#E is for Extinction

[fionapplespiano]

X-Men 97 speed running these iconic comic storylines like

So far we’ve had

- Inferno

- Lifedeath

- Cable being sent to the future

- The Genosha genocide

- Scott and Jean’s marriage problems including a psychic affair and Jogan’s resurrection🤮

And we’re only halfway through good lord, we’re gonna be on Krakoa by the season finale

#x-men #x-men 97 #x-men inferno #x-men lifedeath #e is for extinction #Genosha #Madelyne Pryor #Magneto #Gambit #Storm #Jean Grey #Cyclops #Cable #Nathan Summers #new x-men #Grant Morrison #Krakoa

[cryptovalid]

'Remember it' should not be retconned

I'm serious, the lack of stakes is what's killing superhero media. People don't have 'superhero fatigue' they have 'status quo fatigue'. Characters are resurrected at the drop of a hat and it does not make for good storytelling. Spoilers ahead for episode 5 of X-men '97.

'Remember it' genuinely affected me on an emotional level precisely because it didn't shy away from how senseless, traumatic and terrible genocide is. Reversing it would recontextualize genocide as something less urgent, less tragic. In the real world where genocide happens, this is irresponsible and callous, particularly given the roll our own governments play in it.

In a good story, characters are changed by what happens to them. In long form series like Marvel Comics, this rarely sticks because people become attached to characters and view their status quo as comforting and profitable. Over time, this leads to convoluted stories without meaningful tension. We know everything will be alright

Adaptations have a unique opportunity to actually make meaningful character growth happen and say something with it. If a character dies, they can still exist in other continuities.

Something like this is probably the best ending for a character like Magneto. In his last moments, as tragic as they are, he does what only he can, to stave off a genocide he has been fighting tooth and nail since childhood.

In the end, even Erik Magnus Lensherr, the Master of Magnetism, is just a man in the face of extinction. And when he speaks his final words, I can't help but realize that they were spoken millions of times in similar circumstances, to this day. What can anyone say in the face of death on such a massive scale? Not 'never again', sadly. It never stopped. Untold millions have told children 'Don't be afraid' in the moments before they died.

This sickens me. We all wish that brute force could solve this problem, that there's a magic wand to turn back time. And this is what superhero stories have always boiled down to: wish fulfillment.

I'm not mad at anyone for whom this was too traumatic, who would turn the clock back to a time where Gambit, the Morlocks, Magneto and the other casualties are alive. This would obviously be a better world to believe in.

I just think it is not good storytelling. We can't view real world genocide through that lens. Honestly, I don't know how the show will progress, or even who the villain is.

It could be Trask, Guyrich, Mastermold, Nimrod, Bastion, Cassandra Nova, Onslaught or Apocalypse, to name just a couple of options. The show could end with Bishop destroying the Kaiju-sentinel before E-day.

All I know is, we need reminders that there are real stakes in real life, and that tragedy just happens. When Remy says 'Remember it', he's not just talking about his name. He's talking about this massacre, about the martyrs.

Remember the dead. Fight like hell for the living.

#Remember it #x men 97 #genocide cw #murder cw #magneto was right #gambit #E is for Extinction

[bystander3]

Yoooooo!!!

I just watched X-Men '97, episode 5 "Remember It".

I don't swear lightly, but:

Holy F%ck!

I can't even talk about it yet.

Some of the best, most powerful television I've seen in a long time.

Some of the best beats from 30 years of comics distilled down into 40 minutes.

They're pulling out all the stops, ...and the season is not even half over!

#x-men #x-men 97 #gambit #rogue #magneto #cyclops #jean grey #madeline pryor #genosha #hellfire gala #mutant massacre #e is for extinction #new x-men #grant morrison #spoilers

[celestialmega]

New X-Men by Grant Morrison and Frank Quitely.

#comics #comic books #comic book #frank quitely #grant morrison #new x men #jean gray #emma frost #e is for extinction

[panzerdrako]

100 all time greatest comics (2014)

#new x men #marvel comics #grant morrison #comic #e is for extinction

[menelaiad]

the infamous 'last sighting of a barbary lion in the wild' photo taken by marcelin flandrin (1925) haunts me to my core. there's something so achingly poetic about it.

#this is so random for me but i saw this the other night and it genuinley hasnt left my brain #there's a lot of debate around this subspecies and whether they are #extinct or w/e #hence my wording BUT #this photo and that kinda ....... 'last one in the wild' fact has sTUCK with me #so small. in the space. so alone. walking away. leaving their prints behind. #it honestly nearly moves me to tears if i think about it too much #straight up put this in my drafts last night and now it makes me TOO emotional

[is-the-primate-vid-cute]

Extinction alert: Bangladesh bids farewell to long-tailed macaques

Photo via NUS

Our country has lost an enigmatic monkey. Another name has piled up on the ever-expanding list of species that have left the country forever.

The long-tailed macaque has been declared endangered, falling under the category set by IUCN for the second to most threatened species. The species reels under habitat destruction, changing landscapes, fragmented population and illicit trade practices. In places, it is regarded as a pest, spent as pharmaceutical test subject and often recommended for culling and removal.

This assessment looked into the macaque's status in each of the countries it reportedly lives in and formally confirmed its extinction from Bangladesh.

read more here

Help long tail macaques here!

“If the world of nonhuman primates offers an emblem of the tensions of modernity, it’s Macaca fascicularis, the long-tailed macaque. This alert, adaptable Asian species is one of the world’s most familiar monkeys, but also among the most sorely taken for granted…its current population status is poorly known but, by reliable accounts, combines the good news of broad distribution with the bad news of declining numbers.”

-DAVID QUAMMEN

#mod E #long tail macaque #macaque #extinction #Bangladesh

[vintagewildlife]

Benjamin, the last captive thylacine, at the Hobart Zoo By: E. T. Emmett Ca. 1934

#extinct #captivity #thylacine #marsupial #mammal #1934 #1930s #E. T. Emmett

[20y2]

NORTHERN EXPOSURE

3.13 Things Become Extinct

#things become extinct #nx 3x13 #northern exposure #ausgerechnet alaska #doctor en alaska #ed chigliak #darren e burrows #joel fleischman #rob morrow #life and art #life #art

[olliveen]

that one barbie thing but it's my ocs. what crimes did they commit

#olliearts #ITS THE SCRUNKLIES #my babies... my oogly googlies... vsco girl and e-boy couple goals #are there still vsco girls anymore? did they go extinct? idk #oc #character design #pudding pearl #shadow coffman #beechgrove academy

[fionapplespiano]

Just realized that Storm’s Mohawk lasted longer than Gambit in this series

#Beau Demayo you have much to answer for #my poor babies #x-men #x men 97 #x men 97 spoilers #Storm #Ororo Munroe #Gambit #Remy Lebeau #Lifedeath #e is for extinction #Genosha

[hippography]

Woodland Pride (1659). 

The property of Mr. George Grandage. By Broomsgrove Pride out of Lady Stainthorpe. 

Winner of the First Prize (aged Stallions) at the Yorkshire Agricultural Society’s Show, 1906. 

R. E. Fairclough.

Sir Humphrey de Trafford, 1907, The Horses of the British Empire, Vol. 1.

#Woodland Pride #Yorkshire Coach Horse #stallion #extinct breed #harness horse #coach horse #1907 #The Horses of the British Empire #R. E. Fairclough

[karmasainted]

xmen 97 episode 5 managed to break my heart and make me cry like a baby at the end. it also included happy nation by ace of base in a truly weird and vaguely psychedelic nineties throw back moment that made my head reel. why this marvel , why this ???

#[ ooc / mun talk. ] #( if you've read e is for extinction you'll know what to expect but it was absolutely brutal )

[celestialmega]

New X-Men by Grant Morrison and Frank Quitely.

#comics #comic books #comic book #grant morrison #frank quitely #new x men #e is for extinction #emma frost

[dogboy-mustaine]

this is not new but it is dave

#and i am legally required to post any and all dave​ #smth about the way this looks bothers me but w/e #dave mustaine #nick menza #because he’s back there.. hi nick #megadeth #my scans #rip magazine #countdown to extinction

[radioves]

Elytrians are a very well known race- large, bird-like humanoids with massive clawed wings and the ability to harness the power of the wind to launch themselves into the air.

But they werent always like this.

There was once a time when Elytrians werent the kind mountain dwellers everyone knows. Instead, they were something... different.

quick tw for experimentation and weird sciency mutation bs the End people were kinda egotistical assholes //

...

Deep in the End dimension lived a race of people, known to most as the "End people". These inhabitants of the End lived amongst the scattered, broken terrain of the outer islands. They were known to be highly intelligent architects, building sprawling cities crafted out of a compound stone consisting of the end stone beneath their feet and the plentiful chorus fruit that thrived despite the barren soil.

The End people were even known to be profound knowledge in magic and alchemy, harnessing the levitating properties of the shulkers to support their perilous cities- and to create something that those without magic could only dream of having; flight. They created floating ships that they used to travel the end, powered by the mystical bullets the shulkers shot, keeping the ship aloft as propellers powered it through the dark skies.

But, as how it goes in most stories, the End people wanted more.

You see, after observing the large, obsidian scaled dragons that lived along side them, the End people decided they wanted to fly- no, they deserved to fly. Having harnessed the potential of every aspect of the End, they believed they could reach higher, to go beyond what was intended for them and become something greater.

They captured the old lesser dragons- small, wyvern-like reptiles that were the ancient ancestors of modern day phantoms- and took their scales and membranes, fashioning artificial wings not unlike the wax and feathered that belonged to Icarus. These were dubbed “Elytra”, named after the wing casing of the beetles they once made home with.

And while these faux wings worked for the most part, the End people were still unhappy. These wings couldn’t power flight like they hoped, as they were only able to glide through the air- they weren’t biologically designed to fly, something only reserved for those who have been given the gift of flight.

So if they couldn’t be given it, they would just have to make it.

They experimented, taking in subjects to test on- some willing, others... not so much. The subjects were given elixirs brewed from the gathered dragon scales. The hope was that the magic imbued into the concoction would grant the End people the ability to grow wings- ones that were strong enough to carry them aloft, unlike the artificial ones crafted from the membrane of wings.

And it worked, but it wasn’t exactly in the way they expected. Instead of the large, swooping wings they long strived for, their bodies morphed into something... grotesque. Their bodies became thin and fragile, losing weight down to their inner bone, as those became hollow as well. Their nails grew sharp and twisted, not unlike talons, as did their teeth grow pointed and long. They began to walk on their hands, their feet elongating as they learned to walk on their toes, resembling something that could’ve been quadrupedal in nature.

Strange scales sprouted across their bodies from head to toe, and even down to the tail that sprouted from the base of their tailbone, a wild and wiry thing that lashed at the slightest hint of annoyance from the person it was attached to.

Their eyes grew large and bulbous- even despite the End peoples naturally large eyes, they had the benefit of artificial light; glowing rods that lined their pathways that illuminated the cities despite the eternal dark of the End. The lesser dragons didn’t have this aid, and as such evolved large eyes to help them see in the dark, and by extension, the experimented people were given them as well.

What once might've been hands morphed into talons at the wrist of their wings, only 3 fingers remained as their fourth bent backwards to form the edge of their wings, the rest of the membrane attached to their skin down to the hip.

But even still, they could barely fly. While they were still able to glide from platform to platform, they could only weakly flap- their bodies were simply too weak due to the muscle atrophy they experienced during their transformation. Even with larger wings that were now attached to their bodies as opposed to the false mimics of their old ones, they still were never build to handle it.

But the End people didn’t know when to stop.

They refused to give up, desperate to experience flight for themselves. They moved on to more magical possibilities, something they were more used to- shulker levitation. They imbued the hybrids with the magic from the bullets, hoping that with the added lift of the levitation spell their race would finally be able to fly.

The winged were able to harness this magic, using it to lift them up high into the sky, only to flutter back down to the ground. They couldn’t control it the way they wanted, only able to use it for quick bursts of levitation instead of the hope they could use it long-term to hold them aloft. There was nothing left they could try to save their experiments.

The End people had failed.

They would throw out the elixirs they had painstakingly spent ages perfecting, closing down the experiment and ridding of all hints it even existed. As for the winged, they had been dubbed “Elytrians”, after the wings they had been hoping to have for their own. They were seen as embarrassments, the End people being ashamed they had even been created in the first place. They weren’t even seen as the same species anymore, seen as something primitive, nothing more than offshoots of the creatures they had been fused with.

As a result, they had been banished. With wings bound, the Elytrians were thrown off the islands they once called home, with the hope the End people would never have to see them again- to never be reminded of their mistakes.

But it was apparent the Universe was merciful.

Though many succumbed to the pressure of the void, a scattered bunch of the Elytrians awoke to something... unexpected. Rolling green hills with a blue sky arching far above them, fluffy clouds rolling and fading and forming marching across the azure air- nothing they have ever seen before.

And despite the unfamiliar land, it was kind to them. Instead of the harsh land of the End, where you could only find refuge in the scattered cities, here in this lush world they could find ground that was soft, sweet berries that were nothing like the tart bitterness of the chorus fruit of the End, clear water that was cool to the touch that reminded them of the sun- and the sun! The sun was warm against their scales, a far cry from the pressing cold of the End.

Eventually they would later meet another race that were almost similar to them in some aspects- Avians, they would learn they were called, with feathered arms that resembled wings and bend legs with talons at the end.

The ancient end-bred Elytrians would soon evolve, combining with the Avians and being replaced by something that was finally intended to be the way they were, something nature could smile down upon instead of turning a pitiful blind eye. Soft feathers coated their bodies, albeit still scaled, though they now come in varieties of color instead of the charcoal black they once were. They learned to walk on their legs again, their limbs shortening back to a natural length- even if they still sometimes crawled around when hunting.

Their bodies shaped back into something more natural once again- their eyes shrinking back down, no longer needed to capture more light to see in the eternal dark. They gained weight once more, now that they lived in a land not only with more gravity, but with more food, more chances to hunt, to work, to fly.

They learned to shape their old ability into something different. instead of a influx of levitation magic, they could channel it into the air around them- creating a gust of wind they could use to send themselves high up into the air, where they could then glide across the sky, free to explore the lands with this power.

Soon, they would begin to flock to the mountains. They gained a preference for higher places, the cold causing them to grow thick plumage across their bodies to keep them warm in the cold climates. Despite their unfortunate upbringings, with the way the cold air swirled around them and the galaxy could be seen clearly high up in the mountains,

It reminded them of what was once called home.

#the ancient End people sucked ass lets just hope they got better at not being so terrible over the course of a millenium #ignoring the part they threw a hissy fit over not being able to fly so they hunted the lesser dragons to extinction and tried to do the sam #e #to the ender dragons in one big Superiority Complex Tantrum™️ #origins smp #<- not inherently but it has some inspirations #also theres no mod for the origns mod itself bite me #tag i meant tag #is this implying Wilbur was once an Elytrian before he died? mmmmmmm #[looks at cpk’s origins coincidence] MMMMM #yes #tw experimentation