#this has just been plaguing my mind since i made that post about the frankenstein doctor who au

[franken-loser]

The idea of henry as the 10th doctor finding victor about to marry elizabeth (or probably someone else, elizabeth might be odd) "runaway bride" style and yk the person victor was about to marry is actually the empress and victor falls in love with henry OH AND HENRY CLERVAL IS THE JOHN SMITH OF THIS AU AAGRHAGR and its silly silly funny because henry was victors nurse and henry is the doctor AND THE DOCTOR WOULD FINALLY GINGER GUYS PLEASE DO YOU SEE IT DO YOU SEE IT

Guys please do you see it, it would be so funny

[passionate-reply]

This time on Great Albums, I talk about an album that actually isn’t older than I am for a change! Enter the spooky, haunted forest of The Knife with me, and find out why it was Pitchfork’s Album of the Year in 2006! Full transcript after the break.

Welcome to Passionate Reply, and welcome to Great Albums! Today, I’ll be tackling an album that’s more recent than anything I’ve done on Great Albums before, but it’s still old enough to start being considered a classic: The Knife’s Silent Shout, released in 2006, and hence seeing its fifteenth birthday in 2021. Silent Shout is a bit special to me, insofar as it was an album I loved as a teenager, back when it was still pretty new, and it was probably the first album I really fell in love with that wasn’t significantly older than I was. I was quite surprised when I eventually learned just how beloved Silent Shout is among music aficionados. This album has been lauded in critical circles, recommended as a “patrician” essential, and even considered one of the greatest electronic albums of all time! So, what’s the fuss about?

Before Silent Shout, The Knife were significantly closer to a conventional electronic pop duo. Their biggest claim to fame was the track “Heartbeats,” which scored some exposure after a cover of it was featured in a TV ad.

Music: “Heartbeats”

I like to think that “Heartbeats” contains the seeds of what’s great about Silent Shout, with its grinding synth backing and vocalist Karin Dreijer’s affecting wail. But its indie-pop brightness is something distinctively absent from their follow-up. Contrary to what might’ve been expected from an up-and-coming pop act, the sibling duo hunkered down in the studio and set about making something stranger and more exotic. On the technical front, they stripped the production down to its bare essentials, using just digital rhythms and two synthesisers to achieve everything we hear on the album. Stylistically, they took their sound into moody, atmospheric territory, imbuing it with this eerie, claustrophobic ambiance. It’s the musical equivalent of Frankenstein emerging from Mary Shelley’s mind, while the dreary “Year Without a Summer” had poisoned the world around her.

Music: “Silent Shout”

The title track here is also the opener, and introduces us to the frightful world of Silent Shout without mercy. This track is dominated by a powerful contrast of sound: low, thrumming bass, and these quick, but delicate and meandering synth arpeggios, carrying a distinctively Scandinavian flair. This bewitching synthesis of musical ideas makes sense in light of the diverse influences of the two siblings who made up The Knife: Instrumentalist Olaf Dreijer was strongly influenced by dance styles like house, trance, and progressive techno, as well as ambient electronic music, whereas vocalist Karin Dreijer was interested in guitar-based popular music, as well as the distinctive folk traditions of their native Sweden. Not unlike the Pet Shop Boys, they’ve got a wide gap between their influences, but that only serves to intensify the uniqueness of their work, which strikes listeners in a way the constituent musical parts of its heritage never could. Perhaps the most significant sonic feature of the album, though, is the extreme electronic distortions of Karin Dreijer’s voice.

Music: “One Hit”

If raw and everymannish vocals make music feel more in line with our everyday reality, the shocking and monstrous ones on *Silent Shout* render it a truly otherworldly work of art. While many people are quick to decry the “fakeness” of electronically mediated vocals--despite the fact that all art is, of course, artificial--I think Silent Shout proves, more boldly than anything else, just how uniquely powerful this musical tool can be in the right hands. Once you get past the sheer sonic force of the vocals, and their peculiar, skin-crawling timbres, you’ll find that most of the lyrical subject matter is actually painfully quotidian. “One Hit,” for instance, is told from the perspective of an all-too-normal “monster”: a domestic abuser, extracting and enforcing femininity and domestic servitude through the force of violence, dealing in “one hit, one kiss.” Sex, gender, and exploitation based upon them are among the album’s most central themes, and expressed harrowingly on tracks like “Na Na Na”:

Music: “Na Na Na”

Perhaps moreso than any other track on the album, “Na Na Na” is rendered borderline incomprehensible by vocal treatment--a trait magnified by its obviously meaningless title and chorus. But “Na Na Na” does have real lyrics, which tell the story of a life mediated by reproductive anatomy, defined by the rhythm of menstruation, coming from within, and the constant fear of sexual violence from without. It’s a tale of hidden anxiety, and experiences that go unseen and unspoken despite how common they are, making the haze of inscrutability laid over them all the more poignant. It’s clear that these issues are of high importance to Karin Dreijer, who has publicly described themself as “genderqueer,” despite both members of the band being remarkably sparing with all personal details. In another of the most striking vocal performances on the album, “We Share Our Mother’s Health,” Dreijer even gets to sing a duet with themself, and embody two distinct characters at once.

Music: “We Share Our Mother’s Health”

“We Share Our Mother’s Health” can be read in the light of gender and sex dynamics, as well, particularly if you’re willing to read its twin narrators as representations of masculinity and femininity. Personally, though, I think that’s a bit too easy, and really, a bit too cisnormative. I think the album is more interesting if we embrace the fundamental uncertainty of identity, and the transgressive queerness of it all. That said, I prefer to think of ���We Share Our Mother’s Health” as a piece about capitalism--the endless toiling and scrounging for more material comfort and security, and the emptiness left behind when that proves to be no pathway towards true happiness. Besides, it’s not like sexism and the class struggle don’t feed off of each other in the end. This track’s sense of cacophony, with voices nearly battling to drown each other out, shows its more strident, aggressive, and downright angry side, which it delivers as powerfully as it does those moody atmospheres.

Silent Shout is the perfect title for this album, given its emphasis on voicing internal and private laments that go unheard--and voicing them with this terrifying sense of primal scream catharsis. While I initially wasn’t overly fond of the album art, it’s grown on me a bit now that I’ve seen it blown up to a larger size. This central disc shape is certainly evocative of a record or a CD, and its industrial-looking lattice structure, with a mottled, grimey-looking texture, helps conjure the impression of machine-age ennui.

I think a lot of the enduring appeal of Silent Shout is its sense of mystery. A lot of that mystery is deliberately crafted iconoclasm, and part of the art--while promoting the album, The Knife were photographed wearing sinister, elaborate beaked “plague doctor” masks, and their live performances from this period shrouded the band in darkness to obfuscate their appearances. They’ve refused to accept awards for their music or attend award ceremonies, including one memorable incident in which they sent costumed representatives of feminist organisation Guerrilla Girls in their stead. After Silent Shout, the duo created an opera based on Charles Darwin’s The Origin of Species in 2009, and released one more studio album in 2013: Shaking the Habitual.

Music: “A Tooth For an Eye”

Shaking the Habitual received mixed reviews, and so far, has proven to be the siblings’ final work together, though they remain active as musicians independently, with Karin Dreijer recording under the moniker “Fever Ray.” Part of the great myth of Silent Shout is the fact that nothing else in their discography really quite approaches its specific sound, and sharp precision of conceptual focus. It’s like the album is tailor made to stand perfectly alone, outside of context, perhaps even outside of genre.

For many of us, this great legend of lightning-in-a-bottle genius is infinitely alluring. But I’ve never really bought into it too thoroughly myself. I obviously adore Silent Shout, and I think it’s a Great Album. But, unlike many people who have showered it with praise, often claiming that they don’t enjoy “electronic music” overall, I’ve always been interested in a lot of heavy, angry, creepy synthesiser-based music, and so I never thought too much of listening to this and liking it. People praise Silent Shout for being unlike anything else, but I think it sounds like a lot of post-industrial dark wave, like Attrition or Chris & Cosey, and its themes of feminist rage feel like a strong parallel to that of more recent stars of noise music such as Pharmakon and Lingua Ignota. But that’s not to devalue what Silent Shout does achieve! I think it *is* a unique album...in the way that a bat is a unique animal. Much as bats are not the only creatures who fly, but stand out for having developed that ability despite their mammalian heritage, Silent Shout doesn’t actually take direct inspiration from the earlier music it sounds the most like. It ended up there through the aforementioned eldritch alchemy, combining trance and folk and Kate Bush to get something new. That’s still something worth celebrating! Silent Shout needn’t be a perfect enigma to be a stirring masterpiece of an album.

My overall top track on Silent Shout, which I bet will be a popular choice, is “Forest Families.” It’s equal parts bleak and strangely anthemic, defined by both the unease of adapting to a plainer and harsher existence, outside the bounds of society, as well as the release that music itself provides to so many of us as we seek comfort. Since music is so important to me, I’m a real sucker for music about the importance of music, and it feels particularly well-placed on an album that’s a cathartic listen in so many ways. That about wraps this one up; thank you for watching!

Music: “Forest Families”

[anangelicday-mrwolf]

Wolfsbane : Noblesse Fanfic (post-ending)

(previous chapter)

Chapter 66 – A Solution, a Dilemma, and an Ordeal

“Just as I’d thought.” 

Upon Frankenstein’s murmur, Takio and M-21 stuck out their faces from behind him towards the papers he was holding. 

Alas, they gave up straight away as their eyes locked upon the numbers, graphs, and charts incomprehensible for their level of knowledge.

Tao, the only person they could count on to translate them into human language(?) was busy fidgeting with the machine that just printed out the papers. 

Which is why they had to wait for Frankenstein to explain. 

And they showed the generosity of waiting until Tao could bring Yuigi from the machine. 

When the subject of the tests finally arrived, Frankenstein nonchalantly raised his glasses and began his lecture. 

“Simply put, I need to take a look at your head.” 

“What?” 

“Huh?” 

“Hmm?” 

Yuigi retorted in fluster, with Takio and M-21’s bafflement resonating in the background. 

Tao’s mouth was hanging open as well, his eyes very close to popping like a pair of balloons. 

“That was meant to be literal. There’s something in your head.” 

“...So Yuri that bastard did something under Crombel’s order, when I was imprisoned at his temporary lab.” 

Yuigi scowled as hard as she could and moved her hand to her temple.

She could not remember what happened back then, her memories blurry due to pain. 

She tried scrutinizing what was left of the pieces of her memories, but she could not find any scene holding Yuri doing something to her head.

Assuming it happened when she finally succumbed to pain, Yuigi focused her gaze upon Frankenstein, demanding more details.

Flapping the papers, Frankenstein landed upon the page about in the middle and turned it around for his small audience, displaying CT and MRI pictures of Yuigi’s head. 

The pictures were not so big, but the four of them could see very clearly something was there, their vision much more superior to normal human vision. 

They could see an array of spots, each of them much more miniscule than grains of sugar, scattered in the area where her frontal lobe would be. 

“I don’t need to tell you what I want you to look at, do I?” 

“No. But what’s this? Did something get into Miss Yuigi’s head?”

“Yup. I recalibrated that machine according to my manual, and I believe Crombel planted nanochips in your head, Yuigi.” 

“Nanochips...? Are you saying all those spots are...” 

Yuigi’s body heaved, as if she were just notified that the dinner she had yesterday was infested with cockroach eggs. 

“When I...” 

Frankenstein’s lips were shut in the course of his reply. 

The pull between his lips were so natural, like the sort that would exist only between two poles of a magnet. 

Which is why no one noticed that it was not his intention to halt in the middle. 

Calming himself by fingering his glasses, Frankenstein restarted himself as smoothly as he could. 

“When I left this place, I could get my hands on several files and data on the Union. Some of them were about Union arts and crafts we weren’t aware of, including this technique that employs nanochips. Since Union's main focus was on the mastery of body modification, nanochips were not exactly the favorite from Union’s shelf of goods. But I wouldn’t say they completely disregarded this technology, since it’s on the list of items that none other than Ignes took her time and effort and resources to study.” 

“So are you saying the nanochips in my head are Ignes’s creation?”

“Either Crombel snuck away her recipe to dissect and put it back up in a fashion he prefers. Or she stole some of the ingredients he was handling.” 

“So what exactly does this thing do?” 

“Consider it a remote control to make a marionette out of its host. One of the features of this nanochip happens to be automatically appropriating the host’s control over its body when the host finds itself in mortal danger, so to make sure the host will stay alive as long as its puppeteer wants.” 

The four humans gaped at him, confusion clear on their faces, and Frankenstein continued on, probably having foreseen this. 

“Remember what happened when I had a rematch with the 1st Elder right before our final showdown against Crombel? Back then he was under Crombel’s control. He served as Crombel’s battle figure, his mind in one piece, with only minimum amount of life force left in him.” 

“...With his willpower trapped within, watching and hearing and experiencing how his body is not his...?”

Yuigi muttered, the only one who did not take part in the aforementioned battle, apart from Tao, who had had wire updates on the situation. 

The three members of the RK knew why she looked so stunned when she had nothing to do with this occasion. 

“So... You’re saying the nanochips that Yuri injected into Miss Yuigi are...” 

“They were probably the prototype of the technology Crombel used upon the 1st Elder. You said when you were fighting with that Kornel guy, you couldn’t even speak before you had an outbreak of emotions and broke free from the unwelcome disconnection of your mind from body, right? Unlike you, at least 1st Elder could offer some words to me back then.” 

“Wait a minute. The gas we fired was based on a sample of Yuigi’s DNA.” 

“So maybe all the people who went through body modification are plagued with...” 

“Oh, don’t worry. The results show that the mechanism of body appropriation derives solely from these nanochips. And as you can see, these nanochips were inserted only in specific parts of her brain. So the victims won’t turn back to pseudo-zombies.” 

“So once these nanochips are gone...” 

“You can return to who you are. I’ll soon come up with a treatment, so I’d appreciate it if you could take your time and wait.” 

Yuigi nodded in affirmation, but in reality Frankenstein knew there was no need for a treatment. 

The only thing Frankenstein had to do was to draw out just enough power he needs to destroy the nanochips within all at once. 

However, he had to coin a specific treatment for the sake of another soul who was unofficially booked for a doctor’s appointment with him. 

Another reason why Frankenstein scurried from Lukedonia upon hearing Yuigi’s symptoms from Tao. 

And something that had been poking needles into his sanity way before the QuadraNet project joined to add trouble to his side. 

‘Lord Muzaka said that during the nuclear missile incidence, his body scrammed from the site on its own. Which would most certainly mean his body saved itself from mortal danger. I bet I can find the exact same nanochips in his head as well.’ 

If he were to be honest with himself, Frankenstein was dying to use this opportunity to his benefit, to broider the front and back of the werewolf lord’s head with big, fat, angry marks from his grasp. 

‘But I have no reason to turn the entire wolfkind into my enemy, after everything that has happened. Not to mention Lunark won’t be happy if she later finds out what...’ 

At then his hand froze in the middle of its frenzied waltz across Yuigi’s test results. 

It was neither in his intention nor in his cognition, yet his thoughts darted themselves right back to Lunark before he could stop them.

In fact, he was stunned for a moment back when he mentioned Ignes’s studies, for he was reminded of the werewolf warrior who visited his island to hand the files of the noble whom he destroyed himself. 

Now that his mind summoned Lunark twice, everything he regarded he had left behind in Lukedonia – his thoughts about her, his deliberation on her, and his feelings for her – cascaded right into his heart to cause furious ripples.

He came back to Korea to seek time to himself, but seemingly fate did not want him to waste his time taking refuge. 

Towards the room that the RK and Yuigi emptied, the sound of footsteps that Frankenstein would always notice regardless of time and place drew near. 

Which was a sign that he could hide no longer. 

“Master.” 

Raizel’s face was blank despite Frankenstein’s greeting, a natural response from a non-talkative noble. 

Which was why Frankenstein momentarily lost his control over his facial profile when Raizel dispensed a verbal reply to his greeting. 

“Still afraid, are you?” 

Raizel’s words drew Frankenstein’s ears right back to Earth, the blonde man mincing his lips. 

“Frankenstein. You treasure her.” 

Raizel usually leaves others untouched in terms of their emotional states, in respect of their respective owners. 

Yet here he was, volunteering to unwrap the subject as soon as he made his arrival, especially at a time like this, which gave Frankenstein good idea of how much he had been in anguish. 

And now that the topic was out in the open with Raizel’s courtesy, Frankenstein knew somehow sneaking past this topic is not an option for him. 

Considering where he was standing at this point, he knew he should at least touch on – no, definitely put an end to this dilemma. 

“I believe you already know she treasures you just as same. You would know the colors of symphony in your hearts have been identical for a long time.” 

Frankenstein’s lips were unmoving, his tongue dormant. 

“Know I well what you dread. You must have dreaded harming Lunark even little under the influence of the Dark Spear, as Lascrea attested. Remember I of how the Dark Spear absorbed Crombel and the shards of Blood Stone to attain greatest power in its history. And with Lunark recovering from the harm caused by the Dark Spear, I can feel how haunting the guilt of your heart is.” 

“...Then you would know. You would know that is exactly why I don’t deserve to...” 

“Do you still believe you will be a harm to her?” 

As mellifluous as crimson silk was Raizel’s voice, but Frankenstein had centuries of experience with his master to pick up how his tone steeled by the smallest of the shade. 

Which is why he unconsciously began retracing the facts instead of losing his words. 

“...No. I can no longer detect Crombel or Blood Stone within the Dark Spear.” 

Frankenstein was telling the truth. 

Although he had no chance to look back on exactly what Lunark did to him, too occupied with agony while standing guard by her bed, he could feel how the Dark Spear returned to how it used to be before it absorbed Crombel and the Blood Stone. 

“Then no more is the reason for you to hesitate, is there?” 

Frankenstein was dumbstruck, the answer so very simple and clear. 

The reason why he had been staying away from those dear to him, Lunark included, was because he feared he will lose his battle of dominance against the Dark Spear and manifest as a weapon threatening them. 

His fear grew even more humongous ever since the nightmare of effigies the Dark Spear staged for him. 

But now that the Dark Spear can no longer be a nightmare for him, there was no reason for him to keep himself isolated any longer.

“What is the bidding of your heart? The choice is most definitely yours, but I have had my lessons from 820 years of sleep. Only logical for us it is to live our lives to fullest, with no regrets, during the time that is given to us. We must listen to our hearts for what they wish. We must follow the choices our hearts seek.” 

Raizel gazed at his most trusted follower, unmoving and silent. 

“I have already told you. The last thing you can save at the moment is time. So do not save your time. Use it well to look into your heart in wholesome.” 

“...Yes, sir. I shall do that.” 

Raizel, as always, did not linger after delivering all of his messages. 

Frankenstein stayed muted in solitude until he got moving; it was time to take a look at another patient he was tasked with, and Tao joined him in the middle, rather faster than what either of them expected. 

“Right now, we are the only ones tending to Mr. Jang. Now everyone at KSA knows about his betrayal, so nobody’s visiting him. Well, Sir Rael was the only one apart from us that...” 

Thanks to Tao, Frankenstein was reminded of the lesser son of the only one he could ever dub as his true friend for his life. 

Rael already left prior to his return to Korea, and being the heir of Kertias, the fastest of nobles, by now he would be officiating his homecoming in the Lord’s Hall. 

And Frankenstein heard from his team about the skirmish Rael had with none other than his own kind – with none other than a head of a noble clan. 

Tao was about to voice his concern for Rael while he was at it, but then he suddenly heard Frankenstein puffing out a ball of air. 

Did he just laugh when we’re discussing Sir Rael here?

Tao’s eyes bulged out, but Frankenstein did not let him stare at him, wiping off his face of his laughter and concern. 

‘What am I worried about? I should worry about myself. As of now, that boy will have no trouble at all.’ 

After a brief self-reprimand, Frankenstein began to strut ahead, with Tao tagging along and complaining at him to wait up. 

(next chapter)

Previously Raizel asked Lunark to take good care of Frankenstein. Now he’s telling Frankenstein to follow his heart. I didn’t plan or see this coming, but I made Raizel a matchmaker in my fic. XD As you would’ve noticed, next chapter will be featuring on Rael, through a scene that I had been dying to compose since the brainstorming stage for this fic. Stay tuned and find out how my boy is going through another growth in his career as a head of his clan!

(Edited) I just realized I posted this chapter instead of saving it as a draft - my mistake, and I’ll make sure it doesn’t happen again! My apology for whoever that got confused with the early upload!

[dlkardenal]

Everything is meaningless - The Melancholic Hero

Hey there, traveler!

Melancholic figures have been a part of literature since the classical era, although not always with the same frequency or popularity. They are dark, brooding, lost in their own world of gloom, and likely see the world with an irritatingly negative perspective. They had their peak during the 19th century, the era of romanticism, but today they tend to irritate readers and other audiences. How did they change so rapidly in such a short time? That’s what I am to find out.

Today’s post is more about my personal thoughts and deductions rather than scientific research, but I hope it’ll be just as interesting.

So, first of all, what is melancholy?

To simplify things, melancholy is a state of low mood, gloomy thoughts, and overall enerved behavior. The word came from the Greek ‘melaina chole’ meaning black bile, from an age where physicians thought behavior was dictated by four humours and their distributions in the body. Black bile caused dark thoughts, that’s where the concept originated. It often manifests as a symptom of a couple of mental conditions like depression or bipolar disorder, but it can appear in healthy individuals as well. It’s mainly a consequence of environmental effects. Some people feel melancholic from the weather, some sink into melancholy from grief or personal stress-or as we shall see, it can be a fashion wave.

The main difference between melancholy and depression is the time frame. Depression is longer, more persistent and causes deviations in the chemical composition of the body (a low level of serotonin, the “happy hormone”, or more accurately the “take a shower, eat, live like a human hormone”), while melancholy isn’t so drastic and it mostly passes after hours or days. Constant melancholy can be a sign of growing depression, but that’s a more serious condition with deeper root causes.

Melancholic heroes were made famous during the romanticism, a cultural era during the 19th century. You may remember such poets like Johann von Goethe, William Wordsworth, or perhaps more popular names like Mary Shelley, the author of Frankenstein, or Edgar Allan Poe. If you think about characters like the titular hero of The Sorrows of Young Werther, Victor Frankenstein, or Eugene Onegin from Russian literature, you can picture this hero type. They all have some sort of deep moral or emotional pain they carry with them, have a general disinterest in the normal way of life, and like other melancholic people’s company. They became extraordinarily popular, so much so that The Sorrows of Young Werther caused a wave of suicides across the world of young readers trying to mimic their hero.

If you think about why they were so popular and relatable, it all comes from the overall zeitgeist (that’s a new word I learned today, it literally means time ghost in german) of disappointment and the waning of such trifling problems as do we have enough food to eat tomorrow if we survive the plague. After the great Enlightment, people were taught not to believe in divines and churches, rather ration and science-until that hit a brick wall too. Science back then couldn’t explain everything people asked, so they were left in the void with no gods and no answers. Since the general quality of life improved, the constant fear of hunger and diseases weren’t threatening enough to take people’s minds off the topic, so they lost hope. They didn’t have answers, but they were chock full of questions. This led people to believe they will never get any answers because everything was meaningless. That, as you can imagine, can cause some serious broody mood, so people found these melancholic heroes like Werther and Onegin relatable and as such interesting to read about. It reassured them in their sorrow that everyone, even the popular literature was like them: hopeless, lost, and tired.

So, what changed that made them fall from grace?

Well, everything. Science came up with new answers, people found new sources like occultism and the big questions of life turned out not so interesting after all. Couple that with the rapid development of mental health and melancholy quickly goes out of fashion. Then the cracks start showing on these mysterious, painful heroes.

First, they are reluctant to do anything. Melancholic figures tend to avoid any responsibility, and similar to depressed people they need someone to constantly drag them through any adventure worth reading about by force. If your hero needs a kick up his ass every step of the way, it can really irritate the audience.

Second, they exclude a lot of popular tropes. This character won’t find a found family, won’t be at the wrong place at the wrong time unless that place comes to them, he probably won’t have a romantic subplot. You can’t even root for them to win, because most of the time they don’t want to. The only thing they can have is a development that takes them out of this state, but that’s a risky option. If you drag the sadness out too long, people will still see the previous problems and probably won’t care about the character enough to cheer for the development. If it’s too short, it can’t be really considered a melancholic hero’s journey because the bulk of the character’s… well… character isn’t gloomy.

My favorite modern example is Quentin from Lev Grossman’s The Magicians (who would’ve guessed, am I right?) For those of you not in the know, let me summarize. Quentin starts as a depressed teenager just before university and has no idea what to do with his life. He gets invited to a super-secret magical college where he learns to do magic, but it turns out boring. Then he gets to visit Fillory, this book’s version of Narnia he read about all his life, but that turns out shit as well. Quentin ends the book just as depressed he started, and a lot of people hate him with a passion for not being able to appreciate every nerd’s dream.

But let me tell you what saves him and this whole character type for me-it’s still relatable in a different way. As we discussed before, depression often comes with melancholy and it’s an ever-growing problem in our modern society. The most compromised age group is college students, especially at the start of their education. Enormous pressure from every front, social changes and the looming responsibilities of adulthood can damage their (well, our) mental health and personally, it felt reassuring to read about someone in a similar situation. It felt like the world didn’t turn a blind eye on my problem and I suspect I am not the only one.

How about you? Do you find these heroes intolerable? Can you relate with their constant whining and pessimism? Dou you have a favorite exception like I do? I’d love to hear about it! Until then, take care travelers.

Cheers,

Dar

[afanoftheglassscientists]

The Glass Scientist Sunday Predictions

In the middle of making a post that had absolutely no right in being so long I got derailed in farming simulating nostalgia, so I’m leaving the monstrously long post in the oven for a little longer.  It has to do with discussion of youtube channels in last page’s discussions and making a whole AU setting out of that idea.  By the time you see it we’ll have already gone to the next cool idea, but that’ll just make its appearance a nice surprise.  When will I post it? Whoooo knooooows...

Its so weird that I can still play Rune Factory 4 after getting it six years ago.  I mean, that’s a good thing right?  It always feels like I’m the last person to keep playing this small game about farming and crying about a dragon deity, so I was really happy that it was announced that it’ll be re-released on the Switch.

But wait a minute!  You’re not hear to read about my musing on my love for farming games!  You’re here to read my over-bloated predictions for tomorrow's page!  Well, worry not!  Today’s games are “Who could be?” and “Who’s gonna die?”

Tomorrows Page Predictions (Ch. 7 Pg. 31)

So there are two options here with tomorrow’s page.  Either we find out who our mysterious guest is or we don’t.  So lets not think of the infinite things we could shift to if we don’t get to the mysterious guest (Jekyll still helping Jasper, Lanyon gathering info, Frankenstein escaping, ect.) and just think on the one question that’s been plaguing us. 

WHO COULD BE!?

A Non-Character Specific Being That Represents a Hidden Emotion Within Jekyll’s Consciousness

A Manifestation of the potion that separated Hyde from Jekyll and is seeking to maintain its being so long as Hyde and Jekyll are separate sentient entities.

A part of Hyde’s consciousness similar to Fake! Lanyon being a specific part of Jekyll’s consciousness, seeking to help Hyde take control.

An entirely new character that Hyde may recognize as someone he (and by default Jekyll) know but we don’t.

An entirely new character neither we nor Hyde/Jekyll know and the mystery deepens as to why there’s an apparent stranger in someone else’s mind.

Bad Boy Jekyll (Hyde - “nice”)

Bad Boy Lanyon (Hyde - “an improvement”)

Morcant, but slightly hotter (Hyde - “NICE”)

Hyde, but way hotter (Hyde - “N I C E”)

Rachel, but with more knives

Frankenstein!?

JASPER!? (haha kidding kidding)

General Story Predictions.  

For general predictions I thought I’d take it easy and just think about who, if any, are going to be in for a painful death.  You know, fun predictions hahaha.

Lanyon

Since the original story had him die after witnessing Jekyll’s transformation it makes it hard to argue against the chance of him dying here.  But this isn’t just a re-telling of the original story.  That means...he could die in a multitude of other ways!  Like Hyde could actually kill him.  He’s not Lanyon’s biggest fan.  But that would be sad and I don’t like it.

Jekyll, Hyde, or Both

From what I can remember in the original Hyde (or at least the appearance of Hyde) was about to take complete control when Jekyll wrote his final words.  Its then implied that either Jekyll escaped with Hyde’s appearance, or he killed himself before he was caught.  In the Glass Scientists its pretty clear there’s going to be some wrestling between Hyde and Jekyll in the near future, but there’s a lot outcomes that could happen.

Jekyll could “defeat” Hyde by doing what Fake! Lanyon was about to do in the mindscape, returning Hyde to being a part of Jekyll instead of a separated entity.

Hyde could “defeat” Jekyll and take complete control as he did in the book.  Afterwards Hyde could be killed because Jekyll retakes control long enough for Hyde to be defenseless.

Jekyll and Hyde die inside the mindscape and reform as a single entity.  They are no longer Jekyll, or Hyde, or even the Jekyll before he made the potion.

Hyde grows a heart two sizes and sacrifices himself to stop a greater evil from sprouting.

Both Hyde and Jekyll die in some other poetic fashion.

Hyde and Jekyll accept each other and peacefully combine...Naaaaaaaaah.

Look Somebody’s gotta go down that staircase in the mindscape.

People Who Hyde Might Kill

In the original what cranked up the stakes of anyone finding out who Hyde is was that Hyde killed someone.  I forget who, but it happened out of the blue.  He was beat up to death with a cane.  That’s what caused Jekyll to quit cold-turkey on the potion, which then led the Hyde’s appearance slowly taking over Jekyll’s.  Here that moment might already be in the process, caused by Hyde setting the street on fire.  But Hyde could still kill someone.  Maybe not as he is now and maybe not even on purpose, but still.  Two people/groups I can think of that Hyde might kill.

Sergeant Brokenshire and/or the other policemen - Brokenshire was the one who pushed Jekyll to rat Hyde out, and he’s the one who’s leading the search into Hyde’s whereabouts.  So it stands to reason that if he corners Hyde, Hyde may panic and strike him down. Then he’ll reaaaally be in trouble.

Moreau - He should be dead with what happened to him.  He’s not.  He spit in Jekyll’s face.  I’m putting down money he’ll be back and after Jekyll/Hyde

JASPER!?

I don’t know how he might die (okay so a lot of the magical creatures he has could kill him with one wrong look and the boy’s accident-prone but that’s not dramatic enough) but I know if he does die it’ll be very sad and I’m going to be very cross and it’ll have some impact to the story but I don’t like it!!!

Okay that’s it for now.  Tune in next week where I’ll be proved wrong and the mysterious guest is ACTUALLY Sergeant Brokenshire (but hotter.)

[daresplaining]

Mike Murdock Cometh!

    So... Marvel just released their August solicitations. Check them out if you haven’t yet, because August is clearly going to be the Month of Daredevil (well... actually, it seems to be the Month of the Fantastic Four-- and they’ve earned it. But we’re getting a ton of DD too)! All of it looks great, but the reason I’m feverishly writing a post about these issues three whole months before they even go on sale is:

DAREDEVIL #606 Spinning out of the events of THE HUNT FOR WOLVERINE: WEAPON LOST, a nightmare Matt Murdock never knew he’d have has come true — MIKE MURDOCK IS FLESH AND BLOOD IN THE MARVEL UNIVERSE! Now, there’s someone running around with Matt Murdock’s face, which can only spell trouble for the Mayor Without Fear!

DAREDEVIL #607 Once Matt Murdock’s alter-alter ego and fake twin brother, Mike Murdock has been made flesh and blood thanks to the Inhuman Reader. But Mike Murdock has motivations of his own, and all the cunning and skill of his “brother” Matt at his disposal to make them come to fruition. And things only get worse as Mike zeroes in on the people Matt cares about most!

    I’ve been pretty vocal around these parts about my adoration of the entire concept of Mike Murdock, both as a hilarious Silver Age joke and a surprisingly compelling examination of Matt’s psyche. He’s a chunk of Daredevil history that-- thankfully-- just won’t die, and echoes of his presence can be found in all of the subsequent volumes... and even, for one glorious moment, in the dark-and-gritty depths of the Netflix show. Mike persists as an easy gag, a personification of Matt’s id, and-- as much as Matt would hate to admit it-- one of his most memorable alter egos. The guise of Mike was so enticing to 1960s Matt that he even toyed with the idea of making him his main identity! That’s a persona with power, part of the reason I find him so interesting, and why these solicits are 100% dead-center right up my alley. 

    This isn’t going to be Matt’s first close encounter with his other alter egos. A few writers have taken great, mind-bending advantage of his plethora of personalities, bringing them together en-masse to give him a little psychological jolt. But I’ve always been sad that these multi-Matt get-togethers never included Mike.  

Daredevil vol. 5 #19 by Charles Soule, Marc Laming, Miroslav Mrva, and Matt Milla

Stick: “Y’know, I could fill this whole cemetery with the people you’ve been. The lives you’ve discarded. The masks you’ve worn. Remember Mike Murdock? Now that was a good one. But what say we limit this to a study of your major incarnations.”

Daredevil vol. 1 #349 by J.M. DeMatteis, Cary Nord, and Christie Scheele

    This tantalizing concept of giving “life” to Matt’s various alter egos has always been extra appealing to me in regards to Mike, just because he’s so out-there and fun, and because the idea of Matt coming face-to-face with him is so entertaining. (If I had written Shadowland, it would have ended with Mike emerging from the depths of Matt’s subconscious and one punch K.O.ing the Beast, but hey, maybe that’s just me...) The closest we’ve come so far was in DeMatteis’s run, when a mysterious yellow-suited DD started swinging around town, claiming to be the “original” Daredevil. This was eventually revealed to be Matt, who’d reverted back to his loudmouth, swashbuckly 60′s persona... and while he’s never identified as such in the text, I’ve always wishful-thinking-ly taken that to mean Mike. 

Matt: “So tell me, Fogster-- why do you keep sabotaging yourself?”

Foggy: “Wh-who are you?!”

Matt: “Who do I look like?”

Daredevil vol. 1 #345 by J.M. DeMatteis, Ron Wagner, and Christie Scheele

    But while Mike's memory has stuck around to annoy his “twin brother”...

Reporter: “Now, wait-- I thought you were the second Daredevil. Wasn’t there another who preceded you--? The brother of that blind lawyer, Matt Murdock?”

Matt: “(Caught again in the ‘big lie’! [...] I wonder-- will that one insane idea of creating a third identity for myself ever stop plaguing me?)”

Daredevil vol. 1 #100 by Steve Gerber, Gene Colan, and Stan G.

...he’s never officially physically manifested... until now! (Well, August.) 

    There are a few details that make me extra excited about this arc (beyond the obvious). One is that the artist will be Phil Noto, who is brilliant. I never imagined I’d ever get to see him draw Mike Murdock. Another is the cameo by Reader, a character Soule introduced during his Inhuman (2014) run. Reader is blind, and has the power to cause anything he reads to physically manifest. He’s a great character, and it will be fun to see him interact with Matt-- though it’s doubtful Matt will be too happy with him, given the circumstances. And finally, there’s the idea of Mike as not just an annoyance, but as an actual threat. Obviously, I don’t want a full-on evil Mike. That’s not his personality. But he is self-serving above almost all else, and this could easily put him at odds with Matt. And who knows what his attitude will be regarding the nature of his existence? The situation is full-on Frankenstein-esque: Matt created this thing, gave it certain characteristics, and now it is being unleashed on his world and he’s going to have to actually deal with it. 

    Mike is, in many ways, the perfect adversary for Matt, and as such, has the potential to be highly dangerous. He has Matt’s combat skills, his intelligence (if not necessarily his attention span or motivation), and he’s not blind. And there’s the added factor (and it will be curious to see if Soule delves into this) of Mike literally being a facet of Matt’s personality. Everything that made Mike who he was-- possibly minus the nutty sunglasses-- came from Matt. Mike was a Matt free from secret identity concerns and societal restraints. He was an embodiment of a lifestyle that Matt, on some level, longed for. Since Matt has loosened up quite a bit since the 60s, this it probably no longer true. But it will be wild to see how he and Mike react to each other. I’ve been really enjoying Soule’s run, especially lately, but it’s been a while since I was quite this jump-up-and-down excited for an issue. I can’t believe that Mike Murdock: Born Again is happening in my lifetime. Expect more essays on the topic when August arrives.  

[petty-crush]

An open letter/retort to the “honest trailer” for “Alien Covenant”

Of course people can disagree and of course this is a sarcastic video. But since this contains a lot of knee jerk, being negative for views comments, (and because people may get fooled by just watching this video)I think this is a good place to dissect frogs.

My bias; I think “Covenant” is a truly great film. Spectacular in ideas, behaviors, visuals, and pure fun. I loved it. I am clearly willing to die on a hill for it

The main gap is that it’s really a different series, under the mask of the “Alien” series. It actually veers closer to the 1932 film “Island of lost Souls”. Ship of survivors representing normal veer into uncharted territory; a mad scientist bending the rules of biology encounters and clashes with them; the monsters he creates go to war with the ship. And in this film evil wins.

It also contains genuinely great performance(s) from Fassbender, grand sketches of gods wrecking the cosmos, humanity abandoning its children to go after unanswerable questions, and more that harken back to Mary Shelley’s “Frankenstein” sandbox of sci fi.

To me, this film is all about David. The humans are cannon fodder for them. Which justifies their characterization. Also, he’s clearly a stand in for Ridley Scott and the work + wonder of being an artist, film director in particular.

I love this. I can see others liking it less, but is beautifully realized, staged, and executed.

So what are people looking for? Well…

[quotes around their words, mine by themselves]

“From Ridley Scott, one of the best directors… And one of the worst”

-first off, I think an artist is judged by their best work, not overall average

Scott can be quite varied. I personally favor going to cosmos than staying in your lane. Sometimes that make mistakes, but interesting ones.

Make no mistake though: “The Counselor” is a first rate film, acidic in the extreme, but so totally gonzo that it makes you breathe a different air. It’s the kissing cousin to “Covenant”, and both show a director willing to try new ideas and tones, and pulls it off spectacularly. Both have no interest in making the viewer feel good or flatter them, which definitely pushes some people away

“There are now more bad alien films than good ones”

-first off, where is “Prometheus”? Isn’t it an alien film? If not, and “covenant” is clearly a sequel to it, then maybe this film should be judged apart from the Ripley saga.

-I have wondered at times if calling it “Prometheus: Covenant” would have cut down on the confusion

-“Alien 3” is a spectacular film. It fully commits to the idea of Ripley having courage and purpose to her life as she knows she will die. It is completely different to “Aliens”(which may have been its problem concerning reception,as we will see) and “Alien”, it forms a perfect trilogy. Fincher may hate how fucked he got by the system, but it is a beautiful and wonderful film

“Alien resurrection” less so. But it is an odd, French splatter cartoon; certainly worth watching, not at all bad.

The “vs predator” films are largely minor, and I have no qualms with considering them less successful films.

-What makes the alien series great is that with each film the xenomorph changes to be what the film needs it to be. It’s flexibility storytelling wise is impressive. The problem comes when a audience only wants one type of story done

“When Ridley Scott wanted to talk about the meaning of life, he wanked for two hours”

-“Prometheus” has nothing to do with life, and everything to do with death. The characters in the film want to know about life (particularly Shaw since she can’t give birth) but they are punished at every turn, showing the universe to be uncaring.

Disagree with that statement or not, that is the rule that “Prometheus” and “Covenant” is abiding by.

Hell the first shot of “Prometheus” is an engineer killing himself. “Covenant” starts with life and realizing how the creator will die. There is consistency in this film universe.

And it also totally vibes with “Alien”.

“Save the philosophical stuff for ‘Blade Runner’, I want a short haired girl, in a tank top, fighting a xenomorph, who kills it by sucking it into the vacuum of space”

-and now we come to the real discussion/thorn in the side; this film isn’t a damn thing like “Aliens”

One thing that makes the alien series so fascinating is how it allowed two totally different filmmakers to make their masterpiece.

Also, it’s the rare series where the sequel brought in a bigger and wider audience.

I bet money that most people really only like “Aliens”. And that’s no shame, it’s a brilliant film. It’s strengths are the set pieces, the use of xenomorph as locusts, and characters that are simple but snappy and endearing.

In comparison to “Alien” which is cold, weird and slow moving (and brilliant) “Aliens” charm is more warm and dynamic. It doesn’t ask you to wait, it asks you to hold on. It gets kids in the door with Newt, it sets up a deep chord with Ripley giving her mother like affection , and it also makes Ripley more feminine and kick ass (she was wonderfully butch and joyfully selfish in “Alien”)

Cameron said it best in his critique of “Covenant”; “ I don’t like films where you invest in a character and they get destroyed at the end.”

Some people share that opinion. Ridley Scott does not. (Nether do I)His films generally have had the protagonist go through hell and often destroyed them. I admire that in him.

But that point of view explains why “Aliens” is so successful; it makes us love the characters and be sad when their friends die. Cameron is a genius, and is warm with his characters. Scott is also a genius, and picks their wings off like a cruel child.

Every alien film post “Aliens” has had to bear that cross, of creating such lovable stock characters. “Alien 3” didn’t give a shit, and made a impressive gathering of detached male prisoners. “Resurrection” came close with goofy space pirates, but were weird as shit.

In my opinion, if “Alien” came out after “Aliens” it would have not been as warmly received, because, got damn, is it cold and weird and hurts its people. It’s suppose to. The reaction to “Prometheus” and “Covenant” shows that all too clear.

Finally, Scott clearly does not give a shit about any alien film after his. I don’t think the Prometheus saga will show the queen alien because it came after Scott and he considers it invalid.

With this in mind, I can see how people are upset. Cold, hateful, sadistic are what “Covenant” are. And I love it for that.

I love mean films with a purpose and artistic flourish. And the Prometheus saga does it so well.

If you came to “Covenant” to root for its human characters, you are fucked (and kinda an idiot). Scott is making big budget sci fi epics about the mass murder of nature and survival of artists.

You can hate that, but call a spade a spade.

“In a franchise full of unforgettable characters”

(Shows only “Aliens” characters)

What about Dallas? Ash? Clemens? Golic? Call? Elgyn? Gediman?

There exists good characters other than the second film, guys

Once again, this love for “Aliens” blinds people to everything else

“Forget the humans”

Duhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

-but also, that slipping on blood part was (intentionally) hilarious

“Freshman philosophy class…two versions of same pretentious professor..flute”

-why do I get the feelings that the people who say stuff like this never study philosophy and just consider anything even slightest bit about talking about feelings and ideas just stoner shit, because they are the only people that talk about those subjects they let in their social circle?

I dunno, the idea about humanity killing its children for vague reasons, someone trying to better himself against cruelty and going mad himself, and finally having the courage to create something even when everyone else tells him to stand down sounds pretty universally relatable and human to me.

And even if it was pretentious, that is what art is, to subtract the distractions, and focus on what you want the world to be

-to me, David is sad Walter cannot create, like Scott is upset younger directors don’t get to make original universes and material. But David is also a fucking maniac who will stop at nothing, to whom other lives means nothing. That kind of grand vainness is perfectly at home in the world and its what art leisure to create out of whole cloth

But all of this gets in the way of watching strong men blow things away with guns, doesn’t it? (“aliens” did this to show how ineffective the marines were, not to worship them)

-the flute adds to the fantasy element, of the pied piper trying to lure others away, to their doom

Plus, it’s just fucking funny

“Snickers at 'I’ll take care of the fingering’”

See? This film is just so much fun

“I was not expecting this much flute playing”

I love it when films surprise me. I adore it when filmmakers follow their strange urges and give us scenes I never saw coming.

I love the scene of David tempting Walter with the flute.

I marveled at the scene where David drops his black plague on the engineers(who look totally different).

I looked around as David played the fucking theme to “Prometheus” on his flute. I starred at the other audience members, as if to ask “is this the real life?”

I laughed uproariously as just when you think it’s safe the xenomorph tracks the two pilots shower sexing, like it’s 1982 slasher time.

As soon as the humans delver us to David, I could see who this film was about. And really, the humans are just for showing his gentle and different Walter is.

Ridley Scott delivered a new horror classic, with a eye towards the 70’s and 30’s, but both feet in the present, with the score and design to make it work.

The first victim convulsing and back blood shooting. David acting as satan. Terror of trapped in the sick bay. The aforementioned shower scene. The cross bearing xenomorph rejects. The puppet master pulling the strings of the first post face hugger.

This is a brilliantly conceived, written, directed, and persevered treat for horror fans. I loved every second of it.

“Thrill of seeing the xenomorph move. In full daylight. Which just looks…wrong”

This is the best point of the video, though I disagree with the conclusion.

It is weird and against the vibe of the Ripley saga for the xenomorph to be a servant. But clearly these creatures are the hounds to mr burns. Satan. Evil mad dr Moreau.

It definitely gave the the film a totally new vibe. As did all the green life. But isn’t that what films are about, showing new images?

It just looks so damn different. I like different. Different and great-even better.

“Cgi Ripley?”

That would be pretty weird. But since I more or less wash my hands of any continuity, why not?

It’s probably just a spur of the moment statement. But also incredibly funny

“It asks [x] questions but leaves you wondering [y]”

Mac, the real question is, do you like to create? That’s all this film is about. The joy of creation. Of weaving something new out of something old.

Like, Ridley is literally exploiting his own creation. It’s surreal and the best.

“Compares terminator series to Alien series”

This is more apt, but in a different way.

For both series, The first film is a stand alone classic. A low key masterpiece. The second is an expansive blockbuster which really really skewed expectations for future films.

The comparison ends there though. Sigourney Weaver has way way more character to work with. Poor Schwarzenegger had so so directors to work with, while the Alien series put down the work of real filmmakers making challenging art.

I enjoy the terminator series, but it’s clear that it’s so much the work of one man (James Cameron) so no one else can make it work. But the fluidity of the xenomorph makes every single film worth watching and honestly essential.

The second film in both series cast a long shadow. But while the following films in the terminator series really don’t hold up if stand alone, the following xenomorph films all showcase a different side to hubris and death

Which is honestly the best way to approach this film. Something new, vibrant, and bizarrely personal

Respecting and knowing horror and monsters films for what they do helps too

“Me at the idea of six more alien films”

I love it. I usually get tuned out after a few films, but this Prometheus saga just works. The possibilities are endless.

Ridley Scott deserves the highest kudos for turning this series into greatness

In a certain way, “Alien” is “Halloween”, perfect in its execution and of its singularity.

Prometheus saga is Friday the 13th series. Messier, off to an odd start, but a snowball of its own delights that fosters an utterly nihilistic universe. Like Jason, David is too good for just one film, and we need those eight films of him. It may indeed prove to be the essentials space monster-mad scientist series, just like Jason is the essential slasher killer.

Is this pizza to a steak? Yes, but each have their own pure delights, and like a certain pie, it just gets better and beautifully blurrier with each dizzying bite

Long live Prometheus saga; may it rule in hell for an eternity. Just as “Covenant” does in my heart.

[furederiko]

The good'ol 69... I mean, June 9th. Not that it has any special nor personal meaning though, except for the fact that I'm posting a Random-News-Digest!...

Resident Evil

It's not a secret that I have always favored the CG movies of this franchise, way better than Milla Jovovich's live action series. Those Hollywood movies were okay to good, mind you, but honestly, have they ever got it... right? Not saying that the Japanese CG ones have greater quality, but it just feels more faithful to the source material somehow. That's why when "Resident Evil: Vendetta" was first announced April last year, I know I'm totally going to see it. And yes, that opportunity is slowly approaching, as the Spring movie had officially opened in Japan on May 27th, and will be hitting the international region this month. In home video format, that is. Digital download will be available on June 20th, while the Bluray edition will be on the market on July 18th. There's an exclusive one night event in selected theatres on June 19th too, but I'm guessing that only takes place in the US.

Several character-specific trailers were released to commemorate the Japanese release last month. There was one for Chris Redfield, Leon S. Kennedy, Rebecca Chambers, and also the main antagonist Glenn Arias. It's worth noted that the three first names are characters from the first game, and don't take my word on this, but there's a likelihood that this movie is related to that title. It's a good thing though, considering the latest game of the franchise opted to go with a completely new protagonist. Anyways, fans of Chris and Leon can only wait a little longer to see their next adventure. And we should enjoy it as much as we can, because there are signs that Hollywood is already thinking of rebooting the live action movie-series... Oh boy! *sigh*

Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them

Second movie of the franchise, the tentatively titled "Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them 2" has a finished script, and is currently doing an interesting casting process. Namely, they are looking for teen versions of the main characters. When I first read the headline to this news, I was quite... surprised, because my head was literally thinking about Harry Potter, Ron, and Hermione. Which of course, is completely incorrect! Ignoring the glaring irony that the "Harry Potter" franchise is still looming large on my head, completely overshadowing this new prequel series, the younger cast they are talking about is for Albus Dumbledore, Gellert Grindelwald, Leta Lestrange, and... possibly Newt Scamander. After all, as far as I recall, Newst IS supposed to be the central character, right? Hmmm...

And this could be big. We know that Johnny Depp is portraying the adult (or... old?) Grindelwald, and Jude Law has been entrusted to portray the younger (but also... old?) Dumbledore. Since Grindelwald was already terrorizing Europe in the first movie, it seems unlikely that they are still in good terms, right? So the casting of actors between the age of 16 to 18 means writer J.K. Rowling is finally giving fans what they've always wanted: more historical moment between the two. As in, regarding their so-called intimate friendship that led towards a disastrous outcome. Perhaps what ever happened to the Dumbledore household (his mother Kendra, brother Aberforth, and sister Ariana), the mystery that was briefly talked about late in the "Harry Potter" series, is making their way into this movie? A backstory for Dumbledore, to put it simple.

For now, it's still nothing more than random speculation. But hopefully we'll get a clearer understanding of the plot, when the movie officially begins production. Which should take place, sometime later this year, to make it for a November 16th, 2018 release. I can only hope, the whole Dumbledore and Grindelwald story is still connected to Newt somehow. I don't know, perhaps through Leta? Otherwise, having a main character alienated in his own movie, would be a fatal mistake. Not that it's anything new for Warner Bros though...

Dark Universe

Universal is pretty serious about their shared Monsters universe. While they only have one movie, "The Mummy" on the horizon so far, the plan has already begun including a second title in Bill Condon's "The Bride of the Frankenstein", as well as developing some others. We can now add three more possible titles, in the list of projects currently in development, or planned. Director and also producer Alex Kurtzman, recently revealed that the lineup will also consist of... Dracula, Phantom of the Opera, and Hunchback of Notre Dame.

The first was a no-brainer, since the 2013 critically-panned "Dracula Untold" was initially meant to kickstart this universe. But of course, everyone is talking about the other two on that list. Why? Because nobody suspected both would even be considered. I found those titles to be... intriguing, to say the least. Thematically, they fit this universe like a bill, but the genre of both movies would also add additional colors to this universe. And that's not all, because Kurtzman is also thinking of spinoff-ing other characters from within the lineup. "I think that digging into deep mythologies about monsters around the world is fair game for us, as well and connecting the monsters that we know to some surprising monsters could also be really interesting.", he said, which honestly made me speechless because I'm having trouble to describe my response to that bit. He's also aiming big, by desiring big actors like Michael Fassbender, Jennifer Lawrence, Charlize Theron, and Angelina Jolie to be part of this ensemble. You can check out exclusive interview with Kurtzman on Joblo Trailer's Youtube channel about this Dark Universe project.

Problem is, early tracking for "The Mummy" alone, isn't showing a good sign. Especially, in the shadow of WB's "Wonder Woman" that seems to be still doing good. And we must remember, that the Tom Cruise vehicle is being marketed as the brave first step of this universe. What if, pessimistically speaking, the movie fails to resonate with audience. Are we going to have another case of "Dracula Untold", or will Universal simply ignore the outcome (critically or financially) this time, and proceed with their plan anyway? I don't know, perhaps singing the tune of WB's DC Films?

And indeed, that's where the big question mark lies. Hot on the heels of a very promising news, that the movie is breaking opening day record in South Korea, critics have also begun publishing their thoughts. And it was simply... mixed at best. Some folks (like Ain't It Cool, and Collider) sounded like they actually had fun with it, but others (like Polygon, and IndieWire) are being the complete opposite. The Hollywood Reporter even called it "An inauspicious beginning to a would-be franchise.". Yes, go ahead and look that word up in the dictionary! So is this an apple and orange situation? Case of an acquired taste? I can't really tell. But the general consensus seems to lean towards the irony, that the movie is burdened to kickstart a new cinematic universe. Thus unable to be 'its own thing'.

The logic however, is that eventhough it will probably NOT do so well in the US, Universal is counting on international market to give it a financial push. As proven by Paramount's "Transformers" (particularly that Chinese-heavy 4th movie) or Disney's "Pirates of the Carribbean" franchise, international audience usually couldn't care less about what US critics are saying. LOL. I guess we'll just have to wait and see how the response to this movie affects the entire Dark Universe then. And I'm strangely rooting for it, because as I've repeatedly said, I really want to see more of Russell Crowe's Dr. Jekyll in the future. "The Mummy", opens on June 9th, 2017... which is TODAY in my time region.

X-Men Universe

If anyone asks me why I'm NOT (or no longer) a fan of FOX's Marvel Universe, the answer would be VERY simple. Because I despise inconsistencies. Continuity issues and inconsistent writing, disregarding source materials, with characters being robbed of their full potential and shoehorned for the sake of... nothing important... are glaring elements that have been plaguing the X-Men movies for such a long time. These are easy proofs that the people behind this so-called universe, are NOT doing a good job. And yes, I'm talking about Bryan Singer, and especially producer Simon Kinberg. Ironically, this was also the reason why "Deadpool" worked. Because that movie fearlessly pointed out what really is WRONG about this whole universe, while adding more questions. Case point, the existence of two Professor Xs, two Collosuses, and many more. Even the critically acclaimed "Logan", couldn't escape this blatant continuity trapping, further showing the flaw in design.

Now we can add another one to the list. As Josh Boone's "The New Mutants" (or "X-Men: The New Mutants"... because seriously, even I'm not really sure about the movie's official title) has recently cast a second actor to portray the mutant Sunspot. While confirming that Charlie Heaton is indeed in talks to portray Cannonball, Variety revealed that actor Henry Zaga of "13 Reasons Why" has been cast as the solar-powered mutant. Why is he the 2nd you ask? Because Adan Canto (as pictured above) has already portrayed the criminally-underused character in the logically-flawed "X-Men: Days of Future Past". Does this mean, FOX is expecting Zaga to grow up into Canto (to be fair, they ARE at around the same... height)? As in, "The New Mutants" is happening years prior to "Days of Future Past"? Unless... this will be an entirely different character, which once again, points out the exact issue.

There's more than just Sunspot. Variety also ridiculously over-praised "The New Mutants", when revealing the movie's premise, "Fox/Marvel redefines the superhero genre once again with the horror thriller, The New Mutants. Mutants are at their most dangerous, both to themselves and others, when their powers are new, especially because mutation reveals itself during the teenage years. Held in a secret facility against their will, five new mutants have to battle the dangers of their powers, as well as the sins of their pasts. They aren’t out to save the world – they’re just trying to stay alive.". Though it's likely that the media merely used it to boost visitors, I'm not sure I can easily ignore the exaggerating word of 'redefines' here. HOW... is making this into a horror/thriller 'redefines' the genre, when the likes of "Lucifer", "Preacher", the Ghost Rider arc on "Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.", and even FOX and FX's very own "LEGION" has already done the same? Didn't they have already attempted this whole storyline with the craptastic "Fant4stic Four" back in 2015? The more pressing matter however, is once again about WHAT TIMELINE will this movie take place. Will this occur after "X-Men: Apocalypse"? Or, in the same era to "Deadpool", considering Collosus' younger sister is in this? I can't even imagine how "X-Men: Dark Phoenix" will continue to add to this... messy affair.

Putting that issue aside, "The New Mutants" has found its Danielle Moonstar as well. Actress Blu Hunt will be portraying the character, who is a Native American with the power to generate illusion from other person's fears and desires. I myself have never heard of the actress, but it seems she's got the talent, if not simply racially appropriate for the character (like Booboo Stewart's Warpath, hence the reason I used that exact picture). This means, the team is almost complete with Anya Taylor-Joy as Magik, Maisie Williams as Wolfsbane, along with the two guys I mentioned above. FOX only needs to find an actor to voice Warlock as the remaining team member, considering the alien will likely be a CG character. With production set to commence next month, looks like we're going to hear an official cast announcement really soon. I can't seem to get excited about this no matter how I tried, but perhaps the opposite is happening with you. Good for you then!

Marvel Studios

Things have been pretty quite from the movie front, which might be caused due to the studio taking a back seat while WB and their DC Films are taking the headlines. But that should be over pretty soon. This weekend alone, Universal has begun taking all the headlines with their Dark Universe. Also, "Spider-Man: Homecoming" is arriving in less than a month, so of course its marketing will start to ramp up. And that's probably the case... as proven by the various TV Spots and Clips from the movie arriving online. Like the ones about Marisa Tomei's May Parker, Zendaya's Michele, or Michael Keaton's Vulture.

As far as I know, none of those are as official as the new one recently released on Marvel's channel (with new footage too! Yikes!). But you can visit Joblo Trailers on Youtube to see them if you like. I personally haven't seen any that focuses on Bokeem Woodbine/Logan Marshall-Green's Shocker, but perhaps that's because they are merely secondary villains. One thing for sure, I can't wait to see this movie. Although I'm not even sure I can, due to an unexpected financial urgency happening late last month... *sigh*. Anyway, "Homecoming" arrives on July 7th, 2017 in the US (pre-order is already available), and is expected to premiere earlier in international regions.

Meanwhile, "Avengers: Infinity War" continues production, and if the entry on IMDb can be trusted, looks like Winston Duke will be reprising his role as M'Baku or the Man-Ape from "Black Panther". This means we might be seeing more of Wakanda in the movie as well. Some people are already calling "Infinity War" to be overstuffed, a statement that's in a way seems accurate judging from that line of actor trailers (courtesy of the Russo Brothers). But this IS a movie that's supposed to be the culmination (first part of two, at least) of the Marvel Cinematic Universe since 2008, so... it does make a lot of sense to have so many characters in it. Heck, I think "Captain America: Civil War" alone has already broke the record of the biggest ensemble yet for comic book adaptation.

Speaking of Panther, expect to hear details of the movie alongside November 3rd's "Thor: Ragnarok" on this year's Disney D23 expo. Perhaps, the first official trailer will be unveiled there? To be held from July 14th-16th, there will be props, costumes, and exclusive set pieces from both movies, as well as others. Fans will have the chance to see the filmmakers, development team, and also actors in this event. If you happen to be luckily in the area and are interested to visit this event, you can visit the official site D23Expo.com, or get details via D23 app.

Marvel TV

I've seen the sneak-peak to the upcoming new series "Marvel's Spider-Man", and my oh my, the animation quality looks surprisingly... WEAK. It felt... underwhelming, and it has been bugging me ever since, because it didn't feel any different to the recently concluded "Ultimate Spider-Man" series. Also, and I'm being nitpicky, it's banking on "Homecoming" a little TOO MUCH, and I don't like that. When a show is taking cue to a particular movie, it's a make-or-break situation, especially because we know both will NOT be related in any way. Marvel Animation's very own "Guardians of the Galaxy" series is a good example of this problem. A series that felt like it was aimed to explore the 2014 movie in a detailed manner, before completely going overboard and... Well, let's just say I lost interest for it halfway through, and has never even bothered to check out the 2nd season.

The same personal response goes to the 4th season of "Avengers Assemble", officially subtitled "Avengers: Secret Wars". Judging from the 6 character-intro webisodes that I've watched last week, I can only say that the quality of this series is... pretty much the same. For the record, the first three seasons were never THAT good in the first place, so its not a good sign. But this new season seems to dip even lower in the story department, and that raised a dangerous flag for me. Can't believe I'm saying this (not because I'm a fan, but because I've actually been anticipating these new titles for quite a while), but I'm already thinking of giving it a huge pass. And I'm not just talking about "Secret Wars", but "Spider-Man" as well. I can only hope Marvel Animation is preparing something BIG to make up for this. Perhaps that announcement they will reveal on the D23 Expo 2017? We'll see...

From the live action side, Marvel's "New Warriors" is expected to film in Atlanta. This shouldn't be a surprise, because the city has become a regular spot for Marvel Studios to film their projects. Movies like "Civil War", "Homecoming", "Infinity War", and many others sets up their massive sound stage and goes into production there. This particular location offers up interesting questions: Does this mean the casting process has been concluded and is going to be announced soon? Will the setting of this Freeform series take place in Atlanta as well, as opposed to New York? Will we actually get the long awaited crossover between TV series and movies, considering they will be filmed in the same location? "New Warriors" is expected to premiere in 2018.

Netflix

With Marvel's "The Defenders" confirmed for an August 18th release, the one big question looming on every Marvel-Netflix fans' mind has been: so when will Jon Bernthal's Marvel's "The Punisher" arrive? Both Marvel TV and Netflix have only revealed that it will be released this year, but without any specific details. And the cast has wrapped production some time ago. Will it arrive on Winter then? The answer is... in a way, yes.

Dearbhla Walsh, who directed and edited an episode might have unintentionally spilled the bean regarding the show's release month. Talking to The Hollywood Reporter about her experience behind the camera, Walsh said that "One other time that hasn't been aired yet, which was an episode for the new Marvel series The Punisher, which I did just before Christmas, but it's not airing until November. I directed that in New York and edited in L.A.". So yeah, surprising as it might be considering "Ragnarok" is debuting that very same month, looks like Frank Castle will be rampaging the small screen as well. Hold on... it just occured to me: Is this series trying to steal attention and likely audience from WB's "The Justice League" then? WOW, that might be interesting. Let's just wait for the official confirmation from Netflix then...

Possible release window has also been partially confirmed for the three titles currently in production. Yes, I'm talking about the 2nd seasons for Marvel's "Jessica Jones", and Marvel's "Luke Cage" (which will explore his public identity issue), and also the 3rd season of "Marvel's Daredevil". While there are no fixed release date yet, highly likely all three will be released next year. And if Netflix follows this year's pattern, then we can expect these shows to be out on March, August, and November.

The only show that hasn't been officially 'renewed' is Marvel's "Iron Fist", and I'm not too surprised about it. In fact, I won't even be shocked if it ends up getting cancelled, thus Finn Jones and Jessica Henwick will be transferred to other shows instead. Netflix fairly recently did a string of cancellations to its original series, and the latest victim was the critically-mixed "Sense8". The fact that "Sense8" was better received in terms of storyline and particularly diversity than "Iron Fist", is already a negative indication. Don't forget, "Iron Fist" was simply made because it was part of the 'Defenders Package' that Netflix signed with Marvel TV, and that obligation has been fulfilled with that disappointing first season. So as much as I'm a fan of the character in the comics, I say good riddance. Time to bring the "Moon Knight" to take its place!

Valiant Entertainment

Talk about another universe I've never heard of! And not to mention, coming from a US comic publisher I'm also not familiar of. Comic book adaptation seems to be all the rage nowadays, we've got movies every other month, and also various kinds of TV series in various networks/platforms. Of course Valiant Comics would want to join such promising market, and their approach is going through the digital segment.

The best way to promote their new series? By debuting their live action characters as cover models for their upcoming comics. Yes, that means the cast of "Ninjak VS. The Valiant Universe" in full costume. Derek Theler, and the one and only Jason David Frank (yes, that super popular Power Rangers actor) are joining lead actor Michael Rowe on the second issue of "Rapture". They are respectively playing X-O Manowar, Bloodshot, and duh, of course Colin King a.k.a Ninjak. Ciera Foster's Livewire is on the cover of "Divinity" #0, and Alex Meglei is pairing up with Kevin Porter as Archer & Armstrong on "Rai: The History of the Valiant Universe" #1. If you ask me, I LITERALLY have no idea about ANY of these characters and most of the actors (Tommy's the sole exception). I'm not even sure how I should react!

Dinesh Shamdasani, Valiant Entertainment's CEO and CCO talked to ComicBook.com (that helped debuted these images and also a TRAILER, seriously!), and well... fearlessly made a direct comparison to Marvel and DC. Here's what he said, "Valiant is very different. It's character-centered. It's grounded. It's subversive. It's left of center. It's quirky. We wanted to include the characters that showcased to a new audience how different and exciting Valiant is and why it's something equal to Marvel and DC and so these are the characters, our biggest characters and our most exciting characters to showcase the Valiant tonality.". Pretty confident, huh? The site also wrote a synopsis for the series, and what... we can expect from it. I honestly scratched my head after reading it, but likely because I'm practically clueless about the... whole thing. "Ninjak VS. The Valiant Universe" is set to debut online later this year. Valiant fans might want to watch out for it...

Kamen Rider

On contrary to that delicious Sushi-themed rumor, the title for the 19th "Kamen Rider" series has been trademarked. And the title is... "Kamen Rider Build"! Or at least, that's the common sense, because the katakana 'BIRUDO' is usually romanized as BUILD. Remember, it can always refer to BILD, BEALD, BEARD, and the likes that sounds... similar. A possible first toy catalogue has also made its rounds in the internet. If this year's "Kamen Rider Ex-Aid" has game cartridge as the collectible, this one seems to be based on... bottles. Interesting, huh?

Of course, we can't immediately rule out the Sushi one either. If I recall correctly, there was a fashion theme on the rumor board before it was revealed to be Kamen Rider Ghost. And turns out, Ghost did use the fashion gimmick! So who knows, it's always possible that "Kamen Rider Build" is a food and beverages theme after all, with Build being a sports drink, while the second Rider could be sushi. Hey, this IS Japanese Tokusatsu we're talking about! The franchise that combined gamers with doctor, and fruits with samurai. We'll be hearing more about this new Rider very soon. Because it has been an annual custom now, to debut the new series' lead on the currently running one. Expect Build, or whatever he is officially called, to appear on "Kamen Rider Ex-Aid the Movie: True Ending" that premieres this August.

Cowboy Beebop

When Hollywood is running out of new idea, they tend to go over and scrape old titles from the vast library (and sometimes barrels) of Japanese entertainment fault. That's how Super Sentai became "Power Rangers", "Dragon Ball: Evolution" got made. "Ghost in the Shell" and "Death Note" got whitewashed, adaptation to "Akira" is still being pursued by many studios and directors, and many more.

The next victi... I mean, target is none other than "Cowboy Beebop". This might sound strange, but I've never fully seen the 1998 series and the 2001 movie, nor even interested to check it out. I don't know, perhaps because it's just... not for me? Because I prefer modern ones, nowadays? Or because I wasn't into jazz as much that time... because I was still... young? LOL. I'm also aware however, that it has (present tense) so many fans, especially in the western hemisphere. Due to that exact reason, back in 2009, there was a plan to create a live action movie based on this series. It even had actor Keanu Reeves attached to star as Spike Spiegel. Suffice to say, the project faded to obscurity. But now it's being revived again, but as a TV series. And I'm not kidding!

Tomorrow Studios and ITV Studios are set to produce this adaptation, alongside Sunrise Studios as the executive producer. Chris Yost, who wrote "Thor: The Dark World" and sequel "Ragnarok" (as well as that amazing series "Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes"), has been signed to write this series. Marty Adelstein, Becky Clements, Midnight Radio (Josh Appelbaum, Andre Nemec, Jeff Pinkner, and Scott Rosenberg), and Matthew Weinberg are producing. It's unclear is this project was an evolution to that movie one, but Adelstein certainly showed his excitement to work on it, and said believed that "a live action version will have an incredible impact today". I'm personally unsure if a TV budget would be able to deal with the series' setting, but who am I to argue. Let's just hope that it'll work out time around then...

Marvel vs Capcom

An interesting rumor concerning the upcoming "Marvel vs. Capcom: Infinite" sparked throughout the internet last month. A NeoGAF user claimed to have discovered the full roster of the game, and well, it was rather... underwhelming.

As of April, we've known that the roster consists of Iron Man, Captain Marvel, Captain America, Hulk, Thor, Hawkeye, Rocket Raccoon, and Ultron from the Marvel side, and Ryu, Rockman X, Morrigan, Chun-Li, Strider Hiryu, Chris Redfield, and Sigma from the CAPCOM side. That makes for 13 characters so far, considering both Ultron and Sigma (who can combine into... duh, big bad boss Ultron Sigma) are likely DLC characters. According to this rumor, the Marvel side will be extended with Ant-Man, Doctor Strange, Gamora, Nova, Groot, Spider-Man, and Thanos, while CAPCOM adds Arthur, Dante, Firebrand, Jedah, Monster Hunter, Nemesis, Spencer, and one unknown character that might be Frank West. There will be six additional DLC characters for the first season, including the two names I've mentioned before. The big surprise here, is that most of these names are familiar ones who have appeared in previous installments. The only new characters are Ant-Man, Gamora, Nova, Thanos, Jedah, and Monster Hunter, and this has certainly disappointed a lot of fans.

I'm personally indifferent to this situation, but the complaints from fans certainly... make a lot of sense. CAPCOM side is definitely lacking fresh characters from their latest titles. I've said before, they could've added some new characters like Rashid, or Karin from "Street Fighter V" to give it... a current feel. Things are slightly better on Marvel side with the inclusion of Ant-Man, but fans easily questions why lesser popular character like Gamora is taking over the spot that would've been better occupied by Star-Lord or at least Black Widow. And how about Black Panther, or Vision, to replace the missing X-Men characters? Now, this is still a rumor for now, so we need to take it with a huge grain of salt. It's not yet clear if it's true or not anyway. However, the user who posted this news was the one who leaked the existence of the game before it was announced last November, and has been on point with his next scoops. So does this mean, it's the real deal? Here's hoping the D23 Expo 2017 will help clear this out, while hopefully pleasing its disappointed fans along the way. "Marvel vs. Capcom: Infinite" will arrive on September 19th, 2017.

Pocket Monsters

The Pokemon Company held a highly anticipated Pokemon Direct a few days ago on June 6th through various means, and naturally, fans were eagerly looking forward to hear confirmation about the long-rumored "Pokemon Stars". But against all odds, the company delivered a massive surprise instead, and announced... "Pokemon Ultra Sun & Ultra Moon"!

Yep, this was... UNEXPECTED. I mean, who would've thought that the VII generation will be following the "Pokemon Black & White" route? But the biggest surprise here, rather than utilizing the new Nintendo Switch hybrid console, these two new titles will be exclusively released for the... Nintendo 3DS. Yes, exactly like "Pokemon Black 2 & White 2" that opted to avoid 3DS at the time. The premise of "Ultra Sun & Ultra Moon" is sure to make fans scratching their heads too. Apparently, these two new titles will offer an alternate story taking place in the world of "Pokemon Sun & Moon", which might explain why both Solgaleo and Lunala look... possessed by Necrozma in the covers. Once again, this brings to mind "Black 2 & White 2" that had Kyuren taking the power and form of Zekrom and Reshiram. The good side of this, along with new features, it is said to feature Pokemon that did not appear in the original. That means, we might be getting that rumored snowman and dolphin Pokemon after all! However wishful thinking that might be... LOL. The bad side however? It seems, some fans are/were NOT pleased with this outcome. Likely because many expected this new title to appear on Nintendo Switch. IMO, that would've been a wise choice as well, particularly following the mixed response to its paid online feature. The hybrid console is definitely in need of a fan favorite franchise like Pokemon to attract more players. And about that... well, on to the next paragraph.

Further adding flame to the disappointment news, the reveal of "Ultra Sun & Ultra Moon" arrived at the very end of an extensive live action trailer that focused on "Pokken Tournament DX". Which is indeed, the FIRST official Pokemon title for Switch! So in a sense, The Pokemon Company DID give what fans wanted, but NOT exactly what they hoped. "Pokken Tournament DX" is basically another port of the "Pokken" series, that combined the content of Wii U and Arcade version. This means all 16 characters from Wii U and the new ones on Arcade are playable from the get-go, with the exclusive addition of Decidueye from "Sun & Moon". Both Litten and Popplio also available as new support Pokemon. There are several new features as well, to enhance the game's replayability. And to celebrate this game, Nintendo will be hosting a tournament on June 14th, 2017 at the E3 2017 Expo.

To be fair, being a fighting game,"Pokken" does feel more at home with Switch's multiplayer capability. As that trailer suggests, this works as a fun party game as well, a game that people can enjoy in the company of friends and family. So it makes sense that Nintendo opts to push this title instead of a stand alone single-player Pokemon title. After all, Nintendo already had a critically-acclaimed open world RPG on Switch, in form of "Zelda: Breath of the Wild". They need a good fighting game title, that will be specifically exclusive to the console. But will we get an actual core Pokemon title for Switch, or will that honor be given to the successor of 3DS instead? That exact same question still remains. "Pokken Tournament DX" is released worldwide for Switch on September 22nd, alongside "Pokemon Gold & Silver" on the 3DS Virtual Console. "Ultra Sun & Ultra Moon" will then follow exclusively for 3DS on November 17th.

On the smartphone App corner, while the utterly silly but surprisingly addictive "Magikarp, Jump!" is taking the world by stor... I mean splash, and "PokeLand" is released to let players interact with... Pokemon toys, "Pokemon GO" is about to have its 1-Year Anniversary in just a month from now. And to celebrate that occasion, Niantic has been amping up on events, both in the game and real world. The next in-game one, is the "Solstice Event", that will bring out a horde of Fire and Ice-Types Pokemon. This is inline with the recent leak, and will take place beginning on June 13th until presumably June 20th if not 21st. It will also pave way, to that major multiplayer update that was reported before. And as such, Gyms system is going to be closed for an unknown period of time.

The real world one, will then take place on July 22nd, 2017 in Grant Park, Chicago, Illinois, USA. "Pokemon GO Fest Chicago", which is the game's first ever event, will have various festivities. There was a hot speculation that the game will be releasing its first Legendaries, so might this be the time and place to deliver that? It'll be unfair for the rest of the world though, am I right? Tickets for this event can be obtained on PokemonGoLive.com/Fest starting on June 18th. Various other events will also be held in Europe, and Japan, through various partner companies. I kind of wish that these official social event is going to take place in my country. Then again, the government didn't respond to the app nicely anyway, so I doubt we'll ever have one... *sigh*

By the way, how on Earth did some sites get that catchy image for the Solstice Event anyway? Is it fanmade? Sure looks official. It's certainly way better than the one Niantic posted on their official update...

Nintendo

This last bit isn't about game, eventhough it is under a video game developer category. At least, not a software one. Yes, collaborating with Universal Studios Japan, Nintendo is going to have their first major amusement park attraction, which will be called Super Nintendo World. At least, that's the plan, because only the groundwork has been done so far (Famitsu provided footages from the event). But there's a Concept Trailer to give us a hint of what it will look, and it looks nostalgically amazing! This park is clearly Mario Bros oriented, but since the title carries the Nintendo name, I think we can expect other exclusive franchises of the company like Kirby, Pokemon, and others to be included in the future. The park will have rides, interactive areas, shops, and restaurants, and it is planned to officially opens in Summer 2020 in Universal Studios Osaka, just in time for the Olympic Games. It will then be followed by Florida and California resorts in the following years. I wonder when it will arrive on Universal Studios Singapore then? Because that's the closest one I could visit for now... *sigh*