#THE ANIMATION AND TRANSITIONS IN THIS EPISODE WERE STUNNING | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

spiralcass · 9 months

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NEW X-MEN: THE ANIMATED SERIES - SEASON 2, EPISODE 4

We open with a riff on a James Bond theme playing as we fade in from black into a brief Roberto Da Costa music video, sung by his VA, about how he’s the “hottest” man in the world, with the visuals showing off his awesome heat-based abilities, as well as how sexy he is.

We transition to Roberto in a hotel room, changing into a tuxedo with his eyes closed as he hums the song, all of this having been in his head. As he finishes getting changed, taking cufflinks out of a box with the initials “EDC” on them, someone mockingly asks if he’s singing.

Turning around, Roberto grins at Domino, who’s wearing a slinky dress, the camera panning up her body. He says he knows she’s short-tempered, “not the best trait in an assassin if you ask me”, but does even the joy of music annoy her? Domino rolls her eyes. She swears he was never THIS much of a doofus.

Roberto laughs. He approaches Domino and hooks his arm around hers, leading the two out into the hallway and shutting the door behind them.

ROBERTO: “To thine own self be true, and it must follow, as the night the day, thou canst not then be false to any man.”

DOMINO, with no idea what he’s talking about: “HUH?”

ROBERTO: “Never mind, my dear. Let’s stay focused on the task at hand.”

Roberto leads the two down the hallway.

ROBERTO: “We have death machines to obtain.”

We cut to a stunning beach at sunset, the reddish-purple sky reflected in the pristine water. A wind blows through the sand…or so it seems. Much of the sand of the beach rises up and circles around itself in ways wind could never make it. It dances through the air with a mind of its own, shaping itself into flowers and spreading itself across the sky far and wide.

The sand eventually settles down and returns to the ground, with much of it reforming into Sooraya. Soo, laying back on the sand, has her eyes closed and is grinning from ear to ear, in complete peace from being in her element.

“Just as I thought it would, the beach agrees with you.”

Dust opens her eyes to see Emma standing over her in sunglasses and a bikini. Soo pats herself off as she stands up and thanks Emma for bringing her here. This beach is perfect.

EMMA: “With how much I paid for it, darling, it should be.”

Emma apologizes to Sooraya for not having done more for her up until now. She’s suffered the worst of any of her squad, and she’s proven herself to be nearly as capable as Hellion and Wind Dancer, and yet her priorities have remained elsewhere. She hopes today can make up for that.

Sooraya tells Ms. Frost that she’s everything she was ever taught a good woman shouldn’t be, and yet, so often, she surprises her.

SOORAYA: “I do not expect or require anything from you at all. So this…this is wonderful.”

Emma snickers. Sooraya questions what the joke is here, with Emma explaining that this beach, which she now has free access to, is just an appetizer to her real apology.

EMMA: “I found her, Sooraya.” Dust’s jaw drops. “I found your mother. In two hours, a flight will be taking you and Storm to go see her.”

Dust’s eyes widen as she cries tears of joy.

Sunspot and Domino enter a massive, brightly lit casino, filled by men in tuxedos and women in dresses fluttering around, and the sound of hundreds of slot machines. Roberto and Neena banter as they’re patted down by unusually heavily armed security, with the audience getting clued into what they’re doing here.

When Nova and Stryker were able to get production resumed on sentinels, they were able to create a few prototypes far more powerful than standard ones. Those were the ones that overwhelmed Hellion, Mercury, and Dust. And while without Nova, Stryker, or any of the Purifers left, production has ceased, that won’t last long. The schematics for the “super sentinels” made their way onto the black market, and tonight, they’re the prize for an exclusive poker tournament.

DOMINO: “Yeah, about that. Remind me how we even got in here? The buy-in was over two million. Didn’t you go broke driving your old man’s company into the ground?”

ROBERTO, keeping up his smile: “It is true I did not manage Da Costa International as well as my father, but I do not regret my refusal to maintain the practices he used to build the business to where it was. As for how I got my seat, you need not worry. You’re just here to make me look good, and be my lucky charm.”

Neena rolls her eyes.

Roberto says that all that matters is that they’re here, and they’re going to win those schematics so they can destroy them. With his brains and her probability manipulation, it should be a cinch.

On a plane, Sooraya and Ororo are seated together in economy class. Sooraya doesn’t care because all that matters right now is how utterly GLEEFUL she is to be able to rescue her mother, but she is surprised Ms. Frost arranged for them to fly this way. Over Thanksgiving break, she’d flown out her whole squad + Laura on a private jet to one of her estates to celebrate.

SOORAYA: “I’m still unsure why Ms. Moonstar didn’t want to go with us.”

Storm doesn’t touch that one for the time being, not wanting to spoil Dust’s mood, instead just answering her question by saying she’s grateful to Emma for finding Mirah Qadir, but she doesn’t want anything else from her.

STORM: “With Emma, there are always strings attached. Never forget that.”

But they shouldn’t be talking about Emma right now. Storm wants to hear all about Soo’s mom. Dust quietly speaks about her, a warm smile on her face the entire time. She’s a normal woman, in every way, but also in the best way possible. She is kind, sweet and loving. She is a good Muslim who passed down all of her family's traditions to her. She is a faithful servant of Allah, and she knows he loves her as much as she loves him. And she always did everything she could to take care of her.

Storm smiles along through all of this and, when Soo is done, tells her that she doesn’t think she sounds normal at all. The traits she just listed off are far more rare than they should be. She’s exceptional.

STORM: “She always took care of you, little one. And now, you’re going to take care of her.”

Sooraya nods with pleased determination.

In the casino, Roberto and Neena wait for the tournament to begin while having some drinks at the bar. Neena mentions that she’s thought about opening up a casino a few times. A couple of her girlfriends are always pushing the idea on her, but she’s never gotten around to it.

ROBERTO: “I’m sure all the people you kill for a living would appreciate the career change.”

NEENA: “Please. You aren’t slick, Beto. If you actually had a problem with a few chumps getting headshot, I wouldn’t be here right now.”

ROBERTO: “Our mutual mentor was a soldier from the future who ran around with a gun bigger than you. I may see the gray in the world, but that doesn’t mean I endorse it.”

Neena chugs back the rest of her drink and orders a refill.

NEENA: "If you did want me to consider quitting, startup capital for that casino would help big time.”

ROBERTO, laughing: “One thing at a time.”

As Beto sips his drink, he points out some of the people he recognizes as power players who are going to be participating in the tournament.

ROBERTO: “That man in the booth is Carlton Kilgore. One of the most notorious arms dealers on the planet. The not-so-fine lady across from him is Lenore Kensington. You could try guessing the number of workers she’s exploited to death building her hotel empire, but however high you guessed, you wouldn’t come close.” Beto gestures with his head to a muscular Caucasian man nervously walking right past the bar. “The man who’s trying his best to stay sober is Graydon Creed.”

NEENA: “Wait, as in “Creed” Creed?”

ROBERTO: “Mmhmm. Sabretooth’s son. Mystique’s too.”

NEENA: “Get out.”

ROBERTO: “I know, it’s delicious goss. Surprise, surprise, he’s a nasty piece of work. Human too. And he blames all of us for his parents’ sins.”

A dark-skinned young woman in an elegant red dress with long red gloves enters the bar, sits down at a table, and gets on her phone.

ROBERTO: “Now, if you’d like a competitor without even a Freudian excuse for their bigotry, look no further than Penelope Enduque. Penny, to the demons she calls friends.”

NEENA: “She’s a dark sorcerer?”

ROBERTO: “Worse. A sorority girl. Only 19 years old, but the slavery heiress has already made a hobby out of having young Mutants kidnapped and torturing them to death.”

Penelope belts out a high-pitched cackle at something on her phone.

NEENA: “Lovely. I see why you brought me.”

Roberto gets his drink refilled.

ROBERTO: “There’s no one else I could trust with this.”

The two both drink, before getting up. It’s time to get ready.

We cut to Afghanistan. Specifically, a brothel in Afghanistan. It’s a bright, deathly hot morning, The “bitches” are shouted at in Dari to wake the Hell up. They have clients coming in early today. Among the half a dozen Arabic women cramped into a small bedroom is Sooraya’s mother, Mirah. After getting dressed, the women go downstairs, where they’re met by their captors, a group of armed white men. As they chide and threaten the women, it’s made clear that this is just one of a branch of Western-run overseas operations like this.

One of the men grips Mirah’s face. She barely reacts. He comments that she’s been an annoyingly resilient one, but looking into her eyes, he can see the light has finally gone out.

MAN #1, translated: “Now that you’re finally housebroken like a good animal, maybe I should have a taste.”

Mirah struggles to maintain her composure, but she doesn’t have to for long.

A powerful wind blows the front door off its hinges. As the women cower, the men pull their guns, but they too fill with fear as Storm appears in the doorway, lightning in her eyes. They try shooting at her, but she simply stops the bullets in mid-air with her winds, and shoots them back, right into the men’s kneecaps. As they scream in agony, she knocks each one out with a baseball-sized chunk of hail.

STORM: “Slavers. Of all who taint this beautiful world, none bring more shame to it than them.”

Storm turns off her powers and, with a comforting smile, approaches the women, who are all still scared of her. She assures them they have nothing to fear. She is Storm of the X-Men, and she is here to break their chains and set them free.

WOMAN #1: “X-Men?”

STORM: “Mutants who seek to make the world a better place.” She turns her head. “Mutants like your daughter, Mirah Qadir.”

Mirah’s eyes widen as Sooraya enters the house.

SOORAYA, in disbelief: “Ommi…”

MIRAH, in equal astonishment: “Sooraya…”

Without another word, the two run up to each and hug, crying tears of joy over being reunited. The other women are no longer afraid and cheer in celebration, with Storm enjoying the happy sight and feeling proud of herself, telling them all to follow her.

In the casino, Domino stands right outside the backroom alongside the other players’ dates and security guards. Inside, the game is getting started. Roberto, Carlton, Lenore, Graydon, Penny, and John Sublime sit around a table, along with three elderly men, and the dealer, who welcomes them all and introduces himself. He was a Purifier and one of William Stryker’s closest confidantes. He has no means left to continue their holy mission, and, while he does not approve of the means anyone sitting here has used to obtain their fortunes, he knows that with their power and connections, and the weapons he has to offer, their work can still be completed.

They’ve all paid the 2.5 million buy-in. They each have 25 chips. And it’s time to begin.

As the cards are dealt, the players get a moment to converse and size each other up.

GRAYDON: “That’s a nice speech and all, but then why exactly am I sitting across from not only a Mutant, but an X-Man?”

CARLTON: “I had the same thought.”

Lenore and the old men hum in agreement.

SUBLIME: “Wow, you people are so harsh and judgemental. Not everyone at this table hates Mutants. Some of us just think their parts can be put to better use. Go on, Mr. Da Costa, I’m sure you have an excellent reason for being here. Otherwise, I’ll have to assume our dear host is under telepathic influence and, well…that wouldn’t be good for anyone here.”

PENNY: “Yes, please enlighten us. Patience is not among the short list of virtues I possess.”

With all eyes on him, Roberto leans back casually in his chair and laughs.

ROBERTO: “Carlton, Lenore, you were both associates of my father in the Hellfire Club, correct?” They continue to stare. “It shouldn’t be so hard to believe I picked up a thing or two from him. For my own well-being, unfortunate measures are sometimes necessary. Our host and his baseline co-workers played a role in destroying Genosha, but it was a Mutant pulling William Stryker’s strings, and a Mutant who prevented the X-Men from stopping its destruction.” Roberto form changes for a moment. “Look at me. I can bend and melt steel. I’m dangerous certainly, but no more to most than an assault rifle.” He changes back. “It’s because of those among us who threaten our entire shared world that I desire the prize, not so I can destroy it.”

Some people at the table appear convinced. Others not so much.

GRAYDON: “You believe all this? Really?!”

PURIFIER, remorsefully: “Mr. Da Costa is correct that a blasphemous Mutant disguised herself as our lord, and was the true power behind the Purifers. He exposed me to this terrible truth, and for that, tonight, he receives my trust. A demon who fights other demons is no better than the rest of his kind, but could potentially be more effective. Now, are there any further objections to his presence?”

Silence.

PURIFER: “Very well then. Let’s begin.”

Roberto leans forward and picks up his cards, only to notice Penny staring at him with eager eyes.

In a moderately nice hotel, Sooraya, Storm, and Mirah are sat down to a meal. Mirah has been able to clean herself up, get clean clothes on, and is eating more than she has in over a year. She wants to be slow and polite about it, but Sooraya, who could not be happier about life right now, assures her Allah will not mind her eating a little faster to restore her health.

Mirah does pick up the pace a little, but what she’s most happy to hear from her daughter is that living in America hasn’t stripped away her culture or her faith.

MIRAH, translated: “I am…surprised. You even still wear your burqa.”

SOORAYA, translated: “I never wore it because I had to, Mother. I wear it for myself, and the modesty and protection is affords.”

Mirah is delighted that Sooraya is in a place where she gets to make that choice. Sooraya excitedly tells her she can come live with her in America. The headmasters at the Mutant school she attends are extremely powerful, and have the connections to help her immigrate.

Mirah cries tears of joy. She’d love that. As she dabs her eyes, she turns to Storm.

MIRAH, translated: “I do not know anything about Mutants. But I know that you are heroes. And that you are making my daughter into one as well. Thank you.”

STORM, translated: “Teaching children like Sooraya, the pleasure is all mine.”

Storm turns to her Dust and tells her she already called Scott, and the arrangements are in-progress. She should be a full US citizen with a home by the end of the semester.

DUST: “Mr. Summers and Ms. Frost can really do anything, can’t they?”

STORM: “For better and for worse.”

Ororo tells her that this will be her home too when not in school, so she should start thinking about what she and her mother would like.

SOORAYA: “Thank you. But I’m not leaving my mother alone ever again.”

STORM: “What do you mean?”

SOORAYA: “I mean…I’m leaving the school.”

In the first hand of the poker tournament, Roberto intentionally loses a quarter of his money. Penny wins the pot, while he makes himself appear needlessly reckless and poor at counting cards, having told Domino previously not to activate her luck powers in his favor until the second hand. He couldn’t make the cheating TOO obvious, after all.

In the following hands, Roberto cleans up, winning hand after hand after hand, sprinkling in the occasional small loss.

Outside in the hall, Domino snickers to herself as she listens to the reactions she’s causing among the losers. As she picks up her head, she notices a brain in a jar floating next to her.

DOMINO: “Um…hi? Can I help you?”

The water in Martha’s tank bubbles.

DOMINO: “Right. Great talk.”

After eight rounds, Roberto has a dominant lead, and the three old men, Lenore, and Graydon have been cleaned it, Graydon shouting on his way out than they better not let the Mutant win, and Lenore huffing that she has better things to do at home with her cats, anyway.

With only Roberto, Sublime, Penny, and Carlton still in, the four finalists are encouraged to take a small break, and be back in 15 minutes. While the other three go to do just that, Sublime stays behind for a moment.

PURIFIER: “Is something wrong, Mr. Sublime?”

SUBLIME: “Oh, not at all! I may be in third place right now, but it’s like I tell my boys: it’s not where you start, it’s where you finish.”

PURIFIER: “A respectable attitude. What is it then?”

SUBLIME: “Nothing too serious. I just can’t allow the X-Men to take my sentinels.”

Sublime sticks his hand directly into the Purifier’s stomach with one hand, covering his mouth with his other. Sublime dissolves into microscopic dust, as he infects the Purifier’s body. The Purifier initially takes on Sublime’s form, before shitftng back into the form of his new host body.

SUBLIME: “Nothing personal, chum.”

With night having fallen, and Mirah asleep in their hotel room, Storm and Sooraya speak out on the balcony. Ororo asks her what she meant earlier. Soo answers that she meant exactly what she said. She loves the school, and her friends, and her teachers, but she only ever stayed there because she had nowhere else to go. Because she didn’t have her mother. And now, her mom needs her more than ever. She isn’t abandoning her.

SOORAYA, loiwering her head: “She praised you all for being heroes, and for making me one as well. But I don’t want to be a hero. Not like that. I’m not Sofia or Julian or Noriko or Cessily. I don’t like fighting. I don’t want my life to be about fighting.”

We flashback to when Sooraya first developed her powers, transforming into jagged sand to skin away the flesh of two of her captors.

Back in the present…

SOORAYA: “I killed two people before Cyclops and Logan found me. Maybe that is why Laura and I bonded so easily. I don’t know. I just know I never want to do anything like that again. I never want to feel the way I felt fighting the Sentinels again. I may have performed better than the others, but I hated it. I only want peace.”

Storm takes a moment to think. When she’s done, she lightly presses her fingers against Sooraya’s chin and picks her head up.

STORM, smiling: “If you do not wish to stay at the school, that is your choice. If you do not wish to be an X-Man like your friends, no one will ever make you. Your family, and living the life which will make you happiest comes first. We will all support your decision.”

Sooraya is pleased to hear that.

STORM, her hand removed and smile faded: “However, much as it pains to me to say it, no matter what you do, there will be no peace for you. Not until the X-Men’s mission of achieving harmony between baselines and Mutants is complete. Until then, even if you are not an X-Man, you will have to fight. That is the reality of the world. That is what it means to be a Mutant.”

Sooraya takes a breath.

SOORAYA: “I have other reasons people in America will hate me besides being a Mutant. As do you. Even if the dream is achieved, that will not change. I will not live in fear. I will not seek out battles. I will live my life the way I want to. I wish you all luck, but your fight is not my own.”

Ororo nods her head along, and says she understands. But she wants her to understand she’ll always have a home with them. Sooraya thanks her once again, and the two hug.

Roberto sits down at the casino bar, pleased with his performance so far.

ROBERTO: “A martini. Shaken, not stirred.”

The bartender rolls his eyes as he turns around to get him his drink. He isn’t the only one who finds this unammusing.

PENNY, sitting down next to him: “Playing James Bond? Really? How childish.” She turns to the bartender. “A chocolate milk please.”

The bartender, wondering where these man and women children are coming from, does his best to remain polite.

BARTENDER: “I’m sorry, ma’am. We do not have any kind of milk.”

PENNY: “Oh. A coke shall do then.”

As the bartender pours her drink, Penny turns back to Roberto.

PENNY: “You’re putting on quite the show in there.”

ROBERTO: “You’re not too bad yourself.”

PENNY: “A constant of my life. Though I can’t say I possess your gift for gab. It’s impressive.”

ROBERTO: “My skills come as naturally to me as our good looks do to us both ”

Penny is handed her drink and the two clink glasses.

Penny laughs under her breath.

PENNY: “Dignified. Intelligent. Sensible. Charming.You’re a credit to your species, Mr. Da Costa.”

ROBERTO: “Hey, now, Mutants and humans are not separate species. We share all but a single gene.”

PENNY: “Oh, please. Don’t go all progressive on me now.”

Carlton enters the bar.

ROBERTO: “I did not mean to upset you. And if you don’t hate me for that comment, I would love to show your what my mouth is good for besides gab.”

Penny immediately throws her drink in Roberto’s face.

PENNY: “I’ve never been so quickly disappointed.” Penny gets up and stomps off. “Damn Muties are all the same.”

Carlton laughs at this sight.

Roberto grabs a napkin, but also licks some of the soda on his face.

The next morning in Afghanistan, Sooraya and Mirah are woken up by their alarm clock, Storm having slept in a separate room. As they get up, Mirah raves about the temporary housing that was set up for her that she’ll be staying in until her immigration process is complete. Sooraya is just so fortunate to have met these wonderful people.

SOORAYA, getting changed: “Cyclops and Ms. FrostI don’t believe you’d approve of them.”

MIRAH: “Nonsense!” She takes her daughter’s hands. “They brought us back together. And in a few months, we will never be apart again.”

Sooraya grips her mother’s hands back.

SOORAYA: “Mother, I thought about it, and I’ve decided I’m not returning to America with Storm. I’m going to stay here with you until we can both leave. I’ll return to school eventually, but not to one that separates us.”

Mirah pulls alway with concern. Sooraya questions what’s wrong. Mirah tells her that she understands her. They’ve both been through so many horrible experiences and she’s missed Sooraya just as much as she’s missed her. But Xavier’s is the type of opportunity she never could have imagined for her. More than, even in America, she could ever provide for her. She has a place where she’s free to be whoever she wants, and surrounded by friends and mentors who care about her. That’s guiding her toward a real future, while helping her learn to control what makes her special.

SOORAYA, quietly: “You support me being a Mutant?”

MURAH: “Child, why wouldn’t I?! Allah has blessed you. He felt your love and made you special. He gave you the power to protect yourself and fight in his name. He led you to your new home.”

Mirah doesn’t understand how anyone could ever think being a Mutant is anything but a gift. Sooraya, with everything she’s seen, just mumbles that she doesn’t understand either.

Soo is glad her mom thinks of her mutation this way, she’s often thought about it this way herself, but that doesn’t change how she feels about everything else. Yes, she’s never been happier than the time she’s spent with her friends at school, but she’s already mastered her gifts well-enough, and she only wants to use them to protect the two of them. Is that really so wrong? To not want to fight?

MIRAH, shuts her eyes and smiles: “Fight in the cause of Allah those who fight you, but do not transgress limits; for Allah loveth not transgressors.”

She opens her eyes and hums about how good it feels to speak his words again. She tells Sooraya that, no, there’s nothing wrong with any choice she makes. But she is a woman who can take care of herself. And Sooraya is so much more. With the X-Men, she can help people and serve Allah in so many ways.

MIRAH: “Tell me…do you know of a single other believer who is a Mutant?” Sooraya shakes her head. “Exactly. He chose you, and only you, for a reason. I know it.” Mirah hugs Sooraya once again. “Stay with me if you’d like. But don’t stay for me.”

Despite being certain in her choice last night, Soo is now unsure about what to do.

Roberto, Penny, and Carlton re-enter the poker room, Roberto having held the door open for Penny, with her scoffing at him and turning her nose up in response. The only ones remaining outside the room are Domino and two security guards.

DOMINO, on her earpiece: “Sunspot, Sublime’s pet brain is gone.”

SUNSPOT, on her earpiece: “So is the man himself it would seem.”

Suddenly, a chill goes down the three remaining gamblers’ spines as they’re frozen in place. The camera reveals Martha in her brain jar is stuck to the ceiling.

PENNY: “What the Hell?!”

ROBERTO: “Well, my dear, it seems Sublime realized he wasn’t going to win here. If I had to wager, I’d say he’s kidnapped our host and is forcing him to take him to the prize.”

CARLTON: “Dammit! How many Mutants came to this damn thing! If that good for nothing religious freak is still alive, I’ll feed him to my damn sha–”

Before he can continue, Martha takes further control of his body, forcing him to repeatedly run face first into one of the hard wood walls, cracking his skull open more and more each time, until he falls over, dead.

ROBERTO: “I can’t say I’m a fan of the loss of human life, but if someone had to die, you couldn’t have killed worse. I do hope you won’t mess up MY pretty face though.”

PENNY: “And mine, right? You’re going to get us out of this, X-Man?”

ROBERTO: “Is this the part where you say you’ve had a sudden change of heart about Mutants?”

PENNY: “No, it’s the part where I’d prefer anything to being killed by one.”

Roberto sighs. He’s sorry, but he has no plan here.

Cut to Domino racing down the halls of casino, having disabled Carlton’s men.

ROBERTO, over the coms: “If only I’d left my come device connecting me to my bodyguard just now. I’d be able to alert her. Oh, but no. It isn’t as if we scoped out this entire building in advance and determined where the prize was being secured after all.”

Masquerading as the Purifer, Sublime is escorted by casino employees into “his” vault. One which contains nothing save for a single flashdrive.

Sublime eagerly picks it up, only to hear gunshots ring as the casino employees both drop to the floor in pain. Domino points her pistols at Sublime, saying that if she ran casino games, she’d never back out at the last minute just because someone was on a winning streak.

She orders him to hand over the drive if he wants to live. Sublime responds by holding the drive up, and then putting it in his mouth and swallowing it.

SUBLIME: “No can do I’m afraid.”

Domino gets pissed and shoots at him, but he somehow maneuvers all around them and kicks her in the face.

SUBLIME: “Oh, this body is actually quite physically proficient. It may be almost able to keep up with me.”

Neena swings at him and engages in hand to hand, but she’s outclassed, as Sublime kicks her around.

SUBLIME: “Hmm. I’d heard you were better than this.”

NEENA: “You know who I am?”

With one foot holding Neena down on the floor, Sublime goes to pick up one of her guns. Neena momentarily exerts her powers to cause him to trip and fall. WIth him momentarily caught off guard, she grabs hold of her pistols herself, and fills Sublime with bullets from behind, putting him down, seemingly killing him. Notably, he does not revert to his true form.

NEENA: “Clearly not well enough.”

ROBERTO, over coms: “Domino, update.”

Neena looks over at Sublime’s body and smirks, firing off her gun into the air.

NEENA, aggressively: “Still in pursuit! Going on silent!”

ROBERTO: “Wait, Domino, don’t–!”

Neena turns off her comm and laughs.

NEENA: “Now, how did I dissect that frog back in 6th grade?”

Later, Neena exits the casino with some bruises, a partially torn dress, a flashdrive worth around 25 million dollars, and no partner.

Domino turns her comm back on, but doesn’t call Sunspot.

DOMINO: “I have the drive and I’m on my way out of town. Mission accomplished, Mr. Cortez.”

CORTEZ, over coms: “Magnificent! With some minor programming tweaks, we can use these sentinels to exterminate humanity once and for all!”

DOMINO, remorseful: “I just left one of my oldest friends behind to die. But after Genosha, this is the only option Mutants have. It needed to be done.”

Dominio and Cortez work out meetup details and hang up as she gets into the car she and Roberto arrived in, telling the driver that her partner will be making his own way home and to drive her to the airport immediately.

Neena is then shocked by the driver’s voice.

ROBERTO: “You see I’d be happy too, except I tragically never got my license.”

Neena is even more shocked by who’s revealed to be sitting in the passenger seat.

PENNY: “And I would sooner die than dirty my hands on a steering wheel.”

NEENA: “What…what is going on?”

With a psychic blast, Penny knocks Neena unconscious.

ROBERTO: “I’m sorry, Domino. For once in my life, I’d hoped to be wrong.”

At sunset in Afghanistan, Storm, Soo, and Mirah stand outside her moderately nice, though still far nicer than anywhere she’s lived previously, home. Storm says that it obviously isn’t safe for Mirah to go out on her own, so they’ve done their best to fill the house with canned food and supplies so she doesn’t have to go anywhere. And if she needs anything else, she need only call.

Mirah thanks Storm one last night, adding that it’s hard to believe the only difference between them is a single gene. She seems so much more than human.

STORM, laughing: “You’re far from the first to say so.”

Ororo asks Dust if this is goodbye then. Soo takes one more moment to think, looking to her mother, to Storm, and up into the sky.

SOORAYA, composed: “No. I was made who I am and guided to the X-Men for a reason. Being the only Mutant of my faith cannot be a coincidence, I do not like fighting, but the only way I can live my life without having to do so is to fight now.”

Storm and Mirah both appear pleased with her decision. Soo embraces her mother, and is hugged back. The two share a personal moment as they say goodbye, their dialogue not being translated for the audience. This is for them.

With their goodbyes said, Storm and Dust fly off to catch their plane.

Storm expresses her pride in Sooraya for making this decision. She knows it wasn’t easy for her, but she promises they’ll make a great X-Man out of her. Soo knows she will be.

STORM: “Oh, but to what you said before: you aren’t the only Muslim Mutant.”

DUST: “What?! Who else is there? Why haven’t I been introduced? Do not tell me they are a villain.”

STORM: “No. Not a villain. But I don’t think she’s what you’re imagining either.”

Cut to Penny, stretched out on her yacht in a string bikini.

Roberto comes upstairs, wearing only a speedo, with an ice bucket of champagne in hand.

ROBERTO: “Monet Yvette Clarisse Maria Therese St. Croix AKA M.” He sits down next to her and pours them each a glass of champagne. “You’re even more impressive than they say.”

MONET: “Do not insult me. I am far more impressive than that.”

Roberto, with a dashing smile: “Touche.”

The two clink their glasses and sip.

Roberto informs Monet that SHIELD has collected Domino, but they couldn’t find any sign of the Purifer, Sublime, or the brain Monet put to sleep.

ROBERTO: “We can deal with the others, but my concern is for the brain. We have no idea what they are, if they’re a Mutant or something else, and if they are, they may be in for a punishment for their failure.”

MONET: “Then I suppose it’s up to the brave and heroic X-Men to save them.”

ROBERTO: “Are you mocking us?”

MONET: “No. Well, a little. Yes. But I’m moreso curious. Why recruit me for this mission instead of one of your teammates? Not that I'm complaining. Double majoring in business and quantum physics doesn't quite match the action Generation X and I used to get into.”

Taking a longer sip of his drink, Roberto explains what’s been going on here. After Genosha, while everyone else was still recovering, he was the only one who thought of the fact that the schematics for those new sentinels were still out there, along with a few stray Purifers. As he looked into it and investigated, he discovered the poker tournament being arranged. He could have informed the X-Men so they could storm the casino and take it by force, but that would just be additional bad publicity on top of what they’re already facing. And additionally, he caught wind that Fabian Cortez, “more or less the embodiment of the worst parts of Magneto from the old days”, would be sending in Domino as a player.

ROBERTO: “I wanted to believe that information was wrong, and my old friend hadn’t been so far radicalized, so I contacted her, played dumb about what I’d heard, and asked her to help me. She had to say “Yes” no matter what, as either she’d be naturally interested in aiding me, or she’d need to avoid drawing suspicion to herself.”

Roberto wasn’t confident in his ability to defeat Domino by himself should she betray him, however, so he needed further assistant: Monet. Casting her the femme fatale to his handsome spy, he knew that if she did turn traitor and take the drive for herself, Monet and her litany of powers could stop her without issue.

ROBERTO: “Super strength, super speed, flight, telepathy, and super intelligence. What can’t you do?”

Monet coughs as she took a long sip of champagne, setting her glass down and pressing her hand to her forehead.

MONET: “Hold my liquor, evidently.”

Roberto continues to explain that Sublime’s presence and actions were ones he couldn’t account for, but with Monet so easily able to counter the brain’s telepathy, he was able to adapt accordingly.

ROBERTO: “Emma taught you well.”

MONET, getting groggy: “Oh, please never say that again. I don’t know how any of you put up with her.”

ROBERTO: “Would you believe me if I told you Cyclops is sleeping with her?”

Monet takes a moment to respond.

MONET, flatly: “No. No, I would not.”

The two sit in silence for a moment as Roberto finishes his drink and sets his glass down. As he stands up and tosses on a robe, he cracks his neck, rolls his shoulders, and takes a deep breath.

He tells Monet that they made a good team tonight. And he was hoping she’d be interested in continuing this relationship.

Monet floats over to him, landing on the floor and resting a hand on her hip.

MONET: “What exactly do you mean by that?”

Roberto smiles up at the sky.

ROBERTO: “When word first got out that the X-Men were coming back together and were recruiting, I was living in Genosha as part of Magneto’s inner circle. He’d been the New Mutants’ headmaster in the past, and, more recently, had taken me specifically under his wing. When he invited the New X-Men to Genosha, he did truly want to speak with Cyclops about current affairs, but his true goal was to plant me on the team so I could monitor them.”

For the first time, Monet appears surprised.

ROBERTO: “I did my job, staying in the background and keeping an eye out for anything he should know. But now, with him missing, I’ve been left to act autonomously.” Roberto lowers his head and looks right at Monet. “The destruction of Genosha has changed everything. There’s no getting around that. For the time being, I’m happy to continue saving people with the X-Men, make jokes, and allow Cyclops to run the show. However, should our situation escalate any further, I will have no choice but to take control of matters myself. It may be messy. It may be unpleasant. It definitively won’t be very X-Men-like. But if I am to step into darkness, I cannot do it alone. I need a partner. And there isn’t a better one I could ask for than you.”

Roberto reaches out a hand. Monet, with an unreadable expression, takes a moment to think.

MONET: “Your hand, your tongue. Look like th’ innocent flower, but be the serpant under’t.”

ROBERTO, smirking: “Is that a yes?”

MONET, emotionlessly looking back at him: “It means I’ll call you when I make up my mind.” She spins around and begins floating toward the ocean. “I am going for a swim. You can show yourself out.”

Roberto nods, wishing Monet St. Croix a good night, and heads back downstairs to get dressed.

Monet dives into the ocean, initially swimming calmly and with perfect form. However, once she’s sure Roberto is out of earshot…

MONET, swimming and splashing around wildly, giggling to herself: “Ahhhh! That was so much fun!”

#New X-Men: The Animated Series #New X-Men #Academy X #Scott Summers #Emma Frost #Ororo Munroe #Kitty Pryde #Roberto Da Costa #Laura Kinney #Bobby Drake #Sofia Mantega #Julian Keller #Noriko Ashida #Sooraya Qadir #Cessily Kincaid #Brian Cruz #Roxanne Washington #The Stepford Cuckoos

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lushloooser · 10 months

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uhhh here are some siren headcanons to celebrate the two year anniversary of my fic:

Harley got into a lot of fights growing up and had a reputation for being violent. she was targeted and harassed a lot growing up for being the daughter of a former sex worker. She doesn’t know anything about her biological father other than that he’s “hopefully dead”

Harley worked at a Hooters in undergrad, going by her middle name, Frances, since being barred from the 2012 olympics led to her becoming a brief national scandal. she only went back to going by Harleen once she was a doctor.

Harley doesn’t consider herself religious, but she celebrates the Jewish holidays her mother did raising her

Harley was a nintendo girly growing up, but money was always an issue since her mother had a criminal record. Her favorite GameCube games were Timesplitters 2 and Animal Crossing. Selina bought her a Switch once she started living with Ivy and Harley cried so much she threw up about it

Technically all three of my Sirens need glasses or contacts in some way, but Ivy’s eyes were seriously damaged from over exposure to light during her time under woodrue’s captivity. She has a serious sensitivity towards bright lights and the lenses in her pairs of glasses darken to help her adjust

Harley started buying (stealing) stim toys for Ivy, only to realize that she was a little addicted to them herself. Ivy broke the clicker of the first one Harley got her in a day because she pushed one of the buttons so much it popped out.

Ivy developed her love of music through hanging around with Bella in college. Her favorite musicians are Vagabon, Weyes Blood, Fleet Foxes, Beirut, Lucy Dacus, Sufjan, and Alex G. (which are all admittedly way less intense than the concerts Bella dragged her to)

Ivy’s technically the first and only human being to survive being decapitated in my fanfic. The Green is able to keep her head alive indefinitely, and her regenerative powers were able to reattach her to her body.

Selina picked her name purely based on the fact that it sounded cute alongside her sister’s, Alicia.

Before becoming a famous supermodel, Selina worked for the Penguin, while also working independently on the side as a dominatrix/escort. this was around the time she started transitioning and she was sleeping on an air mattress in Annika’s apartment

Selina had her suit custom made by someone she knew who makes BDSM fetishwear, but she made the gloves herself. The suit is skintight and leaves her with a very tasteful girlbulge

Selina has a full blown gaming rig. She, alongside Barbara, “dragged” Bruce through Elden Ring (his build was trash), and her favorite series is Dishonored.

Ivy’s murdered around 500 people, making her the most wanted woman on earth, Harley’s killed around 40 people, and Selina’s killed 2, something she’s desperately trying to hide from Bruce

Harley watches a LOT of anime. Her favorite is Kill la Kill. Ivy only watches BBC Nature Documentaries, the Sopranos, and Frasier.

Selina was the guest on an episode of Ziwe

Ivy’s got an absolutely huge dumpy. Harley, who probably has the strongest glutes in Gotham, and Selina, who in addition to already being build like a semi truck, has gotten a butt lift, are completely stunned by her ass. Ivy hates when they bring it up.

#gotham city sirens #harley Quinn #poison ivy #catwoman #selina kyle #pamela isley

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lakanakana · 1 year

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tagged by @abadbadbrujah

Rules: List 8 shows for your followers to get to know you better

fuck it bitches we’re going thru these chronologically

1. Moomins

Every Finn’s token show on this list. I don’t know where we would be as a society without these hippos without anuses. Somewhere better I think.

2. The Busy World of Richard Scarry

When the Richard Scarry opening theme came on you KNOW my toddler ass leveled everything in their way to get in front of the TV in time. And for a good reason, this shit rocked.

3. Code Lyoko

^ These two were my bisexual awakening. Also if you can’t fit your entire season’s worth of script on the characters’ foreheads you have failed as a character designer.

4. Ginga: Nagareboshi Gin

A puppy wanting to avenge his father’s death gets buff and gathers an army of ninja dogs to kill a building sized manhunter bear (all this watched in an abysmal quality dub that has like 3-4 people voicing dozens of characters with lines that sometimes sounded like they were run thru google translate 15 times).

I think me watching this as a kid under 10 counts as my Joker origin story. And this one absolutely fuckin slays!!!!! I just started rewatching this the other day and hooolyyyy fuuuuckkk is it still good. This was also my first anime if moomins and pokemon don’t count! Things have gone only downhill from there.

5. My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic

No I think this is my real Joker origin story. And I’m proud of it. I started posting my art online due to mlp fan art being so common back in 2010!

6. Super Dimension Fortress Macross

An alien spaceship crashlands into Earth in 1999 with no survivors on the ship, jumpstarting a new space race for humanity, only for another alien fleet to come check on the ship a decade later and finding humanity going apeshit thinking they’re here to attack. After a series of misunderstandings and an entire human city being teleported to Pluto with the crashlanded ship, they begin a race back to Earth. Realizing that Earth tech is still way inferior to the spacefaring race, they figure out that the only way to win a war is via the love of culture.

For a long time I only watched movies and short stuff with 2-4 episodes max, but I think this series brought me back to longer series. I’ve always been fascinated by stories about a future that’s already come to pass. And I mean this one’s sequel predicted Hatsune Miku and Vtubers so that’s cool I guess?

7. Maniac (the netflix show from 2018)

Psychological drama about two people participating in a pharmaceutical trial for a drug treating mental health problems by altering the participants’ dreams.

The first time I watched and loved a live action show! I watched... uhhh... 2 other live action shows after this and didn’t even finish the other one but maybe someday :3 This one was visually stunning so I guess that’s why I managed to finish it?

8. Simoun

Nonbinary lesbians in clothing so skimpy they should have absolutely no business so high up in the atmosphere having religious and relationship problems trying to solve which one of them has to transition into men so they could be together even as adults because adult lesbians simply do not exist because this came out in 2006. Me and commas are not friends.

You know it’s a small fandom when I can look up the series in the gif search and several of them are my own gifs <3 And you’d be right because there are like 6 people and a napkin in this fandom.

This is my current fave series and it has taught me the humbleness you need in a tiny ass fandom. Fr you can still find my years old art in the most recent posts on tumblr, and I think I deserve to cry :)

But I mean having every single character being trans unless they die before they become adults doesn’t exactly scream marketability so it’s understandable.

tagging @thatlittledandere @crossedeyes @sammaltakki @parsakaalimato and @novafloofeatsbirds for this! Anyone else is also allowed to do this, remember to tag me so I can snoop around >u>

#kanailu

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koumeowkami · 7 months

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Ill admit .. I may nit be as excited for paralive as I should cause I'm just scared abt pacing and i don't want paralive to fall into the same trap as another beloved series of mine did when it got an anime adaptation(twewy) . But so far man is it stunning its gorgeous ... animation quality a +++ and the transition between 2d and cgi is not very jarring at all its a smooth transition .

I loveddd baes interactions they were so silly .. the limo scene was hilarious .. the fricken helicopter. Hajun Is a menace /pos

Sorry I dint have as many thoughts . I'm trying to be hopeful cause the trap reactions were done so well and well I want to be excited im just a worrier :(

oh believe me i'm also really worried dhdbdj i really want them to do well with this anime cause i think paralive is gonna get lots of new fans with it so at the very least it has to portray the project well :') i didn't keep my expectations high cause i've already witnessed a project being ruined by the anime (from argonavis) so i was really surprised when i saw how high quality the first episode was!!

i'm not saying that it fully reassures me, but that was a good start so let's keep our fingers crossed </3

#ask #🪻; jolteon!

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lmk-aus-galore · 1 year

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Cinema Sins/Wins Rip off of Lego Monkie Kid

‘A hero is born’ part 1

I wrote this in my old account after I no-clipped it into the back rooms so it’s now just ‘lilacartsmadison-deactivated’

So I’m going to redo this.

Inspired by @satansaidmyturnintheh3llscape

Rules:

-I won’t be counting Animation Mistakes, because Idk how to do that, and I myself am a beginner animator (more like incredibly amateur, to the point I’m asking my sister for help) Unless of course the Animation is obviously and clearly having a mistake for me to watch. The other reason is because I don’t want to keep repeating a scene just to check for an animation mistake.

-I also won’t be counting flashbacks as ‘mistakes’ because most of them are based on bias.

-I’ll be formatting it like this

-Neutral

-Sin

-Win

-Most of this is Commentary, so there won’t be a last sentence nor win or sin counter.

-This is mostly for fun, no need to get offended.

With all that said, let’s get into the episode

———————————————————————————

-Intro

-._.

-Narration, great way to introduce the audience to those who are a big fans on Journey to the West

-Stunning Animation! Props to Flying Bark Studios!

-There were villagers around here that ran in the direction of the axe, so nah they dead.

-I love how the animation makes it look, especially since this perspective makes it look so incredibly biased.

-Again this whole flashback just speaks on how the narrative is being told by someone in the sidelines, as Monkey King seems to be depicted as a mighty hero throughout the whole fight scene not making witty banter compared to reality

-Not a fan to when they close up to his face though-

-Is it just me or does the ending scene just make him look buffer?

-The transition in Tang’s narrative voice makes me giggle, you can just tell his personality just by his voice

-MK for the win

-Tang saying MK’s name introducing us to our main character further

-‘Pearls of Wisdom dripping from my lips’ Tang sounds like his nose was stuffed here

-PIGSY DON’T SMACK A SPOON AT YOUR STAFF

-Tang and Pigsy’s names being revealed, introducing us to the side characters

-‘Well wisdom don’t pay the rent you freeloader!’ So…does this imply that the shop is rented? I mean it’s confirmed in ‘Noodles or Death’ that Pigsy bought the place, and since Mk is the only one that lives there (Since Pigsy has to open the shop as seen in ‘The Skeleton Key’) shouldn’t Mk be the one paying rent? Or is this implying that Tang and Pigsy live together? FreeNoodles shippers, if you will

-This scene kinda gave me an explanation as to why he was friends with Sandy

-Idk where the game sound is from

-Tang does the oven ding

-PIGSY DON’T BEAT UP YOUR CUSTOMERS

-‘No Pigsy!’ Tang I’m sorry, but you sound like that one bottom boy in a yaoi anime

-MK’s phone is cracked, relate

-Nice tunes

-Stunning Backdrops

-Ok but the Impossible Delivery Episode makes sense considering this was Wukong’s impression of MK since he did tune out everything and end up under a construction site.

-Love the little detail that Wukong can’t hide his tail no matter what form he is XD

-MK’s so cute-

-You know, after watching Season 4 the scene where he climbs kinda…makes sense???

-This was pointed out in the wiki, so I thought to add it, I didn’t see the Horn change direction, but his hands did briefly turn purple here

-‘It’s going to take a few robots to lift the Monkey King’s staff, only those deemed worthy can wield it’ What is this Mjolnir?

-I mean technically yes, but you also have to be really, really strong. Since Y’know…IT’S A DAMN PILLAR

-Season 1 artsyle is so goofy ngl

-The scene where Red Son tries to lift it reminds me of that one scene in avengers where they try to lift Mjolnir and Hulk just struggles.

-‘Mother are you sure this is the right mountain?’ ‘No! Maybe it was that other mountain with a magical staff sealing away my husband!’ The sass here! I would never talk to my mother that way! XD

-Why did they react before the place started shaking?

-Frankenstein reference

-Reminds me of Kai from Kung Fu Panda ngl

-I almost forgot what DBK looked like before they gave him armor, it looks so weird, did the mountain cut off all his fur? He was so furry in the flashback

-‘Flesh, Bone, I have returned to the Realm of the Living!’ This implies that DBK died while being sealed in that mountain, but was brought back since he was supposed to be sealed. I actually look at the scene and how he was sealed, he could’ve actually died ngl, I mean look! The way the mountain was sealed on top of him, made it look like he was crushed or suffocated, since he only has immortal youth. That or DBK was exaggerating and actually thought he died because there was nothing he could see.

-Wukong man don’t be a jerk I know you wanna know, but you could’ve Y’know shown him a little earlier?

-I still can’t believe Red Son is Wizard Cookie, sounds more like Licorice with Father Issues.

-And this is where all the simps started saying ‘Demon Daddy’

-I heard the sound of stone breaking, either MK broke a stone as he fell on top of Red Son or one of them broke a bone

-Demon Bull King’s dramatization makes sense when you look at Red Son

-‘Waste not your energy on this…peasant’ Red Son sounds like Peridot XD

-‘Monkey King’s staff’ Who the frock is whispering that? Destiny?

-Epic Main Character Moment

-‘That staff doesn’t belong to you little boy, hand it over’ Moments like this makes me believe MK has the face of a teenager, when he’s an adult.

-Fun fact, Red Son has the Samadhi Fire symbol on his back, not sure how long ago Season 3 was planned out, but If it was still in the works during Season 1, then consider this the inspiration for the plotline

-‘Dang it!’ Proceeds to wipe off Noodles XD

-Sooo…does the staff have a mind of its own?

-‘would you get down here so I can kill you!’ Not many cartoons say this out loud, tbh, they normally just say another iteration of it.

-The whole chase scene is fabulously animated

-I just realized when MK stole a Hoverboard, the guy who was taking a photo, was able to take Red Son’s face.

-Ok I’m just assuming that it’s really easy for MK not to pay attention to his surroundings. Which is why Wukong wanted him to focus.

-Blueprints are Lego blueprints, which reminds me that this in fact is a Lego show

-Mei’s theme song for the win

-._.

-Poor MK getting dragged as Mei lands her bike

-Mei for the win

-Mei has the same braincell with MK

-‘Uhh, I actually I almost died back there’ ‘But you didn’t!’ Manifesting

-How did Pigsy afford a private arcade machine beside his shop? Or did Mei buy that?

-Seeing MK try to beat Mei’s high score man…

-‘Well in that case- where does he live?’ this part feels like it was cut off mid way, like those edits in a compilation that just randomly cut off a character’s line to make it sound funny.

-Why does she have a kill button? How does she have a kill button? Why does she need to know where he lives in order for it to work? Is it a death ray?

-But damn she really do be me when my sister speaks about that one boy in her class that I don’t like.

-‘Woah, zero stars? Congrats! Better than nothing right!’ There goes her braincell

-That door cannot muffle him out, I guarantee you.

-How long has it been for Red Son to return home, get scolded by DBK and build an entire armor for him?AND IT WORKS?!

-Family issues right now

-So…quick question…how does Iron Fan’s hair work? Like judging by the color of the horns, that’s her hair…right?

-‘The more rare the item, the more powerful father will become!’ No wonder he lost, the moment he lost the staff to MK he weakened, which is why his power was somewhat equally matched to Wukong

-I wanna know what era this takes place or if China actually has this advanced technology.

-Again! How long has time passed? And why does he tell Tang now?

-Who placed the book under the bowls?!

-This again was pointed out in the wiki, but they forgot to animate the layer.

-Poor Tang.

-I really do have a feeling Tang does indeed have combat experience.

-Like how logical this is, since if I told them that an ancient stone monkey and a Bull demon were real and used a staff just to prove it I would call falsehood too

-Welp, Pigsy, there goes the bills

-Also Staff has a mind of his own.

-When Tang fanboys about that staff, I kinda think his voice was…Idk changed a little? I guess they’re still solidifying the characters

-‘He’s at the shoe store…’ ‘This better not be one of your puppy videos Mei’ this confirms that Mei has used a different topic just to show off a puppy video before

-The fact that there’s a hashtag and people telling that Demon Bull King is real, (obvi not believing it) means that the legend was really passed down from generations and is so popular to the city’s origins, I kinda like how this is portrayed and seen, but it could also be because SWK is so popular throughout China that some people actually know the legend word by word

-If that Shoe store worker doesn’t have dedication I don’t know who does. Bro really needs that pay.

-I wanna name him, suggestion: ‘Qing Chen’ probably not the best name so I’m open to suggestions.

-DBK and Red Son got that drip

And that’s the end of part 1! See ya in Part 2! Bye!

#lego monkie kid #mk lmk #lmk #lmk mk #lmk sun wukong #lmk monkey king #lmk pigsy #lmk tang #lmk mei #lmk demon bull king #lmk red son #lmk princess iron fan

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istherewifiinhell · 9 months

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okayyyy more. revisting 03s version of the 'leonardo #1' aka 'leo fights all those dudes in the rain' aka 'leo vs that damn window' aka 'one of wifis fav moments of the "i want episode were he pass away not because i hate him because i love him" variety'...

At this point i have seen. as fair as i know EVERY version of that specific moment. 90s movie (its raph actually!), 03, 12, mirage and idws (both incredible. i believe eastmans layouts for mirage, stunning. and soph. campbell art on the idw one. so EMOTIONAL). oh and its in the mobile game on apple arcade too. yeah.

and in my mind, 03 a lot of legs up, you get motion over still image for action heavy scenes, animation over live action for less physical limitations on the action, and 2d over cg, which specifically for the relavant eras on tv budgets, helps tune in the colour pallet and textures. is dark and its raining, can you can really see both. cool tone pallets and rain that just poors down the characters skin. at least in the close up shots. lol.

BUT i will admit. and oh i am not usually this person. like. kids/all ages media is gonna be the way it is. its silly to expect it to be otherwise. I WAS. a little struck. by feeling the absence of really heavy hits. like. he cant KILL people. its 4kids.... but as their throwing ya know. waves of enemies, and just using the stock animation attacks and cut away techique. its a little diminished. now it still has the escalation of stakes, gives you that sense of pronglonged exhausting battle, lets you feel both leos skill and when hes in too deep. just the composition/choreo leaves a little wanting.

THAT SAID. it IS a 2 parter. the adaption of the leo micro is part one. issue 11 is part 2. AND. OH i found out where they put all the animation! Its here. NOW this. pretty much makes complete sense when youre not me who just got sicko focused on the endurance sad boy test...

the second half is of course where you have ALL of the characters getting in the mix, an established set piece location of aprils apartment and shop. and you know, time for THE SHREDDER. to actually get in the mix. and not just get his guys to do the work. the difference is kinda wild.

you have a lot of really specific locational fighting, not cuting to the action lines background. constant awareness of where all our players are and what their doing. and when the turtles fight the 'elite guard', (about as literally as you can get to, they are mini bosses). i was thinking. Hey is this rotoscoped? cause something about the form factor of the characters, the heft of their movement, and the full body mechanics of the fighting. it feels so night and day. super impactful and very cool to see.

also what we call. casey with the good hair. instead of the flat middle part hair, they draw him with a bit of volume, some wavy texture... it really gives the impression he JUST tried a new conditioner thats really working for him... its not really here nor there. fun tho.

so. as much as i will silently morn not getting a rise leo no 1 moment (hell they could make it raph again. why not). just cause. god could you imagine? or any of the other newer animations... if you let the batturtles team do it they could get some brutality.. or if they do it in the mm show... shit.

I AM still, getting appreciation for 03 playing the beautiful game, of how you work your stories around animated tv show restrictions. just the previous arc, notes from the underground, has so much unique style of lighting, and one other shot that really stuck out to me. just the turtles repelling down a cliff, arms out front and behind, walking basically, straight down. Its necessarily such an awkward gesture, but it looked really nice, just for a short little transitional shot. respect.

#some shit #turbles...#turble redux #still avoiding agony posting. thats between me and the notes app...#ITS WORKING. so take that. agony.#mwah mwah just being on my shit

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zizz-asdf-re-r-o-u · 2 years

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LISTEN TO VACANT ARCADIA!

OK I found my new favorite underrated indie musical audio drama.

Did you like Ready Player One/Dramatical Murder/Augmented Reality games? Did you like Sayer, WOE.BEGONE, Penumbra Podcast’s Juno Steel, Dreambound, and Fall of the House of Sunshine? Do you like amazingly skilled Broadway-level vocalists? And do you want... clear anime references?

Well check out Vacant Arcadia. It’s set in a cyberpunk post apocalyptic future in your classic dystopian rich & poor divided city, where body mods/replacements and AI are a thing. There’s an illegal AR game that 5 people and 1 game master are plopped into in hopes to escape the city and reborn into better bodies.

That’s as far as I’ll go into the pre-spoiler section, but know that there’s some amazing themes around human condition, AI stuff, body and gender stuff, sex work, drugs stuff, politics. As a participant in another murder game podcast oneshot episode (Hubris “(Don’t) Escape”), there’s some writing choices in the “deadly reality game” genre that I think only queer creators would make. I mean where else would you get a Sayer from Sayer singing a gayer Wicked-esque love ballad with computer programming euphemisms to an otaku Ty Betteridge from Woe.begone?

The musical pieces are not what I would normally lean towards (I usually like rock or pop). Most of Vacant Arcadia is ballads, jazz, typical Broadway, and a few Studio Ghibli-esque songs. There’s songs reminiscent of Cabaret, Chicago, Phantom of the Opera, Les Miserables, Cats, West Side Story, A Chorus Line, and more. The cast/vocalists were so skilled that I didn’t mind at all and this isn’t a genre you’d expect to go along with a dystopian cyberbunk AR game-themed story, but somehow it works.

I will give a big warning that if you listen from Spotify on your phone speakers, the audio during songs is quite poor and not in the Sheridan Tapes/Magnus Archives “old cassette tape” kind of poor quality. If you can get your hands on good non-phone speakers/headphones or listen with a different platform, that may be a much better listening experience. Also to be transparent, you can binge it completely without interruption- there are no ads, no intro/outro/credits, etc.

So please please check it out and yell at me about it. I have no idea what happened to the show or its creators and there’s ZERO fan posts about it on social media.

WARNING MAJOR SPOILERS.

FUCKIN HELL MAN. These are my fresh thoughts as I just finished the final episode. I’m listening to the entire soundtrack here https://buff.ly/3BP5CDV and honestly if the my phone’s speakers were better quality, it would be STUNNING AMAZING PERFECT cause the skill of these vocalists? Those riffs? The harmonizations? The high notes? My god.

Ok so calling it a murder game is not quite right in that they’re not *supposed* to kill each other like other murder games are. But it’s heavily implied that the game is designed to fail/kill everyone sooo. Also the Sayer comparison isn’t right either because the AI in question is too submissive/obedient and is more like Jet from Under the Electric Stars.

So the show follows Machie (hikikomori hacker who creates the show’s Augmented Reality game), Max (a former teen genius turned dropout drug addict), Lil Tipsy (a trans sex worker who needs a new body to transition), Dr Lawrence (an aging morgue doctor whose body is also deteriorating from illness), Edward (a married businessman whose actually a spy that is Machie’s childhood friend), and Marx (a “cult escapee”). There’s also the city’s AI system “Rez”.

The game is an Augmented Reality overlaid on the city into a “fairy land” based off an anime that Machie is obsessed with. It starts out about solving riddles and looking for puzzles to find their way to a room that’s supposed to have the bodies. They would need to work together as a team to overcome Machie, but also compete against each other when they can’t trust each other. Things quickly go down, secrets are revealed, people sing about trauma, lives are threatened, and there’s the constant threat of a solar flare radiation warning.

As a side note, I think all the foreshadowing works really well. The characters are smart, flawed but not too annoying, and well-rounded with depths that are both expected and surprising. And as I mentioned, the voice actors are amazing singers that all harmonize together well, although some of the conversations and songs drag on a little too long. In these type of stories, sometimes the plots and subplots try to overcompensate... but thankfully there’s not so much going on that it gets convoluted.

Onto the queer stuff!

There’s a very interesting discussion about body replacements/mods/grafts and gender and I absolutely *love* the fact that the cisgender businessman is the character whose aware of his job privilege, and that the old man doctor has female & male body parts grafted onto him and agrees with the trans character on gender fuckery. In the same convo, Marx reveals that *they’re* one of the bodies that people upload into.

This eventually leads to an overarching theme about bodies, body ownership, the human condition, and what counts as humanity, especially once Marx and Rez are taken into consideration. This is a classic scifi question and I like how Vacant Arcadia tackled it without forcing a lesson down our throats.

Also Tipsy teaches Marx about consent & sex positivity, Tipsy fucks Edward, and Tipsy offers to have sex with Max. A+++. Also also Machie hacks into Rez to create the AR game, and they have 3 duets filled with smexy computer programming innuendos that start out about hacking only to end with them calling each other “love” and “darling” and then that ending happens.

Anyways, so having helped create a queer murder game podcast episode myself and listening to Dining in the Void, there’s something i notice when comparing to Battle Royale/Squid Games/Saw, other murder games. We’re more likely to create an alternate ending where everyone survives, but I’m not sure Vacant Arcadia qualifies as a happy ending even though it’s “optimistic”...ish.

Now about that ending...

So they wind up in the Upper City only to realize that it’s actually an abandoned tourist attraction. Stuff happens with the Worm and the roles those 5 are. My favorite tear-jearker trope happens- Marx realizes that they’re the body everyone is going after to be uploaded/reborn into & thus needs to sacrifice themself. More stuff happens, including a MacGuffen biochip. Then it turns out that the solar flare radiation is actually gonna kill everyone and sure enough it does, including our main cast. This would have been a good stop in my opinion. However Vacant Arcadia decided that in Machie & Rez’s final duet, they combined into 1 entity and revive the main cast into new Founder bodies that are tasked with revolutionizing the city... full of dead people and radiation.

Which is also a decent stop, but an ending that most deadly game storylines would not do. So it’s a rather bittersweet ending.

My final opinion: there’s definitely some things it could improve on, the music isn’t my personal taste although I think a lot of musical or jazz fans would like it. I loved the characters, was very impressed with the voice actors, the plot was pretty good, it was never confusing or convoluted, and i really did like all the themes it addressed.

Do I think it needs a sequel or a season 2? I dont think so- i think it stops at a good place. However, I do wish there could be some minisodes, spinoffs, or prequels. Or most ambitious of all, concerts/live shows. A TV or Visual novel adaptation would also be so cool.

#vacant arcadia #audio drama #podcast recommendations #review #personal #podcasts

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authordanielleforrest · 2 months

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Fated Mates of the Drakoan: Episode 8

After dinner, they settled in the living room, each of them holding their stomachs as they groaned over how full they were. Jess felt ridiculous as she recalled thinking that the two rabbits would only be a small supplement to their diet. Now, she suspected her guilt had twisted her perceptions, leaving her unable to see the truth. Not only had Amanda made a fairly big meal, the biggest they’d had in days, but she’d asked Thom to put the rest in the smoker out back. “Usually, I wouldn’t suggest running the smoker for only a few pounds of meat, but I can’t see wasting it,” Amanda had said. So they’d ended up eating on the back patio with the rich scent of smoking meat filling their nostrils, enhancing their meal and reassuring them that there was still more to come.

Maybe because of all of that, the mood in the room was better than it had been in days. They all felt more secure, hopeful, and happy, and as they relaxed into their seat cushions, the conversation naturally transitioned to the aliens she’d seen earlier. This time, Amanda was the most engaged initially, making up for having been absent for the first conversation. Before long, the lassitude caused by the meal evaporated, each of her friends sitting on the edges of their seats as they debated the significance of the alien presence.

Jess understood why they were so obsessed, but also, she just wanted a break. She wanted to talk about stupid shit like Dungeons & Dragons or the latest Sci-Fi movie or show. She wanted to listen as Scottie enthused about the game he was playing or Amanda enthused about a recipe she couldn’t wait to try. What she wouldn’t give for just a little slice of normalcy right now!

But as that wasn’t possible, and the conversation continued to obsessively spiral around the aliens, she stood up and paced to the window. She looked out at the sky over the houses across the street, calmed slightly by the stunning array of colors painting the day’s end. She leaned against the window, which was surprisingly cool against her shoulder, and tried to tune out the voices of her friends.

She couldn’t really blame them for their interest. Not only was it a subject that affected them all greatly, but it was a mystery, and while trapped in their own home without internet, it wasn’t like there was much else to talk about.

But they weren’t there. They didn’t have to see the aliens in person, didn’t have to feel the adrenaline and fear that came along for the ride. After the day she’d had, she was completely exhausted and just needed a break from it all.

She sighed as she continued to stare out the window. There wasn’t even anything to look at. All their neighbors were inside, no cars were going down the street, no animals were being walked, no children were playing. From this vantage point, it was easy to imagine that the world had already ended, that humans were gone and only their constructions were left to speak of their existence.

So, at first, what caught her attention was simply movement. Since everything was so still, any movement was noticeable. But since it was at the very edge of her view through the window and partially obscured by trees and bushes, that was all she could see.

She craned her neck, leaning harder against the glass. In her mind, she imagined the pane giving way and spilling her out onto the bushes below. She looked away and smiled, but then focused back on the place where she’d spotted movement.

What was it?

Was it just a neighbor outside?

Could it be the government finally trying to make some sort of contact with its citizens?

The next thing she noticed was dark clothing. It blended well with the deep green of the vegetation, noticeable but not stark. As she continued to watch, she started to draw conclusions. It was definitely a person. They were alone. They were walking somewhere. For several minutes, she couldn’t see much more than that. The mature neighborhood had equally mature trees with thick, low-hanging branches. From outside, she probably could have seen more, but from here? There were just too many obstacles.

Several more minutes passed as she curiously but idly watched the person travel through the neighborhood, inexorably moving in her direction. She had no idea where the person was going, but she was now invested in finding out.

Who were they?

What did they look like?

Where were they going?

She couldn’t even hear the conversation going on behind her at this point. It wasn’t even background noise. She wasn’t even sure if they were still in the room with her. And she didn’t care.

Then she finally got a real glimpse of the person. It happened in stages, her nose now cartoonishly plastered to the window. At first, she could see their form unobstructed, but they were cast in shadow. All she could tell was that they looked big in comparison to the bushes behind them. Then they started walking out into the late evening sun, revealing a mouthwateringly powerful build in a dark outfit. In her boredom, she fantasized about running her hands over those muscles, maybe even untucking that shirt and sneaking her hands up underneath it. She wondered what he would do if she changed course, instead reaching into those surprisingly tight pants. Would he groan? Gasp? Stop her?

What are you doing?

She pulled back, a little disgusted with herself for mind fucking the poor bastard.

Not cool, Jess. Not cool.

Shaking herself, she focused back on the guy, but this time paying attention to the mysteries he still had, like his currently shadowed face.

Wish I had binoculars.

It was easy enough to see his big, well-defined muscles from this distance, but his facial features were a lot smaller and thus a lot harder to discern. Was he handsome? Cute? Boyish?

Why am I doing this?

Am I really this bored?

Still, he was a mystery, a mystery that had nothing to do with the threat looming over their heads, and she eagerly awaited the unveiling of the answer, happily devouring any distraction she could lay her hands on. She held her breath as the line of shadow crept higher and higher, on the brink of revealing him fully.

She frowned when sunlight finally touched skin. Was he sunburned? Was the sunset creating an optical illusion? The line of shadow continued to move upward, revealing surprisingly red skin, leaving her with a new mystery to solve. Why was he so red?

When it exposed his mouth, it didn’t look like he was in discomfort, so she nixed sunburn as a potential cause.

As she continued to watch, a sinking dread started to settle in her stomach. He was growing closer, and his skin was just too red, too vibrant, to be the result of the warm light from the setting sun.

He stepped out onto the street, now only a house or two down the road, and the air froze in her lungs as recognition finally clicked in her brain, and the mystery was solved.

It’s him.

Memories of the encounter this afternoon flashed through her brain. Red skin. Black uniforms. Swishing tails. Foreign words.

Paralyzing fear.

Her lungs started to complain, the pressure building as she continued to stand there, staring at the impossibility before her.

It can’t be.

But it was. The proof was right before her, walking toward her one step at a time. Her hands felt cold against the glass, her fingers reflexively gripping the slick material. She finally sucked in a breath, and it was like the world had suddenly started up again.

He followed me home.

She stepped back from the window, panic flooding her as the paralysis ended.

He followed me home.

“Jess?” someone said, but in her current state of mind, she couldn’t tell who’d spoken.

She continued backing up, unable to take her eyes off the approaching form. Her legs banged into the coffee table, and she stalled, taking a moment to keep her balance.

Then he turned slightly, and their eyes met through the glass.

He sees me.

He knows where I am.

Then a smirk lifted his lips, and the fear took control.

She screamed.

#fated mates #alien x human #alien romance #dragon #serial fiction

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disneydatass · 2 years

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Demon slayer entertainment district arc: episode 8- gathering

#kny entertainment district arc #kny anime #demon slayer #kny #tengen uzui #tanjiro kamado #zenitsu agatsuma #demon slayer daki #rengoku kyojuro #gyutaro #THE ANIMATION AND TRANSITIONS IN THIS EPISODE WERE STUNNING #kimetsu no yaiba

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chernobog13 · 3 years

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HAPPY STAR TREK DAY!

(although if you live in Canada, “Star Trek” day was two days ago, because the show was broadcast there first)

Today marks the 55th anniversary of the Star Trek franchise. Premiering on the NBC network at 8:30 pm, the country encountered most of the crew of the USS Enterprise for the first time in the episode The Man Trap.

Although it was the first episode broadcast, The Man Trap was actually the sixth episode produces. However, it was a good choice as a premier because it included most of the main cast as well as many of the elements that would become staples of the series.

First and foremost being the USS Enterprise, a ship unlike any other ever seen.

Ah, the old NCC-1701! She is a thing of beauty!

The episode, of course, opens with the familiar voice over “Captain’s log,” which was a wonderful storytelling device for setting the narrative. But even though we hear Captain Kirk’s voice first (although we don’t know his name yet), Spock is the first major character we see. The log entry informs us that Spock has been left in charge onboard the Enterprise.

We also get our first glimpse of Lt. Uhura, seated at the navigator’s station. It won’t be until a little later that we learn that she is the communications officer for the ship. But this quick scene establishes that the Enterprise’s crew is very diverse (an alien and a Black female both on the bridge), which raised more than a few eyebrows back in 1966.

Next we get our first view of the transporter effect. There is no explanation given as to what is happening, other than Kirk’s voiceover stating that he and Dr. McCoy are “beaming down” to the planet’s surface. Star Trek, especially in the early days, decided the audience would be able to figure out what was happening.

Then we get out first look at Captain James Kirk and Dr. Leonard “Bones” McCoy. The scene immediately establishes the friendship between the two, with Kirk’s gentle teasing of his ship’s doctor. Also note, this is the shortest you’ll see Kirk’s hair in the entire series. He’s got a proper military cut here; by the end of the third season he almost looks like a hippie.

There’s also a great bit later on, when Kirk and McCoy are speaking to each other on the ship via viewscreen. McCoy tells Kirk he’s having trouble sleeping. Kirk’s reply: “Try taking one of those red pills you gave me last week. You’ll sleep!”

Throughout the episode we’ve seen Kirk as the tough, no-nonsense, by-the-book captain who commands the respect of the people he leads. But these bits with McCoy show his humorous, human side that makes him a great character. I truly miss first season Kirk, especially the first part of the season, because that’s my favorite version of him.

Peppered throughout the episode are shots establishing many of the other characters who will become regulars on the series. Here we have Yeoman Janice Rand, who we learn is the captain’s yeoman and quite popular among the male crew members.

Unfortunately, Yeoman Rand only appeared in eight episodes spread across the first half of the season.

Rand delivers the tray of food at the botany lab, where we meet Sulu for the first time.

Since this is the first time the audience see Lieutenant Sulu, it would be understandable if it was assumed that he was just a botanist. Actually, Sulu had a few different positions in the first season (he was a physicist in the second pilot Where No man Has Gone Before, which would be broadcast 2 weeks after The Man Trap).

Surprisingly, Lieutenant Uhura seemed to get the most screen time of all the secondary characters. (not that I’m complaining; Nichelle Nichols is absolutely gorgeous!). Earlier on the bridge she was flirting with Spock (with Spock subtly tugging on his shirt collar, indicating his discomfort), and then chastising him for his apparent lack of concern when he learned that a member of the landing party is dead. Here she is being the queen that she is, teaching two other crew members proper turbolift etiquette: you let the person in the lift get out before you get in (same goes for elevators, just in case you didn’t know).

Two other recurring characters, Chief Engineer Montgomery “Scotty” Scott and Nurse Christine Chapel, are the only two not seen in this episode. Scotty’s voice, though is heard on the communicator responding to Kirk from the transporter room. As for Nurse Chapel, she was not introduced until The Naked Time, which was the next episode (#7) produced, but the fourth to air.

One thing which I didn’t notice until I rewatched this episode just now (or maybe I did notice, but just forgot) is that Kirk is carrying a phaser almost the whole show, even while on the bridge.

Sharp-eyed viewers may also spot various crew members in older uniforms, like those worn in the two pilots, The Cage and Where No Man Has Gone Before.

Some people may call these continuity errors, or chalk it up to the wardrobe department recycling costumes for the extras. But anyone who’s been in the military knows there’s always a transition period when new uniforms are introduced. For example, my Basic Training class was the absolute last in the Army to be issued the old olive drab green fatigues. The next class was issued the new woodland camouflage BDUs that became the standard for the next ten years. I was given six months to purchase a full set of BDUs (you read that right: I had to buy them with my own money). However, unless BDUs were specifically designated as the uniform of the day I was able to wear the o.d.green fatigues for another two years until they were phased out completely. I imagine these crew members are in a similar situation.

A few more Star Trek “firsts” from The Man Trap:

Kirk (or any crew member) using the communicator. Kirk is on his communicator a lot this episode.

The Enterprise on red alert.

A gun - or, more correctly, phaser - battle. Here we see Professor Crater armed with an “old style” phaser, but really just them same type that was used in the two pilots.

The very first phaser shot, as Professor Crater snipes at Kirk and Spock.

Kirk firing his phaser. Don’t worry, it’s set on “stun.”

Professor Crater getting struck by phaser fire. Don’t worry, it was set on “stun.” He’s going to talk like he’s drunk for the next few minutes.

Kirk and Spock planetside, establishing that the two highest ranking officers will beam down alone to handle a dangerous situation. It’s not like they have an entire Security Department on board the ship.

The very first meeting in the Briefing Room.

The crew at various stations on the bridge, although Uhura and Sulu are not at their usual posts, which just shows that this crew is highly competent and can handle multiple duties. Oh, and two of them happen to be women, and tow are people of color.

Sulu chiming in on the meeting via viewscreen.

And then, because it was a science fiction television show in the 1960s, the network insisted there be a monster. So we got the salt vampire, the shape-changing creature that had been killing all sorts of people by sucking the salt out of their bodies. Not too scary by today’s standards, but I wouldn’t want to run into it in a dark alley.

The first time we get to see Kirk make that face as he screams in pain.

And the first time we see a dead monster/alien on the Enterprise.

The, finally, the what will become familiar denouement with everyone on the bridge as Kirk gives the order for the Enterprise to break orbit and proceed to its next assignment. Notice that Sulu has finally managed to make it to the helmsman’s station.

Headed off into space for another adventure next week!

1966 was a great year. It gave us Ultra Q. Ultraman, Ambassador Magma (aka The Space Giants), The New Adventures of Superman animated series, the Slurpee and, of course, Star Trek.

55 years later Star Trek is more popular than ever, with several new television series available, and another feature film in the works. Here’s hoping for another 55 years of exploring the galaxy!

#Star Trek: The Original Series #Star Trek Day #USS Enterprise #NCC-1701 #Captain James T. Kirk #Mr. Spock #Dr. Bones McCoy #Lt. Sulu #Lt. Uhura #Yeoman Rand #Salt Vampire

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halolime · 3 years

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My first impressions on the fall anime lineup (2021)

It’s almost november now, a lot of shows already have 2 or 3 episodes out. These are my first impressions for each of them (Watched Episodes/Released Episodes):

Blue Period. (5/5)

This one grows on me more and more with each episode. At first I was thrown off because the pacing was weird and similar as in Bakemonogatari it does this thing where there is a lack of background characters. But that can easily be overlooked.

The story: High school student Yatora Yaguchi has a pretty good life, yet he can’t help but feel stuck. Eventually, on a trip to the art room he gets captured by the beauty of a painting. This awakens his passion for art and shows how fullfilling yet desperate the life of an artist can be.

Soundtrack is great, Animation looks good and the crossdresser isn’t used as comedy relief. It’s probably my personal favorite of the season so absolutely recommend.

(9/10)

Kimetsu no Yaiba - Mugen Train (2/3)

Welll, it is what it is I guess. The first episode was alright, judging by the animation quality it could have been part of the movie. From here on it’s a seven episode long recap. I’ll keep watching so I get a good transition to the next arc.

No complaints about the anime itself on my end, its stunning animation is satisfying to watch 20 times if you will, I just don’t understand why this arc got split into several episodes, seems like they wanted to profit off of it for a little while longer.

(7/10)

Komi can’t communicate (2/3)

I was happy when it was announced that there'd be an adaption. I read ~200 chapters of the manga back in 2017 and I really enjoyed it.

The story: The main character Tadano happens to start his high school year in the same class as the all-beloved Shoko Komi. Turns out: She has a Speech disorder which turns her goal, to make 100 friends, a lot more difficult. So Tadano takes it onto himself to help her on this quest.

This show could have a lot more potential coming its way, the first episode was merely the introduction. I just hope they wont cut it short like they did with Horimiya. Looking at the number of chapters out right now, there’s easily potential for a season 2.

(7/10)

Mieruko-chan (3/4)

And here I was thinking we were gonna have a perfectly timed horror anime....

Honestly, the description was pretty intruiging to me at first. The horror section of anime always felt pretty slim in comparsion to others, so getting something new sounded exciting.

The story: High-School student Miko Yotsuya is able to see things others can’t. The most grotesque looking monsters are walking the streets, but only she has to witness them alongside her day-to-day life. Her solution? Completely stone face ignore them as much as possible.

A great concept, but instead of the creepy horror elements I was hoping for, I got several ass shots I don’t care for. Nevertheless, I’m hoping for a “Nagatoro” situation, where the show starts taking itself more serious.

(4/10)

takt op. destiny (3/3)

What a pleasant surprise. When two big studios start working on a project, the final product is actually pretty decent. I like the way music is implemented as a key element while still having some originality to it.

The story: Our main characters takt and cosette live in a world where the sound of music enrages monsters from a fallen meteorite called “D2″. After an incident with the D2, they are forced to start a long journey while taking care of any monsters that are on the way.

The smooth animation attracted a lot of people, and most of them stuck around for the story. Not like I’m any different. The plot itself has progressed surprisingly little for 3 Episodes, as two of them were flashbacks, so I’m unsure where it’s headed from here. Still definitetly one of the better ones this season.

(8/10)

The vampire dies in no time (3/3)

There has been a general disiliking for this show in particular.

I cannot relate.

The chemistry between the main characters works perfectly, the animation style fits the show and it has a goddamn armadillo. I’m sold.

The story: Vampire Hunter Ronaldo is on his way to an old castle inhabited by a vampire to bring him down. Turns out he is less of a threat than the child that uses the vampires home as their own personal playground.

(7.5/10)

Visual Prison (3/3)

....alright fine I’ll talk about this one.

I don’t really know where the plot wants to be going. 5 Minutes in, the show just throws random events at you that even after an explanation, I did not fully understand.

It’s very likely that I am just not the target audience for this sort of anime, but I might keep watching as it still brings me some form of enjoyment. Except for the cat. I hate the cat.

(2/10)

I’m still planning to look at more like Platinum End for example, but that’s for another time.

Honestly if you have something to say about any of the mentioned shows or want to recommend me any other hidden gems from this season, then please do. This season has not been as good as I’d hoped to be honest, I have high hopes for winter for sure.

That’s it for now. See you around.

#anime #anime fall 2021 #kimetsu no yaiba: mugen ressha hen #blue period #komi can't communicate #mieruko chan #takt op.destiny #the vampire dies in no time #visual prison

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plasticnightmaredoll · 3 years

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"Evangelion 3.0 + 1.0: Thrice Upon a Time" review (contains spoilers)

Contains some of my thoughts on the other installments of "Rebuild of Evangelion" as well.

After what feels like a billion years, we have finally gotten the 4th and final(?) movie in the "Rebuild of Evangelion" film series. It has truly been a long time coming, though, considering it's been nearly a decade since "Evangelion: 3.0: You Can (Not) Redo" was released (which was in 2012!) I guess the biggest question to address first is...what the wait worth it?

Yes!

But also....no.

I suppose it was, you could say. I was excited for the conclusion to the films, although, maybe not as much as some people. I did rewatch the TV series recently (except for episodes 25 and 26 because I just wasn't feeling it). I didn't rewatch "End of Evangelion" as it's a bit too dark for me right now but I remember it well so it's not necessary.

I don't like "Evangelion" as much as I used to years ago, not as much as "Berserk" or "Ghost in the Shell," but I still do like it. It just suffers from some shortcomings presented by the budget.

Anyway, how does this movie quadrilogy, a retelling of the Evangelion story presented in the series, compare?

Is it better than the original series? Of course not.

Is it as good as the original series? Nope.

Is it good at all? Yes, but it has its shortcomings like the original series, but the movies have many more flaws. I don't know if new fans should watch this quadrilogy or the original series first, though. I guess it just depends on the person? If you are a fan of the original series, though, then these movies probably won't give you anything new, anything worthwhile, but again, that's up to the person.

But let's just break things down, see the good and bad this movie series offered.

Warning: Spoilers ahead obviously

Notes: I will refer to the movies as such: Eva 1.0, Eva 2.0, Eva 3.0, and Eva 4.0 (Bitch, I ain't typing out 3.0 + 1.0 or "Thrice Upon a Time" every time), "Eva Series" for the Evangelion TV series, and "EoE" for "End of Evangelion".

The Good

Let's get the obvious out of the way:

The art and animation for all four movies are phenomenal. No longer held back by the limitations of a mediocre budget, Hideaki Anno and his team were able to go all out and deliver some truly stunning animation. Some of the CGI is a little bit...much, but I wouldn't say any of it was bad, definitely not bad enough to be distracting.

Shiro Sagisu delivers a fantastic collection of music as expected. His music defines Evangelion, almost like it's a character in and of itself.

The Japanese voice cast was incredible as expected. The English dubbing is ok, but some actors are clearly better than others. So, the best version is still the Japanese version (like it typically is with most anime).

Now for the other things:

Evangelion 1.0: You Are (Not) Alone

The movies started off pretty safe with Eva 1.0 being mostly a retelling of some episodes at the beginning of the series. I think this was a smart move to make since starting off completely different may have been off-putting. Giving us a familiar "base" made the transition into a new story easier.

Evangelion 2.0: You Can (Not) Advance

Eva 2.0 did retell some events from the series but also went into new directions, including the introduction of Mari Makinami, a different 3rd Angel, some new Evas, and providing a very different execution of Third Impact compared to "End of Evangelion."

What I liked about Eva 2.0 was that it gave us a version of Shinji who was actually a badass. Well, mostly. In EoE, Shinji was forced or maybe even tricked into participating in Third Impact, suffered a mental breakdown because of it, but ultimately got it together long enough to decide to cancel the event.

In Eva 2.0, Shinji does accidentally cause Third Impact, but he wasn't forced into it or tricked. No, he caused it because he wanted to save Rei Ayanami so badly that he didn't care what it took -- he was willing to sacrifice himself and the whole world to save her, someone who meant so much to him. For once, Shinji wasn't being weak and wimpy, he was kicking ass and taking names. Yeah, it was a bit selfish but at the same time, he actually had a spine and DID something HE wanted to do without needing to be talked into it or guilt-tripped into it.

Mari was a fun character introduced in Eva 2.0. Of all the main characters, she probably is the most mentally healthy and stable, which may be a little too convenient but not everyone has to be openly struggling with problems, right? She served as a sort of wild card among the Children, a girl with her own goals separate from those of the others.

Evangelion 3.0: You Can (Not) Redo

Unfortunately, I can' say many good things about this entry because it...didn't work for me. There are some positives, though. The art and animation obviously were fantastic, but it also featured some of Shiro Sagisu's best work in terms of the soundtrack. The ending song, "Sakura Nagashi," is very beautiful and sad all at once, and probably my favorite piece of music from Evangelion.

PERIODT.

I also liked the extended interaction between Shinji and Kaworu. In the Eva Series, we didn't get to see them interact for very long as it was crammed into one 25 minute episode.

And I don't care what anyone says or how Eva 4.0 ended -- Kaworu and Shinji are gay for each other and an OTP and I will DIE on that hill.

Evangelion 3.0 + 1.0: Thrice Upon a Time

Eva 4.0 gave us a very vulnerable Gendo Ikari as we went into his thoughts and emotions via Shinji confronting him. Usually, a stoic man who was driven by his own goals with little concern for others, he ... actually broke down and revealed how weak he was on the inside. I mean, I always knew that if he loved anyone, it was Yui, but it seems the movies proved it was not that simple and perhaps he cared for more than that but was unable to properly deal with or express his emotions, especially after her death.

But seriously, Guys -- Guys, seriously -- YOU GUYS, HOLY SHIT SHINJI, THE VOICE OF REASON. What is this universe we're seeing?

He was being like a therapist to his dad who was...kind of more fucked up than him. I mean, Shinji wasn't intentionally trying to cause the end of the world to be with a lost loved one, and he did have more friends than Gendo ever did.

There were some very epic battles scenes in Eva 4.0, which were brilliantly choreographed and kept your adrenaline going for most of the film. The CG was even good, sometimes great, and I know how Anime and CG animation haven't always had a good relationship or positive reactions from fans (i.e. "Berserk's" 2016-2017 anime series was pretty much entirely CG animation, and it looked like ass. Yeah, I know the Eva movies had a much bigger budget but come on...if you can't deliver the goods, then don't make any half-assed attempts!) But this series of movies proves that CG animation in anime CAN work. I suppose it depends on budget and the blood, sweat, and tears poured into the project (and Hideaki Anno put so much into the Evangelion story)

During the therapy session between Shinji and Gendo, it was like we were experiencing Episodes 25 and 26 of the Eva Series. We got to look at different characters and, in some instances, explore their thoughts and feelings. It was like we were saying goodbye to these characters like in EoE but without the death and dismemberment and tragedy. This time, though, it flowed much more efficiently with the story while the final episodes of the Eva Series were so jarringly different and almost frustrating to deal with due to the sharp change in narrative and execution.

Rebuild of Evangelion In General

The Eva movies gave us much more character growth for Shinji than in the series. Not that the series did a poor job with him. It just didn't give him a chance to recover from his pain. The movies did, and in Eva 4.0, Shinji presents himself as a much more mature and stable young man before his father, who ended up being the one breaking down.

Asuka's story in the movies is quite different, and while she does suffer some of the same mental health problems she has in the series, she doesn't completely lose it. She somehow manages to power through alone despite her suffering, and whole she does suffer some emotional troubles due to her experiences in the movies, she does manage to keep it together. But we see that despite the front she put up, she still wanted recognition and affection from others. Imperfect but somehow emotionally less...fragile. Not a bad thing, though. This interpretation of Asuka was...very intriguing and, in a way, much more tragic when you think about it. I mean, we don't see everyone get a happy ending in real life, do we?

The movies, I think, ultimately were going for a much more optimistic end to Evangelion, one that still involved death and destruction, but not as absolute and depressing as what was given in EoE. It really is Shinji's story in the movies, and he is the one to dictate how the Impact will go, but with far less angst.

I feel like we got peace with all the characters in one way or another, even in death. If EoE was conveying life is very painful and something terrifying you may want to run from, but ultimately it's the only way humanity should live (if that makes sense). It sucks but it's not completely awful...usually.

Eva 4.0 conveys life is full of pain but also full of joyful experiences as well, and you take the good with the bad and live life as best you can. It's similar in terms of the message in EoE but more optimistic. I mean, I like dark, twisted, depressing shit but warm, fluffy moments are fine, too.

The first(?) Rei being more attached and emotional was an interesting choice, but also very sweet. Her care for Shinji was akin to how a mother would love her son, I think, and Rei is a clone of Shinji's mother, Yui. Yes, Rei is just a physical "copy" of Yui, but still...I felt there was a very powerful, almost familial bond between her and Shinji. I don't think it was ever romantic or sexual, which is probably for the better because Rei is a clone of Shinji's mom. He doesn't need to be banging that!

Mixed Thoughts

This isn't really a bad thing, I guess, more like something I have mixed feelings over but it was overall still pretty off-putting: We find out in Eva 4.0 that Asuka is...a clone. A clone? Really? Seriously? There was no indication of this in the previous movies, and while I kind of like the idea of her being a clone forced to undergo insane and grueling experiments in order to survive, I...don't get WHY it was just thrown in at the last minute. I was left so confused upon this revelation and wondered why they had no prior indication that this was the case for her. It didn't add to her character as much as it should have because it was so random.

I liked the very strange, cryptic, confusing, yet somewhat profound content of Eva 3.0. It was a drastic change from the more streamlined, comprehensible plot of the first two films, so it doesn't really sit well with me or with the flow of the story. But it was more like the Evangelion we all know and love (or the Evangelion I know and love because it's so fucking mysterious and symbolic and fucking weird).

The Bad

Eva 3.0 as a whole still feels like a very awkward, disjointed entry in the movie series, almost like it's some sort of weak, temporary bridge between the first two films and the last one. I don't think Eva 3.0 is terrible, just not as well-written as the other entries. It seems like more of a last-minute thing.

Speaking random character revelations like that of Asuka's clone reveal....Mari knew Shinji's parents? She actually helped Yui and Gendo get together. This...doesn't make a lot of sense. She doesn't look as old as she should be, and I just don't get this backstory element. It seems so...odd, like some obscure twist with no true setup. Maybe it's just me, but I didn't get it. I didn't. I don't think it was necessary to make her someone who knew Shinji's parents.

I also didn't agree with pairing her up with Shinji at the end of Eva 4.0. I mean, it's not officially stated they are a thing, but it's strongly hinted at. I actually didn't even think he should be with Asuka this time around. He was better suited to Kaworu. Mari seemed more hung up on Asuka anyway, calling her "Princess" and "Your Highness" and being all huggy-buggy with her. "

Shinji x Mari makes no sense, basically.

Exposition, exposition, exposition...Eva 3.0 had a few scenes that explained a bit too much, but Eva 4.0 had far too many scenes exposition. It really overdid it near the end with Gendo explaining his plans in such detail, and while I liked him opening up about himself, I didn't need to hear every single thing about his version of Instrumentality. Evangelion is supposed to be vague and thought-provoking not spoonfed to you.

How and where did WILLE get the technology to restore cities to a previous point in time? Like.....what? When? How? Why? Who? It didn't make a lot of sense to me and seemed like a very cheap and strange way to forward the plot.

I also am not sure where the thousands and thousands of Evas came from seeing as how Gendo and Fuyutsuki were running the show at NERV and SEELE was silent, probably dead.

While the first three movies were pretty "grounded," Eva 4.0 went...way over the top. Yes, I know, I know, the series and EoE were fucking batshit at times, and it's not like the Angels or kids piloting giant robots could ever be a thing, but it didn't go so far out that you found yourself rolling your eyes at the absurdity.

Final Thoughts

Overall, I did enjoy the "Rebuild of Evangelion" quadrilogy and most of its changes to the narrative. However, I still and most likely always will prefer the TV series and "Evangelion" instead because I felt like the story was handled much better. That being said, I think the "Rebuild" movies are a good way to introduce someone to Evangelion, and maybe will appeal more to those who prefer modern animation and art over the older stuff. Also, the four movies do provide more (and sometimes too much) explanation for things, and some people may like that approach over the more mysterious and confusing nature of the Eva series + EoE story.

Evangelion 1.0: You Are (Not) Alone ➡ A-

Evangelion 2.0: You Can (Not) Advance ➡ A

Evangelion 3.0: You Can (Not) Redo ➡ C

Evangelion 3.0 + 1.0: Thrice Upon a Time ➡ B

Neon Genesis Evangelion TV series ➡ A-

End of Evangelion ➡ A

#evangelion #neon genesis evangelion #rebuild of evangelion #evangelion 1.0 #evangelion 2.0 #evangelion 3.0 #evangelion 3.0 + 1.0 #hideaki anno #shinji ikari #rei ayanami #asuka shikinami langley #mari makinami #ritsuko akagi #gendo ikari #misato katsuragi #yui ikari

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