Calling it now because I’m pumping up my confidence and no one can stop me: I think MK season two is going to be announced on or very near the one year anniversary of the show airing. We’ve gotten so much info on there being More planned, some rumors even of the type of content in the season, so it makes sense to announce soon. And doing so way before the anniversary would be missing an opportunity, and waiting a ton longer doesn’t make sense if, again, there seems to be a lot planned and decided on already, at least on a conceptual/It Is Happening level.

Maybe they’ll wait until preproduction/production has already started in which case it could be a lot longer but! One, I don’t want them to do that, and two, confirmation has already been a joke known by the production staff/Oscar n therefore should be known by marvel, so I’m assuming they’ll give us something if it indeed is already in the talks and confirmed to be happening.

when i see someone who interacted with yb say how he's aloof and quiet (or when yb himself says it) my mind just goes "ddgg soulmates" because look at them, look at how yb is with xz, how happy and playful and chatty!! how can ppl look at their interactions and think that there isnt something special about them?? it makes me so sad that some ppl are so anti bjyx that they like to totally erase their relationship. but for me is very clear that whatever their relationship, they have smth special.

Disclaimer: CPN, I know nothing, this is me

Yes, I know!!!! It's actually so fascinating to me that someone could look at them interacting and just...not see anything? For me, it was quick, like something clicked. I didn't like the idea of shipping them at first because 1) it felt way too convenient and 2) rps has made me very uncomfortable in the past. But I remember starting to watch all the bts videos one night and then going down the rabbit hole until like 4 am and being like “what if?”. So I told my mom and she responded the same thing that I had been thinking, that it felt too convenient, too good to be true. And yet when you really stop and consider everything, you realize that it's not the case.

So I really went into it with the total bias that it wasn't true, that it couldn't be. And yet, when you try and disprove something and you only find more and more evidence that supports it, it tells you a lot. And that's what happened to me, and I know it happened to a lot of us that ended up getting invested.

But there's just so much evidence. Even if you take into account that nothing can be 100% proven and is mostly speculation, and that a lot of the things that look like candies may be washed in the future, there's still a lot of stuff there. There's almost too much. It's a bit overwhelming to keep up with it some days, actually😂

And then there's those bits of speculation that just feel right. They fit better and are closer to reality when you look at them from that point of view.

Of course we could all be wrong. Of course it could all be just one big mistake and they have never been together. As much as I doubt it, it is still a possibility. But saying that they hate each other? That they aren't friends? That they're trying to bring each other down? The notion feels so ridiculous to me that I almost don't want to entertain it.

At the end of the day, whatever it is between them is special and it means a lot to a lot of people. Trying to deny it seems like more trouble than it's worth, honestly.

And whether I should believe that they're in a romantic relationship or not? Well, I think I will keep my clown gear on for the time being.

The Straw-Hat Among Us Ch.4

Purple: Caesar Clown

Caesar knew it was him from the start. It was obvious, really. Terrible acting aside, Caesar couldn’t honestly believe such an idiot believed them foolish enough to simply let him slip by.

The only thing that made Caesar feel any sort of remorse for Teach’s death was the very last few things he’d said. Not the stuff about wanting to live or anything, no, he thought about that part where he covered up his discovery of the body. Everything he said, no, confessed had pretty much been proven. He was the only one strong enough to toss a stiff like that, he had good motivation for doing so…

All evidence pointed to this being the case.

But nothing proved that he actually killed Shanks. That was all just speculation.

Oh well. Teach was still an unpleasant bastard, so the only real reason Caesar might regret his death was that it lowered their numbers. The fewer people out and about, the fewer the witnesses. Not that he trusted anyone, anyways.

Oh, except for Doffy. That man right there was a man of quality, alright! While everyone else ran around with their pathetic little meagre intellects, Doffy sat with his legs crossed, grinning at them with the amusement only someone of ridiculously superior intellect could deserve. The kind of intellect Caesar himself possessed, in his own non-humble opinion. That was also why they got along so well.

Until now. “I don’t see why this should be such a big deal! He was obviously some manner of suspicious, who cares if he didn’t actually kill him?”

Doffy shook his head, folded fingers covering his mouth. He wasn’t smiling. “Whether he was suspicious or not is entirely uninteresting. What’s the fun in killing a mere human?”

Caesar wrinkled his nose, absently pouring the contents of a beaker into another. “It isn’t supposed to be fun, you know.”

“Oh, well,” a feral grin crossed Doffy’s face, “don’t tell me you’ve never imagined what they might look like on the inside.” Caesar’s hand stalled to a stop in front of a little canister of aluminium powder. “Don’t be ashamed of it! Imagine those insides, crawling with unknown substances and peculiar cell formations... Perhaps they are not carbon-based at all, instead being of the elusive silicon-based sort? Oh, the possibilities!”

Caesar clicked his tongue. “You’d cut up a man if his heart happened to be in the wrong place.” Still, he couldn’t help but agree. Cutting up an alien like that…

A shiver ran down his spine.

Shaking his head, Caesar returned to his experiments.

“I don’t trust Zoro.”

Caesar turned to look at Doffy. “-Why not?”

The blonde man shrugged. “He’s got a lot of freedom. If he’d like, he could come and go wherever and whenever, and we couldn’t be able to so much as object. Wires to connect.” He paused for a moment, thoughtful. “Then again, trusting anybody at this moment might be the most foolish thing a man can do.”

Caesar startled. “Y-, yeah, of course! Shirororo, imagine believing anyone in this place could be trusted! Truly foolish, I say!”

“Indeed. Not even I am exempt from doubt, despite my own-,”

Psssh. Someone was using the Disinfection room.

Giving Doffy a little glance, Caesar turned around to see whoever would come out. Doffy, who had so far been at the little desk in the far end of the small Medbay, stood up and walked up to where Caesar stood. They waited a few moments, staring at the very same closed door.

Footsteps rapped against the tiled floor. And then, it opened.

White suit and white hair. “Disinfection working properly,” Smoker noted, stepping out of the tiled room. His eyes met those of his observers. “What are you two lookin’ at?”

“N-, nothing! Just… you didn’t happen to see someone else while coming here?” Caesar asked. Really, it was unimportant, but knowing where everybody was kind of calmed him down. It was Kizaru’s duty and all, but how could he possibly trust that slow man? In that sense, he trusted Smoker a bit more, but only a little bit.

Smoker’s eyes narrowed. “I didn’t see anybody, no. I and Zoro are the only ones about at the moment.” He took a step closer to them. “Not that we’re the only suspicious ones around here.”

One could hear a pin drop.

“Hey.” Somehow, Doffy’s voice carried enough authoritative intent to keep Caesar from even attempting to utter a word. “Let’s not go about hurling allegations like sledgehammers in glass houses. Isn’t that right, Smoker?” He didn’t even hesitate to return Smoker’s glare.

Smoker glanced away. “Tch. Fine.” He stepped past them, through the Laboratory and towards the exit. There, he stopped, and looked back at them over his shoulder. “But don’t think you’re automatically absolved of all guilt because you stick together.”

With that said, he left, leaving the two arguably most intelligent men on the expedition alone. They turned to each other.

A brief bout of doubt flashed through their eyes as they regarded who might be their future killer.

Time passed oddly calmly. Not much actually happened. The first three deaths had been a blur, each dying right after the next, but now… Now, there was a moment of respite, where nobody died and nobody wondered if another might be plotting their demise. Caesar took this calm the same way a man might understand an aggressively silent woman, namely with great fear and panic.

Knowing who was alive and dead calmed him more than not. At this very moment, everyone but he and Doffy could be dead and stiff without them knowing, and there was no way for them to-,

Or… there was. In the Office. “Um, Doffy?”

“...Doffy?” the man questioned, obviously unprepared for any use of the nickname.

“Oh, uh, n-, no! Doflamingo! Doctor Doflamingo!” Caesar said, throwing his arms in erratic patterns to try to explain his point as plausible as possible. Doffy didn’t seem impressed. “I-, um. I’mverysorrypleasedon’teatmyface.”

“Fufufufufu… Fuuffuufufuu!” Doffy laughed, throwing back his head. “Amusing! Do go on, sheep’s head, do go on calling me that… that little nickname of yours. It is… quite imaginative.”

Caesar almost wanted to object. “Oh, okay, um. Doffy, could you come with me to the Office? I’d like to check the vitals of all members collected.”

Doffy stared at him blankly before breaking out into a smile. “-Why, how clever! It slipped my mind entirely!” He quickly hopped to his feet, striding towards the door leading outside with little fear. “To think I hadn’t even considered doing so…”

“H-, hold on!” Caesar put a hand on Doffy’s shoulder. “Let’s-, let’s go through the Specimen room! It’s safer that way, and Smoker did say he fixed it up. Might as well, no?”

Doffy regarded him for a moment before nodding. “Another clever insight. You’re just full of them, aren’t you?”

“Heh, well, I am quite intelligent~” Caesar happily boasted, scratching his neck while a goofy grin took hold of his face.

All the way through the padded hallways and tiled rooms, they met no one. Not a single soul lingered in those halls, and Caesar knew why. The one person who had business there, the only one interested in what was kept here, was Teach. It had been his duty to sort samples and whatnot, and lacking him, this entire room and the Disinfection needed to pass through it was the Notre Dame without the Hunchback.

The Office wasn’t quite so empty. Two pairs of eyes met them as they stepped into Administration. The green-haired man decided to speak first.

“We saw you coming,” Roronoa said, his only explanation being a pointed index at the green holographic in front of him.

“Someone’s gotta keep an eye on everyone,” Smoker added, arms spread wide as he leaned over the table showing where everyone was. Or, if Caesar remembered correctly, it didn’t actually show where they were per se, but only where there were people and how many there. As far as Caesar could see, There were four in Admin, two in O2 and one in Security. “What brings you here?”

Caesar easily stepped passed them, entirely uninterested in whatever they had to say. “None of your business, repairmen!”

Before Caesar had left entirely, he heard Doffy explain with glee how they were about to take a peek into the pulses of all members gathered. It didn’t make much sense to Caesar. Why the hell should they have to explain anything to lowly repairmen? Furthermore, even worse, how come their well-read voices had the same influence as-, as Usopp’s?? That boy couldn’t spot a danger if it so kissed him on the nose!

“Come on, Doffy, let’s go,” Caesar growled.

“Coming!” Doffy replied, giving an oddly-placed cackle as well.

The repairmen, still inside Admin, continued talking about something else entirely, namely about how they had to choose whether or not to assume Teach was truly the imposter, as either assumptions held different weight and implications going forwards. Although Caesar hardly thought it was their place to consider such topics, he let them be. They had important things to do, after all!

He and Doffy soon found themselves in the western part of the Office, where one could swipe their card or check vitals. They were there for the latter.

Nothing unusual. All pulses were regular, along with their numbers. three people were still dead, no more, no less.

...Though, having less people dead would be a bit more worrying than having more people dead.

“Oh, well. Nothing to see he-,”

Everything turned red as a horn blared, a number popping up in the corner of Caesar’s helmet counting down from one minute to… something.

His heart almost stopped. “Wh-, what the hell-,”

“It’s the Seismic Stabilizers!” Smoker called out with the kind of alarm only a person assured of their demise could possibly muster. “Run to the damn shuttle!!”

“I’m not taking any order from some-,”

Caesar could say no more before Doffy grabbed the collar of Caesar’s suit and dragged him outside, towards the Shuttle. D-, Doffy, what are you-”

“Don’t say one more fucking word,” Doffy ground out, putting a stop to any rebellious needs within Caesar. It didn’t take long to get to the Shuttle, but Doffy didn’t head there. He went for the side, towards the entrance of the Laboratory. He didn’t enter though, instead dragging Caesar over to the large structure keeping earthquakes from destroying the entire expedition. “Fuck, this was Teach’s profession.”

Thankfully, the task itself wasn’t too hard, simply press your hand against a screen, and wait for someone else to do the same thing on the other structure.

In the corner of his helmet, the number hit 30.

Red lights continued flashing, the siren continued blaring. 20 seconds.

“D-, Doffy, should I-,”

“No.”

15 seconds. The lights flashed. “Doffy, someone has to-,”

“Stay. Right. Here.”

10.

Sirens blaring.

5.

“Doffy!”

4.

“No.”

3.

“What the hell is-,”

2.

Doffy ground his teeth.

And…

And nothing.

A little blue light on the screen flashed, signifying that everything was alright.

They hadn’t died. They lived.

“Shi-, shirororororo…” Caesar laughed meekly, trying desperately not to think about the tears pooling in the corners of his eyes.

“Well, back to work, Cae-,” and the next moment, Caesar threw his arms around Doffy.

“We-, we live! We survived, Doffy!”

Doffy stammered for a moment, too surprised to react. And then, a tender little smile found its way onto his face, unlike any smile he’d smiled until now, but a smile nonetheless. “Yeah, we did.”

“You two done fooling around?” Smoker asked, arms crossed.

“Geeeeee Smokeeer, no need to be so meeeaaaaan!” Kizaru commented, poking Smoker’s head, perhaps some form of odd punishment. It seemed surprisingly effective, considering the way a vein throbbed on Smoker’s forehead.

“Cut that out!” Smoker growled, slapping away the older man’s hand.

“Ooooohh~ scary~.” With his piece said and done, Kizaru floated off towards the West Wing, uninterested in whatever happened next.

Zoro seemed more interested. “The cowardly pair aren’t here?”

“Usopp and Buggy?” Doffy asked rhetorically. “No, not in the least. They should still be in O2.” Caesar nodded affirmingly, fully attesting to what Doffy said. Zoro was right in wondering where they might be. Even if Caesar hadn’t been dragged outside by Doffy, he would easily have gotten panicked enough by the blaring sirens to run outside anyways. “You don’t think…?”

Zoro stared at them, eyes sharp. “If someone did this to distract us, something might very well have happened to one of them.”

That was all the group needed.

All of them ran into Electrical, passing by the security office and continuing down into O2.

“M-, maybe we should’ve helped out?...”

“Hey, we’ve got things to do! And the sirens stopped, too, so they probably figured it out.”

“Yeah, I guess-, GARCK” Usopp flew from where he’d been standing, dropping to the ground as all four people ran inside O2, completely unannounced. Caesar panted, not used to this kind of exercise, even though they had only been running for, oh, a minute or so, tops. “S-, STOP DOING THAT, YOU’LL GIVE ME A HEART ATTACK!!”

At least both Buggy and Usopp were alright. Caesar breathed a sigh of relief.

“Everything alright? You seem… frayed. Like, in the nerves,” Buggy said, cocking an eyebrow.

Caesar frowned angrily. “No, we’re not okay! Why the hell didn’t you-,”

The lights went out.

Darkness fell upon the room like a descending bird of prey, placing all six crewmates in a cocoon of nothingness. A few panicked gasps rang out along with a whimper whose owner could only be Usopp. It was so black, so dark. Caesar could see nothing, not even an inch in front of him. Everything was simply black.

Black, and dark, and gone. The air felt full. Full of breaths and voices and panic. Tangible, suffocating panic. His breathing quickened. He could feel it. How his diaphragm moved and spasmed. Uncertain, unclear. There were so many people in that room. And yet, Caesar felt alone. Alone and vulnerable.

He gasped, stumbled back, and hit someone. Someone behind him. They grabbed a hold of his shoulder. Was it to keep him steady? Make sure he didn’t fall over? Or-?...

A row of sharp hungry teeth sank into his neck, twisting through the thick rubbery fabric, piercing the skin and rending the flesh and cracking and crunching and pulverizing bone, his windpipe wasn’t even crushed, simply severed, alongside the rest of his neck, but not all of it, no, a single part of it, a sliver, kept his head attacked, his dead, uncertain and blind head.

He gave a blood-filled sputter and collapsed to the floor.

His killer shuffled away from his lifeless, empty, gazing body.

The Issue with Gen’s wasted Character Potential

With the manga about to reach its end I thought it worthwhile to have a closer look at how Gen’s character has been written. And the conclusion I'm coming to is that things started promising but then ended with already established potential not getting used.

Let’s start at the beginning. I don't believe that by the time of their introduction, any of the Sato squad’s new members had a clear and finished backstory. Or if, that it must have gotten changed while the story was progressing.

At this point it is difficult to say what the initial intention had been. But looking at Gen’s introduction, I always had the impression he and Takahashi didn't use to know each other before, came to the meeting alone and met there for the first time, instantly developing sympathy for each other. Something of the body and facial language in their first panel just seems too distant for me to signal anything else. And taking into account that until chapter 66.5 it hadn’t been confirmed that they shared a backstory, I view an individual arrival still as a possibility. Gen stating some time after the Grant Pharma arc that he possesses no ghost is no contradiction; just because Kou was clumsy enough to attract attention and got caught doesn't mean Gen wouldn't have been able to attend the black ghost meeting undetected.

Either way, only moments later, as soon as Sato's plan was established, he and Takahashi were able to quickly adapt to the situation and work together in harmony. Be it because they used to already know each other or by forming an instant strong connection. This moment already established the pattern that functioning together came easy to them while with Tanaka in the equitation friction would develop easily. But interestingly on the newly formed team all disharmony vanished at first, the operation on Grant Pharma ending a success.

I think this is about the only time in the manga where Gen is completely on his own and it’s impressive how good his nerves are during this moment. He stays calm, analyses the situation and delivers the needed information. And he has to do all of this while Takahashi is constantly being killed right next to him, yet Gen doesn’t get nervous at all.

That kind of levelheadedness would last until into the Forge Arc. And then getting reduced for the sake of preparing a “twist” lacking any solid foundation. Regardless of what one thinks of Gen being human or him and Takahashi supposed to have been brothers all along, from a storytelling perspective it makes zero sense to hide this all away from the reader until the last second. Like, that’s it? That’s the twist? How is this supposed to be relevant again? One of the random sidekicks to the main baddy –who you always knew wouldn’t have a chance to make it to the end- died instead of having gotten captured. I doubt anyone but the less than 20 people who used to ship takagen cared. These characters were about to disappear from the story either way, the average reader wouldn’t care about the surrounding details because these two were not the kind of characters that were given enough relevance. Or more, after a strong introduction, relevance and focus kept getting taken away from them.

Because relevance is the second factor why the reveals at the end were a bad way to progress the story. Since it got clear that some intended surprise was along its way (being shocking for the purpose of being shocking always looks forced), Takahashi and especially Gen were shoved further away into the background of happenings, given little to do. And that was a waste, frankly, taking into account how active both of them were allowed to behave shortly after their introductions. Remember them both supporting Sato with their sniping skills during the Grant Pharma attack? Sniping is a task complicated to do right but both of them were proving to be capable. Together and on their own: The moment Takahashi was taken out by enemy snipers, Gen was perfectly able to calmly overview and asset the situation, like this gathering together the information Tanaka needed to advance further and deal with those threats.

So, you have these two characters who have proven to be capable during stressful situations with a reliable mind and then the manga just… shoved them aside. Not just by lessening focus on them but by downright ignoring the ways they would have been able to contribute to their team. Cutting their teeth and claws further and further, first by putting more of a focus on their drug using habits (edgy. Now we know they’re bad guys for sure. Don’t get me started on addiction getting used as an indicator of morality) and then taking this further until they were reduced to not much more than moving props clowning around in the background. Compare that to Okuyama, whose early established technical skills kept getting efficiently used to advance the plot.

The curse got broken. After years of silence chapter 59 finally allowed Gen to speak again. Unfortunately barely anyone still remembered he existed or what he had brought to the plot so far.

Letting all this potential go to waste, for what? Because more of a focus would have threatened to reveal those wannabe twists? Something that turned out as boring as “one was human all along but the writing never told us that for no good reason”. It is hard to imagine after all the Sato squad was unaware about this important little detail: Not with their habit to regenerate themselves or their injured comrades via shooting themselves back to life during operations. With this they would have needed getting informed about Gen not being an ajin.

And the sudden sibling status about to get introduced resulting in “Gen’s dialogue needs to get reduced into nothing, otherwise it would become too obvious he and Takahashi being brothers was a last minute idea, with them going against local conventions by not calling each other “brother”, instead using their last names ever since.” Yeah, how did that work out? Now we have actual implied canonical incest because Takahashi and Gen being related changed nothing about the fact they were giving off the most obvious couple vibes this manga had to offer, making it look they were actively hiding being related. Where did it go wrong? Was “Gen is human” installed as a possible twist last minute late in the game, kept nebulous in case some better idea came up? (The hints were always vague guesswork at best, supposed to be able to go both ways, and unlike the anime the manga didn’t have the foresight to prepare it as believable by keeping Gen out of the most dangerous situations and reducing this drug consuming habit to a zero. So, am I supposed to look at it as a deliberate suicide mission on his part in manga context? Was his nihilism this deeply rooted here?) And what about the sibling retcon? Was “he joined this non-human extremist group for the sake of supporting his friend” sounding too gay an explanation, so in an attempt to erase that away they were retconned brothers? Would at least explain why those two look absolutely nothing alike despite supposed to be related.

Ironically this accidental incestuous implication was the only element working here in favour of story telling and character development. Disillusioned incestuous couple disappointed with life drifts into nihilism and thus resonates with Sato's ruthless modus operandi? Now that's the kind of variation and originality I like to see in fiction.

Interesting how Gen just shrugs his shoulders and goes back to routine once told the hostages already served their purpose. Zero sentimentalities to be seen. 

I’m glad the story at least let those two stay loyal to Sato until the end, keeping the last bit of relevance in place that differentiated them from their (former) teammates. Takahashi and Gen had bloodthirsty motivations long before they met Sato, so it makes sense those shared similarities kept deepening the bond of those three. It makes sense on a level of characterization and interpersonal relation as well: I’d go as far as to say that Sato was most likely one of the few (the first?) people who accepted them the way they were. Attentive as he was it is hard to imagine he would have missed any aspect of the nature of their relationship. Yet his demeanour towards them never changed, more, as time went on the three of them grew closer. Being met with this kind of acceptance, it is easy to see why Takahashi’s and Gen’s loyalty towards Sato would have strengthened over time as well. Add to this that those three had a pretty similar mind set and voila. A unit that could have had it all, hadn’t it been for the story’s need to play it safe and prepare circumstances so the “good” guys (anyone seriously believing the status quo of using captured ajin for experiments would have changed without outside pressure?) win because of reasons.

This manga has many strengths but the recent habit to insert plot threads that keep dangling and are leading to nowhere or constant retcons that backpedal on what was previous established are none of it. Seeing how the manga started losing its way shortly after the Forge Arc ended and how the plot is now stumbling around in an attempt to reach an ending has been a disappointment, exactly because the story already has proven so many times that it can be excellent under the right circumstances. Alas, hope gets snatched away last.

Emotion O’Pit (a tribute to Skam France)

So this is it, then. The day I thought would never come, the day I refused to see coming, the day I wish I could avoid. Tonight is the end, at least for now (until they announce a renewal, right?). I’m devastated and i’m going to keep being devastated for a while. I’m not ready to let go. I’m going to miss this show and these characters so much. They’re a part of me and it kinda feels like losing a limb, not gonna lie. Sounds childish, doesn’t it? I can only imagine how weird and blown out of proportions it can seem for an outsider. But i think anyone attached to this show as much as me gets it. I feel like i’ve lost something that was so rooted in my life that i have forgotten how it feels to live without it. I can’t recall another show that impacted me that much, that literally became my life. I can’t recall not anxiously waiting for a clip to drop, or for texts updates, or for ig posts. I can’t recall not clowning about the future. I dived into this on the seventh of January and I had no idea of what i was getting myself into. Twenty two weeks, almost half a year. So little time in the grand scheme of things, yet so much. So much that I can’t remember not being obsessed with this. I never got out since, and now i have to, and I don’t know how to do that. I’ll manage, sure, but for now i’m just extremely messy and sad. I’m scared, I’m terrified, but this is fine. Yet this post is not only a goodbye post. It’s not even a goodbye at all, it’s a “later”. As we say in French, it’s an “au revoir”. Until next time. I am sad, perhaps unhealthily sad, but i am so so happy and proud, and thankful. And i regret nothing. This show is something i never thought i would get to have in my own language, in my own country, in my own city. France is a mostly tolerant and open country, and i am lucky to live here, and to be able to live here, but it has also hate. A million people protesting against LGBT+ rights; islamophobia that becomes the norm because people are scared and scarred, so they hate; and racism so deeply rooted that people don’t even wonder anymore. And so much ignorance too. So many are like Ingrid, ignorant and hurtful without meaning it most of the times. Not filled with hate, but filled with so much ideas and prejudices it’s so hard to realize that what they say is wrong. And against those people, we have two choices: we can let their ideas spread and we can be slowly but surely consumed by hate, or we can try to save things, to salvage the values we love and follow. Skam France chose the second path. Of course it’s not perfect and has flaws, even major ones (Charles and Manon i’m looking at you), but the people making it, all of them, refused to watch things unfold without doing anything about it. They took the hardest decision, the one that states that you can change people and their ways of thinking, that you can educate them and show them that they are wrong, that we can’t give up because the fight is hard. Will it work? Will the behaviors change? I don’t know, nobody knows for sure, and i don’t pretend to say that Skam France will change my country and erase some of its problems. I like to believe I am neither that naive nor that pretentious. But it could be one of the many stones that build the edifice. It could help. And above all, even if nothing changes, even if hate consumes things after all, at least some people out there will have tried to change that course. But I don’t think all hope is lost, i believe that media and cultural products can change the way a society lives and thinks. Call me a naive optimist, but i really have faith that some of the people that are ignorant today would be willing to learn tomorrow. Skam France, and all of the other things that fight for minorities, will not be for nothing. I refuse to believe that. So this post is a tribute and a thank you for not giving up, for believing that “hate spreads, but fortunately love does too”, for trusting that “love always wins” in the end, that it doesn’t balance out. That love is stronger than hate, and that it will always be, no matter what. Thank you for characters that feel so real they could be my friends. Thank you for mains in which we see so much of ourselves. Thank you for Emma and Manon and Lucas and Imane, and their stories and their fights. Thank you for all of the people around them, helping them, accepting them, loving them. Thank you for the ones that didn’t stick around because they were scared, or ignorant, or vicious, and proved that, even if it’s hard and painful and shouldn’t exist, you choose your family. Thank you for the love stories and the friendships. Thank you for showing us that we are never alone, and that we are never unlovable, no matter what our brain and body are made of. Thank you for the musics and the cinematography. Thank you for the weeks of agony and the weeks of laugher. Thank you for the endless stress and clowning and joy and frustration and despair and relief.  And most of all, thank you for my friends. Thank you for having given me people that i cherish with everything that i have, and that i love so much it terrifies me sometimes. Clara, thank you for this. I can never be grateful enough for what you have gifted us with. To you all, thank you for everything too. Thank you for the clown empire (i’m going to miss our crazy theories more than anything) and the advice and the endless support. Thank you for showing me that i might deserve happiness. Thank you for listening to me and being my collective Gerôme. Thank you for making me slightly more secure and slightly prouder. Thank you for the laughs and the tears. Thank you for all the vendreading (there will be more, I will keep on believing that until I am proven the contrary), and for Corentin, and for noises, and for the weather, and for Joel Dixie, and for nails and saints, and for pineapple and sunit and déodorant. Thank you for teaching me so many things. Thank you for being so awesome all day every day. And thank you for what’s yet to come, because we are not going anywhere. Thank you for the weekend coming, and August, and everything before, in the middle and after that. We are together, whatever happens next. Les Élus are a team, and we will continue our usual chaos. It’ll be “Chaos in The Discord, minute by minute”, and that is a promise. I won’t let you go. I love you.  Lastly, there is this quote from Doctor Who that i found fitting to the occasion: “Everything ends and it's always sad, but everything begins again, too. And that's always happy. Be happy.” So, to whoever is reading that, be happy. Be proud. Be kind. Be loving. 

Highlights from Mark Watches Death Note

Episode 1

Ryuk is… well, he could be on a friendly baking show, and I’d still be terrified of him. HE LOOKS LIKE WHAT I THINK ALL CLOWNS LOOK LIKE: ENDLESSLY FRIGHTENING.

Episode 2

I mean, word of advice, Light: stop acting like an arrogant teenager who discovered Ayn Rand or something. FREE ADVICE FOR YOU, DUDE.

Episode 3

Watari stands by the laptop that’s connected to L, which has to be the most boring job imaginable.

Episode 4

He stops viewing these people as humans and instead seems them entirely as pawns. They’re good for nothing more than his goal: to rid the world of all criminals and create a utopia. What utopia that might be is left unsaid, not because the show is trying to hide it from us, but because Light probably hasn’t even decided what it’s going to be.

Seriously, Light is the worst. (That is an odd sentence to type. Makes it sound like I hate electricity or something.)

Episode 5

Initially, I was convinced that he just wanted to misdirect Penber. That was easy to do, and after Penber got off the bus, I figured that was it.

But no.

Nope.

NOT AT ALL.

Episode 6

L ACTUALLY SMILED. (That was my single favorite moment in the whole episode.)

Episode 7

When we’re not focusing on how Light is THE LITERAL WORST PERSON IN THE UNIVERSE, Death Note gives us more of the relationship between L and the police officers who have won his trust.

Episode 8

So how will the future of this anime look? I don’t think you can sustain this kind of back-and-forth for nearly thirty episodes, especially since Death Note is already barreling forward as it is. Will Light slip up and reveal something about himself to L? Is there a third party I haven’t met yet that will mess things up? And what of the very strange subplot involving Ryuk’s withdrawal from apples? Was that there to drop a hint about the shinigami, or was it weird just for the sake of it? (I realize I’m asking for background information on a floating reaper who looks like a clown, so… whatever.)

Episode 9

I honestly thought that L and Light wouldn’t meet until well past the halfway mark because… well, that’s why all the tension existed! Neither of them were ever in the same physical space, and they were exacting a war against each other from a distance.

That’s why L’s actions are so fucking flagrant and brilliant. No one expected this. Not me, not Light, PROBABLY NOT ANY OF YOU.

Episode 10

Even if he has Light investigate himself, it only means that he’ll eventually lead them straight to him anyway. It’ll happen either through his fantastic deductive work, or Light will give away something to the team. But does that mean that L will have to introduce Light to the other officers on the task force? That seems like a bad idea

Episode 11

Somehow, Kira had killed Ukita without knowing his real name. Understandably, EVERYONE FREAKS OUT. THAT INCLUDED ME. How? How had Light been able to do this while standing in his bedroom? He couldn’t have possibly known who would show up to the police station. But let’s say he did. “Assault” takes things a step further when Light’s father drives a bus into the station. Will Light risk killing him if he discovers who drove the bus? Oh, but let’s take this a step further: two random cops who show up to deal with the police bus that sits in the lobby ARE KILLED. There is a 0% chance that Light knew their names, so how? HOW???

Episode 12

There’s so much going on in this episode that I was positive the show would cut away right before Second Kira’s shinigami revealed how to kill him. Why would they reveal something this huge so early into the show? Because Death Note doesn’t give a shit about me, and I was shocked to watch an extended flashback sequence play out.

Episode 13

In the thirteenth episode of Death Note, I will repeat myself endlessly while reviewing this: HOW DOES IT KEEP ESCALATING.

I just have to expect this show to throw me into an abyss every episode. I just have to do this to survive.

Episode 14

At the very least, I don’t think Misa will last much longer because she’s too much of a risk to Light. IT’S GONNA HAPPEN, I’M CALLING IT.

Episode 15

I get that catching Kira is a big deal for all of these people, and I’m happy that they all believe that Kira’s murders are 100% wrong. Does that mean they should be allowed to do something like this to a teenage girl??? No, not at all!!! It’s horrifying! Did they feed her? Anything???

Episode 16

NOW I DON’T EVEN KNOW WHO THIS SHOW IS ABOUT. WHAT THE FUCK.

Episode 17

As for Light? Well, he’s now handcuffed to L. FOR TWENTY-FOUR HOURS A DAY. (Major BOOOOO to that weird-ass line where Misa calls them gross because boys shouldn’t be handcuffed together? Yuck.)

[N.B.: This is the first and only remark by Mark Oshiro, Gayest Reviewer on Planet Earth, that in any way acknowledges subtext between Light and L. Behold the glory of this non-barking dog, my psychotic fandom.]

Episode 18

At this point, does L even suspect anyone else aside from Light and Misa? No, not really, even when he guesses (correctly!) that Kira’s “power” can jump from one person to the next. I don’t think L will ever take his eye off of Light for the remainder of the show.

Episode 19

In the nineteenth episode of Death Note, I really loved this, and MATSUDA IS GREAT.

Episode 20

Yet this is where the main schism happens. L, unsurprisingly, wants to follow the option that allows his theories to be proven. That’s who he is. He’s nearly as averse to being impulsive as Light, so he doesn’t want to move ahead with an arrest UNLESS he can prove every bit of his hypothesis. In this case, that means letting people die, despite knowing that these men are going to use Kira to kill them. There is a tragic irony in the fact that Light finds this plan abhorrent because DUDE, YOU HAVE KILLED MORE PEOPLE THAN ANYONE ELSE IN THIS DAMN SHOW.

Episode 21

However, then she stated that she wanted to do something to get even closer to Light and impress him.

HOW WAS A DATE WITH HIGUCHI GOING TO HELP HER DO THAT? Oh, Mark, YOU DON’T GET IT.  Look, the very nature of Death Note means I’m always going to act like a fool whenever someone tells the truth.

Episode 22

Look, I kept thinking that EVERYTHING was going to go wrong. When Light called the Yotsuba men, I was certain they’d spoil the plan. Then I thought that Higuchi wouldn’t actually go through with murdering Matsuda. And then, as each piece fell into place, the tension got worse because WHAT IF HE ACTUALLY REVEALS HOW HE KILLS? How is Misa going to react to that?

Episode 23

How the hell are there fourteen more episodes??? HOW???

Episode 24

I’m so nervous about this development, though, because it allows Light to be completely free of the investigative team. Oh, sure, he’ll probably stick around so he can monitor everything, keep these people from getting close to him, but now? He’s won, hasn’t he? At least for the time being. However, there are now a bunch of variables and chaotic factors just sitting around. All these detectives and cops and investigators all know the truth of the Death Note. (Well, except that Light lied about one of the rules that governs the notebook. HE IS SO EVIL, Y’ALL.) How are they going to approach this case knowing the truth? I bet that Light will start killing criminals in the next episode, and I don’t know how this will progress from there. Don’t they all know way too much? Can’t they use the knowledge they have of the Death Note to be better detectives? How many red herrings will Light give them to keep them busy?

I am comfortable stating that something like that can’t last forever. Something will have to come crashing down. What could that be???

Episode 25

What the hell is wrong with this show.

Episode 26

Y’all, Death Note doesn’t even fuck around when it comes to CLIP EPISODES.

Episode 27

WELL, THIS IS HOW THERE ARE MORE EPISODES OF THIS SHOW. THE DEATH NOTE IS INTERNATIONAL NOW, AND LIGHT IS GONNA GET FUCKED UP. Episode 28

The elaborate, complicated, and utterly ridiculous means that Mello and his men go to in order to obtain the Death Note is significant because, as I said before, no one had been able to truly best Light. Ever. Ever. L tried, and LOOK WHERE THAT GOT HIM. (I miss him.) But Mello comes out of nowhere, concocts a truly absurd method to get what he wants, and executes it flawlessly. Seriously, let’s go over this. He:

orchestrates the quietest hijacking of an airplane ever, all so that it can land somewhere in the middle of the desert in America and then continue on to its final destination of Los Angeles. (Can you imagine how fucking terrifying that must have been if you were on that plane? IT LANDED IN THE DESERT!!!! Good lord, they’re probably all traumatized now.)

is fully aware that Soichiro will be monitored by satellite, so the entire swap is UNDERGROUND IN A SECRET BUNKER THAT SOME GANG OR MAFIA ONCE USED.

has his man utilize a revolving door that is so deviously brilliant that I can’t even believe a human thought of it.

has that same man making the trade test out the Death Note before accepting it

then has two separate “vehicles” leave the compound at the same time so that those surveilling him don’t know which one has the Death Note on it.

makes one of the vehicles a missile. I cannot even remotely exaggerate here, y’all. A missile. A MISSILE.

I THOUGHT LIGHT WAS RIDICULOUS AND OVERLY-DETAILED ABOUT HIS PLANS, BUT HE HAS CLEARLY MET HIS MATCH.

Episode 29

(Does that mean he gave up half his life AND HE ONLY HAD A FEW HOURS LEFT ANYWAY? Good god.)

Episode 30

In order to subvert what Near is doing, he turns the President against the SPK and has him PUBLICLY DECLARE THAT THE U.S. WILL NOT PURSUE KIRA. He knows that everyone is afraid of him, so the threat against the President’s life is easy. It’s a no-brainer. But when Near gets a little too close to the truth, Light takes matters a step further, unleashing Demegawa’s dogma as a weapon. He stokes the flames of anger and resentment, and he lets this man loose on the airwaves, and A GIANT CROWD OF PEOPLE ARE BREAKING INTO SPK HEADQUARTERS TO OSTENSIBLY MURDER EVERYONE THERE AND HOW IS THIS A MORAL, PEACEFUL WORLD, LIGHT? PLEASE ANSWER THAT.

Episode 31

But how? How does Light slip up so terribly after meticulously constructing this entire existence meant to protect him?

I think the answer to that can be found in the way that Near behaves. It’s so much clearer now that Near is NOTHING like L, and his brash, aggressive manner speaks to that. I believe Light composed his master manipulation with L in mind. There was a code of sorts that L followed. Near, however, doesn’t give a shit. He really doesn’t.

Episode 32

WELL. I said that I wasn’t sure why Mikami had been introduced to us so suddenly and without a real sense for who he is, AND THUS, I GOT THIS EPISODE.

Episode 33

She then requests five pages of the Death Note and tells him to continue killing people with a “fake” notebook. Which makes no sense to me! How can Mikami kill anyone if his notebook is fake? Perhaps I misunderstood this, and Mikami scheduled out deaths in order to cover himself. But what did he do with the real Death Note? Hide it? Give it back to Light? Of course, all of this is useless to talk about if Mikami didn’t actually do as he was told. HOW THE FUCK DID MIKAMI KILL THAT MAN ON THE TRAIN? How?????? I DON’T GET IT.

Episode 34

Credit for that goes to Gevanni, who was given one of the most difficult tasks on the whole team. Surveilling Mikami had been bad enough, but he’s asked to break into the man’s locker at the gym and touch the Death Note. IT’S SO TERRIFYINGLY RISKY, ISN’T IT. Yes, it’ll give him the power to see a shinigami, but Ryuk could be RIGHT THERE. Watching him. READY TO WARN MIKAMI ABOUT HOW CLOSE THE SPK ARE.

Bless that man’s heart. That whole sequence was terrifying.

Episode 35

I’m still struggling to understand why he did it. Why kidnap Takada? If his goal was to catch Kira before Near did, then I suppose he was trying to draw Kira out by kidnapping someone associated with him. As Kira’s spokesperson, Takada was the only person that Mello had access to who could make this goal of his a reality.

Lord, does he underestimate EVERYTHING, though. Kidnapping a high-profile media personality was bad enough. Did he think no one would follow him or figure out a way to locate Takada? However, it’s Takada’s resourcefulness that ends up taking Mello down. I still don’t know how this fits in with Light’s plan for Mikami. Does he have a fake Death Note or not? We do see what Takada does with one of the pages that Mikami gave her, but I’m also a little confused by that, too. As far as I understood it, Light genuinely did not expect her to have that page, nor did he think she would use the Death Note to kill anyone if she was ever captured. Indeed, that’s part of the conversation that they have over the phone near the end of the episode. Light refers to a vague “plan” that he had discussed with Takada about what should happen if she were captured. Which was???? We don’t ever find out because she made her own choice.

Episode 36

The show drags this moment out to an impossible length, and even if it’s seriously unbelievable (WAY MORE THAN THIRTY SECONDS PASSED, COME ON), it’s compelling and nerve-wracking. This is it. There’s no leaving that room unless one side wins. You know, Death Note has been fairly cynical along the way, so if it ends with Light’s victory, I wouldn’t necessarily be surprised. But I want Near to reveal that he knew this would happen because… well, I want to see Light pay for what he’s done. I want to see him fall from his unnatural height because he’s played with human lives as if they are nothing more than pieces of garbage to be discarded as he saw fit.

I want Near to bring justice to this world because Light has no idea what justice is.

Episode 37

I found it incredibly powerful that after thirty-six episodes of this man proudly and defiantly claiming that he was at the head of a moral mission to protect the world from evil, Near called him a murderer. IT IS ABSOLUTELY THE BEST SINGLE EXCHANGE IN THE ENTIRE EPISODE, PERHAPS THE WHOLE SERIES. In just a few sentences, Near obliterated Light’s logic. He called him a serial killer and a murderer and refused to accept a single shred of this man’s terrible logic. I LOVE IT SO MUCH, EVERYONE. I think it’s a perfect lead-in to what comes next: Matsuda’s reaction. After Near so brilliantly dissected what was wrong with Light, I believe that Matsuda broke. And honestly, I don’t think there was a better choice of a character to finally go up against Light and to fatally harm him. Look at his transformation! He went from the goofy, underused investigator to the man who wanted desperately to be seen, to be respected. Then, as L was killed and Kira became an undeniable part of the world, he turned into a fanboy. He began to support the idea of Kira, perhaps not totally, but enough to be entertained by the drama that unfolded around him. He couldn’t take the case seriously because… well, did anyone take it seriously?

So when he found out that he’d been played, that the killer they’d been searching for the whole time was right next to him, he snapped. This story belonged to Matsuda, and it’s about the best closure I could ask for.

This was a fun journey, y’all, and now I know why people had been recommending me this show for so many years. I UNDERSTAND.

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That they put out because of those reasonsand I think because of the fact that I want to know little more I sobbing at an epic feel to it became a The Only Black That Deserves Hate Is Licorice. That Sh!t Is Nasty. Unisex Hoodie from AmazinkShirt.com little bit more exactly the kind of the feel of in the beginning it had that kind of an method this is the best movie but I felt like that like Troy in the beginningand then it was like 300and their interest there is little bit more of that mythology leading into obviously where were going to see Diana goand how are you transforming to the person we ditzy down the line that may be Superman learning more about her that’s why like this is that they met her that she should know about she is yet the other thing is I actually thought Gallagher does great in the sky think that she is someone that has I when I looked at her originally I was like I don’t know if cast in the Gulf fastand furious she shouldn’t have held a time at times at the telecaster she got herself in shape she has she has really kind of a put herself is taking this role seriously I think that I also. All across America to nominate my beloved friend Joe Biden to the boy president of the United States of America with my mom and me values tonight we are to train the soul of America so if you’re ready to come began text gelling to 303 30 thank you I love you all and God bless you a and the and a and in and we as you you are right now and one of many voted for Pre so I you have registered as or first doing that because I think this election is bigger than any political party what I think in light of current events and nothing else we need more than anything is a proven leader trumps rhetoric’s device is dangerous is also really difficult for someone he has zero self neglect has very deep things like unit is preservation racial inequality and health issues and I look ourselves in the near and go vote or proven leader with a history of caring about others and putting truly putting all Imation asked for going to cover it all. Have been stopped for some reason is not a minimum by let’s get started I can’t really trailer for wonder what the contract called origin printand last year at her home on the traveler connectingand I did not ask the tracker in order to bring into World War I died without a doubt Chris on the right you think having an engine can each it’s as good as the other ones but the other ones were so astronomically good that it’s still a really good trip I like a lotand I really like the fact that the marketing strategy Warner Bro seems to be employing here with their trailers is that each trailer is revealing a little bit about the plot like the first one was just the one I showed it con was just image image image image which was fine because the movie was still so far wayand we blew our socks off with out I thought it was the best trailer the naturally showed you starting to get a sense of the L like you understand around it you understand who the villain is you understand or need to go okay now this one may

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IS FROM A The Only Black That Deserves Hate Is Licorice. That Sh!t Is Nasty. Unisex Hoodie from AmazinkShirt.com CONGRESSMAN LOUIS AGO MATT SPEAKS OUT ABOUT HIS BOUT WITH COVERT 19 WAY SAYING IS THAT HE RECOVERED FROM HIS SYMPTOMS WITHIN FOUR DAYS SO THIS IS A PUBLIC OFFICIAL THAT’S ACTUALLY COME FORWARD AND SAID COVERT 19 SAVED HIS LIFE FOR DEFTLY GOT A HOLD OF AND RELEASED ALL SYMPTOMS FROM HIM WITHIN FOUR DAYS WATCH AND SEE ONE OF HER FIRST ARTICLES IS THE FIVE NEW CBD STUDIES IN 2020 REVEAL WHY SO MANY ARE CHOOSING CBD OVER BIG PHARMA DRUGS SO I THINK THIS IS REALLY IMPORTANT TO UNDERSTAND THERE’S A LOT OF DIFFERENT MIXES OR DIFFERENT COMBINATIONS OF CBD THAT YOU CAN USE TO HELP YOU AND DEFTLY WITH MELATONIN WHICH I’VE TRIED THAT ACTUALLY HELP YOU ASLEEP BUT ALSO GOING THROUGH SOME OF THESE DIFFICULT TIMES IT. Lancaster was watching all of this from above we then follow him inside the castleand down one of the hallways he enters his own chamberand closes the door behind him we see him begin to write a letter but we don’t know who he is writing that letter to in the final scene of the episode we see a small boy working outside in the snow with his father after watching them for a few moments the boy suddenly stops the father will ask him what’s wrong the boy will motion to the nearby forest it’s getting very dark outside so we don’t notice anything at first but then we begin to see blue eyes staring back at us before we know it there are hundreds of blue eyes moving through the woods the father tells the Sun run inside until the others a horn begins to blow as hundreds of whites begin to run straight for the father standing outside little met number who is followed by several soldiers begin to rush outside to defend the castle as hundreds of soldiers begin to rush outside the sound of a dragon begins to drown out the sound of the horns that were blowing one of the soldiers tries to get number to run back inside but it’s already too late thousands of whites led by white walkersand Giants are now just a few feet away thenand I King appears to the clouds adversary on begins unleashing his blue flame on the castle chaos erupts in every man womanand child begin to get butchered simultaneously the Seri Owens blue flame delivers a devastating blow that completely destroys the numbers in such strong numbers personal guard is butchered within seconds leaving him all alone on the field one of the white walkers approaches himand with one swift move he pierces his heart with the ice sword number falls as we see the making landing is Dragon we can now see there are almost 100 white walkers walking across the bloodsoaked battlefield every man womanand child lay slain at their feet we get a close up of the making as he raises his arms in the episodes goodand with us knowing what’s about to happen next the opening scene of the second episode will begin in the north I winter fell diverse get injuryand the remaining forces arrive at the main gate they agreed to stay behind what the ship so they can unload all the Dragon glass from Dragon Stone then escorted the winter fell they have about a dozen big wagons filled with Dragon glass most of the wagons are full of black obsidian but we can also see there is a wagon full of greenand red Dragon glass once again we can see ariaand Breanne outside training in the courtyard as the wagons are arriving at the main gate they are interrupted as all the wagons are being brought inside to the center of the courtyard this is one ariaand Gundry will notice each other from across the yard neither one of them can believe what they’re seeing because they never thought they would actually see each other again ariaand Gundry meet in the middle of the courtyard where they embrace each other for several moments with a big smile on her face aria says I cannot believe you’re here I did not trust that red which I thought she was taken you way to martyr youand Gundry says she wanted to sacrifice me this is when Gundry looks over at dominoes who is helping unload the wagons of Dragon glassand says I would not be alive if it were not for him then Gundry says thanks to the red woman I found out why the gold cloaks want to be so bad I am rubber breath he is best at son that’s why the gold cloaks wanted meand that’s why the red woman wanted me I have King’s blood aria looks down for a few momentsand then she says you know I wanted to kill the red which taken your way used to recite her name every night before I would fall asleep Gundry smiles than aria says if I ever see Millis under again before she could finish her sentence devastates her off as he walks overand says I will killer myself this will be a nice segue right into my next scene in the Lantus we see there is a large group of followers gathered right outside the rentable floor mullah Sondra can Varaand several other high ranking members are standing at the top of the steps overlooking the crowd this is when Millis under will say there is a darkness falling over West Roseand soon he could cover us all the Laura White has brought all of us here for one purposeand one purpose only to end the darkness can Vara walks forwardand says Millis under has already brought iceand fire together I believe the nurse tore Garyand is the one who will lead us through this darkness but Millis Andra says there is another then Millis Andra says I have already seen it in the flames whenever I look for the answers from our Lord of light all I can see a snow dinner star Gary has her own part of the play by John Snow will be the one who defeats the making can Vara says Prince or Princess it doesn’t matter mullah Sondra’s right the great other is here to bring the darkness to us all we must go to West Rose to help them all of us in the next scene we will go Castle black where we will see the aftermath of the attack from the Army of the dead Castle black is now in ruins but there are some survivors from that attack more commander added as well as 95 of the remaining members of the Knights watch her dad back on Darianand a few others are still alive we will see buried on Darian begin to burn all the whites with his flaming sword baritone Darian will then say he has to ride south right away he also says he made a promise to someone that he would see them again he has yet to surface final purpose if you remember at the end of season seven Barrick did say to another character they would meet again so we shall see now let’s go to another scene backand want to fill Brian Stark is sitting alone in the gods would next to the where witchery we can see that his hands are gripping the chair as his eyes are fluttering backand forth in his head then we will be thrust into a series of visions Brian Stark is having we see Jamie Lancaster taken office helmet during the first time we saw him arriving at winter fell we see net start statue in the Crips of one or fell we seeand hear the mad King sand bar in the mall we see the special wildfire underneath King’s Landing we see blue Dragon fire burning a castle that’s covered in snow we can see a bed covered in blood we see Brian Stark falling from the broken tower we see smoke rising from winter fell we see Millis Andra looking into the flames we see a black silhouette of someone standing on a battlefield holding a burning sort of their hand we can hear the sound of a baby crying inside of a tower then brain will see himself standing face to face with the makingand this immediately throws him out of the vision as we get closer to the endand then I can gets closer to one or fell their connectionand their powers will continue to grow strongerand stronger when Brian Stark looks up we see he is surrounded by John Devereaux’s the narrow signs of an aria they all want to know what brain has seen brand says everything I can see everything at first it was all fragments make it very hard to decipher what was past present or even future events now he knows brand says Castle black is gone along with its men the last hearth is gone along with all the numbers men then brain says I saw the making he knows were all here he will be here soon John tells everyone to meet him in the main hall brand grabs John by his arm right as he’s about to walk away brand says we need to speak soon it’s finally time you know the truth this gets the attention of the nurse in sans a are both wondering what brand meant by that everyone of importance is gathered inside the main hall winter fell John Snow informs every one of the recent attacks in the North by the making everyone in the room was silent John says Circe Lancaster has yet to send us any additional soldiers to fight the Army the dead with her without her they have to prepare for what’s to come they will need to reinforce all the walls of the castle they will needand I’ll Dragon glass weapons to every man womanand child I wonder fell John says the castle should not fall my father always said 500 men could hold winter fell against 10 000 if the castle should fall there are secret passageways below the ground that could help them escape from the north but let’s hope it doesn’t come to that then John holds up long call for everyone to see he says this sort is made of Valerian steel I have already defeated several white walkers with this sort they have control over the Army the deadand I King has control over them if we can take up the white walkers in the making we might be able to defeat the entire army I will go for as many white walkers as I can with long call but I’m gonna need your help this is one aria in Briand will stand up at the same time they both mentioned they also have Valerian steel weaponsand they will stand by John to help them defeat the white walkers in the making similarly stands up as well he informs John about his father sword heart Spain Sam also says he has been reading some of the old books I got from The Citadel he says he may have found some information that may be of interest Thierry Lancaster will shift in his seat he looks the same Owen says I would like to see those books as well as everyone begins to leave all the nurse tells John she would like to speak with him alone sans looks at the nurse suspiciously as does Thierry Lancaster Jonathan Erisman walk atop the castle overlooking the battlements the nurse wants to know when John’s good tell everyone about the relationship John doesn’t think that’s a good idea right now considering how many of the northern lordsand ladies still do not trust the nurse he doesn’t need anyone to lose focus or abandon their cause right before the Army the dead arrive they should wait until after the battle was over we can afford to lose anyone right now doesn’t like Circe sending us any of her soldiers we already lost the Knights watch in the numbers let’s discuss this again after the battle rages John begins walk away the nurse says wait there’s one more thing I spoke to Mr last night I told him I haven’t been feeling very well latelyand he decided to examine me to see what the issue could be John looks nervous he says is everything okay what’s the matter after a long silence the nurse says John I’m pregnant now let’s go to another scene Jamieand brought arrive at the twins the castle looks nearly abandoned now Jimmy says someone infiltrated their Castle killed Walter Frei in almost every other loyal man towels Friday brought notices that no one is guarding their bridge Jamie says if only Rob Stark would’ve found their bridge this way he will still be aliveand I would most likely be dead Bron slaps Jamie on the shoulderand says that only dreams came true when Jamieand Bron reached the castle doors they are greeted by several of the Frei daughters who are now in charge of the twins Jamie says we are now heading northand he needs to gather any soldiers or men that they have available there is a storm coming down from the walland everyone will die unless they follow him nor one of the Frei girl says queen Circe did not inform us of this why did we not receive a Raven Jamie says she sent me instead speaking associate minister we go back to King’s Landing in the next scene Circe Chi barnand the mountain are walking around the walls the right key Chi barn has men bring up the stashes a wildfire to place at each gate that enters the city along with many other locations no one will enter through any of the city gates without getting burned alive we can also see they are strategically setting up large blisters all around the city King’s Landing will not fall as easily as it did during season eight Circe says the nurse target areaand may have the larger army right now but we shall see how large that army years after the dead get there with them Circe vowels that the nurse will never step foot inside the red keep while she is still alive Circe also says even if we lose we have seen what fire does to the Army of the dead with the amount a wildfire we have I’m not concerned with anyone or anything taking over the city while I’m here now that I have the iron banks full support I may have one other surprise for our Dragon Queen the next scene takes place in the middle of the night feeling great joy in his small team a man land their boats on the shore the islandsand make their way up to the castle fee on his open sister you are is being kept captive their he wants to for your before your own eventually has or killed but to their surprise the iron islands are completely abandoned there is even anyone there guarding the castle Huron has taken every able bodied a fight with himand those who cannot fight were put to the blade you are is not there feelings were sphere has come true you’re a storm the silenceand in order to set her free feels you have to board that we could ship now let’s go to the next he this time we go to Dragon stone we can see Huron’s entire fleet is scattered around the island now that the nurse is taking all of her men north your own’s men along with the golden company were able to easily secure the castle for Circe Lancaster on board the silence we go down below we can see are a great joy she’s covered in bloodand looks like most of her hair’s been chopped off your own great joy enters the cabinand he begins laughing like a maniac right your space he informed sure that she’s not to make it off the ship aliveand he assures her that peons never to have the balls try to get her backand even if he did he’s gonna hang both of them from the front of the silence then he leans downand whispers tell me my sweet niece who is your king your doesn’t say a word but she does not break eye contact for a few moments it silent then your own begins laughing like a maniac againand you throw something that bounces off the artist face we soon find out why you’re hasn’t said a word Huron has Señora with her own tongue which he had chopped off almost immediately after her capture now we go back to one or fell were John the nurse brand Santeriaand in the May stirrer or looking over everything he took from The Citadel the when they can find out some more information about how to defeat the Nike Sam says he has several booksand scrolls about the long night the white walkersand the children of the forestand many others the only problem is he’s having trouble making sense of it all brand Stark says show me what you found then perhaps I can go backand have a look for myself Thierry Lancaster grabs one of the books that is already open this one has legends about the long nightand he begins to read aloud it has information about a legendary figure notices or a high who carried a burning sword called white bringer Thierryand looks over at Jonathan Arison says this reminds me of what Bella Sondra said to us on Dragon stone Milla Sondra said the prince who was promised will bring the dawn Sandy believes it could mean the prince or princess who will bring the dawn this is or a high figure sounds like a man brand Stark says old man used to tell me bedtime stories about a last hero who would lead the fight against the dead then the May Stark upsetand says well what do you suppose we find such a man with a magical burning sword Sam immediately looks over at John John says long calls Valerian steel but does not burn John looks over to Brandonand says we think this could mean brand says I need to go to the gods would in the final scene of the episode we will see a massive storm begin to roll in from the north everyone in the area begins to go indoors the location of the castle is revealed when we see the car Stark banners hanging by the main gate police car Stark is inside with a few of her household guards she sitting by the fire reading some of the messages the ravens brought in for the day she says word has arrived from winter fell castle black in the last horse no longer stand the mikingand the Army of the dead may be on the way to winter fell next they inform us that we should all get the winter fell as soon as we can they say we should prepare for the worst before she could finish telling Herman about the news from winter fell a sudden screamand the sound of a horn begin to echo through the castle police car Stark runs over to the window to have a look outside to see were the screen came from to her surprise she cannot see anything now it’s a complete white out from the storm then all of a sudden a thunderous screen comes from the clouds above the mikingand this area on suddenly appear through the storm the episodeand ends as a blue flame can be seen lighting up the night sky we now know house car Stark will also be added to the Army of the debt this episode will begin with us getting a glimpse of the aftermath of that attack there is smoke rising from a mound of stone which is where the castle once stood we can see that there are acresand acres of snow covered land soaked in blood there is also remnants of northern uniforms all over the ground as well as broken weapons this looks like your typical battlefield the only differences there are no dead bodies we know the miking has risen them all to fight in his armyand the most likely heading to winter fell which is where we will have our next scene back in winter fell we will see hundreds of northern man preparing the Starks Castle for the coming storm outside of the main gate of the castle we will see that make entrenches that appear to be a moat just like in season eight I want to enclose the castle in a ring of fire that will prevent the dead from entering winter fell I actually talked about this ideaand one of my videos before the final season came out were also can see hundreds of archers on standby all along the top of the wall of the castle all of their arrows are made of Dragon glass there is also to be barrels of these arrows all along the top of the castle walls as well down in the courtyard there are thousands of spears made up of Dragon glass to however great worm spear will look slightly different than the rest is will be made with the red Dragon glass were also good to see that Guidry has made himself a new hammer out of Dragon glassand there will be different spikes coming off the hammer each of the spikes will be made up of different color Dragon glass one black one redand one green John sans of ariaand ghost are walking around the courtyard overlooking all the work getting done to their home aria mentions how she came across nine Marriott 10 way to winter fell Orientals John I did want to come home with me but deep down I knew that she was meant to be free she hopes that one day she’s gonna be able to see her again as John looks over at ghost you can see that he is a sad look on his face realizing that ghost is the only dire Wolf left in the far north John talks about the day they were foundand how he told Ned they were meant to have them he also says as long as they’re alive there always can have a connection to one another no matter how much distances in between them this brings a smile Darius faceand John says even at times when himand ghost were separated he would always have a sense that he was still with themand aria says I have also felt that with my Marriott they are interrupted when one of the guards at the main gate begins to shout that a writer is approaching the castle baritone Darian has arrived from castle black berry looks like he’s about to collapse as John tells the guards opened the gateand allow him inside as soon as aria recognizes who it is she draws out her dagger Ari lets Barrick know right away that he is not welcomeand John looks somewhat confused aria says Barrick sold Gendron to Milla Sondra knowing full well that the right which wanted to sacrifice them baritone Darian will say kill me if you must but I’m here to play my part in the great war then Barrick looks at Johnand says the makingand the Army the dead will be here tonight the next scene is in King’s Landing begins with your own great joy greetings Ursula Elaine Mr Huron says I have completed every mission you have set upon me I have traveled the seas conquered your enemiesand even brought you the golden company Circe says you haven’t defeated all of my enemies but maybe this time you are rewarded your own smiles then the commander of the golden company greet Circe he talks about how good it feels to be in west ropes Circe reminds them not to get too comfortable they still have a war to win Gary Stricklandand wishes to speak to whoever commands Circe when Esther soldiers he wants to discuss their strategy Circe informs them that she is in the process of finding someone she can trust you can come in her latest are man or former commanderand brother has left the city for good she says he went to go join a straighter brother the best in the northand the foreign war with the dragons Circe then says about it doesn’t matter now I have everything I need right here Huron has a very big smile come across his face even though Circe wasn’t just talking about him we also see Circe notice the look on her Strickland’s face as the dragons were mentioned she can tell always very nervous about the dragons so Circe says what’s wrong are you afraid of dragons Terry says he wasn’t entirely sure they were even real resort about them for quite some time yet he has never seen them for himself afterwords you’re on gradually wishes to speak with Circe alone the scene ends a Circe says as you wish back in winter fell brand John Dinero Sam Terrienand the maced or are shown in the guards what Jerry Lancaster says there must be someone or something that has a connection to all the different legends about the long night as we saw the last episode the book about the long night talks of his or a high villa Sondra talks about the Prince was promised an old man used to speak of the last hero during her bedtime storiesand all these different stories it is said that these legendary figures I face the darknessand one Sam looks over at Brandonand says we need you to go backand see if there’s anything you can tell us about this man who was he held that he defeat the white walkers we need answers brand start will take a deep breath that his eyes will roll back in his head he’s about to see another series of visions sums can take place in the past some in the presentand even the future this time the very first thing he sees a black silhouette standing alone on a battlefield holding a burning red sword it’s very similar to his last vision of the shadowy figure only this time the man is standing face to face with an aching then Brendel see the same battlefield but now no one is thereand all the snow is gone brand Stark is walking across that battlefield that he sees a man face down in the water he can also see there are some red ruby scattered all across the water then he begins to see a crowd of people cheering there is a man mounted on a horseand he leans down in hand something to a girl who looks a lot like assessor aria then brain is at the wall there is a lot of blood covering the snow when brand looks into the blood he can see blue rose petals scattered throughout it soaking up the blood now brand is back at the tower of joy but this time he can see Leona is sitting up in the bed talking to a man with hair so blonde that it almost looks over brain knows its regularand he could hear him say our son has a songand it is the song of iceand fire Brandon sees a woman dressed in red with Harry’s right is a bleeding star it appears as if this woman is talking to someone brain can’t quite make out the man’s face it sounds like John’s voice but all he can see is a black silhouette with smoke rising from the sword then all of a sudden brain is back on the battlefield that is now covered in snow once again brain can see the figure that looks like a black silhouette with a burning sword clenched in his fist this time he standing face to face with the 19 right is brand sees the making take a step forward the black shadowy figure swings his sword as fast as lightning strikes when brand opens his eyes we can see that he is completely covered in sweat was steam coming off his body everyone else that’s in the guards what are silently staring at Brandon anxiously awaiting to find out what you seen Thierryand says are the legends real after a few moments of silence Sam says do you know what we need to do defeat that I King after a few more moments of silence brand finally says yes now it all makes sense I finally understand what the three a Raven was trying to show me Sam says what what is it the scene ends is brand looks over at John back in King’s Landing Circe’s amounts in your own great joy enter her private chambers Huron immediately says he wants the mountain to leave so they can speak alone Circe says don’t worry he won’t say a thing you’re on begins by telling Circe it’s time that he gets what is owed which we all know he wants Circe yourself you’re on then start bragging about how is a better man than Jamieand how Jamie will never become a back to Kings Landing unless his head is on a spike Circe does agree but she continues to play hard to get however Huron does eventually get Circe to start to soften up a bit Circe knows exactly what you’re on once but she tells them she’s already pregnant with Jamie’s child inside of her Huron says he doesn’t care she’s pregnant he says always ever wanted was to marry the most beautiful woman in the seven kingdoms which is why is here he’s a king who deserves to have a queen at his side they should rule Westerners togetherand he also says he’s never gonna betray her or abandon herand a time of need Circe does enjoy the attention she’s getting from him but she isn’t quite ready to just hand over the keys to her kingdom she does however assure him that he will get everything he wants in due time Circe then motions for the mountain to step outside Circe closes the door behind him then take Huron by the handand walks them over to the bad in the next scene we go back to winter fell were received John push in brand across the courtyard brand says it’s time that himand John go speak alone they begin to make their way to the cups of water fell but then they notice some of the guards shouting down from atop the castle wall one of the guards yells to Johnand says there are more riders approaching the main gate this time there are hundredsand maybe even thousands once again Branson have to wait to talk to John before John could even ask is approaching some of the guards begin to pick up their weaponsand drawback their boats he can hear everyone shouting this sends everyone in the courtyard into a frenzy then we begin to hear some of the guards shouting the word King slayer with many other curse words to follow Jamie Braunand the soldiers they were able to gather has finally arrived they were able to find roughly 1000 men who were still scattered throughout the river lands Jerryand does seem to be surprise the Jamie’s in winter fell not wearing the Lancaster colors he also notices none of the men with them are from the latest Army something has obviously gone wrong Jamieand Bronner greeted was zero courtesy sans wants to know what the hell is happening wise Jamie here was soldiers from house spray the Northerners are very angry some of which you are still shouting King slayer the North remembers etc. Requiring kids to wear masks in any public place like schools and stores you are taking their one and perhaps only hope of being found if taking their face and the image that she was referring to is right here these kids they all got masks on her face on a phases and you can tell sodas and truth that shit is truth that you penalize the grammar I can’t really let you are because I’m stream in your streaming live on YouTube to so if you want to see the slideshow to get over to you to set my citizen and channel and you actually see the images and on putting up so sorry about than anybody else on his grand I want to watch this get over you to citizenmanYouTube See Other related products: Thankful For Hockey Turkey T Shirt

Today's Random-News-Digest is of course related to the happenings of San Diego Comic Con International 2017. Some recent news after that event are also included. This is just part 1 of 2 though, with the second arriving... hopefully soon (the plan is tomorrow, but we'll see). LOL.

Death Note

I believe by now, fans of the original Japanese franchise (manga nor anime) should STOP wishing for a faithful and bit-by-bit adaptation in this Hollywood movie. At the very least, it might be best to NOT even expect it to be one. Director Adam Wingard brought some of his cast to Netflix first Hall H panel for SDCC 2017 (on July 20th), and once again stressed out that this movie is 'his personal take' on the source material. He even said he was interested to work on it, with the goal to "breath new life into a great premise". That pretty much summed it up, if you ask me. Wingard was accompanied by Margaret Qualley, Lakeith Stanfield, Masi Oka, and obviously, lead actor Nat Wolff who said that he wrote his own 'Death Note' as soon as he got the part. Creepy... much? Actor Willem Dafoe didn't attend, by his voice was featured to present a special clip from the movie.

The clip depicted the first meeting of Wolff's meek and angsty Light Turner and Dafoe's sinister-looking but clown-like 'shinigami' (God of Death) Ryuk. Light opens the 'Death Note', and Ryuk unveils himself to the boy, taunting him to write the name of his bully, Kenny Doyle. And the rest is history. For the clip, and not Doyle. No way Netlix going to spoil the movie's first R-rated scene, right? LOL. Said footage, which has been made available by Netflix via their Youtube channel, is precisely another (the first being the American cast and setting) solid proof to why this is not a direct adaptation of the manga. While Light and Ryuk still retain traces of their manga/anime characterization, they really feel like a different incarnations. Rather than consciously accepting the book, it felt like this version of Light was being 'tricked' to use it instead. I could be wrong on this, because I'm not an avid fan of the manga/anime, but I honestly remember it... differently. Also, this Light is giving off a strong vibe of Jughead from "Riverdale" if he was pushed too far, so picture that if you will. Ryuk was more or less similar to the source material, thanks to Dafoe's eerie vocal-tone. But the design... made it a bit hard to fear, nor even be wary of him. And here I am remembering how the anime Ryuk gave me nightmares for a good while when I saw him for the first time.

Wingard stated that audience can expect to see 'humor' in this movie too, so it won't be all-out horror. To put it simple, this movie will have its own 'dark comedy'. Hmmm... I'm not really sure what to say about that. I have to admit, I'm really curious to see this movie. Yet on the other hand, I'm not fully sold about it, for reasons I can't even really tell. The early reviews didn't sound too bad, but also NOT too good. So it hasn't really cleared out this personal doubt of mine. Go ahead and read them, perhaps it might convince you... better. "Death Note" arrives on Netflix, August 25th, 2017.

Spawn

Are you a fan of "Spawn", was disappointed by the 1997's movie (for the record, I thought it was okay, even if I never managed to get past the first half LOL), and has been itching to get a modern live action movie adaptation? Well, then you're in luck. Todd McFarlane has personally announced that he will be writing and also directing a new R-rated movie for Blumhouse Studio! If that wasn't clear enough, McFarlane is THE series own creator. This project has been pitched as a low-budget horror movie, and it's really an intriguing take on what's supposed to be a CG-heavy movie. Guess who he wanted to play the lead character, an NYPD detective named Twitch Williams? Leonardo Dicaprio. Wow, that's a really TALL order... for a now Oscar winner actor. Let's just see if it pans out.

Fantastic Four

Quite surprisingly, 20th Century FOX didn't brought out their Marvel franchise like "Deadpool 2" or "X-Men: Dark Phoenix" to their SDCC panel this year. Instead, they brought the sequel to "Kingsman" which I will talk about in the next category. That doesn't mean the studio weren't making headlines though. In the panel of the TV series "LEGION" (which I will also talk about later in the TV section... *sigh*) that took place July 20th in Ballroom 20, showrunner Noah Hawley made a major announcement. He's developing a movie for FOX, and it's going to be about... "Doctor Doom". That's not the title of course, but I'll use that instead.

Honestly, I'm not even sure how to react about this. As proven by his hit series "Fargo" and also "LEGION", Hawley is indeed a name you can trust. So the prospect of him working on a Marvel title for the big screen, would make his devoted fans cheer. On the other hand, do we really NEED another Doctor Doom story? FOX have tried to work with this character twice, and both failed miserably (though I'd gladly argue at least Julian McMahon's version was still much better than Toby Kebbell's horrendous version in that awful 2015 movie). So why, pray tell WHY must they continue milking this character eventhough the well of potential is pretty much dry? And that's where I'm starting to get a little pissed off. It's more than clear than FOX will do ANYTHING to keep the "Fantastic Four" copyright from automatically reverting to Marvel. The 2015 "Dis4ster Four" was a good example of this annoyingly negative behavior, and now this.

Making a Doctor Doom movie without a Fantastic Four, would be similar to what SONY is doing with Spider-Man-less Venom. It feels like a FATAL mistake. Would Victor von Doom work in a solo spin-off too, much like what they did with "Logan" and "Deadpool"? In the comics, the answer might easily be YES. But this is a movie, and I need not to remind you, FOX has an infamously BAD track-record in adapting this amazing antagonist to live action. So yeah, should I be cheering, or should I be jeering at this 'idea'? I can't even answer that. I don't think anyone in their right mind would! Oh well, let's just see how this develops. But really, this spells... DOOM!

Barbie

Have you been wondering where Anne Hathaway went? It felt like she somewhat faded away from mainstream publicity after singing herself towards an Oscar win... and got married. She's probably taking more Indie projects like "Collosal" though, and American indie movies don't really get much spotlight in a far away land like my country. But we can expect this to change in the near future with a potential high profile project on the way.

Latest report has it that she's currently in talks to star as in the live action "Barbie" movie. This Mattel toy line project has previously circled Amy Schumer for the lead role, who has to drop it due to scheduling conflicts. Director Alethea Jones has been brought into negotiation, after being handpicked by Hathaway herself. Assuming the plot of the movie stays the same, it will tell the story of a woman realizing she doesn't fit into the perfect land of Barbies and thus journeys to the real world. So basically, "Enchanted" part Deux, which I think is a really good fit for her. With this project (assuming she takes it), as well as the "Ocean's 8" spin off, I think we can expect Hathaway to be back in the spotlight once again. "Barbie" is currently set for a June 29th, 2018 release, but that is subject to change to match with Hathaway's schedule.

Kingsman

Okay, let's leave that bizarre Doctor Doom reality aside, and talk about what's likely going to be good... "Kingsman: The Golden Circle"!!! The cast of the sequel attended the FOX panel, and entertained audience with a chug of beer and fresh mind-popping second trailer. And wow, was it really good! The actions, and all the style and swaggers? It was SOLID for me. Oddly, eventhough I've been a fan of Taron Egerton's Eggsy and his classy team of Kingsman, I'm slowly growing a weird fondness to the American counterpart instead: the Statesman. Particularly, that hispanic cowboy character with the electric lasso rope who is played by none other than Pedro Pascal. He's a real scene stealer in this trailer, and to think that he's not even getting his name top-billed for the movie. Ouch! "Kingsman: The Golden Circle" is set to be released on September 22nd, 2017. And it's TOTALLY on my watch list!

By the way, there's also an interesting animated short where Eggsy runs into... the infamous Sterling Archer from the FXX series "Archer"! If you're a fan of both worlds, make sure you see it. Because well, it's hillarious!

James Bond

You want a more serious, non-comic-adaptation spy movie? Then well... "Bond 25" (obviously a placeholder title) has been announced. The Hollywood Reporter first delivered the news, before it was officially confirmed by Eon Productions. Yes, the 25th James Bond movie has gotten a release date, of November 8th, 2019. Meaning two years from now.

Unfortunately, that's pretty much the whole content of the news. There were no details whatsoever. Thus everyone got pushed into this weird 'curious' mode, with plenty of important questions being thrown around. What is the movie's title and/or subtitle? Does the movie have an actor? Is Daniel Craig really returning, and if he's not... who's the replacement? Will we be getting a female Bond, following what happens to the hit series "Doctor Who"? Come again, which studio has won the distribution bid? Because I totally haven't caught that announcement. Many sites began developing their own take, or should I say 'theories' about this announcement, and well... for now, they are nothing more than that, theories. Some have said that Craig is a done deal. Other said that the franchise will be sold off after this one movie. Then again, until there's another official confirmation (said to be announced at a later date), it's pretty much anyone's guess, right? So yeah... perhaps we should let it slide for now, and just look forward for "Kingsman" for the time being.

LEGO Movies

2nd trailer for the "The LEGO NINJAGO Movie" was premiered in the SDCC 2017 panel, and was later made available online by Warner Bros Animation. And well... I'm still mixed about it. The pseudo-brick animation style of "The LEGO Movie" is very clear here, moreso than "The LEGO Batman Movie"... particularly with that hybrid scene featuring a real life CAT. Which I'm positive wasn't CGed (assuming it's not the case of "The Jungle Book"). So fans of that first movie will be thrilled.

But at the same time, this felt like a drastic difference compared to the hit TV series. And that is the part that's not working for me. As I've said once before, having been invested with the show for SEVEN Seasons (which is a great achievement, since I normally wouldn't go pass Season 2 for other shows), it's just hard to make good sense out of this... 'ALTERNATE UNIVERSE' version. I'm not even sure how I feel about seeing Dave Franco's Lloyd as an awkward high schooler, with the others being hi classmates. It just screamed too... "Power Rangers"-y to me, and I truly never expected them to go that route *sigh*. Not to mention, Taylor Swift's "Bad Blood" was just grating on my nerves, no matter how appropriate it was used to depict Lloyd's fractured relationship with Garmaddon (which seems to be the core plot of the movie).Perhaps, this movie is intended for those with ZERO experience in the franchise, then? Likely so. Anyways, whether you're digging this or not, "The LEGO NINJAGO Movie" will still arrive on September 22nd, 2017. Let's just see how the critics and audience will react to this version.

Ready Player One

If Walt Disney has critically-praised director Ava DuVernay and her "A Wrinkle in Time", then Warner Bros' secret weapon is none other than... legendary filmmaker Steven Spielberg and his "Ready Player One". Nope, by all means, I'm not pitting these two people and their totally different movies. I just need to point out how they are SIMILAR to one another. Because both are working on a movie based on a supposedly famous and fan-favorite novel that... I haven't had the slightest idea about. No seriously, I have been seeing these titles being headlined every now and then, yet I was totally clueless about them. Were they good? Don't ask me. I've never even heard them before, so all I did was scratching my head wondering how they ended up being so highly talked-about. One thing for sure, it wasn't until I've seen the first trailers to those movies that I could say... "Aaaah, so THAT's what this book is all about". That's a genuine LOL moment right there.

Since I've dished out about my confusion for "A Wrinkle in Time" last week (thanks to the movie making a big splash on D23 Expo 2017), this time I'll shashay into the second title. Mainly because the movie was among the major features of WB's SDCC Hall H panel, alongside "Blade Runner 2049" and of course DC Films (which I will talk about in the next category). Spielberg attended the section of this panel with book writer and co-screenwriter Ernie Cline, co-screenwriter Zak Penn, and cast members Tye Sheridan, Olivia Cooke, Ben Mendelsohn and T.J. Miller. The director shared his thoughts about the movie, as well as presenting the first official teaser. Since this is WB, obviously we could easily expect said video to arrive online right after the panel, and of course it did. Exclusives footage for attendees? That's not their thing... LOL

Turns out, "Ready Player One" is like a live action version of "The LEGO Batman Movie", or Disney's "Wreck-It Ralph". It's Cline's love letter to the 80s, and also the technology of Virtual Reality. The trailer didn't shy away from this premise, as it showed plenty of nostalgic stuffs like "The Iron Giant", Lara Croft, Freddy Krueger, DC characters to "Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory", and all. Though of course, most of them are WB's own properties, no surprise about that. LOL. We get to experience this massive virtual space where everything collides, through Sheridan's Wade Wyatts, a young man living in the year 2045. He'll go through a fantasy reality-bending adventure to locate an Easter Egg inside the OASIS, because whoever fins it, gains control of the virtual reality world. That kind of stuff. Yes, it's a grand concept, and the trailer seemed to wow practically everyone.

But I'm probably in the minority here to say that, it was not that... 'mindblowing' for me. Perhaps, because I've already seen this concept before, over and over again through other media? I'm not sure. It's the case of "The Hunger Games" I think, where western audience saw it as a new concept, whereas it's basically a 'been-there done-that' in Japanese entertainment. So in a way, I've been there before, hence it didn't feel that original no matter how glorious the CG effects looked. But don't let this subjective opinion ruins your hype. Not everyone saw "Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicle", right? If you're digging the vibe of this movie, then good for you! If you're not, then we're on the same team. There's one for everyone after all! "Ready Player One" arrives on March 30th, 2018. And yes, that's 3 weeks after "A Wrinkle in Time". Coincidence much? Hmmm...

DC Films

"Justice League" is set to be released on November 17th, 2017. So should we even be surprised to see WB bringing the core cast to their panel? Nope. Minus Henry Cavill though, since he's busy filming "Mission: Impossible 6" with a troubling thick mustache (why? more in this later). Beside, he wasn't even shown in the latest appetizer official poster (available through the official twitter account). To which I'm not a fan by the way, even if it's been given almost unanimous praises all over the globe. "You can't save the world alone", the tagline said. A sarcastic statement towards Cavil's Superman's for "Man of Steel", perhaps?

Oh, and of course there would be a new trailer. Duh? Remember, this is WB we're talking about. If the first one that Zack Snyder (when the absent director was still solely in charge) debuted in last year's SDCC showed action scenes, CG flares, photoshoot poses, with a relatively small amount of story, this one had more balance between character interactions and battle sets. Longer duration too, clocking at more than 4 minutes! And yes, that means more of J.K. Simmons' Commissioner Gordon and Jeremy Iron's Alfred Pennyworth. To be honest, I'm also not a fan of this trailer. It didn't really made me want to see the movie, which has become a constant issue between me and WB's marketing department. I DO like it better than the poster though, because it's clearly taking many good cues from "Wonder Woman". In many ways, it also felt... a bit similar to Joss Whedon's "The Avengers". That scene with an antagonist arriving near a macguffin? Or the heroes talking in a meeting room esque setting? Yeaaah. No surprise, because the movie's pretty much in Whedon's hand right now. Sadly, similar to "Ready Player One", had this was released before the 2012 Marvel Studios movie, I would've responded in a much better manner. For this time, it felt like an odd dejavu instead.

However, the biggest takeaway from the panel, would be the other non-Justice League-related news. Because WB confirmed a parade of projects currently in development, as well as some new projects in the works. There are 8 big titles in the works! It's currently unclear if they are chronologically ordered, but they are: - "Shazam!". Prior to the panel, "Shazam!" was already reported to be starting production in early 2018. If not in January, in February. So it's safe to assume it might be released in 2019, that's the goal anyway. While WB hasn't revealed, or even cast the lead actor just yet (perhaps, Armie Hammer?), David F. Sandberg has been assigned to direct. - "Flashpoint". The new official title for Ezra Miller's solo movie. After losing directors over and over again, WB has decided to go ahead and just do an adaptation of the massive storyline. And this might be the most unexpected and shocking reveal of them all, that immediately raised up concerns and speculations in the fanbase. Why? In the comic, "Flashpoint" was used to... RESET the DC Universe!!! The event in that movie, ultimately created a new timeline, that sequed DC Comics into the New 52 era. Does this imply that... WB is attempting to do the same with their live action movies? So EARLY in the game? Is this their way to fix the mess that was caused by Snyder? Or a direct response to Marvel Studios' sequel to "Spider-Man: Homecoming"? Hmmmm. It's clear that this movie won't make it to fulfill its initial March 16th, 2018 release, due to Miller's commitment with "Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them 2". But there's also no telling if the studio would be able to rush it for a 2018 release. No director is currently attached, but safe money is leaning towards Phil Lord and Christopher Miller after their departure from "Star Wars". - "Wonder Woman 2". This year's "Wonder Woman" is DC's first critical and financial success since "The Dark Knight", so a direct sequel is practically a no-brainer. Not to mention, director Patty Jenkins have been working on a script with Geoff Johns, that will put Gal Gadot's Diana Prince in the 80s. Jenkins might even return to direct the movie, though that part was not yet confirmed. This movie has recently been confirmed for a December 13th, 2019 release. - "Suicide Squad 2". Just earlier this month, we have heard that Jaume Collet-Serra has been the frontrunner to direct the sequel. Will Smith and Margot Robbie are expected to reprise their roles as Deadshot and Harley Quinn. - "The Batman". Yes, looks like that IS indeed the official title. And we know that Matt Reeves will begin working on this title as soon as he's done promoting "War of the Planet of the Apes". Hot negative report (not rumor) was running rampant prior to SDCC 2017, that current Batman actor Ben Affleck might be walking out of the DC Extended Universe. Especially with the fact that Reeves won't be using Affleck's script that he has written with Johns. Thanks to that, Affleck had to blatantly give a public response. He pretty much confirmed his involvement as a lead actor in the solo Batman movie. Oddly, he never blatantly denied that he's leaving the DCEU after this movie. So in a way, that's just him smart talking his way out of difficult conversation. Suffice to say, it was NOT a nice moment. - "Batgirl". Whedon has openly revealed to IGN that he'll start working on "Batgirl" next year as well. Likely after his obligations to 'help a friend' with the post producton of "Justice League" is wrapped. - "Green Lantern Corps". I think... David Goyer was working on this? The movie had been given a 2020 release window in WB's old announcement. It's unclear if it will still keep up with this plan. - "Justice League Dark". Last we heard, Doug Liman has walked out of this title. But that was due to his conflicting schedules and commitment with other studios. Since this is the last title on the list, there's always a chance that he might be back on board. After all, WB needs the self-proclaimed 'greatest director' in the world, right?

These announcements sounded GRAND and AMBITIOUS and all... but should we really be excited about them? I'm not sure. It obviously caused mixed reaction in the internet, triggering plenty of questions in various media in regards to DC Films' long-term plan. The way I see it, WB was just the KING of big talk as usual... eventhough they don't really have a good track record of keeping up with their words. I honestly doubt the studio came fully prepared for this panel, and that those titles were merely another temporary placeholders that might come and go without certainty. Several titles that have been headlining in the medias for a while now, were conspicuously MISSING from the lineup. Remember Dwayne Johnson's much reported "Black Adam", Ray Fisher's supposed solo movie "Cyborg", "Justice League Part 2" that originally was set for a 2019 release, the heavily rumored "Man of Steel 2", and David Ayer's "Gotham City Siren"? Not to mention, a recent entry in the rumor circuit that talked about a Harley Quinn vs. Joker movie, that started as soon as SDCC began? Yeah, those titles were a no show. They might even be gone for good.

With WB only releasing one movie next year in form of Jason Momoa's "Aquaman", we should expect most of these newly announced title to arrive as soon as 2019. I hope they won't get carried away and act bullish by releasing 4 titles a year. Even Marvel Studios took almost 10 years before finally deciding to release 3 per year. Then again, that's certainly their main intention, especially if we put into account that they HAVE 4 release dates for 2020 now! Does this mean, we get the first 4 of those movies in 2019, then another 4 in 2020? I don't know how I can even begin to fathom that...

Also, WB just can't catch a break. After sort of 'debunking' (technically, that's just smart corporate talking) a previous rumor about Batffleck, another one already hit the studio as soon as SDCC 2017 was wrapped. Variety reported that the reshoot process for "Justice League" has been causing issues for the studio. This report was backed by The Hollywood Reporter, that called it 'substantial'. Apparently, the extensive extra production took a toll of $25 million, roughly the cost of a separate mid-budget movie! Budget for additional photographies in big budget Hollywood movies generally cost between $6-10 million. Production duration was also dragged on for roughly two months, causing scheduling headaches to its cast members. Momoa and Gadot had to spend 2 weeks worth, while Affleck is still filming new scenes this week. In the case of Cavill, as I've mentioned above, a special post-production budget will be required to digitally remove his natural mustache.

Thanks to this bizarre new scenario, Whedon would also be getting a producing and/or screenplay credit, due to him spending more time than planned to finish the movie and add much-needed 'connective tissue' between sequences As I said, the recent trailer strongly felt like his own "The Avengers", so I sincerely hope Whedon will be getting the credit he deserves. Will this movie be another case of "Suicide Squad" or "Fant4stic Four"? Or will it come out unscathed like "Rogue One: A Star Wars Story" or "World War Z"? Here's hoping it's the latter case. We'll know the answer in November.

DC Television

When it comes to live action adaptations, the TV side of DC actually fared much better than the tumultuous DC Films. Even shows that wasn't a hit like "Legends of Tomorrow", slowly getting better and became a favorite. Not saying I'm a fan nor avid follower to those shows though. I'm just fully acknowledging that they are indeed, the more favorable ones. Especially when compared to Marvel TV's products. As each The CW shows had their own panel, a new cool-looking mashup trailer for them was released during SDCC 2017. One show that was included in it, is their upcoming adaptation of "Black Lightning", set to debut in 2018.

Ironically, Black Lightning has been publicly confirmed to be its own thing, and not part of the Arrowverse. So general audience seeing this trailer, might be getting the wrong idea about it. As for my impression on this new show? Well, superhero SHOW's fatigue aside, it's getting more and more clear that this show is definitely not my cup of tea. Not saying it's bad, the concept and overall look felt just about right. It's definitely in the standard of other The CW superhero shows. I just didn't feel a personal connection to warrant a regular viewing for it. After all, I'm more of an animated guy...

Speaking of animated, the "Young Justice" Q&A panel debuted the official character designs for the much-anticipated 3rd season. The season will be officially titled "Young Justice: Outsider", and the concept art includes Static, Kid Flash, Robin, Wonder Girl, Spoiler, Blue Beetle, Arrowette, Arsenal, Beast Boy, and a new character named Thirteen. The absence of several characters from Season 2 will surely make some fans wonder, and co-creator Brandon Vietti reassured that characters like Aqualad, Miss Martian, and Superboy won't be completely absent since they are still part of the DC Universe.

Vietti also confirmed that the series, planned to be 26 episodes in total, will be streamed in a separate channel, not on Cartoon Network like several existing DC shows. "There’s more creative room here for more adult themes and more sophisticated and challenging stories for our characters", he said. It's still unclear what form will this stand-alone DC only streaming take. But I'm sure we'll be hearing about it in the near future.

X-Men Universe

I believe the upcoming X-Men series "The Gifted" had a panel during SDCC 2017. That's because a new trailer has debuted for the show. But since I couldn't care less about it, I won't be talking about it.

Instead, I'll talk about FX's "LEGION" instead. First season for the Dan Stevens' starring mini series, was a huge hit. Even I have to admit, that I didn't see it coming. Showrunner Noah Hawley and the cast were present at Ballroom 20 for their panel, and of course talked about the upcoming Season 2. Saïd Taghmaoui, who was featured in the WB's "Wonder Woman" movie, has been announced to be playing another 'face' of Amahl Farouk, a.k.a. Shadow King. In the first season, this supernatural entity (I don't recall that he's a mutant, no, but I could be mistaken) was played by both actress Aubrey Plaza, and Stevens himself, since he's part of David Haller's consciousness. It's going to be interesting to see how Farouk cooks up his creepy plot in the new season, especially because he's getting a new form. We'll just have to wait and see the 10-episodes sequel when it arrives in 2018.

NOTE: By the way, I didn't consider this to be a Marvel talk, since it's developed and produced by FOX. Yes, the characters are Marvel's, but we all know that FOX never really cared about source material, right?

Netflix

No Marvel talk here either, so expect the category to be more... brief. LOL. Also, it's the reason why this category gets bumped down a few notch than usual. Though definitely not because it's lacking by all means.

The first full-length official trailer for "Stranger Things" Season 2 was debuted through their SDCC 2017 panel. And great goodness, things weren't looking good. I mean, in the show, due to Noah Schnapp's Will Byers death-defying experience in the "Upside Down". As many of us had suspected, Will's return to the real world might not be a good idea. Instead, it's likely he's opening up a gateway for more creatures from the supernatural place to visit and 'invade' the real world. CREEPY af!!! The panel itself could be seen as a success, with Patton Oswalt moderating, and Shannon Purser making a delightful surprise visit.

That suspenseful trailer did a really good job teasing the developments of the characters. We see pretty much everyone, including the new cast members like Paul Reiser's Dr. Owens, Dacre Montgomery's Billy, Sadie Sink's Mad Max, and others, as well as fan-favorite Millie Bobby Brown's Eleven who wrapped the video by discovering a way out... or should I say 'way back' to the real world. Go Eleven! Series creator the Duffer Brothers had promised the new season to be 'Bigger, Darker, Scarier' and it really showed. They had already mapped out the series end game, which could be even bigger than this, so that's certainly saying much. "Stranger Things" Season 2 arrives on October 27th, 2017, and obviously I can't wait to see it.

"Voltron Legendary Defender" also had its own separate panel, with producers Joaquim Dos Santos and Lauren Montgomery, as well as voice actors Bex Taylor-Klaus and Tyler Labine making their appearances. Aside from debuting the official trailer for Season 3 (possibly the reason why it wasn't available in the official channel before), the team also announced voice actor A. J. Locascio as the voice of new antagonist Prince Lotor. Lotor will have four half-galra female generals as his aides. First episode of Season 3 was premiered exclusively for SDCC attendees.

The panel confirmed that the 7-episodes Season 3 will arrive on August 4th, 2017. That's a strange number, huh? I wonder if several episodes will be... I don't know, 50 minutes or more? Remember, the first season was only 11 episodes, but its first episode had the duration of 3 episodes. So in total, it was still 13 episodes like Season 2! Anyhoo, what I didn't expect was, the event also confirmed that a 4th season will arrive much much sooner than expected, in October 2017! I'm curious to why it's announced so early? Could it be... the final season? Hmmm...

Overall, Netflix had a generally successful presence throughout the event. Even if cult-favorite "Sense8" was a no-show despite its much applauded finale renewal, and David Ayer's "Bright" had mixed reception, the other panels were considered to be a win. They are taking over Hall H this year, and who knows what will happen next year and so on. One particular highlight was of course Marvel's "The Defenders". But since it's Marvel-related, that's a story for another day... or to be precise, another post!

One Piece

Now this is a news that would get any anime fans feeling... mixed. Mixed as in, a joy with a hint of concern, or anger with a touch of delight. It's your call.

Yahoo! Japan (via ComicBook.com) reported that... we'll be getting a live action Hollywood TV show for Eiichirou Oda's "One Piece" series!!! It was officially announced during the manga's 20th anniversary. Yay, or nay, I'm sure this will make you speechless. In one side, the cast of One Piece is as global as it can get, so having international cast would be VERY fitting compared to Japanese actors who pretend like they are foreigners. But on the other hand... seriously? This is a big title that requires massive special effects, particularly characters with the effects of those Demon Fruits. Don't forget the numerous islands, with their own quirky colorful inhabitants that hints towards huge production cost for makeup and costume. Can a TV show, with a really limited budget pull it off such tremendous challenge?

Marty Adelstein is set to be in charge, and Tomorrow Studios will be working on it. And this is where things get more... concerning. Adelstein is also the one working on that "Cowboy Beebop" TV Hollywood adaptation! And he even has already boasted... er, I mean admitted that this adaptation will be the most expensive TV shows ever made in the US. "I have been a fan of One Piece for 20 years. It is an honor to be entrusted with such an important work by Shueisha and Mr. Oda. I am enthusiastic to give my all to make One Piece succeed. I think this project could set a new record for the highest production cost in television drama history. The work's worldwide fame merits this scale of production.", was his official statement. Confident, but knowing the rating system and stingy budget of US networks, will this approach even work? He hasn't even proven his worth with "Cowboy Beebop", how can he be so bold about a more difficult one like this?

Thankfully, Oda has officially expressed that he has taken a great amount of time to consider this. So basically, he has given his seal of approval. His promise to not let down his fans, is definitely reassuring. Beside, Oda is notorious for speaking out if he's not pleased. Which means, as soon as he's not 'feeling it', I'm sure he'll immediately pull the plug. Thus the franchise is saved! LOL.

Professor Layton

"Layton's Mystery Journey: Katrielle and the Millionaires' Conspiracy" has been released last week! Have you played the game? Before you ask, nope, I personally haven't. Sure, it's available on iOS and Android for worldwide release, but unlike "Layton Brothers: Mistery Room", it's not free. So of course I haven't had the chance (nor money) to play it. Ahahaha... ^^;. Its Nintendo 3DS version is also currently only available in Japan, so there's that.

Thankfully, western fans who are holding out for an English 3DS version, can now rest at ease. LEVEL-5 has officially announced that it will be available very soon, in October. That's good news, albeit a bit odd considering the iOS and Android version have already been made available in foreign language. Why would it require 3 months to transfer the finished product to a 3DS cartridge, right? Oh well, the important thing is, you only to be patient just a few more months to experience Katrielle's adventure in your region-locked 3DS! Good for you...

Of course, if you don't want to wait that long, don't forget! The full version (consisting of 12 complete cases, and the entire set of additional mini games), and not some random scaled-down clone is already available on the App Store and Google Play for $15.99. Just make sure you cleared up the proper space on your smartphone before you download, okay! Because I have a feeling the size is going to be preeeetty BIG.

Sonic the Hedgehog

That cool-looking new antagonist for "Sonic Force" that was teased by SEGA last month? He has been given his own reveal trailer, as well as his own theme music! Yes, Infinite, is just one of the villains that Classic, Modern, and Custom Sonic will have to deal in this game. But there's no doubt that he's definitely the coolest of them all. At least for yours truly. "Sonic Forces" will be released this holiday for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, and PC.

Street Fighter

Three more character costumes have been made available for "Street Fighter V". Ibuki, Laura, and Rashid have received sports-themed alternate costume, and they should have been released alongside the latest update on July 25th. CAPCOM announced this on their "Street Fighter 30th Anniversary" panel at SDCC 2017. Ibuki got a volleyball-themed costume, while both Rashid and Laura got football-inspired ones, all available alongside a new DLC character Abigail. Visit Gematsu to see their individual pricing.

ARIKA

The company debuted 50 minutes worth of gameplay from their... 'Mysterious Fighting Game'. It's available online via their official channel. Seeing EX characters like Garuda, Hokuto/Shirase, and Kairi is nostalgic and all, but I can't help but feel that the whole gameplay looks... 'rough around the edges'. The design was a bit blocky, somewhat "Street Fighter IV" inspired, and the movement wasn't as smooth as the "Tekken" series. Even the first version of "The King of Fighters XIV" looked nicer somehow. But this new title is expected to be released next year, so the company still have plenty of time to work on the visuals and controls. Here's hoping we'll get clearer idea of what this is all about in the near future.

Repayment

Fandom: Batman

Rating: K

Warnings: None.

Characters: Bruce Wayne/Batman, Edward Nygma/Riddler.

Relationships: Riddler/Batman (Pretty One-Sided tho...)

Description: Edward Nygma has a proposition for Batman.

Extra Notes: Happy Valentines Day!

Batman hated when his job put him in positions like this. Positions where he was forced to work or make deals with one of his many enemies. It was a painful enough experience to do that… but he had to say there was new level of pain added to it all when the criminal he had to strike a deal with was Edward Nygma, aka the Riddler, who was arguably one of the most annoying rogues he had to deal with on a somewhat regular basis, which was saying a lot.

But as he constantly lectured Tim on a daily basis, sometimes a man had to do something he really didn’t want to do if it meant getting a job done. Edward was obnoxious, sure, but he was also incredibly smart and had loads of connections and information on practically every corner of Gotham, which Batman needed right now.

Harley Quinn was out and about again and he needed to know where she could be hiding so he could collect her and place her back in her cell at Arkham. Much to his dismay though, she had gotten a lot craftier lately and she had gotten a lot better at covering her tracks compared to when she first started her criminal career. She had proven that even with Joker gone and God knows where, she could handle a crime syndicate on her own. Honestly, he hadn’t expected much of her criminal career when Joker fell off the radar. He supposed this was in a way karma for underestimating one of his rogues. They always managed to be full of surprises.

Unfortunately for her though, crafty or not, even she couldn’t hide from all of Riddler’s feelers. Batman didn’t know how the man managed to recruit as many people as he did with so many various backgrounds. Most rogues, when getting henchmen, would usually stick to thugs and skilled gunmen who were looking for any excuse to hurt people while getting paid for it. Those like Oswald Cobblepot, Joker, or Two-Face, who had a bit of extra cash lining their pockets could afford to even hire a mercenary or two. Occasionally they managed to lure in a psychopathic engineer or two, but they kept things simple with their hired help. Don’t get him wrong, he knew from personal experience that Edward had quite a few thugs and gunmen and stuff himself in his little army. However, his reach was much larger than just that. Riddler’s reach spread all across the job market: fast food employees, businessmen, rocket scientists, strippers… anyone could become a Riddler spy or employee it seemed.

Batman knew he could spend several months trying to weed through all of Riddler’s employees and he would never come close to catching them all. Unlike other rogues, Riddler’s employees weren’t always decked out in lime-green or sticking out like peacocks amongst a crowd of people. No, they were subtle and nearly invisible. Chances were, Harley herself had probably unknowingly hired a couple of Riddler moles and snitches herself. Even if she didn’t (which was statistically unlikely), Riddler no doubt knew where she was. He had monitors everywhere both above and below Gotham. Every time Batman knocked out the servers, the Riddler would just seem to fix it again. The man always seemed to want to know what everyone in Gotham was doing.

If Harley was in Gotham still, Riddler knew where she was, and seeing as he had no other leads to go on (every clown on the street he beat up either had no idea where she was holed away, simply taking orders from a messenger he had yet to catch, or were just simple street thugs wanting to carry on the Joker moniker now that he was gone), he unfortunately found himself having to rely on Riddler’s knowledge base.

But even though he knew he had to put the citizens of Gotham over his own pride, that didn’t make this any situation less frustrating… especially when Edward looked so smug, like a cat who caught the canary. A part of him was already itching to connect his fist into Edward’s nose or teeth… but he had to be mature.

“So that’s how you heroes play, huh? You criticize and demonize my methods all until you suddenly need me… and then you come crawling over to me begging me to help you and conveniently forget the fact you’ve physically assaulted me multiple times and-”

“Can it, Nygma, are you helping me or not?” Batman interjected, annoyance coating his gruff voice. He knew once Edward got started, he could ramble on for a surprisingly long time and Batman would rather spare himself from the monologue full of insults about his apparent lack of intelligence and brutish nature. He saw a look of anger flicker through Edward’s green eyes and for a moment, Batman was actually afraid he might’ve made the man mad enough to refuse his offer, and then immediately got disgusted that he had to feel that way. He hated having to feel dependent on a rogue.

Of course, if Riddler refused, he could do tracking of his own, but it could take quite a while before he got a satisfactory answer and by that time, Harley might execute her plan and slaughter people. Batman really didn’t want to live with the guilt that his pride was what caused people to die.

Thankfully, Riddler merely said, “Still rude as ever i see, Batman. No matter… I will agree to help you… under one condition of course!” Puffing out his chest he said, “We are enemies after all! I expect a form of repayment of some kind as-”

“I am not doing any dirty work for you, Nygma. I am not willing to become a pawn in your silly games,” Batman ground out immediately. He knew coming here was a mistake…

Edward immediately raised his hands up and hurriedly said, “No, no! It’s nothing like that! What I want is-”

“I’m not bringing you along either for the job,” Batman said, cutting him off once more. For some reason, Edward seemed obsessed with tagging along on missions at times. Batman couldn’t tell if the man was simply bored or if he was just wanting to study Batman’s methods so he could use them against him but-

Riddler’s face was red as a tomato at this point from frustration and anger. Fists clenched, he snapped, “If you would shut your trap for a second, then you would find out I don’t want that either. Geez… and you people say I have the blabbermouth…”

Batman was already wanting to leave, but he had to admit, he was curious on just what Riddler was wanting now. Riddler hadn’t been causing any trouble since his release from Arkham… at least none that Batman could beat him up and throw him back for… but perhaps Riddler giving him an idea of what he wanted, then he could get an angle on him and what he was planning. So, forcing himself to stay grounded, he said, “So what is it exactly that you’re wanting then, Edward?”

Edward’s face morphed from an expression of frustration to a grin of excitement that was so intense that Batman couldn’t help but feel somewhat disconcerted. What did the scrawny rat want? Raising a gloved index finger up, Edward declared, “What I want Dark Knight in return for my services is… a kiss.”

Batman couldn’t say he found himself struck speechless all that often… but that had certainly did it. Part of him wondered if what he had heard was even real. He discreetly pinched himself on the leg to confirm with himself that he was indeed awake and this was not some weird, surreal dream. Edward was still there clearly feeding on his reaction smugly and he did not awaken.

He always had somewhat of an inkling of an idea that Edward for some reason harbored some feelings for him. He wasn’t blind. As mentioned before, the man seemed to be making extra efforts to tag along on missions. When he wasn’t doing that and Edward was doing his usual habit of causing trouble, Batman noticed that the man seemed trying harder to impress him in a way… as if seeking approval in a way. He supposed that was better than Edward trying to squash him with a giant compressor or something. Even when they had confrontations, he saw Edward attempt to be more chatty than usual.

And he still refused to bring up the time Edward had used his riddles and traps to wine and dine him.

He had seen all the signs beforehand, but they had all been subtle enough to easily disregard. He never expected Edward to go the full on blatant route. Batman kept hoping for Edward to start laughing and reveal that this had all been one big joke and say what he really wanted… but the man was showing no signs of it being one.

Maybe this was an elaborate trap. Maybe Pamela Isley and Edward had teamed up and she gave him a lip balm full of mind-control particles and…

Okay, even he knew he was stretching there.

At worst, he could see Riddler doing this to humiliate him in front of the Rogues Gallery or Gotham or something… but even that was slim seeing as he knew Edward would much prefer to do that in an intellectual manner instead. Plus, if he was the one being kissed, he would get just as much backlash and reaction so he didn’t see how this would benefit him that much at all. Even if Edward simply spread it around… who would believe him? Certainly not the citizens of Gotham who saw him as a looney… and certainly not the rogues who probably had seen Edward get punched around by him plenty of times.

So for right now, he could only assume Edward was being honest with what he wanted.

Why did such things have to happen to him?

“Oh come on Dark Knight, you’re not going to really deny practically free information that can save the lives of thousands just because you have to kiss little ol’ me, right?” Edward crooned, clearly enjoying seeing him squirm. Batman’s jaw clenched. Much as he hated to admit it, Edward had a point and if that is what it took.

“Fine. Deal. But you give me the information first and only AFTER I find Quinzel and capture her will I… do that.”

“Oh wow… no fun, I see… but fine. So long as you keep to your promise. You should have your information by tomorrow.” Edward said, holding out his hand, grin still plastered on his face.

Batman grudgingly shook it, wondering if he just unknowingly stepped into something more.

OKAY, SO THIS IS JUST ANOTHER RANDOM BLOG POST. i dont care if other people read it or not, meh.

2021. I have surpassed a year of isolation, self criticism and paranoia. I'm not gonna lie, being in a same routine for almost 24/365 had been tough. I almost always thought of suicide even though I love my life. Its just that my mind is the fucker of my whole mental health. What mind cant do, right? Ive been self criticizing myself over some mistake that I am constantly making and also I always make second thoughts that make other people feel like criminals. Always assuming that everyone's gonna kill me because of my lashing out and coarse response.

Too OA right? Maybe I should go see a therapist you thought? Well I also think I have develop agoraphobia. (Fear of new environment). This fucked up life. This fucked up mind.

With my strong will to live still intact, I thought maybe if I find my self worth and also take time to know myself then I would be out of this degrading mindset.

I have searched quizzes for self discovery and 16personalities.com showed up. When I first take this test I resulted to INTP. Then I thought of myself as one for almost 4 mos? Then I read the description again, like being INTP is bullshit. This is nothing like me. Then I answered the question again only to find out that I am INFP. Then I was so happy since I thought of Feeling as something I was all about compare to thinking. I thought that this is only a simple test to take and then I move on to the next. But having to know my MBTI type and still experience life as a fuck up, I got obsessed. I researched more of what INFPs all about. Then I have bumped into the cognitive functions. Dont get me wrong, MBTI is still helpful to me right at the moment but I kinda went overboard with the whole stereotyped being labeled as a personality type kinda thing.

After further and further readings and articles about the INFPs Ive found myself slowly falling more deep into the oblivion. I have never seen myself more damaged than I was before. I have thought that this MBTI is a self discovery quiz to finally understand my shortcomings and why Im feeling myself. I spent my whole 2020 being my own therapist, with MBTI as a basis and yet it fucked me more and more. I think because of this, I would slowly transition to insanity. Because of doubt about the accuracy of what INFPs are in general comparing to the anatomy of my identity, I have retaken mbti online test a gajillion times. Until I have resulted to ISTJ. I thought by that time it was ACCURATE. But then again the feeling is only temporary, being this 'type' had me exhausted; like I was just mimicking it since I read about how accurate it was being ISTJ not knowing that Im only role playing. Then I took the test again, only to find out Im an ISTP, then INTJ, then ESTJ and finally back to INFP—its bullshit.

MBTI is not 100% accurate and also fault in my part, I used it wrong. MBTI was just suppose to define what COGNITIVE functions I use and thats that. The whole INFP bohemian, INFP healer, INFP pure and empathetic should not be taken seriously. If a 16personalities blog says that INFPs are meant to change the world with their values then the world wouldve been a euthopia by now. That is just too much. The description on what it does actually brain wash us to think that the people who have taken the exam should adhere to that definition since they got that as a result in the first place. I take self discovery personally and through psychoanalytical theories its just not the proper way.

Despite the bad effect of the stereotypes and taking it seriously, its did still give me something to enlighten me on some parts of my identity. Cognitive functions.

Before I use to read my cognitive functions and it came to the point that I doubt being an INFP because Fi is like a child that just dreams and would not survive in the real world (as I said, stereotyped). But if you would just read it at a more surface level understanding, I would want to put my 2 cents on the fact that I actually use these. Fi-Ne-Si-Te. Not in a way how a blog post defines it but how it actually plays a part on using the mind. I have learned that I use Fi not because I put worth on what I am FEELING at the moment, but because I use to base my judgements on what I believe is truth. That belief doesn't come from nowhere, from the moment I was born I pick up experiences from the outside and what it fruits happens to he my belief and I sincerely use that as a MAIN function of being PAULINE. I am quite stubborn on what I believe in since it had been proven and tested through EXPERIENCE. Which is gonna be my second function Ne. My Ne for now is unused because of the situation (covid and family business). Although I feel secured and practical (Si), i still think that what I experience at the moment should give me valuable lessons because I am still working externally although (Se). About my Te I am still working on that. For me that is my immature part of myself.

If you read about it you would think this post is ironic. I hate MBTI but I also use it. No. What I just hate is the MISDIRECTION of blog posts that commercialise MBTI for the sake of business. (Typing services, full report subscription/availment). Just because of Fi being value based doesnt make you a samaritan or a humanitarian. Just because you are Ne doesnt mean you are just the class clown or a maybe crazy person. Si doesnt mean being conservative. Te doesnt equate to being in corporate or one of those politicians. Its just the Objective definition to be fit in a classification of personalities. Not your own identity. Look at Adolf Hitler, he is an INFJ but it is said that INFJs are advocates for the betterment of humanity not for the destruction of it, but still it stays on the course right?

As what I have said MBTI is not the devil here, I think just of the link between self worth—self identity—mbti is not right. But its just my opinion. If you are not serious about finding self worth thingy and just wanted to know bits of yourself for the sake of fun and trivia then go do that. But for us with existential problems and detoriarated self worth MBTI should just be taken lightly.

Will of SEFG

Introduction

I thought this particular Friday would be any ordinary interview. Nothing too extravagant, your simple interview involving a male rapper who resides in the Philadelphia area. Since I have previously experienced interviewing musicians on my college radio show, I was ready for the basics. Our schedules continued to conflict, so when we got the chance to finally meet up the time was pushing 10pm. He came to my apartment, sat on my roommate’s bed while I saw on my mattress looking directly towards him. The room gave off dim lighting, like a cafe scene somewhere in downtown Philly. Comfortable. That’s the vibe I was pushing for. I’ve had the opportunity to work with Will SEFG in other inquiries not related to music. From clowning around at our campus job, to combining our crews for a good harmful turn up. Yes I knew Will, but I had no clue who Will SEFG was. One passing I’ve received links to music videos, and singles. I wasn’t clueless to his passion of music. This boy has great talent, there’s nothing denying that.

My goal is comprehend how his journey of music truly became his light into spreading positivity. Even though I knew this artist personally, I still had my doubts. Was this going to be a bull crap interview where he tells me the bare minimum essentials to get by. Would have to pull all the scraps together to conduct a well written dope master piece? Frankly, I was proven wrong. During this interview I gained a cutting-edge appreciation of the grind of an upcoming African American superstar.

Will SEFG had a calm approach to him. To give the interview a sense of dramatic effect, I played late 90s-early 2000s hip hop music in the background. I felt like it was only appropriate. Why not set the tone with a little legendary tunes from the late Notorious B.I.G.  One of the many Fathers of Hip Hop. Could I be sitting across from someone who has the potential to follow in the big footsteps?

Not wasting any time, I dove right into the interview. I asked Will to explain his upbringing in one single world? He chuckled and took a few seconds to put his history in a forceful response. “Challenging” I then followed up by saying if this word was meant to be taken in a negative or positive connotation. He replied, “Good thing because me having to face those challenges and dodging stuff that I shouldn’t be doing. Showed me how to stay out of trouble and keep my head on straight.” Born and raised in Chester, PA Will had many opportunities to turn off the right track in life.

Relationship With Family

Digging a little bit deeper into the subject, Will tells me he had a strong role model in his life, that many boys in his generation did not have. His father. Right away when he mentions his dad he could tell the close relationship that is there. “It was always love in my household and I think that helped me to get where I am today and where I’m trying to be.” Will can remember the times when his father would take him to basketball games and by him popcorn and other sweet snacks. His father use to talk him about girls, and even taught him how to tie his first tie as a young boy. “My father loved his sons. All three of us was his best friends. We hung out all the time with our Pops.” After Will said he started smiling and said there’s one event every year his father use to get them extremely excited for. “Every year for the NBA play-offs we knew it was about to go down in my household!” I can feel the energy Will gave off when describing the love he had for his father. Then suddenly when I asked how has his father supported his rapper dream, he quickly drew quiet and stared down at his hands. “Umm my father died from some rare form of cancer. We ain’t know he had it… it was too late when we found out.” When Will was a teenager in high school his father passed away.. Will said he didn’t remember much, and I could immediately tell it was a time in his life he didn’t want to continue to think about.. His mother was left alone to raise three maturing boys.  “My mother showed me that women are strong, like strong strong… stronger than men… at least I think so. She showed me no matter what you can probably always better your situation.”

Start of Music

I then begin to ask Will what kind of music was he introduced to as a child. What were some of the tracks he remembers his parents playing throughout the house, or in the car. He first starts out by saying “Wasn’t really a music heavy family.” but then decided to dig deeper into his memory giving me more of an answer “Good music was being played. Everything had substances. The Whispers, Temptations, Jill Scott, Erykah Badu.” When he told me the list of artist he grew up on, I took in the various talented people he named for me. All of them have a special place in African American soul music. Personally he said an artist who had a major impact on him while growing up is the living legend himself, Jay-Z. It became such an ironic moment because his 2000s music began to play as we continue our conversation. “One of my all-time favorite Jay-Z Records is ‘Feelin It’”. The record “Feelin It’ is one of the tracks from Jay-Z’s Reasonable Doubt album that was released in 1996. “...When I made my first tape I listened to Reasonable doubt probably like 20 times… I listen to any album my Dad had in the crib… there was like 6 Jay-Z Albums. Blueprint 1,2,3, I had Kingdom Come, and Black Album.” Understanding the influence Jay-Z’s music had on Will’s musical exploration, I started to notice similarities. Will of SEFG is the type of rapper who enjoys a good time, yet knows how to tell a story and show vulnerability if needed.. Jay-Z had the same writing style, especially in his projects created at the beginning of his career.

The Come Up

Famous rappers are known to start rapping at a very young age. Usually dropping bars in school, for family members or even out on the corner in front of their local papi store. Will entered into the rap culture differently. So different that some might not take his hunger for the craft seriously. He started truly developing his craft last year. “When I released the last mixtape. 2016.”  In 2016 Will of SEFG released his first official EP Waves.Vibes.Tings with his friend Coast. 10 songs, arranged in a specific storytelling order. He mentioned this friend of his named, Coast. Was Will in a group like OutKast, or Kid N’ Play? When I questioned this he quickly set the record straight in a humorous matter.

Will is apart of a movement called “Strive Every Day For Greatness,” He then continues “It’s a group of young black men from the city of Chester.” The acronym was inspired by his father. Since that moment Will and his team has been rocking with it ever since.

Basically, Will and his friend Coast are apart of this movement that’s why they both have the titles of “Will of SEFG” and “Coast of SEFG”. They both decided to do a collaboration project where they both feature songs together, but still release individual singles on the same EP. Boom! Now it makes sense, no Beastie Boys effect, simply Will x Coast.

I can tell Will that nowadays the trend of millennials is to start a rap career. Especially in the Philadelphia area, there is a lot of copycats. Everyone wants to sound like the next big guy that’s popping from their city. What makes Will of SEFG unique? “I value music.” his simple response made me want more. But that’s all he could give me, that was his true answer.

While being a musician and a college student, I was curious to see how Will balanced the two. He tells me his major is Construction Management, and with his brother’s help he gets a lot of help with pushing his music career. By being his manager, Rob is always looking out and finding ways to enhance Will x Coast’s musical talents. Having a strong foundation is essential in getting your brand out there. Especially with social media becoming super essential in today’s society.

SEFG Clothing & Charity

Later, I found out that SEFG is not your average team, like Cash Money or G.O.O.D. Music. Yes, they make music for their generation to kick it too, but the also have a clothing line that expresses their brand as well. From hats to crewnecks the SEFG team does a dope job at creating trendy attire for men and women. I guess it wouldn’t hurt to listen to their music while wearing the “Spruce Green ‘striveGreatness” cap, right?

That’s not all! SEFG has multiple charity programs that gives back to the city where Will and his boys grew up. He says he remembers growing up and nobody doing anything like that for him and his homies. That’s why they now have bookbag drives, water ice giveaways and even Christmas toy drive for students who bring their report card in. His humbleness spoke volumes, it drew me closer to want to know about the cause.. How the children responded to their generous acts from men who look like them.

“The adults are very proud of what we are doing, and the kids just smile. They come from a city that is not too passionate so we don’t expect kids to say thank you.”

Future of SEFG

Will believes he has grown a lot from this time last year until now. He wants to continue to perfect his craft, one area at a time. In 10 years he sees himself, owning his own record label making SEFG way bigger than it is now. He also pictures himself owning his late father’s old carpentry business with his brothers. With having hopes of one day collaborating with Erykah Badu, or even Jill Scott. When Will, a 6’4 rapper, who doesn’t show that much soul tells me who his dream collaboration would be with, I couldn’t help but squint my eyes and tilt my head to the side.

“Why are they your dream collaboration?” I questioned, stunned by his answer.

“I want that old school vibe that people will enjoy.”