken a 10 year break from emo in order to be able to listen to it again. It’s okay if everyone says, ‘oh man that band reminds me of being young and in uni again’ and that most people have fallen off the wagon since then: age, time, circumstances.

There isn’t a wrong kind of music for your 30s, and it’s okay if something different about an old song hits you more now. It’s okay if old intensities soften. The reason so much music seems to resonate with teens regardless of whether they have actually been in the situations artists sing about, is because you are still so young and new in what you’re experiencing. You aren’t jaded, you don’t know how to let it slide yet, and you don’t have bigger, more consequential life moments for smaller things to pale in comparison to. You feel deeply and about everything. But that doesn’t mean these songs weren’t often themselves written by 20- or 30-something year olds.

Isn’t It odd that we should feel ‘too old’ at 25, for certain music we liked when we were 14, though it was written by a 28 year old with whole ass life problems to be dealing with?

Listen to that music, forget about any concerns from people who think once you leave university at latest, you need to have your whole life drained out of you to appropriately be an adult.

Also, ‘adult contemporary’ is an industry lie, you cannot ever convince me that human beings in the prime of their lives, going through what I can definitely call an intense period for Events Happening and Emotions Being Evoked (2024) can only produce such milquetoast feelings. I’m sure that’s what corporate would like to think anyway.

But human beings do not exist in such a sedated state! They feel deeply! They think about things, and empathise and connect with other people! We are not islands! The circumstances may be different, they may be more complicated, but we’re still feeling things, of course we are! Keep on doing that, it’s what makes you human!

And I bet, the same goes for people who are told that comic books, Saturday morning cartoons (or anything animated at all…), children’s literature, colouring books, whatever else out there, is ‘childish’!

I don’t know what I’m saying man. I hope this was sort of coherent for a 4 am train of thought I felt compelled to put into words. I don’t know why I scribble this stuff out here, also. I’ve literally started a music magazine, if I were properly sat at a desk writing this and not in bed and about to sleep, I really should be putting this stuff in @soundslivemagazine instead…

#Was this coherent enough for 4 am? I’m putting it in the queue #music #Pop culture #Fandom #art #growing up #fandom culture #comics #you're not too old for any of them #Books #if you’re reading you’re already doing better than anyone who’s stopped reading because ‘too old’#Fans #chitter chatter

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itsclydebitches · 10 months

Note

I honestly have no idea how they intend to greenlight volume 10 if it's not been greenlit already. They've announced the final season of Red vs Blue and a lot of early day fans are in agreement that the end of RvB is the signaling of the end of RT in general. It's their second biggest money maker next to RWBY. After this new season, it's over. What do they do next? Do RT really believe that RWBY is popular enough to coast on for another decade? It'll be a miracle if it lasts even one more year.

Their viewership has been on a decline since Volume 6, they've abused so much of their animation department that there's almost no one left, most of their VA talent for RWBY's popular characters aren't coming back due to all the controversies, any spinoffs or soft reboots or whatever keep going back to the Beacon era and don't really do much to help with the overall problems that are down to the roots of the company.

They even made their biggest ship that kept what few fans are left canon and put out half assed merch that sold out in minutes, and somehow they still haven't managed to find enough money to greenlight another volume?

If they somehow miraculously get Volume 10 made, it's probably going to be the last.

The last few years of RWBY have really highlighted for me how challenging it is to define "popularity" and "success" nowadays. Granted, a good chunk of that is simply my own ignorance about how the production side of things are run, but it nevertheless feels like there's this intense level of ambiguity that wasn't there in the past (or at least wasn't as obvious). Fandom itself has always been an unreliable source because depending on the corner of the internet you're in, you can get a wildly skewed perspective without engaging with everything that contradicts how "good" or "bad" you think things are going. As you say, merch sells out in minutes, yet neither the finances nor the implied security of that seems to be enough to land another Volume. There are questions about whether this could be a marketing scheme, wherein Volume 10's future is simply being kept under wraps to drum up interest. There's the question of whether popularity matters at all when we've got companies cancelling and pulling undoubtedly successful shows, all according to their own, long-term algorithms. On the one hand the information surrounding RT is all about the abuse of their workers, another scandal, how this might all tie into the strikes... and yet most of this is nothing new and RWBY has still secured movies, a soft reboot, comics, and books. I agree completely with your list above of all the ways in which the series is struggling (massively) and yet RWBY has been "dying" for half its run-time. So is this the final nail in the coffin—the inevitable ending that's been a long time coming—or just another year where the fandom unintentionally cries wolf?

I'm not so naive as to believe that things were actually simple 'back in the day'—that's the nostalgia talking—but it still seems like things were simpler in comparison to what we've got now. TV and its media equivalents used to be—or at least felt like—a fairly straightforward journey of airing, ratings, syndication, cancellation, renewal, and then (eventually) the viewer securing a copy for themselves via VHS and DVDs. Now it's like, "What do I do with the newbie webseries eventually bought up by a major corporation and moved from a free watch, to a company-specific streaming watch, to a different, more expensive streaming watch, all of which has led to a decade of success with various spinoffs, but apparently this webseries still isn't making enough money to continue? Regardless, it and everything else I love to watch is inching more and more towards digital-only copies, a status that is inherently nerve-wracking, which means that if it does suddenly crash and burn (given that this is one of two series keeping the original company afloat) circulating this story and maintaining the fandom will be that much harder."

I find that depressing and I'm someone who thinks RWBY is pretty awful right now. I can't imagine what that ambiguity and the state of streaming media in 2023 feels like to fans still in love with the show.

So yeah. Idk how they intend to greenlight Volume 10 either.

#rwde #rwby #mymetas

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simpsations · 1 year

Text

Water Flow

_____________________________

GN reader x Mandarin Merman

Art doesn't belong to me

Credit goes to :Guzbourine on Deviantart

______________________________

You can't do it, no matter how rich your boss is, or how much he was paying you, you refuse to dive into open water

It was supposed to be the most relaxing boat ride to an island off the coast. The water was beautiful, everything was absolutely fine until those words came out his mouth, "Grab your gear kid! and get ready to jump! this is a good place to start the shoot", not even looking up from his tiny monitor, the motor of the boat even seems to quiet down when he speaks.

"Excuse.... me" You say confused by all means, although you didn't get any but a flick of that man's hand in return, your body somewhat moved on its own as an assistant held diving gear for you to put on.

Once you had on your gear, a full scuba diving fit along with your waterproof camera with extra lenses, the assistant guided you towards the open door of the jet, that is how only a few fet above the water. It seemed to be going in circles to try to stay in the area that your boss said was good.

"We need you to take pictures for the Reef Coral corporation, they want to show the land species all the new updates to their little kingdom, they want humans to understand the ocean as much as they do outer space" your boss said, it wasn't hard to understand, there were a few merfolk that worked in your branch, they always had something to say about how humans waisted their time and money trying to go to space while they don't even know what lurks in their waters.

It was a simple job, just take pictures of the wildlife and the cities mainly the ones that have airways for human tourist. The merfolk have been trying to show the human species the wonders of the ocean and yet they are only interested in the things that are neverending.

What you didn't expect was to have to physically go and swim around to take the photos, the lab that is sponsored by your job even made something called 'Spider eel drones', some weird waterproof robot that looks like a moray eel and has multiple camera eyes all over it's body. It's job was to take pictures in high density waters, your boss had told you.

So, with a sigh, you grab the emergency inflatable raft, making sure it was strapped to your gear and hoped out of the aircraft. You did sign a contract after all, this job will pay you a lot and you will continue to earn money for it the more it sells, this is a great opportunity for you.

The water was cold, you couldn't physically feel it on most of your body, but it was still there. The water was clear and the sea floor was covered in life, coral rose from the ground and brought color to the area. You could see a tube it seemed to be travelling towards a large beautiful Coral City that had a glass dome located in the center of the town.

Why they didn't just let you travel through the tube to the city, you don't know why, but you made your way to the beautiful area. Flashes of beautiful reds, blues and pinks in the coral made wonderful photos when taken, like the reef was photogenic.

_______________________

The merfolk of the city were kind but curious, some slightly couscous of the stranger in their waters. Though they saw that you were no harm and left you be.

After about ten minutes of taking pictures of the beautiful city, you notice that there are a few fish swimming around and grouping together to form colorful schools. You aim your camera to them making sure your flash was off, not wanting to stun the poor creatures, and took multiple pictures of the animals in their natural habitat.

You figured I'd be nice to keep taking pictures of the fish in the area, so you swam around the city looking for more.

Coming up to a beautiful red coral structure It was slightly larger than most of them, you cout see a beautifully colored tailfin, deciding that even if you can't see the full fish it is still beautiful enough to photograph, you aim your camera to the tail and snap a picture.

The sound of the camera seemed to alert the fish as it's tail disappeared behind the coral. Sadly you couldn't get more pictures of it. You look at the picture you just took of it and sighed softly.

"It's quite ride to take pictures of someone without their permission." You jumped at the sound of someone's voice, turning around you see a beautiful man with lovely blue hair that faded into orange, looking further down you took notice that his tail matched the one in the photo you took.

"Oh! I'm sorry, I thought you were on of the stray fishes swimming around, no offense..." You say, your voice slightly changed by the mask, your nerves flare believing that you angered one of the merfolk that lived in these waters.

"None taken, I'd gladly be your model" The mer teased, he swam a bit lower on the coral to a circle shapes hole and sat inside as if ready to pose for the pictures, "Is this a good angle?" He says, tilting his head off to the side, holding his head up high and closing his eyes.

He looked absolutely breathtaking, although you can't necessarily say that, seeing as though you just met him.

"Uh, sure" you respond and swim down to a reasonable level and take a picture, then changing the angle for another.

He seemed to like having the camera on him even when swimming to a new spot he made sure to do it majestically as to let you get in a few more pictures.

________________________

The day was filled with beautiful pictures taken until you ran out of film, then talking and swimming until your legs started to hurt.

"Say, I never asked you what your name was, I'm (Y/N)" You said, now on your bright red inflated raft, waiting for your boss to come pick you up.

"Oh, my name is Metao, your name is beautiful, just like you" is words made you flustered slightly, with a chuckle you thank Metao.

Before the conversation could continue the sound of a speedboat's roaring engine could be heard, only a few minutes later a sleek black speedboat with gold ascents pulls up beside your raft, your boss in the driver's seat.

"Common kid, you can talk to your boyfriend some other time!" The joyous old man said causing a blush to creep up on both you and Metao's faces.

With you now seated and strapped in, you waved to Mateo as your boss turns the boat around and drives back to shore.

____________

Bonus:

"He's not my boyfriend." You say as you sit in the car on the way back to the office.

"Whatever you say kid" Your boss laughed, he pats your back.

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hellaphresh · 7 months

Text

Separate pieces from my fursona reference.

The original is too big and the quality gets worse when uploaded.

Hope these ones will look better.

Any and all pronouns for Aurelius.

More info under the cut.

Name: Aurelius

Species: Khay’reek

Age: Adult

Height: 120 Cm / 3.937 Ft

Gender: Xenogender

Pronouns: Any / All Including neos

Orientation: Aro / Ace | Romance and sex repulson

Personality: Emotions can run very high very quickly. And negative ones take time to go down. Also unable to deal with them. Extremely easy to get stressed out, and terrible at dealing with that too. Is aware of these issues now and is trying to make sure this will not bring any negative consequences to others, but since it cannot deal, it is stewing in its own issues and tries not to explode externaly.

Some might think he is shy, but that is not the case. That is fear. Fear of dealing with anybody. Internally she is far less patient than it appears. They believe in being kind on principle ( if they deserve it ), but they are easy to annoy or anger. Only their fear keeps them in check then, unless they simply explode.

Beside their rocky emotions, Aurelius actually firmly believes everyone should be free to live their life how they please, as long as they are not harming others. Trully harming. Hating on somebody because they annoy you, not even on purpose, does not count. Others are not obligated to live the way you wish they would.

Likes animals, soft things and mainly shiny and sparkly colors.

Backstory: Aurelius used to be non corporeal entity consisting of pure magic. Connected to the star of Khay'reek´s home planet.

Khay'reeks worshipped it as a god ( does not necessarily means anything good in their believs ). Cosmic beings are not supposed to interact with mortals, but it was too curious. Cosmic beings do not have personalities, but by interacting with mortals it started to mirror whatever idea they had of it. It was considered corrupt. Got banished to body. Physical body. It was not the body it has now. The original had too much raw magic to fully contain. That creation was being much more closer to horror. With partially physical base, magic was not enough to sustain it. It was hungry. Khay'reeks begged to be saved and their wish was granted.

Most of the magic that created it was destroyed. Now, through still high, the magic could be contained by much more usual body. They used skull of a dead Khay'reek, and the being used that as a base for its new body.

Now Aurelius has body like any other Khay'reek. Except eye color and really impossible mane colors, which bear some resemblance to its original form. The body is also immortal, after all it is prison, you would not just let them leave it.

Despite some differences there is a lot of restrictions the body have. Its brain for example can retain only as much as mortals can. Aurelius lived for many many years, but ey do not remember any of that. Xey do not remeber how xey got the name. Or what personality sparkle had before. The only memories kept is something much more akin to regular mortal life.

Abilities: Aurelius have a lot of magic power. Raw power, actually. They are not good at refining it into anything. It is the raw power that lets them do anything because it is strong enough to materialise as it is.

This makes em good at shields, barriers and explosions of raw power. But not any other magical abilities that require refinement.

No levitation, no telepathy, no power over elements. No healing magic. Do not under any circumstances try its healing abilities. Absolutely no complicated and more structured magic.

Sparkles raw magic appears in dual colors that behave differently. Orange which can have form of bubbles and electricity. And dark purple, which appears as thick goo. It may drip upwards for some reason. Orange is the original. The purple is result by getting corrupted by physical body.

—————

Colors

No need to be exact, those are mainly for me, or in case it is more helpfull like this.

Fur middle tone: fcbe8f

Fur dark tone: c27b50

Fur light tone: fee8db

Inside mouth: 964242

Tongue / Gums / Skin: fd9d8f

Teeth: fff0c5

Hooves / Horns: fed699

Hair gradient: 9affdd ~ 9aedff ~ 9bc5ff ~ b39aff ~ cd9aff ~ ec9afe

Hair shine: ffffff add layer 35% opacity

Pupil: 000000

Eyelashes: 471051

Eye dark tone: a739be

Eye middle tone: e56efe

Eye light tone: f5c8ff

Eyewhite: f9f9f9

Glasses rim: 77006e

Glasses lens: ff38ef 60% opacity

Bowtie / Eyeshadow: fccf5a

Bowtie / Eyeshadow shines: ffffff add layer 40% opacity

Shorts: afaae7

Shorts light tone / Zipper / Buttons: dad4ff

Hoodie dark tone: 9955bf

Hoodie light tone: d98fff

Left upper sleeve: 98ffeb

Left down sleeve: ff94ff

Right upper sleeve: fffaa1

Right down sleeve: bad1ff

Inner hoodie fur: f9f9f9

Purple magic dark: 220941

Purple magic middle: 471b6e

Purple magic light / Shine: 7e3ab7 60% opacity for shine

Orange magic dark: f9b330

Orange magic middle: fccf5a ( like bowtie and eyeshadow )

Orange magic light / Shine: ffff87 60% opacity for shine

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cervidaedalus · 4 months

Text

"Palworld critics are just corporate bootlickers for Nintendo" Nobody is fucking defending Nintendo's property rights. The point is that the company behind Palworld not only has shown support of generative AI and their previous titles have been a Frankenshit monster of other popular games. Craftopia used bought assets which is fine in the indie game scene so long as the rights to those assets allow commercial use, but that shows that the studio likely doesn't have the manpower and creative power to truly make their own. Another game I enjoy, Garden Paws, was made by a dev studio of two people and a musician. It's a decently large game based off Animal Crossing, but manages to still be enjoyable and stand on it's own. All art is derivative, but there's a difference between taking inspiration from something, and straight up trying to pull directly from it for personal gain. WoW and FFxiv are both tab-target mixed fantasy MMORPGs, but WoW is not FFxiv and FFxiv is not WoW, and while FFxiv was inspired by elements of WoW and other MMORPGs, the passion and commitment the dev team has put into this game has allowed it to stand on its own and be as successful as it is. Pokemon spawned an entire subgenre of monster collecting, and each individual franchise has made it's own spin on things, which is how some of them have survived for two decades or more. Palworld is- as someone on Twitter put it- "creatively bankrupt" and exists as "profits over passion". There are some monster designs- like that Serperior looking thing, or the one with Galarian Meowth's -exact- face, or the belt and arms on the Cinderace-but-grass-type that are -directly- pulled from Pokemon. So... it's either a case of generative AI which the devs are being dishonest about (as Steam requires studios to disclose AI use), or their artist simply doesn't care about plagiarism (and, miss me with the 'but parody' business, the game isn't close enough to actual Pokemon to be a true parody, it's, again, a Frankenshit Monster of Pokemon, ARK, and the currently popular Blizz/Fortnite/etc art style). If this game actually tried to be its own thing, had its own artstyle, it could truly be something of it's own, but the game and the studio's other titles are really nothing but a "lets see how many popular things we can capitalize on to make a profit". AI use or not, it's kind of disturbing that such a game can get as many sales as it did. Like it pisses me off, personally, but I'm not terribly worried about it because if the devs are this devoid of any genuine love for their IPs (and they did kinda dump Craftopia to focus on this) it's likely going to fall to the wayside and be relegated to a FotM title when they can't push enough new content to keep it interesting.

#discourse #palworld discourse

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a-student-out-of-time · 2 months

Note

There has been some terrible news. Firstly Rooster Teeth an early success story for indie studios, has been shut down by Warner Brothers in another example of corporate greed. While Rooster Teeth isn’t exactly guilt free as many people have issues with it, it’s still devastating for those who have lost their jobs and livelihoods. RWBY and Red vs Blue are being sold off and the news regarding Death Battle is uncertain (1/2)

//I've heard, trust me. I've been sitting on it for a while now, because I've been unsure of how to react. What I'll say is, no matter their faults, both of them shaped their respective mediums and helped make them what they are now. They were both a major part of millions of peoples' childhoods.

//Toriyama is, of course, the creator of one of the most popular shonen anime ever created. I don't need to tell you about Dragon Ball because you already know it; for the vast majority of people, it's probably what they think of when anime comes to mind.

//And sure, he wasn't perfect. He's had his flaws and some elements of his work haven't aged well, but I'd like to share a story that really cemented by respect for Toriyama as a creator. It was, ironically, when he retired between 1996 and 2012.

//When Dragon Ball: Evolution, the infamous in-name-only adaptation of his work, was in production, nobody involved listened or cared what he had to say about it. They weren't trying to make an adaptation of his work of passion or respect, they were using the name to make money.

//Considering that Toriyama, by his own admission, was a pretty laid-back guy who would put off doing his work until the last minute, the fact they managed to get under his skin is a testament to how god-awful that movie was. I don't blame the actors, I blame the corporate parasites who wanted money.

//What matters here is, after seeing the end result, Toriyama was so horrified at the idea that this would be his legacy, he came out of retirement and went back to creating Dragon Ball. That was how we got Battle of the Gods, Resurrection F, and the Dragon Ball Super series.

//He wasn't doing this for money, but because of a renewed passion for creation. The man could've stayed retired and lived comfortably, but what mattered more to him was artistic integrity. I can't tell you how much I respect that.

//As for Rooster Teeth, well...I have fewer nice things to say about where they went as a company. There's no denying they played a major role in how machinima and internet content as a whole is created, with the style of Red vs. Blue being the most influential.

//Rooster Teeth was, for me and for a lot of other people, a big part of their childhoods with RVB and RWBY. They had some very talented and creative people, who put their all into making things that did have a positive impact in the creative world.

//Just as there's also no denying that a lot of troubling things happened behind the scenes as things went on, from enforcing crunch time to deflecting criticism to other mistreatments of employees. There were times it did feel like they were coasting by on the positive reputation they once had. Things like the controversy involving Ryan Haywood also didn't help matters. That, for me, was the moment I really started to drift away from the group.

//But at the same time, I still think about the day that Geoff Ramsay opened a video they released after laying off 50 employees talking about how it was one of the darkest days in their history. He went on to talk about how much fan support means to them, and how important Rooster Teeth is to him and how he wants people to find something they're passionate about, just as he's passionate about the company.

//Seeing that, hearing how they considered calling it a day, but deciding to instead keep going out of respect for the people they had to let go, I do think it rings of that same artistic integrity. Was it naive? In hindsight, maybe so, but I never doubted it was genuine.

//Thinking about that, about how they've had people decrying their creative pursuits and the very clear passion and interest they all had in wanting to do things, just to see it cut down by corporate greed? It really stings.

//Honestly, it reminds me of this one line from Bojack Horseman:

You know what it's like? It's like that show "Becker," you know, with Ted Danson? I watched the entire run of that show, hoping that it would get better, and it never did. It had all the right pieces, but it just… It couldn't put them together. And when it got cancelled, I was really bummed out, not because I liked the show, but because I knew it could be so much better, and now it never would be. And that's what losing a parent is like. It's like "Becker." Suddenly, you realize you'll never have the good relationship you wanted, and as long as they were alive, even though you'd never admit it, part of you - the stupidest goddamn part of you - was still holding on to that chance. And you didn't even realize it until that chance went away.

//I guess there's a part of me that still holds onto the idea that, no matter how far a creator falls or how bad a work gets, maybe there's a chance they could get better. But when something closes down, gets cancelled or sold off, that chance goes away.

//I've seen so many criticisms of RWBY over the years, very passionate discussions about the show's flaws and how disappointing it is. They weren't just mindlessly bashing it for fun, they were talking about how the show has potential and could be made to work, and they were clearly coming from people who wanted it to be good.

//Now it's getting sold to someone who may have even less care for that creative vision, and that could be an even bigger tragedy than if the show were just cancelled. The fact that nobody on the staff even knew until they saw a Twitter post about it shows how little even the current people in charge cared.

//To the people still working on it and all current fans of RWBY, I sympathize completely.

//Idk what else to say. Between these events, and the news that Matpat is leaving Game Theory, it's been jarring seeing all these hits to my youth and the youths of many others. At least it all came when I was out of my depressive episode ^^;

//So what can we take away from all this? I think the biggest is the importance of artistic authenticity and passion for your craft. Not just enjoying what you do, but being willing to hear criticisms and use that to improve yourself. People who constructively criticize you do so because they want to see you improve your work.

//It's a lesson I've tried to live by and I'll continue to live by as long as I'm creating things. And while these losses might hurt, I'm glad that they were part of my life.

//Do I think that this is somehow the end of all creative freedom on the internet forever, as I'm sure someone may ask? No, of course not. This was an example of corporate greed and a tragic death, things that have happened and will continue to happen so long as capitalism is here and immortality is not.

//But if you look at the clear successes of independent works and passion projects, such as the many fangans I've shared my thoughts on, there's obviously still passion in creatives out there. Passion I hope to continue to be a part of.

//And sometimes, bad things like this happen and you get something even better out of it. From Walt Disney's bad management leading to people splitting off and creating Looney Tunes, to the miserable development of Daikatana being superseded by Deus Ex, to the slump of brown and grey military shooters being outdone by works like Portal in the late 2000's.

//Your creations will outlast you, and that's why I believe in artistic authenticity and improving your craft. Give people something they won't just enjoy now, but they'll have to remember you fondly when you're gone and to have as a source of comfort and joy through the dark moments in their lives.

#mod talks #a student out of time

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animebw · 1 year

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Short Reflection: Winter 2023 Anime

Is it just me, or did this season of anime kind of blow? Yes, anything would be a step down after the absurdly stacked Fall 2022 roster- and in fact, two of my favorites this season were continuations of shows I already liked from fall (Blue Lock and MHA)- but man, there was just a stench of failure around so much of Winter 2023′s offerings. Not just in how many of them turned out to be disappointments, but in how many of them didn’t even get to finish in time! Barely a week went by without another show suffering long delays, production after production crumbling under the weight of mismanagement and corporate apathy that doesn’t care how many animators are worked to death for an inferior product as long as they can make some extra cash from rushing it out early. I mercifully managed to avoid all the victims of these delays (well, almost; RIP Kubo-san Won’t Let Me Be Invisible), but even existing in the same space as them felt like it took a toll on everything else. This was a rough one, folks. But there were still some gems worth highlighting, so after spilling my thoughts on Onimai, Trigun Stampede and MHA Season 6, here are my thoughts on the rest of the anime I managed to finish this season!

(Also no Vinland Saga review yet cause I’m waiting for the season to be over, but spoilers, it’s still really fucking good. You’re shocked, I can tell.)

Tokyo Revengers Season 2: 1.5/10

You know what? I give up. I gave Tokyo Revengers every opportunity to finally pull itself together and turn into a good show. But not only did it drop the ball so hard the shockwave registered on the Richter scale, it felt like it was actively going out of its way to suck as hard as it could. Every single plot thread in season 2 is bungled so horrendously, from Takemichi’s increasingly unforgivable stupidity to the insulting cul-de-sac fights that change nothing about the status quo to the truly infuriating mishandling of every female character (Hey, I know, let’s give Yuzuha a panty shot while she’s being beaten by her abusive brother! Great idea!), that there is no possible way this show can ever recover. Even if the next season is somehow a masterpiece that fixes all the series’ issues- which it won’t be, let’s be honest- it won’t change the fact that Tokyo Revengers has established a new low for lazy, intelligence-insulting storytelling in shonen. The only reason it managed to get so popular is that it keeps making you think it’s about to do something really cool and meaningful with its high concept. But at this point, it’s all but proven that it never will. Fuck this show, fuck the manga it’s based on, and fuck everyone who accepts this barely-animated hackjob slop as anything close to acceptable entertainment.

The Fire Hunter: 2/10

Between this and Mars Red, I’m really starting to hate studio Signal MD. They’ve got a habit of turning fascinating highbrow fantasy premises into some of the dullest, sloppiest, most poorly produced pieces of pretentious dogshit that think they’re high art imaginable. And this one’s directed by Mamoru Oshii! He’s supposed to be a veteran director who knows his shit! How did he turn out such a colossal flop? Almost nothing in The Fire Hunter works on an audiovisual level; the animation is embarrassing, the direction is incomprehensible, the editing is somehow even worse (I have never seen such poorly timed painterly insert stills), and the whole thing is smothered under a droning soundtrack that drowns every scene in the same overbearing, tuneless sonic dead air. Even the best script in the world couldn’t survive this cataclysmically bad production, and suffice to say, this is very far from the best script in the world. It’s equal parts mind-numbing exposition, dull narration, and pointlessly mean characters with no interesting internal struggles or worldbuilding to justify the air of arrogance about the whole affair. The Fire Hunter desperately wants to convince you it’s art, but it’s just crap. Skip it.

To Your Eternity Season 2 (2nd Half): 3/10

I’ll give it this: the second half of To Your Eternity’s second season is unquestionably better than its first. Not a very high bar to clear, I realize, but after the utter slog that was Bon’s introductory arc, it’s good to have actually interesting things happen for a change. Unfortunately, for all the fresh air the siege of Renril brings to the proceedings- new characters, new kinds of stakes, a bonkers re-imagining of what Fushi’s powers are even capable of- it’s nowhere near enough to save this show from running itself into the ground. Whatever magic To Your Eternity once had is well and truly gone, buried under a flood of terrible production compromises and questionable story choices that have lead it down a path it can never recover from. No matter how much future arcs might try to turn things around, they’ll never escape the lesson this show has somehow forgotten it used to preach: when something dies, it can never truly return. To Your Eternity is dead. It’s over. Let it rest in piece while it still has some faint shred of dignity left.

Giant Beasts of Ars: 3/10

Did someone open a time portal to 2006? Giant Beasts of Ars feels exactly like the kind of original fantasy anime that studios were pumping out two decades ago- and unfortunately, that’s not a compliment. It gets off to a good start with a strong introductory episode that sets the tone well for a fun magitech adventure with some giant monster fighting, but the second that adventure gets under way, pretty much everything goes to shit. The characters are bland. The world itself is dull and uninspired. The action is lifeless thanks to a weak production that can’t give these fights the oomph they need. And the plot escalates from understandable low-key stakes to some of the most asinine “suddenly we’re fighting god now” swerves I’ve ever seen. Seriously, the way this story loses all sense of scale in its final episodes as it barrels head first toward a climax left me stunned in disbelief. Never mind the fact it ends on an asspull cliffhanger that’s almost certain to never get resolved because nobody’s going to want a second season of something this limp and underbaked. What a waste of time.

Kaina of the Great Snow Sea: 3.5/10

I was really excited at all the fantasy anime coming out this season. After being swamped in the isekai sewers for so long, it was such a relief to see the industry remember they could tell stories about actual fantastical worlds and not just, you know, reskinned Dragon Quest knockoffs. So imagine my how immeasurable my disappointment was when one by one, all these promising series let me down. Kaina’s Naussicaa-inspired world of snow seas, giant spire trees and steampunk skiffs navigating an allegorical prayer for co-existence with nature and rejection of militarism should have been an easy slam dunk, a new Miyazaki for a modern landscape. Unfortunately, as beautifully realized as the world is- Polygon Pictures is no studio Orange, but their impressive background art and environmental storytelling continue to make a strong case for CG anime- the writers forgot to populate that world with anyone worth getting invested in. The characters are the stockiest of stock archetypes, photocopies of photocopies of tropes that have already been worn to the bone by decades of misuse and overuse alike. If you’ve seen even one generic fantasy anime, chances are you’re already sick of these characters, and there’s nothing fresh or particularly meaningful here to make up for the lack of originality. Don’t get me started on how poorly the princess is treated, yegh. Is it too late to unplug the concept of fantasy anime for a few years and hope it recovers some steam before we plug it back in?

High Card: 3.5/10

There is no excuse for High Card being as lame as it ended up. A Kingsmen-style goofy gentleman spy action comedy written by the author of Kakegurui in which secret agents in dapper suits fight with the power of magic transforming playing cards? And the entire world is themed around cards and card games (the country is Fourland, the spy organization is Pinochle with its office on Old Maid street)? This should have been a camp masterpiece every bit as delightfully unhinged as Kakegurui. This should have been the most gloriously Anime Bullshit (affectionate) experience of the year. But instead, it was mostly just Anime Bullshit (derogatory). It takes so little advantage of its concept, wasting episode upon episode on trite plotlines and cliche developments, jumping between so many tones and focuses without ever settling on a single one. I came here to see Twink Bruce Wayne summon bazookas out of thin air with the power of Instant Interdimensional Marketplace, not slog through the umpteenth iteration of “the stoic katana girl needs to open up to her male colleagues” or “tragic little sister with an incurable illness.” The bouncy ED, which sees the main cast all singing together in the car, was the one consistent bright spot, and even that started feeling more and more like an insult as time went on. If only the rest of the show were as loose and freewheeling as those painfully short 90 seconds per episode promised.

Don’t Toy With Me, Nagatoro-San Season 2: 3.5/10

Look, I’m no prude. I’m not above trash. Nagatoro’s first season was far from a masterpiece, but it had enough actual charm and character depth that I didn’t mind coming along for the ride. But the thing about trash is that just like every other show, you still have to do it well. Nagatoro wasn’t ever entertaining because it was a shallow wish-fulfillment rom-com for masochists, it was entertaining because it found something recognizably human in spite of being a shallow wish-fulfillment rom-com for masochists. And sadly, whatever spark made that first season work didn’t survive the transfer to OLM studios. There are fun moments here and there, but the overall package is just too half-hearted to care anymore. Not even the introduction of Nagatoro’s sister keeps the proceedings from feeling increasingly mindless. What’s the point of this show, really? What does it offer that I can’t get better elsewhere? Because if the only appeal is the teasing gimmick, well, Teasing Master Takagi-san is right there, people. You could be watching an actual good show about a girl mercilessly teasing her crush instead of this flavorless assembly-line mushburger of an anime. Just saying.

The Tale of Outcasts: 4.5/10

There’s something strangely endearing about The Tale of Outcasts, despite its many flaws. Does it read like every thirteen-year-old girl’s embarrassing stash of unpublished Ancient Magus Bride fanfiction? Yes, unquestionably. But you know what? There are far worse things to be. Maybe it’s the isekai exhaustion getting to me, but there’s something so refreshing about a cringey wish-fulfillment fantasy adventure populated by stock archetypes and hacky plotting that’s actually, like, wholesome? That feels like it was made out of genuine amateurish love for Victorian splendor mixed with demon furries instead of incel resentment that the world isn’t catering to their every whim? Yeah, it’s still cringe, but it’s charmingly cringe, not revoltingly cringe. I still can’t really recommend it unless you’ve got a real soft spot for deep-voiced daddy beast people who can be your angle or your dveil, but out of all the bad shows I kept up with this season, this was the one where I never minded clicking on that next episode button, and that’s gotta count for something.

Urusei Yatsura (2nd Half): 5.5/10

I think it takes a change in mindset to really appreciate Urusei Yatsura. True to its 70s roots, this is not an anime to watch for a constant sense of forward progression. This is a show to be enjoyed as a reliable weekly comfort, 25 minutes of mayhem every 7 days with a familiar cast of characters bouncing off each other endlessly. If you come in looking for a tightly woven narrative that’s always driving toward a forseeable endpoint like most modern anime confined to single cours runs, you’re likely to be disappointed. But if you let yourself just enjoy the chaos and don’t worry about what might come next, I think you’ll find a lot to like here. If nothing else, I appreciate Studio David sticking to that old-fashioned spirit. But I have to admit, I might’ve preferred a more streamlined adaptation that doesn’t waste a second of runtime. What can I say, I’m used to modern anime pacing. Or maybe I’m just annoyed by yet another instance of a tomboy character who wants to be more feminine. Which, you know, not Ryunosuke’s fault that particular trope has gotten so beaten to death these days, but still. Sometimes making changes for modern times isn’t such a bad thing, you know?

Revenger: 6/10

So y’all hear about this Gen Urobuchi guy? Apparently he was pretty famous back in the day or something, IDK. He’s been plugging away at his goofy Taiwanese puppets show for the past few years and slapped his name on the story concepts of a few high profile projects for extra buzz, but now at last, he’s returned to grace us with a full story and script from his own hands! ...and apparently from 17 years in the past as well, because from what I’ve heard, Urobuchi originally wrote Revenger back in 2006, well before the one-two-three punch of Madoka Magica, Fate/Zero and Psycho-Pass that would make him a household name. And boy does it definitely feel like a trial run of those shows. Not that it’s bad by any means; it’s slickly produced, the cast has good chemistry, and the Booch is clearly having fun coming up with creative ways for evil bastards to be mercilessly slaughtered. But that’s really all it is, with little of the staggering depth and emotional complexity that would later earn him a place among the greats. It’s a first draft of basically all the thematic ideas he’d later perfect: the corruption of systems of power, the failure of blind heroism, the necessity of finding hope even in the darkest corners of the earth. I still recommend it for any fans of creative edgy violence, but don’t come in expecting another Madoka. It’s a bite-sized snack of an Urobuchi show, not the main course. And I’m totally fine with that; it’s entertaining enough on its own modest merits to be worth a look.

Play It Cool, Guys (2nd Half): 6/10

Yeah, I knew this one was gonna grow on me. There’s nothing like a really good low-key deadpan comedy to put me in a good mood at the end of a long day. Really, I think Cool Doji Danshi’s secret weapon is how much it appreciates the mundane awkwardness of everyday life. I have been in many situations much like its titular characters, little moments of confusion where the pieces don’t quite line up how they’re supposed to and before I know it I’m putting my umbrella in the fridge because I momentarily mixed it up with the groceries. And also like its title characters, I’ve learned just how damn important these moments are to my life. None of us are perfect meat machines 100% of the time; in many ways, our clumsiness is what makes us human far more than our accomplishments. And there’s something so wonderfully comforting about watching these boys (and men) come to appreciate their own imperfections much as I’ve done of myself. We need more shows that celebrate that simple silliness as well as this one does. So if you’ve been looking for something to lift your spirits in this increasingly grim world, I cannot recommend this show enough.

Sugar Apple Fairy Tale: 6.5/10

Do my eyes deceive me? A non-isekai, shoujo oriented fantasy that’s all about slavery being a bad thing? Stop the presses, we’re defying all the norms over here! Between this and the new season of Vinland Saga, it feels like we’re finally starting to push back on the noxious floodgates that Shield Hero pried open, and I could not be more thankful for that. Now, is Sugar Apple Fairy Tale a perfect depiction of the dynamics of slavery? Fuck no, it’s a young adult wish-fulfillment romance about a hot sulky fairy boy falling for the woman that was once his owner, this thing’s as problematic as an Antebellum-era Uncle Tom’s Cabin ripoff. But at least it’s actually trying to say something about the effects of dehumanization on a societal scale and how it manifests, and I’d argue it succeeds more often than it trips over itself. Plus, how fucking great is it to have an actual shoujo romance again? Set in a charming fantasy world with some actual originality? Sugar Apple Fairy Tale’s not perfect, but its charms are evident of a trend I hope to see countless other shows follow. The more fantasy anime looks like this instead of The World’s Strongest Necromancer is Reincarnated With a Cheat Skill In Another World Harem (I just made that title up, but admit it, you weren’t sure at first), the better off we’ll all be.

Ippon Again: 6.5/10

We seriously need more good female-centric sports anime. The guys have been dominating the field with their shounens and seinens while the girls are forced to subside on moeblob table scraps more concerned with being cute than actually telling a compelling sports narrative, or else being handed the absolute bottom of the production barrel (cries in Farewell My Dear Cramer). Ippon Again isn’t gonna right the ship all on its own, but it’s a damn good first step. The characters feel like believable teenagers, their judo matches are given genuine weight and strong animation, and while it suffers from some tired sports anime cliches, it always executes them with heart firmly on its sleeve. At its best, it captures the same freewheeling adolescent spirit that defines the likes of A Place Further Than the Universe, and I don’t say that lightly. It’s no masterpiece, but it’s a damn good time with no caveats, and hopefully it’ll only be the first of many great lady-centric sports anime to come.

Tsurune Season 2: 7/10

If you’ve somehow forgotten about the first season of KyoAni’s pretty boys doing archery show Tsurune from back in 2018, well, I don’t blame you. As a testing ground for the studio’s rookie talent to take their first crack at putting their own show together, it was by far the studio’s most workmanlike production, an all-around solid experience but lacking the insane polish and panache that defines the KyoAni brand. But my god, what a difference five years makes. Tsurune’s second season isn’t just a massive upgrade on the production front, it’s a complete overhaul on the show’s entire look and feel. It’s sweeping and elegant, it’s vibrant and explosive, it’s as expertly poised and shimmering as a bowstring drawn at dawn right before it releases a brilliant arrow. This show has gone from KyoAni’s simplest looking show to one of its most richly cinematic, complete with earthier color tones and revamped score from Fruits Basket composer Masaru Yokoyama. Yes, it’s ultimately still just a show about pretty boys learning to shoot bows well as they overcome their issues together. But with such a massive step up in its look and feel, it’s officially become just as much appointment viewing as any KyoAni masterpiece.

Blue Lock (2nd Half): 7.5/10

Now that’s more fucking like it. Last season I bemoaned the lack of edgy death game nonsense I was promised in this edgy death game sports anime, but once we reached the second selection, Blue Lock kicked into high gear and made good on its premise at last. Betrayals! Allies turned enemies! Enemies turned allies! Overcharged homoerotic rivalries and break-ups alike! Overdramatic shonen boys trying to crush each other underfoot to grow stronger! Self-actualization through rejecting the power of friendship and embracing the power of “Fuck this guy!” This is everything I wanted when I first learned about Blue Lock’s premise, twisting the classic shonen sports formula into an equally blood-pumping tale of clashing egos and selfishness as everyone fights to become the best player by embracing their worst selves. It might have taken a hot second to get there, but now that it’s arrived, this show has become some of the most deliriously entertaining chaos you’re likely to find in the genre. Well done, you mad genius.

Buddy Daddies: 8/10

Man, whoever’s making the decisions on what shows PA Works produces is really on a roll lately, huh? It takes a real genius to look at premises like Ya Boi Kongming and Akiba Maid War and see an opportunity to create something truly special. But even that pales in comparison to the brilliance behind Buddy Daddies, a.k.a. “Hey, so this Spy x Family show is about to take over the world, right? What if we made our own version of that, but mix in the homoerotic buddy-cop energy of Tiger and Buddy to make it stand out?” That’s the kind of galaxy-brain thinking that’s rapidly making this studio a personal favorite of mind. And it’s that kind of confidence and pure solid storytelling chops that make Buddy Daddies just as entertaining and endearing as its most obvious inspiration. It’s not exactly the same- it’s set in modern day, it’s more focused on the child-raising than the assassin stuff- but it’s every bit as good at nailing that specific sweet spot of deliciously entertaining spy action, wholesome family hijinks, and the bittersweet space in between trying to reconcile those two worlds. Heck, Miri’s a way more realistic four-year-old than Anya ever was; you can tell the writers really did their research on what it’s like to care for a child that young. The year’s still young, but I think this show is already a strong contender for the feel-good masterpiece of 2023. Just don’t go in expecting the hot guys to kiss, because you will leave disappointed if you do.

The Magical Revolution of the Reincarnated Princess and the Genius Young Lady: 8.5/10

We’ve done it, folks. We’ve finally cracked the code on how to make modern isekai great. Step One: Center it on a female protagonist with an actual personality instead of an empty self-insert male-patterned cooler full of stale oatmeal. Step Two: Make your story all about subverting the exhausting masturbatory self-centeredness of vanilla isekai in favor of a symbolic or literal revolution to give power back to all lovers of fantasy instead of pandering to maladjusted thirty-year-old manchildren. Step Three: As part of that progressive reinvention, make it GAY. AS. FUCK. The Executioner and her Way of Life was a strong step in the right direction, but as good as that show was, there was clearly still room to push things even further. But now, at last, that potential has been fully realized by the stunning tale of a reincarnated princess and a genius young lady coming together to revolutionize the world. Folks, MagiRevo fucking rules. The main leads are wonderful separately and even more wonderful together, the production is strong enough to carry the story’s soaring ambition, and it’s a genuinely powerful exploration of the harms caused by archaic systems of patriarchal power, and how difficult it is- but also how necessary- to change what’s been leading a society down the wrong path for so long. And while it drags a little in the midsection, it all culminates in a spectacular final act and a final episode that had me sobbing in my seat for 25 straight minutes. This isn’t just the best isekai since Re:Zero, this is a triumph of queer fantasy carving its own revolution through a genre that’s desperately needed it for far too long. So come join me and raise your banner with Anis and Euphie, because their journey deserves all the attention we can give. I promise, you won’t regret it.

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spiralcass · 5 months

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NEW X-MEN: THE ANIMATED SERIES - SEASON 3, EPISODE 6

We open in the middle of the night at Frost International’s corporate HQ. Inside the dark halls, two uniformed and lightly armed guards are patrolling.

MINI MAX: “I’m just saying, I miss how things used to be.”

OUTLAW: “You LIKED dressing like a cyberpunk fascist and having your official job title be, “Henchman”?

MINI MAX: “No! But it beat having to tell people I’m a “Night Watchman”, and we used to get to carry those huge blasters, not non-lethal peashooters. I’ve been here 20 years, I know where all the skeletons are buried, I deserve a blaster!”

OUTLAW, begrudgingly: “I do miss the blasters.”

MINI MAX: “See? And “Henchwoman” was a pretty sexy title.”

OUTLAW: “What have I told you about calling me “sexy”?!”

MINI MAX: “That…you like it like every other woman?”

As Outlaw’s about to get pissed, the two hear something. She says they should go check that out, with Mini Max following her, but hoping it’s something; maybe it’ll prove they need their old weapons back.

The two arrive at the site of the noise, an executive office, but there’s no mess, or any sign of entry. Mini Max tells Outlaw to call this in. It may have just been the wind, but this could be another Mutant they’re dealing with. Outlaw agrees, and is about to call it in, before she sucker punches Mini Max, knocking him out with the butt of her gun.

Unseen from the front, Outlaw uncovers a secret vault in the office, punches in a code, and opens it. She takes out a folder, and shuts the vault.

Outlaw, folder not in hand, rubs her head in confusion, wondering what happened, and freaking out over their unconscious partner. They’re then hit by an electric shock, tazing them and knocking them out.

We see the folder being twirled around in the hand of a blue fingerless glove, as we hear the laughter of what sounds like a prepubescent boy.

Blue boots walk out of the building without setting off any alarms, jet boosters coming out of them, as the thief continues to laugh, flying off into the night

At the Jean Grey School, the school’s Gay/Straight Alliance is meeting. This club includes Mercury, Bling!, Anole, Specter, Pixie, Loa, Indra, Wolf Cub, the younger student Dryad, and two other younger students we haven’t seen before: a blonde boy covered in eyes, and a black boy with glasses.

The meeting is being run by Kitty, who’s dragged Iceman along, thinking it may be good for him, now that he’s embraced what he is, to hear what the kids have to say.

ICEMAN: “And why couldn’t we have just talked about this stuff?”

KITTY: “Cause I’m only here filling in for Karma. I’ve always liked girls…a girl…but I’ve never really vibed with, like, the queers.”

ICEMAN: “I’ve been gay for two minutes, but even I know that sounds bad. How are things going with “a girl” anyway?”

Kitty groans as she sinks into her chair.

KITTY: “Avoiding her. Magneto agreed to keep sending Magik on missions while I figure things out, and, unlike Scott and Emma, she actually listens to him.”

BOBBY: “Can’t dodge her forever.”

KITTY: “I can try!”

Specter, the club president, asks if anyone has something they want to talk about. Dryad knows this isn’t really the point of the club, but she wants to know if Pixie is really from Camelot.

PIXIE: “Sure am!” SPECTER: “And don’t worry. “The point” of the club is just to be a safe place.”

DRYAD: “Oh! Okay! So what’s it like? Are there unicorns? A beautiful queen?”

PIXIE, her cheerful smile not fading at all: “It’s a brutal dictatorship where everyone struggles to survive.”

DRYAD, face falling: “oh.”

Kitty and Bobby, all too familiar with this, share a laugh. As the younger kid with glasses asks with disbelief about Camelot being real, Bobby receives a telepathic message.

EMMA, telepathically: “Robert, a word?”

BOBBY: “In the middle of something. Can it wait?”

EMMA: “Not if you don’t want me to tell my brother about your self-revelation.”

BOBBY: “Oh, that is so not cool.”

EMMA: “Just come along. I require your assistance.”

Bobby sighs, begrudgingly telling her he’ll be right there.

KITTY: “Emma?”

BOBBY: “Yeah. How’d you know?” KITTY: “The faces you were making. They’re the same ones I make whenever I have to deal with her.” She pats him on the back. “Good luck, buddy!”

We cut to MIT, joining a dry physics lecture. Some students are taking notes diligently, while others have passed out. Among the latter group is a red-headed woman. At least until she gets a wakeup call.

MONET, telepathically: “Why are you even here, Theresa?”

Theresa groggily wakes up and sits up straight. She looks behind her and up a few rows, to see Monet doing something in her notebook.

THERESA: “Could ask you the same thing. I’m gettin valuable rest. You’re scribbling.”

MONET: “I am NOT scribbling.” She says this as we see her doodling smiling worms in a basket of apples. “And I don’t NEED to pay attention.”

THERESA, mockingly: “Oh yeah, Monet St. Croix is such a genius she doesn’t even need to study to be perfect.”

MONET, completely serious: “Yes. I’m glad you’ve finally realized this.”

Theresa sighs with annoyance as the class is let out.

Out in the hall, Monet and Theresa walk to their next destinations. Theresa asks if Monet is going to the Alpha Phi party that night.

MONET: “Why would I do that?”

THERESA: “I dunno. Bunch of snobby rich girls. Seems like your kinda people, and I figured the only two Mutants at this school could get some drinks together.”

MONET: “Even if I was going, I wouldn’t bring you. But by all means, try and get in on your own. Drunk bimbos who won’t get anything from this school but a future husband seem like YOUR people.”

THERESA, smiling with frustration: “It really hurts ye to be nice, doesn’t it?”

MONET: “No. I just prefer being honest.”

THERESA: “You must also love being alone then.”

Theresa walks away from an unphased Monet. Something else, however, is able to get a reaction out of her.

MONET: “What?!”

Monet approaches and pulls down a flyer promoting a lecture Roberto is giving at the school that night. The lecture is called: “Me, Myself, and I, featuring Roberto Da Costa: Building An Empire By Yourself”, and there’s a picture of him winking.

Monet, pissed, tears up the flyer.

On a highway in the middle of nowhere, Akihiro tears up the road on his motorcycle, bluetooth device in his ear.

AKIHIRO: “How are things going on your mission, my lady?”

SOFIA, sarcastically: “Awful. I just failed an English test.”

Akihiro laughs. And her friends?

SOFIA, laying on the beach: “Delighted to have me back. Confused that I’m dating your sister.”

We see Laura, uncomfortably happy, getting ice cream for them both at a nearby stand.

AKIHIRO: “You are wicked. If she knew the truth about you, she’d be honored.”

SOFIA, putting on a fake smile and switching to talking like her normal self as Laura brings her her ice cream: “She already is. Good luck with your mission.”

AKIHIRO: “I don’t need luck, my lady. I’ve been preparing for this my entire life.”

The music picks up and we see where he’s heading, as we momentarily cut to Logan drinking alone in a roadside bar.

In the Mission Room, Iceman arrives to find Emma and Cyclops waiting. What was so important? The Horsemen? Sinister? Dark Beast?

ICEMAN: “Oh god, please tell me it wasn’t Dark Beast.”

Scott tells him it, thankfully, isn’t anything too serious; there’s been enough of that lately. Emma fills him in on what’s happening: Over the last two weeks, her company has been robbed three times. Once from the corporate HQ, once from a domestic manufacturing facility, and once from an in-progress international shipment. In a normal month, her security is tight and competent enough to thwart any and all would-be thieves. Not only that, but at all three robberies, Mutant guards were present, and bested, and no sign that a thief was ever there was left behind. They don’t even remember anything.

EMMA: “And the strangest part? They haven’t stolen anything vital. Valuable, yes, but nothing irreplaceable or particularly damaging.”

Bobby gets from all that why she wouldn’t just take this to the cops, but is this really X-Men business? Emma counters that she can’t very well go after the ruffian mocking her with these robberies herself. That’s simply unprofessional. Cyclops volunteered, but she doesn’t want him working alone.

ICEMAN: “Alright, I guess I can help. Sounds like an inside job to me. Probably some disgruntled Mutant employee.”

EMMA: “Not possible. All of my employees are happy and well-compensated.”

ICEMAN: “You literally busted a strike three months ago.”

EMMA: “That is a slanderous description of what happened, and I will not stand for it.” Emma heads for the door. “Now, come along boys. The sooner we catch this annoyance, the sooner we can throw them in a hole.”

Bobby and Scott are left behind as she exits. Scott has a big grin on his face. Bobby is irritated.

SCOTT: “I love her.”

BOBBY: “And you’re why I don’t want a Frost into me.”

In a lecture hall at MIT, 23 year-old Roberto Da Costa is on stage sharing his life story with college students barely younger, or, in some cases, older than him. He’s clearly not taking this seriously, in full schemer mode as he walks around and speaks with a narcissistic swagger, and fluffing details of his past, such as saying he was the leader of the New Mutants, and that he was involved in his father’s business from a young age.

As Roberto goes on a brief tangent, speaking to the reasons he admired his father, and the reasons he needed to cut his own path, Monet enters, her sour sneer present. Roberto notices her almost immediately and quickly wiggles his fingers at her teasingly.

Monet, in a huff, tries to find a place to sit. She’s quietly called out to by a group of well-dressed black students, who mime an offer for her to sit with them, appearing friendly. There’s a mild but brief panic in Monet’s eyes as she turns away from them and finds a place to sit alone.

Roberto continues to speak about how, even among the enlightened minds sitting before him, there’s likely still a common thought: For all that he’s achieved, repeatedly helping to save the world, bringing back Da Costa International, to new heights even, and having hair most men can only dream of, wouldn’t he have been more successful if he wasn’t a Mutant?

ROBERTO: “But the truth is that I wouldn’t be nearly as successful if I wasn’t a Mutant. I may be a one-of-a-kind man, but I’m only the man I am because of my friends, my family, my community…” Roberto makes sure his eyes land on Monet. “My partners.” Monet rolls her eyes. “I am a Mutant and proud of it. And for any of you who are different or discriminated against in some way…” The screen behind Roberto displays footage of him at an outrageous and luxurious yacht party. “Make it your strength, and you can be as awesome as me!” The crowd applauds. Roberto whispers, “Well, almost as awesome.”

A short time later, as Roberto is taking off his makeup backstage, Monet approaches him from behind, and before he can get out two smarmy words, she tosses him against a wall.

MONET: “What the Hell are you doing here, Da Costa?”

In the bar, Logan asks the bartender if he has the time. The bartender asks him in turn if his phone is dead.

LOGAN: “Phone got eaten by the giants I was fighting before coming here.”

The bartender looks at him strangely, unsure if he’s making a joke.

On the street, we see a motorcycle racing down the road toward the bar.

Logan laughs, with the bartender awkwardly laughing with him.

LOGAN: “Yeah, I can never remember to keep that thing charged.”

BARTENDER: “Heh, I feel that.”

The motorcycle comes even closer.

BARTENDER: “You got anyone who can remind you? My wife’s always reminded me.”

LOGAN: “I look like the kinda guy with a wife?”

BARTENDER: “Don’t sell yourself short, guy.” Logan glares at him. “Err, sorry, I didn’t mean, um…”

The motorcycle has almost arrived.

LOGAN: “Don’t worry about it. Can I get a menu?”

BARTENDER: “Uhh, sure. Suddenly get hungry?”

LOGAN: “Something like that.”

The motorcycle parks out in front of the bar. Black boots step onto the ground.

LOGAN, looking at the menu: “Huh. Haven’t had python in a few decades.”

The door to the bar is opened and a bell rings, as sinister music plays…only for the music to turn triumphant as we pan up the person who’s just arrived. It isn’t Death; it’s Storm.

The bartender’s jaw drops at the sight of her, as he mumbles in confusion over what “a goddess like that” is doing here.

Storm comes right over to Logan, both happy to see one another, as she greets him and apologizes for being late. Logan reminds her he likes being alone.

STORM: “Please, Logan. None of us have believed that in years.”

She then kisses him on the lips before sitting down.

LOGAN, holding Ororo’s hand, the bartender frozen in shock: “Think we could get another menu?”

Jaw still on the floor, the bartender ever so slightly nods.

We cut to a port, where Cyclops and Iceman are on a Frost International freighter, with Scott explaining his plan to catch the thief. The thief has specifically been targeting specific locations at specific locations where Mutant guards were posted. Tonight, Emma has taken all her employed Mutant security off the schedule and put the two of them on it. Additionally, she’s anonymously leaked to New York’s criminal underworld what valuables are hidden on this shipment.

CYCLOPS, eating yogurt with a smile on his face: “From what we know about the thief, they won’t be able to resist the chance to show up two X-Men and steal them. And even if we aren’t prepared for their abilities, Emma’s just a mile away. Far enough to not be on the thief’s radar, but close enough to get a psychic lock on them.”

ICEMAN, casually using his powers to make an ice conveyor belt to help the deckhands move heavy cargo around: “Not a bad plan. You know you’ve been smiling a lot lately, right?”

CYCLOPS, yogurt in his mouth: “So?”

ICEMAN: “So, now that you’ve actually learned how to chill, the next time we get into some time travel nonsense and probably meet you and Emma’s daughter from a post-apocalyptic future, I want you to go tell your teen self to not ride my ass so much.”

CYCLOPS: “I dunno. I think you turned out pretty okay.”

ICEMAN, dusting off his hands as he finishes helping the crewmen: “I spent a year couch surfing and my entire life burying my trauma in denial of my real identity.”

CYCLOPS: “Yeah. So you’ve done about as well as the rest of us.”

ICEMAN, with a pained smile: “Jean’s gone and Warren’s dead. Only three of “us” left.”

Scott’s smile fades and he apologizes for them not really having talked about this or having found time to mourn. The two of them should call Hank and do something.

SCOTT: “Maybe Ororo even put in a good word so he won’t hate me.”

Bobby quietly laughs. Maybe.

Scott asks if there’s something else on his mind. Bobby opens his mouth to answer but chooses to just tell Scott it’s nothing. He’s just been thinking about some stuff is all. Scott knows not to push and accepts this.

A mile away in a restaurant, however, Emma taps her finger against her chin, listening in to their conversation and clearly wanting him to talk.

Back at MIT, Monet and Roberto walk through the halls of the building where Roberto was giving his speech, Roberto winking and blowing kisses at all the girls they pass by who are clearly into him.

Monet tells him she let him finish cleaning up like he requested. Now he needs to tell her why he’s here.

MONET, telepathically: “Aren’t our communications meant to be secret?”

BETO: “It would be a lot easier to keep them that way if your telepathy was strong enough for long distance.”

MONET: “YOU do not get to talk to me about power.”

Roberto faux-innocently raises his hands. He tells her he’s here because they need to discuss further investments. Da Costa International has grown fast - too fast. Without a massive influx of capital soon, it’s all going to fall apart.

ROBERTO: “Call me naive for not planning ahead for this, but it’s not as if I’ve done this before.”

He doesn’t expect another investment from Monet though. He just wants her to help him find new investors. Preferably ones with “certain ties” to their community.

MONET: “I thought that part of your plan was a poor joke.”

ROBERTO: “We’re preparing for desperate times. That means desperate measures.”

Monet sighs. She’ll see what she can do. Is that all?

Roberto cheerfully steps in front of Monet and tells her there’s actually one more thing they need to discuss.

MONET: “And what is that?”

ROBERTO, smirking flirtatiously: “Where I’m taking you for dinner tonight.”

Monet is surprised for a second, before smirking flirtatiously back at him. Roberto starts listing off possibilities, with Monet only chiming in to agree with how great each option sounds…only Roberto snaps back to reality to see he’s talking to himself, with people staring at him like he’s crazy.

ROBERTO, awkwardly scratching the back of his head: ‘Ha ha. I’m just…um…practicing method acting?”

Outside, Monet walks away from the building, smirking to herself.

MONET: “How is that for weak telepathy? Ha ha. Good one, Monet.”

At the bar, Logan and Ororo are sharing beers. Ororo has spent the last few weeks in England with Betsy, Rachel, and their family, wanting to look after Betsy in light of the years she and Warren had been together. Betsy insisted she was fine after the first couple days, but Storm stayed anyway. The others ended up dropping by too: Kurt, Pitor, Hank, Rogue and Remy. Lots of drinking, lots of stories, lots of laughs and tears. There was even a half-serious betting pool on how long it would take for Warren to come back. It was nice. Logan should have joined them.

Logan admits that does sound pretty good, but he’s been working. Slim’s been having him work on trying to track down the monsters responsible for this. He’s got Madrox and his team working on this too, but so far they haven’t gotten anywhere.

Logan also admits that he can’t help but wonder how things would be if the two of them had been runnings things like old times. From the start. Genosha and the Morlocks could maybe have been saved, the Horseman could have already been stopped…he still trusts Cyclops, against his better judgment, but…

ORORO: “But there is a reason I once ousted him.”

Logan nods and drinks. Plus, he’s done a good job with Laura, but things outside her control have messed her up more than ever. He should be there for her. Ororo doesn’t think he needs to worry there, for now at least. Kitty has been sending her pictures and giving her updates as always, and she seems very happy with her new girlfriend.

LOGAN: *Growls in protective dad* “Something about this whole Wind Dancer story doesn’t smell right.”

ORORO: “Her story is no more strange, nor a miracle, than my own. The truth will be revealed in time. For now, be happy for Laura. Sofia is a good girl - an X-Man. And she’s wanted this for a long time.”

Logan just growls again. Ororo, giggling, wraps her hand around Logan. Logan puts his beer down and takes her hand in his.

LOGAN: “You’ve been taking care of everyone else, like always. You remembering to take care of yourself?”

Ororo nods. As we see flashes of their dead bodies, Ororo speaks about how she cannot sleep without seeing the Morlocks. She was the leader of the most vulnerable Mutants, the ones most in need of protection, and she failed them. Not even by those who hate and fear mutants, but by the cruelest among them, who they are right to fear.

STORM: “Were the storms still mine to command, I would find Exodus myself and make him suffer a thousand fold for each and every death.”

LOGAN: “As if you need your powers to kick that bub’s ass.” Ororo dons a flattered smile as Logan looks as her lovingly. “You can take him, Magneto’s gonna want Pestillence, and I’ll take the head of whoever’s running this sick show now.”

Logan spins around, stands up, and catches a knife that was about to go through his head. Ororo also leaps to her feet, drawing her new weapons, Callisto’s knives, as the scared bartender hides behind the bar.

Akihiro, dressed like the other bar patrons, with a cowboy hat concealing his eyes, stands up from the table he’s been sitting at in the background this whole time.

AKIHIRO: “That…is something I will never allow to happen.”

Akihiro dramatically tosses his cowboy hat aside as he turns blue.

LOGAN, sneering: “Unless Apocalypse recruited more than one Japanese man with a bad haircut, I’m guessing you’re Death.”

AKIHIRO, grinning: “If you know that about me, then you know who else I am.”

LOGAN: “I know you say you’re my kid.” Logan drops the knife and pulls out his claws. “And I don’t care.”

AKIHIRO: “I wouldn’t have expected anything else.”

Akihiro pulls out his own claws as the two men stare each other down. This goes on until they, plus Ororo, rush toward each other.

At night on the freighter, Scott is eating dinner with the deckhands. They’d like to hear some X-Men stories, or maybe some embarrassing things about Ms. Frost, but he’s only interested in eagerly talking their ears off about the connections between the histories of nautical and aeronautical development.

DECKHAND #1, whispering as Scott rambles: “I’m so bored.”

DECKHAND #2: “We all are, but I’m not gonna be the idiot to disrespect the boss’s man. Just smile and nod.”

Outside, Iceman stands on a pillar of ice on the ocean.

EMMA, telepathically: “Robert?”

BOBBY, annoyed: “In the middle of keeping an eye out for YOUR thief.”

EMMA, seated in a theater: “Then I’ll keep this brief. What’s troubling you?”

Bobby, over-aggressively, insists there’s nothing wrong with him, but Emma reminds him of the obvious that he shouldn’t be lying to a telepath. Ever since his battle with Exodus, being around his mind has put butterflies in her stomach.

Bobby aggressively brings up that “maybe” it has something to do with his best friend and the Morlocks being killed, but Emma counters that they’ve *all* been dealing with those losses; this is something else. Iceman mutters in frustration that he knows she won’t let this go. He explains he’s been thinking about his new identity, even reading about it.

EMMA: “You? Reading?”

BOBBY: “I did go to college, Emma.”

EMMA: “So do liberal arts majors. Continue.”

Iceman brings up how he was just at the school’s SGA, but, like, why do they need one of those? Why does a school dedicated to protecting a minority need a “safe space” for its minority members? Why don’t they feel safe with everyone else?

ICEMAN: “We’re all Mutants. We should all share the same fights. But we don’t.”

Emma acknowledges she’s no expert in this regard either, and only went along with the club’s formation because Karma and Northstar wanted to start it, but if he wants to do more research and suggest changes they can implement to make their queer students feel more safe, the headmasters would of course be happy to listen to him. Bobby thanks her, but doesn’t seem too pleased with that response. He doesn’t think that’s enough.

Before the conversation continues, Iceman is called out to by a gravely voice.

Iceman turns around and sees a big, bald, stereotypical tough guy having flown up to him on jet boots. He smirks confidently.

ICEMAN: “Emma, I think I’ve got our thief.”

EMMA: “I see him, but I can’t get in his mind. I also can’t imagine my security being bested so easily by this neanderthal. Watch yourself.”

Bobby laughs that off. He beat Exodus, and he’s been asking Erik to spar with him. This guy’s gonna regret approaching him like this.

We cut back to the inside of the ship, where the deckhands all laugh at a dad pun from Scott. One of the deckhands from before says to his friend that they deserve extra pay for keeping this guy happy, before he, Cyclops, and the others, are all frozen. Once again, we hear pre-pubescent laughter.

Shortly later, Iceman wakes up on the floor, seeing the others having been frozen, and confused by what happened.

EMMA, standing up and heading out of the theater, frustrated: “You lost, Robert. And I don’t have the faintest idea how…but I will.”

On the quad at MIT at sunset, Monet quickly paces as she speaks on the phone, agreeing to certain things and telling the person she’s speaking to “No” about other matters. Monet eventually smiles as she tells the person she’s speaking to that that should cover everything; she looks forward to working with them.

As she smugly hangs up, Theresa comes racing up to her from behind, calling out her name, and asking her to wait up.

MONET: “You can fly, Siryn.”

THERESA: “Yes, but I try not to here. What are you in such a rush for? Not like you have anywhere to be.”

MONET: “I’m Monet St. Croix. I don’t do anything slow. What do you want?”

Theresa asks Monet if she’s going to the party. Monet asks her if she hit her head or if there just isn’t much in it; they already had this conversation.

THERESA, ready to rip Monet’s head off if she could: “Not the Alpha Phi party. Sunspot’s party!”

Monet’s eye twitches.

MONET: “His what?”

Theresa explains that Beto booked out a trendy new club near campus and all the students are invited. He had her send out a blast on the school’s socials, but she knows Monet isn’t on any of those. He’s plugging it as a mixer where soon-to-be-grads can speak to him directly about job opportunities.

Monet is more than a little peeved by him pulling a stunt like this when they’re supposedly in need of money but hides her contempt behind a stoic facade. She has two questions for Theresa: Why is she helping Beto, and why is she talking to her?

SIRYN: “Don’t you know? Sunspot and I go way back. X-Force back. And I’m talking to you…” Siryn leans forward and whispers into M’s here. “Because he wants his partner helping him spot potential.”

Monet’s eyes widen as Theresa steps back, smirking.

MONET, mouth slightly opened, telepathically: “You work for him.”

THERESA: “Technically, I work for both of you. Now come on! Let’s go get changed. Maybe you’ll be forced to make a friend.”

Theresa walks off. Monet seems angry, but once Theresa is out of sight, her expression turns somber.

At the bar, as the bartender and a few patrons cower in fear, Logan and Storm fight Death. Unlike Laura, both X-Men are more than capable of keeping up with the Horseman, the two fighting in perfect unison, Logan blocking all of Akihiro’s strikes, even if that means using his body as a shield so that Storm can slash him with her knives and, eventually, kick him back into a table.

Akihiro laughs. Guess he can’t play around with his food too much this time. He retracts his claws and coughs the Muramasa blade up, the sword flying out of his mouth as he catches the handle in his hand. As he does this, both his and Logan’s wounds heal. Logan flinches at the sight of Death’s healing factor.

AKIHIRO: “Ready to believe me…Father?”

With Logan uncertain of what’s going on, Storm makes the next move before Death can. Faced off against his large blade with only knives, Storm moves with the grace of a dancer as she parries and dodges, seeking an opening.

AKIHIRO: “Lady Akabba would be more than happy to return your weapon if you’d only kneel before her.”

STORM: “I kneel to no one.”

Storm manages to stab Akihiro in the heart. Logan jumps back in by feinting a punch, before kicking up a barstool and smacking Akihiro across the face with it. While Aki is hurt and falls over, he is able to slash Logan across the chest in retaliation.

Logan bends over from the pain as blood gushes out. Aki snickers.

AKIHIRO: “My sword, Muramasa, is no ordinary blade. If I so will it, it can kill anything. Even your Mutation cannot save you from it.” Storm comes to Logan’s side to check on him, as it becomes clear their current strategy isn’t getting them anywhere. “You know I get Sister not being interested in me. But do you really not care?” He sneers. “I suppose you care as little about me as you did about Itsu.”

The mention of that name appears to hurt Logan more than the gaping wound in him. Storm is just confused. Who is Itsu?

AKIHIRO: “Of course he wouldn’t mention her.” Aki stabs Muramasa in the floor and leans on it. “Maybe after you hear my story, goddess, you’ll realize you’re not standing among heroes.”

Logan and Storm brace for whatever he’s about to say.

In Emma’s car, she, Scott, and Bobby sit together in the back, embarrassed over their humiliating failure. Scott is being forced to sit away from the others because he’s still getting warmed up after being put on ice, and he’s sneezing frequently; Emma loves him, but not enough to tolerate sitting next to that.

All three X-Men are confused. Bobby has no memory of what happened, all Scott saw was Iceman freezing him, and for Emma, one second she was clearly in Bobby’s mind, the next it was all fuzzy.

ICEMAN: “I’m not saying I WANT a Horseman behind this, but it’d make it a lot less embarrassing than some two-bit thief.”

Emma thinks that while they shouldn’t be assuming anything like that, they were clearly overconfident. They won’t fall prey to that trap again.

EMMA: “Which I why the next move is to make ourselves the predators.”

She wasn’t able to get a mental lock on the thief they encountered, or see into their mind, initially, but she was able to once Iceman attacked Cyclops, and that was just a powerless human. While that may scream possession, if this was someone with abilities similar to Malice, but without the restriction of needing to be accepted in, the thief could have gone straight for her.

To dig further, she’s, as gently as possible, cut his mind open with a scalpel to look for any mental residue of what was done to him. And it wasn’t much, but she got something. Just the slightest taste of the mind behind all of this. And from that, although she can’t pinpoint the exact person, she has their location Right now, they’re seemingly back home at a cheap apartment complex in Astoria.

EMMA: “No doubt yucking it up at our expense while trying to find a buyer.”

And only one person there has psychic defenses. So, that’s where they’re going now.

SCOTT, sneezing: “If they’re just poor and desperate, maybe there’s a better way to handle this than a fight. You said yourself they’ve been deliberately stealing non-critical targets, and they’re probably a Mutant.”

EMMA: “It’s about the disrespect. This thief has a bone to pick with me, and I intend to find out why, and punish them appropriately. In any case, in your condition, I wasn’t going to ask you to work anyway.”

BOBBY: “No, you save that for the unions.”

EMMA, more offended than she lets on: “Listen you.”

Bobby laughs and tells them both not to worry. Get him to the apartment, point him to whoever’s got defenses, and he’ll decide if this is a mess to be cleaned up or if there’s a bad guy to beat. Emma and Scott both conceed this is fine.

We cut to a club in Cambridge, where a loud party is raging with hundreds of attendees. Roberto is DJing, wearing exceptionally douchy sunglasses indoors, with multiple girls hanging off him.

Monet and Theresa enter, both dressed to party, but while Theresa is excited by the turnout, and ready to have some fun since her work here is done, Monet is immediately uncomfortable. She moves forward slowly and hesitantly, with small steps and her arms held close to her body, as the lights, music, and people all bother her, something her face struggles to hide.

Monet, struggling to find a place on the dance floor where she isn’t being bumped into, just flies over to a wall.

MONET, telepathically: “I am never helping you again.”

ROBERTO, telepathically: “What? Don’t like the party? Or is this about Siryn? It’s not like I planted her. She just happened to be where I needed her.”

MONET: “Do not play. Why are you messing with me?”

ROBERTO: “I’m not messing with you. But I do like playing.”

We cut to Roberto, making out with one of the girls from before.

ROBERTO: “Hate me all you want, but don’t punish the baby. Now help me find candidates. I’m very busy with a particularly promising one as is.”

Monet rolls her eyes and forces herself back into the crowd with the riff raff. Roberto meanwhile asks the girl he’s making out with for her name.

With flashback visuals shown, Akihiro tells Storm and Logan his story. As a baby, he was left on the doorstep of a kind couple, one who couldn’t have kids of their own, in a small village in Japan. Growing up, he didn’t know who his parents were, his adoptive parents were the only ones he needed, but he did curse whichever one of them was a foreigner. The clear mixed nature of his birth made him an outcast, disregarded by the adults, and tormented constantly by his peers.

AKIHIRO: “Daken, they’d call me.”

He was insulted. He was beaten. His only comfort was that his parents loved him. But he didn’t even truly have that.

AKIHIRO: “I have more weapons than just those I inherited from you, Father.” Logan and Storm gasp as they turn their claws and knives on each other, slightly cutting each other’s necks. “Pheremones. They can make you do crazy things. They make you putty in my hand. And no mental defenses can help you.”

Unfortunately, as a child, he didn’t have control over this power. And, as he overheard one night, his father had put together that he and his mother only loved him when he was around.

AKIHIRO: “I believe I handled the situation from there well. I killed my father, was banished from the village that hated me so, and when my mother chased after me to assure me she loved me, I killed her too. Not too poor emotional maturity for a nine year old.”

Logan and Storm try to open their mouths to say something, but all they can do under Akihiro’s pheremones is grit their teeth, pant, and wait.

Aki explains that he wandered for a bit after that. He’d found his claws when he killed his mother, and it didn’t take too much longer to figure out the pheremones, at least the basics, and with him being the unacceptable mongrel he was, it only made sense to use these weapons to keep killing. He took assasination work where he could find it, training on his own to better use his weapons, and at age 12, he was recruited by The Hand.

AKIHIRO: “That didn’t last too long though. After only a few months, I was “Purchased”. By a man named Romulus.”

Logan tries to scream, but he still can’t open his mouth. Akihiro laughs. Yes, they do know each other, don’t they?

AKIHIRO: “Ogun too, right? He wasn’t around all that often, but he did help Romulus forge this…soulful blade.”

Logan is able to start shaking his body just a little in rage.

Romulus…was a bastard. He never knew much about him, other than he was powerful enough that the world’s deadliest assassins feared his name, and he rarely spoke to him. Romulus spoke to HIM plenty though. Reminding him what a monster he was as he trained him day and night. Akihiro had thought he’d become strong, even among the Hand, he’d trained and worked alongside elites, but Romulus put him in his place. He beat him, not fought him, and when he got up, Romulus would beat him back down.

AKIHIRO: “An endless, vicious cycle of suffering. One I was welcome to leave at any time. But one thing drove me to stay: the truth. The truth that you, Father, had killed my mother and abandoned me.”

LOGAN: “That’s not!--”

Is all Logan is able to get out against the effects of the pheremones. Akihiro tells him to spare him; he won’t fall for his lies. Not when he has another, far wiser, source.

We cut to a spacious, two-bedroom apartment. It isn’t a great place, but it’s been refurbished, and has clearly been decorated by a kid, with big, bright colors, video game and anime merch all over the place, and a big sound system. There’s also assorted, partially-dismantled weapons and tech all over the place.

The sound of a first person shooter being played is heard as we pan across the apartment. Finally, we see the thief, an average sized, brown-haired 14 year-old, seated on the couch playing video games in an oversized Dazzler nightshirt, eating chips. Notably for comic fans, they DON’T look like anyone from the comics. They call out for “Morgan” to come back them up. They’re getting killed out here!

“You have been antagonizing a former supervillain, so you really should be prepared for that.”

“Huh?!”

Condensation on the thief’s mountain dew bottle leaps off the surface and forms into Iceman, who immediately freezes them up to their head.

ICEMAN: “Soooo, you’re a kid. I lost to a kid. Surge and Hellion are gonna love that one. How about you cut me a break and make this easy by telling me what’s going on.”

The thief’s face cycles through various expressions of fear and excitement, until they sneer.

THIEF: “Dude…I think you just broke my stuff..”

In a flash, the thief and Bobby switch places. Bobby, in his human form, is trapped in a block of ice and put in a daze. The thief meanwhile stands where Iceman was just a moment ago, now in their own ice form.

THIEF: “Oh, this is SO cool! Pun DEFINITELY intended!”

The thief hums that if Iceman is here, then Cyclops and Emma Frost are probably close by too.

THIEF: “I should go say hi.” The thief enthusiastically conjures some snowballs and pelts Bobby in the face with them. “After I have some fun.”

The thief heads out the window, thinking they should go show these powers to Morgan and let him know they’re okay, since that jerk broke their phone and headset.

THIEF: “What kinda superhero doesn’t respect someone’s personal property?”

They make an icebridge in midair, having fun riding it around like a slip and slide as they build more and more of it. They make a note to themselves that this would make a great VR game.

The fun doesn’t last too long, however, as they’re blasted out of the sky by Cyclops’ optic beams, falling and being caught by Emma, via telekinesis. They’re dragged over through the air to Emma and a wrapped up Scott, panicking that “I’m not ready yet!”.

EMMA: “No.”

Sensing that the kid is about to use their powers again, now right in front of them, Emma is able to hit their mind with a blunt force she doesn’t usually like using to stop them from using their powers.

THIEF: “Ugggh. I don’t feel so good.”

Emma tells the thief she doesn’t like hurting children, but this one clearly sees her as an enemy.

EMMA: “You have been an irritating thorn in my side for long enough, but that ends tonight. I do not care if your parent is a disgruntled former employee of mine, if you're Shaw’s method of exacting mild revenge, or if you’re just a thrillseeker who wrongfully believed I made an easy target. I just want to know who you are before I decide what consequences await you.”

The thief’s face is filled with terror, but only for a moment, before the brightest smile and widest eyes take its place.

THIEF: “I…am your biggest fan.”

SCOTT & EMMA: “HUH?!”

Back at the party, Roberto has taken to the dance floor and is showing off to the students, moving with the grace of a ballerina. Some of the kids are into it and the kind of “cool boss” they want, while others find him cringe and are just playing along.

As he gets off the dance floor, he’s approached by Theresa who asks him where that came from.

ROBERTO: “Three years of Ms. Hunter’s ballet classes paid off.”

THERESA: “Who?”

ROBERTO: “Before your time.”

The two grunt twice, puffing out their chests, make X’s with their arms and shout, “X-FORCE!”

The two laugh over their old chant.

THERESA: “Why DID Cable have us doing that? And where even is the old guy these days?”

ROBERTO: ‘Both very good questions that I do not have answers to.”

As Roberto grabs a drink, he thanks Theresa for her help tonight. Theresa tells him not to mention it. If it were anyone else, she’d feel a little bad about messing with someone like this, but also…it’s Monet.

THERESA: “What’s all this about anyway?”

Roberto just flashes a smile. Theresa, annoyed, just nods and accepts that one.

THERESA: “I’m taking your word for it that you’re still one of the good guys. Please don’t let me down.”

ROBERTO, taking her hands: “Theresa Cassaday, I promise that I am just as much a hero as ever.”

Theresa seems won over, saying she knows. Now, why doesn’t he try teaching her to dance like him?

ROBERTO: “Sure thing. But don’t blame me if you end up looking more like Sam.”

We flashback to the past for the conclusion to Akihiro’s story, where an 18 year-old Aki is sparring Romulus, on the bookfoot, but after six years of training, managing to hold his own against the ancient master. At least until Romulus runs him through with a sword and breaks his neck.

ROMULUS: “Tt. Look at you. All that passion. All that natural potential. And still…just…Daken.”

Akihiro snaps his neck back into place and demands that he not be called that. Romulus responds by questioning why he’d prefer the name given to him by parents who hated him. Daken is who he is. Daken is what he is.

ROMULUS: “But perhaps that’s why you’re still not ready to face Logan.”

Akihiro gets up, claws out, and moves in to strike Romulus. Romulus is prepared to counter, when a wave of energy crashes through the house they’re in, annhilating Romulus, while avoiding Akihiro.

Akihiro stands stunned in silence at the death of the only man he’s known for a third of his life. Through the smoke, enters Apocalypse. Aki stands ready to fight, but he’s also smart enough to still be clearly afraid of the guy who just did THAT.

AKIHIRO: “Who are you? Why did you kill my master?!”

Apocalypse says nothing as he slowly marches toward him. Aki tries using his pheremones, but they have no effect on the modified External. Eventually, Apocalypse reaches him.

APOCALYPSE: “Because, son of Wolverine, you deserve better.”

Akihiro is confused as Apocalypse puts a hand on his shoulder. Apocalypse tells him who he is, and what he seeks. He then tells him that there are more Mutants walking the Earth today than there have been in thousands of years. It should be the duty of the few elders to properly nurture and educate the strong among the youthful masses. And yet, be it pacifist fools like Charles Xavier, or thuggish brutes like Romulus, each and every one is a failure.

APOCALYPSE: “You seek strength. You require guidance. In exchange for your loyalty, I can grant you both. When we are done, you will have the power to end your father’s life. And the world will be ours.”

A nervous Akihiro tells Apocalypse he has no idea what he’s talking about, but strong as he is, Romulus was right about him. Everyone in his life has been right. Apocalypse should look elsewhere.

Apocalypse laughs. He still values the opinions of humans? Of the dead? He still stands, he still lives, he is strong. Apocalypse does not make mistakes.

APOCALYPSE: “You are not Daken. But you can be something new.”

AKIHIRO: “And what’s that?”

APOCALYPSE, grinning: “What you are the best at.”

After another moment of trepidation, Akihiro smirks and shakes Apocalypse’s hand.

In the present, Akihiro somberly laments his life. Abandoned, betrayed, sold, tortured. Only to finally be given a home. A place where he was safe, and happy, and made stronger than ever. They may not recognize him as family anymore than Logan, but in all the ways that matter, he finally had a true father. And a true sister.

Akihiro cackles, perking back up to his normal self. He just LOVES the shock and pain in Logan’s eyes right now, as if he’s even capable of guilt. Or maybe he is! Still far, far too late.

AKIHIRO: “The only thing I still want to know is why. Why did you kill my mother?”

LOGAN, his jaw free to speak: “I’m sorry.” Akihiro scoffs. “No, not for killing her. Because I can tell you wouldn’t believe me if I told you I didn’t.”

Akihiro growls and rushes to decapitate Logan with Muramasa, the blade shining, but he’s shocked as Logan catches the blade in his claws.

AKIHIRO: “What?!”

LOGAN: “Every cell in our bodies can regenerate. I’m guessing neither of the bubs who raised you taught you to do it on command. And they’re regenerating faster than the pheremones can reach them.”

Logan sends Akihiro flying with a right-hook. WIth him knocked to the floor and distracted, Storm is able to regain control of herself as well.

STORM, impressed: “When did YOU learn how to do that?”

LOGAN: “I’ll introduce you to the guy that taught me if you can put up with lots of bad jokes.”

The two don’t have any longer to talk, as one of the bar patrons runs up to them as is nearly killed by their claws and knives. The two are able to avoid him, but the bartender and all the other patrons have stood up, and are ready to try the same thing.

Akihiro, controlling them all, says this isn’t over yet.

Back in New York, a confused Emma asks the thief to elaborate.

The thief laughs nervously. They can't believe this is really happening. Just one sec!

In another flash, Bobby appears in front of Scott and Emma, the thief gone. He's disoriented and a little woozy.

A moment later, the thief comes flying out of the apartment on jet boots, landing in front of the three X-Men.

THIEF: “Okay, so, my name is Escapade. Aaand, I have looked up to you for so long. I'm a Mutant, obviously, but I'm also a thief. A pretty dang good one for a kid, I'd say. And I thought, since you used to be a supervillain, and I'm kinda a supervillain, I could impress you by stealing from you. You know, showing that I'm better than everyone you employ…and two of the coolest X-Men, apparently! Like, I totally owned them both!” Escapade cringes. “Did it work?”

Emma takes a moment to respond as she sneers.

EMMA: “Leaving aside the numerous questions we still have, while I can commend your taste, your actions reek of arrogance, desperation, and a lack of foresight. I'm afraid, young man, that I still have no choice but to–”

ESCAPADE: “Young lady.”

EMMA: “Hmm?”

ESCAPADE: “You said “young man.” My real name is Shela Sexton. I'm a girl.”

The gears turn in Emma’s mind and her eyes light up, as a grin spreads across her face.

EMMA, with a complete change in tone: “Well, I suppose I can hardly fault an ambitious young woman for being a little rash, especially one with the talent you've shown.”

BOBBY: “Is she serious right now?”

SCOTT, smiling knowingly: “Oh yeah.”

SHELA: “ohmygodEmmaFrostcalledmetalented.”

EMMA: “Very. Now, why don't we take this conversation somewhere a bit nicer so we can learn all about you and your abilities, Escapade?”

SHELA: “Yes! Yes, of course!”

BOBBY: “I don't get it. Does she hate men that much, or does she just really support women?”

SCOTT, holding back laughter: “Keep guessing.”

Emma reaches out a hand to Shela. Shela, excited but nervous, takes it, as they all get into Emma’s car.

Back at the party, Monet takes in everyone laughing and drinking and having fun, and anxiously tries to decide who she should approach - and how.

Monet turns around and finds one of the young men who’d tried getting her to sit with his friends earlier in the day. He tells her she isn’t an easy person to talk to. Not on social media, almost never going to campus events, always running back to her room after class.

GUY: “Why hide such a pretty face?”

Monet weakens and softens a little, clearly attracted,

MONET: “I…don’t.”

GUY: “Huh?”

MONET, shaking her head: “Never mind.”

The guy takes the awkwardness in stride, and asks her if she’d like to come hang out with him and his friends. They’ve heard the stories, and they want to know how many of them are true.

MONET: “If they’re tales of my successes, they’re true. If no, I assure you they’re falsehoods.”

The guy laughs loving that confidence. Monet seems to get a little more confident, as she says she’d love to join them. She’s actually working for Roberto and is helping him scout new employees - is that something they’d be interested in?

The guy remains polite, but is a little offput. They’re really just here for the drinks and to have a good time, not the job opportunities. He’s actually planning on starting his own startup next year. Get around having to work for guys like Da Costa. Monet asks him what he means, with the guy quick to list off the many crimes and scandals of Emmanuel Da Costa.

Monet raises an eyebrow, and says that while Roberto is a pompous, arrogant, disrespectful idiot with delusions of grandeur, he isn’t his father. The guy tells her she doesn’t need to defend her boss, there’s not judgement here for taking the job. These people are the same.

MONET: “These people?”

GUY: “You know what I’m talking about.”

MONET: “It sounds like you’re talking about me.”

GUY: “I didn’t mean it that–”

MONET: “I’m sorry that I don’t drink, because I would love to throw one in your face right now. I’ll just have to settle for this.”

Monet’s eyes glow red, and she makes the guy telepathically imagine he’s having a drink thrown in his face.

Monet stomps off, muttering to herself how this happens, “every time”, and approaches the bar.

MONET: “You. Do you have any apples? I need something to crunch on.”

BARTENDER, surprised: “Actually, yes. We don’t usually, but a whole bag of them was left in the kitchen and we–”

MONET, intensely: “Get me one.”

The bartender holds his hands up defensively, and walks off to the kitchen. Monet taps her foot as she sets her eyes on a group of bombshell Alpha Phi girls, sitting together and skipping their own party in favor of this one. After getting her apple and taking a bite, she braces herself, and forces herself to don an awkward smile, Monet walks up to them.

Monet, doing her best attempt at what she thinks sorority girls talk like, gives a weak, fake compliment of their near identical blonde, straight hair, and informs them that she’s been asked to help Mr. Da Costa pick out applicants, already working for him.

MONET: “Would any of you…bitches?...be interested?”

There’s an awkward pause, before the sorority girls all start laughing.

SORORITY: “We are definitely interested, but, like…who are you?”

Monet introduces herself, giving her full name, and tries to continue pitching, only to be cut off by the girls as they all start mimicking her accent, incorrectly pronouncing her last name, and trying to guess how it’s spelled.

Monet clenches her fist in frustration at this, as teeny, tiny red spikes come out of her hand. Taking a breath, and forcing herself to keep smiling, she retracts the spikes, as the girls apologize for interrupting and ask her to continue.

MONET: “Actually…I believe I’ve seen enough.”

Monet stomps off, once again, but the spikes start coming back out as frustration and stress overwhelm Monet. Seething, she superspeeds over to Roberto, who’s in the middle of teaching Theresa to dance, and shoves him to the floor. She’s done here. And with him.

Monet superspeeds off, tears in her eyes, as Roberto gets up and apologizes to Theresa; he’s going to have to cut this party short.

Back at the bar, Logan and Death fight one-on-one. Despite Akihiro weilding the Muramasa blade, and Logan already being severely injured, Logan still has the upper hand.

Meanwhile, Storm is attacked by the pheromone-controlled bartender and patrons, all of whom chant, “Kill Me”, with Ororo forced to fight defensively to avoid hurting, or killing, any of them.

Akihiro gives a brief monologue, echoing Apocalypse’s words to him, about who the real Mutants trying to save the world are. Because it isn’t the X-Men. Who are they? The weak, the compromising, the unfaithful, the unholy, the manipulated children, and those who stand atop humanity’s own institutions, infected by their corruption. Only Lady Akabba understands what is best for their people!

STORM, knocking out a man as painlessly as she can: “I said I do not kneel. Did I stutter?”

Logan tells Akihiro that he isn’t going to explain himself; just from what Aki’s said, he can see, he can feel, how poisoned his mind has been.

LOGAN: “What I can do is say I’m sorry for letting this happen. And promise you I’ll get you out of this.”

Logan talking down to him only pushes Akihiro over the edge, screaming and swinging at him wildly. Storm, in the process of dodging broken beer bottles, bar stools, and a pool cue, wants to jump in, but Logan tells her there’s no need.

AKIHIRO, attacking: “No need? No need?! How dare you! I am Death! Hand elite! Apprentice of Romulus! Horseman of Apocalypse!”

Logan catches Akihiro’s sword in his hand, even as it slices it wide open.

LOGAN, to a shocked Death: “Yeah, I’ve been trained by some of those guys too.” Logan hits Akihiro across the face with a right hook, sending him flying back into a wall. He slumps over on the floor. “And I’m a lot older than you.”

The brainwashed men all fall over unconscious, as Storm catches her breath and approaches Logan.

STORM: “Not a terrible workout. How much of what he said was true?”

LOGAN: “Enough. He is mine.”

Akihiro pants, struggling to pick himself back up.

AKIHIRO: “No…not…YOURS!”

Akihiro’s eyes glow and, in an instant, Logan is reduced to a pile of dust. Storm freaks out, launching her knives at Death, but he knocks them aside with his sword.

AKIHIRO, with venom: “Don’t worry. He’s still alive. He can heal from that. I have.” He points Muramasa at Storm. “When he wakes up, tell him I’ll be waiting for a rematch.”

Storm cannot do anything but glare as Akihiro runs off, and the dust slowly starts clumping together.

We cut to a fancy restaurant, where Emma, Scott, Bobby, and Shela are all seated, dressed appropriately. Shela bounces in her seat with excitement, fawning over the dress Emma got for her.

SHELA, nervously shrinking as she notices people looking at her: “I think people are staring.”

EMMA: “Darling, you’re with me; of course they’re staring.”

Shela giggles.

The teachers prompt Shela to tell them her story while they look over the menu, which Shela agrees to do. Shela explains how she was a pretty normal kid growing up, and then when she was 5, she turned out to be a Mutant. It took her a few years to understand what her powers actually were though. She can “Swap Circumstances” with people. Location, powers, knowledge, skills, you name it. She even assumes your “position” in the world, while whoever she swapped with is left in a daze, powerless. Plus, as a side effect from how much she’s used the power, her mind’s pretty cluttered, so most telepaths can’t really touch her.

BOBBY: “That’s…insane.”

SCOTT: “Says the man who can freeze time.”

BOBBY: “You need to stop being quippy right now because it’s really starting to bug me.”

Emma is enthused by the potential of Shela’s abilities, and questions why she bothers with all the technology - and where she obtained it. Shela scratches the back of her head and admits her power has a lot of restrictions. Can’t swap with more than two people at once, there’s a limit on each swap, she has to be within pretty close range to swap with someone,

SHELA: “Plus, I wouldn’t call myself an expert with it. Taken a lot of practice to get as good as I am. Soooo, I use the villain tech I steal. Mutants aren’t the only game in town, and there are tons of buyers for this stuff. It’s win-win.”

Cyclops can’t say he approves of her lifestyle, but he isn’t about to judge considering the one big, remaining question: Who IS she?

Shela sighs. When she came out as a Mutant, her parents were totally cool with it. They’re actually big fans of Dazzler. Life went on. Then when she was 12, she realized she was Shela. Her parents didn’t accept that. Emma and Bobby’s faces fall, all too familiar with this tale. Shela goes on to say that, after she was kicked out of her house, she was on the street for a bit until she was found by an awesome woman named Jessie who got her into a support group she ran for other trans Mutant kids - ones with nowhere to go. She learned a lot about herself there, met her best bud Morgan, and, yeah, even learned a little about the criminal scene some of them were a part of to survive, and getting into being a thief from there. And thanks to being a thief, she’s been able to cut a decent little life for herself, help provide for everyone else in the group, and, you know, start really becoming herself.

SHELA, to Emma: “It’s where I learned all about you. When I decided I wanted to be just like you. Obviously still working on that. That’s why I wanted to impress you, but didn’t want to reveal myself just yet. Not till I was more me ”

Scott is happy for the kid, while Emma remains intrigued and impressed, praising Shela for what she’s been able to accomplish despite her circumstances, and telling her she thinks she’s moving along toward her goals and being herself just fine. Iceman is confused though. Why are there a bunch of homeless Mutant kids? The school is open to all.

SHELA, sipping a shirley temple: “The Xavier Institute wasn’t even publicly for Mutants until four years ago. And even when it was…for most of us, being Mutants wasn’t the problem. There isn’t a lot of faith that the X-Men are any better. Jessie REALLY hates you guys.”

While Bobby is visibly struck by this, Scott promises Shela that the Jean Grey School is, genuinely, welcome to all Mutants. They have a diverse student body, and even some girls like her.

CYCLOPS: “Kinda.”

Shela shakes her head. That’s great and all, but just look at who the X-Men are. None of them could ever really understand them.

Emma can barely contain her laughter as she lights Shela’s eyes up blue.

SHELA: “HUH?!!!”

SCOTT: “Aaaaand now, people really are staring.”

SHELA: “You’re…but I thought…how…huh?!”

BOBBY: “What’s going on?”

Emma rolls her eyes and lights Bobby’s eyes up too.

BEAT.

BOBBY: “Get the Hell out.”

Emma tells Shela that she can more than understand her. If her friends don’t wish to come to the school, that’s their choice, but they should know that they will be looked after and cared for if they do.

EMMA: “The world is scary and hard and full of hate.” Scott puts an arm around her. “But you won’t find those who love and accept you unless you’re willing to take risks.”

Bobby seems to be just as attentive to Emma’s words as Shela.

Emma has an offer for Escapade. Come enroll in the school and get caught up on her studies, which she’s sure she’s horribly behind on, and finish the current semester with them. By next year, her current squad will all be ready to be X-Men; she will then be able to give Escapade her full attention.

SHELA, in awe: “I think I’m dreaming.” She slaps herself with both hands. “No. No I’m not.”

EMMA: “You’ve done well for your friends, Escapade, but now I offer you a chance to fight for your people - all of your people.”

Shela looks at each of the kind X-Men, before enthusiastically cheering “YES!”

Scott and Emma cheer as well, happy to have her, as the waiter comes by. Emma tells him to bring the secret specials; they’re celebrating.

Shela, mouth moving as a mile a minute, talks about how excited and insane this all is, Scott and Emma amused, as Bobby looks away in contemplation.

Monet sits alone in her dorm room, curled up in a ball on her bed, not having changed out of her club outfit. She’s pouting and distressed, watching children’s cartoons (it’s not shown explicitly for legal reasons, but she’s clearly watching Bluey).

There’s a knock on the door. Monet shouts at Thesea to give her some privacy, but…

ROBERTO: “Sorry. Not Terry. May I please come in?”

MONET: “Absolutely not.”

ROBERTO: “I brought apples. Well, I brought them back from the bar. I knew they’re your favorite so I made sure they were stocked.”

Monet is visibly surprised by the gesture, and softly tells Beto to make whatever he has to say quick. Beto enters, juggling three apples, before tossing them all over to M, who sits up and effortlessly catches them.

Beto wanted to come check on her and see what happen at the party. Monet tells him it’s none of his business, but Beto counters that since she just quit and he’ll go bankrupt and likely get punched in the face by Kitty without her, it very much is his business.

ROBERTO: “And even if it wasn’t, you can’t stop me from worrying.”

Monet sighs. It was nothing. She just didn’t like the way he was toying with her. And then… She trails off, grumbling, before continuing.

MONET: “Genetically, I am perfection. But people are more than genetics.”

Socially, she’s never been a butterfly. Always being standoffish and turning people away with her attitude for one, but also generally struggling when isn’t just putting on her polite manners for show. Back when she was in school, Beast thought she could be Autistic, but, for personal reasons, she never saw a specialist about it.

Beto admits he had no idea. He wouldn’t have tossed her into the position if he’d known. He’d just thought she struggled with making friends and wanted to help her. That’s why he pushed Theresa toward trying to spend time with her, and why he did ALL of this tonight as a mingling opportunity she could control.

BETO: “I admit…I can get a little ahead of myself with my plans.”

MONET: “You…did this all for me?”

Beto sits down and explains like its obvious. Monet could have graduated from college early and immediately started her own amazingly successful business, while also being instantly welcomed onto the X-Men, because they’d be fools to say no, but she chose to put her faith in him. And that means a lot.

Monet is stunned, and actually smiles - but doesn’t thank him. She continues to say that she isn’t the only problem. It’s everyone else.

MONET: “I grew up largely isolated. On my own or with my family. Then with Generation X, I had Chamber, Husk, Skin, the idiot, and…Everett. But now I’m in the real world. Not in a familial or X-shaped bubble.”

SUNSPOT: “And you’re not a fan?”

MONET: “And there are so few like me.”

This isn’t even about she and Theresa being the only Mutants on campus. It’s about the girls of her class here being vapid idiots, and American racial politics putting her in a position where the people who look like her think she’s evil and should lose everything she has just because she was born rich. By race or by class, she’s alone. By species too, really. There’s a reason she left the superhero life behind. Maybe she overreacted a little earlier, but the onus shouldn’t be on her to adapt to them.

MONET: “I’m sure this doesn’t make any sense to you. You’re in the same position, but you have no difficulty making everyone love you.”

Roberto laughs. She should know what they say about assuming.

ROBERTO: “It’s only a good idea if you’re a precog.”

Monet giggles.

Beto tells her how, before all of this, he was a football player in Brazil. Naturally, a very talented one. Largely surrounded by the palest teammates and competitors you can imagine, but he never thought that mattered. Until one day it did. Things got ugly. He got his powers, becoming slightly more awesome than he already was.

BETO, obviously lying: “And that was the end of that miserable day. I joined the school shortly after.”

Still, it didn’t matter if it was Brazil or America, the types of people he was surrounded by were largely the same. Not the biggest deal, he loves his family. But he also never bothered with an environment like this. And he can understand how isolating it may be.

The sadness underneath Roberto’s smile is evident, but M is clueless as to what to say. So, she changes things up a little.

MONET: “I don’t need this place. It doesn’t deserve me. Allow me to move to France and control our day to day operations. You know I will be more effective than the drones you’ve been using.”

BETO, smirking: “One condition.” Monet looks at him, waiting. “You agree to lunch every weekend. So you aren’t all alone.”

Monet giggles again. And she forcefully grips Beto’s hands.

MONET: “It’s a date.”

Beto grins back at her, as the two lean in and kiss each other. The two continue kissing as Monet rolls onto her back, allowing Roberto to get on top of her, Beto already moving to take his suit jacket off.

MONET: “Wait.” Beto instantly stops. “I’ve never done this before. Go slow.”

BETO, smiling at peace, nods: “As you wish.”

We pan away as the two begin to make love.

In Lady Akabba’s throneroom, Exodus and Malice laugh at a pissed Akihiro. He barks back at them to knock it off.

MALICE: “All that grumbling about how much you hate Daddy, and you couldn’t even kill him.”

EXODUS: “This is what we get for working with a Beta.”

AKIHIRO, getting up close in Exodus’ face: “Beta or Omega, I wouldn’t need any powers to kill you.”

EXODUS: “Of course you wouldn’t. That’s what you have your big, long sword for, isn’t it?”

AKIHIRO: “Exactly, and unlike some people, I’m not afraid to use mine.”

With a tilt of her head, Malice sends Akihiro flying back against a wall.

MALICE, standing confident with Exodus: “You’ve been War’s pet since Lord Apocalypse fell. Do you think she’ll appreciate your efforts?” EXODUS: “Or will that heartless witch put her little Daken down?”

The two snicker over the idea of Lady Akabba killing Akihiro. Death gets even more pissed, shaking with rage and prepared to attack, when a flash of pink light engulfs the room.

Accompanied by a bowing Lila Cheyney, Lady Akkaba appears from the light. Sofia didn’t have time to change before this, so she enters her evil lair dressed in a cropped sweater and jeans, still attempting to appear in control through her posture and expressions, regardless. If nothing else, Famine and Pestillence do silence themselves.

SOFIA: “Leave us.”

Exodus and Malice are fine with this order, smirking at Akihiro on their way over to Lila, who teleports the three of them away, leaving only Sofia and Aki.

Akihiro kneels, but, as Sofia turns blue, she immediately tells him to get up; there’s no need for airs right now.

AKIHIRO, smirking: “I haven’t seen you dressed like that in a long time, my lady. It’s cute.”

SOFIA, smiling: “You never…how long were you stalking me before we spoke?”

Death cackles, with Sofia giggling and shaking her head along.

SOFIA: “I see. Now…what happened?”

Akihiro, ashamed, gives the honest truth. He challenged his father and Storm, and, despite his strength, his multiple weapons, and the Muramasa blade, he was outclassed, and only escaped with some semblance of victory through the power of Death - something his father will recover from.

AKIHIRO: “You trusted me to eliminate those who Lord Apocalypse feared most. And I failed.” He holds out the Muramasa blade. “If you wish to claim it, my life is yours.”

Sofia glares at Akihiro, Akihiro standing stalwart and brave in the face of potential death. Until Sofia laughs.

SOFIA: “Don’t be so over-dramatic.”

Akihiro is confused as Sofia saunters over to her throne. Is it an annoying set-up back that he failed? Yes. Bur she hardly expected him to succeed on his own. There is a REASON Apocalypse feared his father and Storm. Even with one’s relatively minimal strength, and the other not even needing her weapon to be strong, they, more than anyone else, always found a way to win.

SOFIA, sitting down and crossing her legs: “I allowed you to attempt this because it is personal to you. Because Logan deserves to pay for what he has done. I never expected you to win.”

Akihiro takes the ego blow, but nods along. He points out that maybe Selene had a point about her being soft; Lord Apocalypse would have certainly killed him for this.

Sofia narrows her eyes, and blows herself back over to Akihiro on the winds.

SOFIA: “Do you really believe that?”

AKIHIRO: “Of course. Failure is the greatest sign of weakness.”

SOFIA: “That is true. But it is equally true that Apocalypse loves his family. That is what this is all about.”

AKIHIRO: “I’m not–”

SOFIA: “Hush. Exodus and Malice are mere servants. Ones we will eventually do away with. I am Apocalypse’s heir, but you are also his child. The only difference between us is that my biological predecessors were homo-sapiens. Your father is a Mutant, a strong one, and, despicable as he is, that means something to Apocalypse. But we are both his children. Father loves us both.”

Akihiro cheers up and thanks his lady. He’s honored by her words. He then points out that if she sees him as a brother, then what does that make her relationship with Laura.

SOFIA, amused: “Necessary.”

As Sofia blows her lightning-bolt shaped sword off the wall and into her hand, she tells Akihiro that he will be the king of the new world. And he will earn that role.

SOFIA: “You will fight your father again. And you will kill him.” She points her sword at his neck. “When I was at my weakest, it was you who found me. You who brought me here. You who guided me to my inner strength. Now, I shall pay it back. I will make you as strong as you need to be.”

Akihiro nods with excitement, readying Muramasa.

AKIHIRO: “Thank you, my lady. I am ready.” Dramatic music swells. “But perhaps you should consider getting changed first.”

Sofia is stunted for a second, looking over her outfit. The two laugh together.

Back at Shela’s apartment building, Escapade is scurrying around the place packing, excitedly chattering on a new phone to Morgan about how she’s going to live with the X-Men. “No, not the mean ones!”

Outside in the hallway, Scott, Emma, and Bobby wait for her, all happy with how this has worked out. Their “thief problem” was never really a problem, they’ve got a promising new student, and they get to give a kid who desperately needs a real one a home. Emma adds that she’ll be looking into the rest of this support group Shela belongs to. They obviously won’t make them come to the school, but she and Shela can ideally at least allieve them of their fears.

Scott cracks a joke about the idea of Emma making children less scared, which Emma just nudges him for, but Bobby has a stronger reaction to know. He wants to know what’s up with Scott that’s got him so smiley and jokey lately. Their situation hasn’t gotten better, hell, it’s only gotten progressively worse, so why now is he like this? Where’s the drill sergeant he grew up with?

Scott shrugs and tells him he didn’t even realize he was acting differently, but he’s definitely been feeling better. And not just because he sleeps every night next to the most gorgeous woman in the world. Yes, things haven’t been going the X-Men or Mutantkind’s way. But that’s because, for most of that time, he was doing things the Professor’s way. Now? He’s finally found himself. And regardless of anything else, that makes him the happiest he’s ever been. And it makes him confident about the future.

Bobby processes this, happy for him, and guessing that makes sense.

BOBBY: “Okay. I got it.” Bobby smiles at the two. “I’m leaving the X-Men.”

Scott and Emma are both shocked, with Emma demanding an explanation. Bobby reminds her what he’s been thinking about. About his identity. About both parts of his identity. Their school for Mutants is one where those who are different even among the other kids still need their own place to feel safe. It’s one Shela and her friends never felt safe coming to. And he gets it. He’s met Mutants with problems with people like them…people like himself.

EMMA: “And you believe you will make the school safer for them by leaving?”

BOBBY: “No, I’m leaving that to you guys. I’m leaving because I want to close that gap. So long as I’m with the X-Men, I’m a Mutant first, to some, a Mutant only. You two keep on focusing on keeping everyone alive; I’m going to focus on bringing us all together.”

Scott and Emma do agree that that’s sweet, and well-meaning, but couldn’t he just ask Northstar to do this? The X-Men don’t want to lose one of their biggest guns. Bobby points out that it’s not like he’s cutting off contact. If they need him, he’ll be there. They *better* call him when they find the Horseman. Plus, they have Magneto, they already decided they were going to give Wind Dancer her spot back to keep a closer eye on her, and he’s sure Wolverine will want back in to protect her. They’ll be fine.

Emma begrudgingly accepts this resignation, commending him for striking out on his own. Bobby thanks her for this last year. He wouldn’t have found himself if she hadn’t dragged him back onto the X-Men.

SCOTT, shaking Bobby’s hand: “I’m proud of you, twerp.”

BOBBY: “One of the five strongest Mutants alive and about to be a solo hero, and I’m still a twerp to you?”

SCOTT: “Always will be.”

We close as we cut to the school, where Shela, now in her signature yellow and blue Escapade costume, eagerly walks down the halls of the Jean Grey School, dragging her luggage behind her. Opening a door, she says hello to Martha and Ernst.

SHELA, couldn’t be happier: “HI! I’m Escapade! And I’m your new roommate!”

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

CAST CHANGE:

ICEMAN AKA BOBBY DRAKE IS NO LONGER PART OF THE MAIN CAST.

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fuck-customers · 1 year

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🌙

This isn't a fuck anyone, I just wanted to get input for other people who work in the dog grooming industry.

I used to work for a dog grooming shop for two years. I was never trained to do any grooming nor have I gone to school for it. I quit in November and I'm looking for jobs in that same field. Obviously no one is going to make me a groomer right off the bat and I'm not asking to be one, I say to employers my goal is to be a groomer but I also want to do all the other stuff (bathe, clip nails, whatvever). That's not my problem here.

My 'problem' has been methods of pay and the way taxes were done/not done. My old place of work gave everyone W2s. Simple, easy, taxes wers taken out, I didn't have to pay a 'self employeed tax' on top of the 20% that would have been taken away. One shop I applied to did either 1099 (the self employed tax form) or 'under the table' pay, which I won't do. That shop didn't make it clear about their pay.

The next shop I applied to had everyone as a 1099. The boss of that place did not say it was a probation period either, he made it sound like it is always a thing. The shop I used to work at did 1099 my first year, but I got a W2 my next year. She never said I was going to get 1099'd thou.

Now I'm wondering if all dog grooming places are like this and the only one shop I worked at was an exception.

My problem with 1099 is that I would not be making enough money to justify all the expenses that come with it. Because I won't be a groomer, I can't deduct all the expensive equipment like razors, scissors, whatever. As a simple bather/blow dryer/finisher I won't have to buy pricey equipment and I won't have enough items to deduct to make any real profit.

Also I just want the taxes to be taken out, I don't want to owe in the tax season. Being 1099'd sucks. It's too expensive and generally not worth it for someone like me.

TL;DR Is it common practice for dog groomers to 1099 their employees? Cause if they are I need to look at a new career path.

My wife's office is corporate owned and the groomer is a contractor. Meaning they rented the space to the groomer and they did everything on their own. But pet stores like smart animal the groomer is a retail store employee. Everywhere is different though so just keep reaching out and hopefully you can find what you want.

-Rodney

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