#bc i know how... defensive... joker fans... can get...

[sirenemale]

omg hey donny,please give us some higurashi thoughts? i saw your post about he/she mion

I like higurashi sooooo much....such a normal amount. I've been trying to play chunks of the vns and I'm up to Chapter 4 now. General thoughts are this is such a unique way to present a complex multifaceted story. I'm aslo deeply seen and gripped by the way things like silly banter, paranoia and delusion is written it feels very very cared for and natural, esp as someone who's also super scattered and prone to that kinda thinking. music owns. I love playing iwth the old sprites because I think they're so deeply charming. um. I don't know I just really like it, I definitely want to replay prior chapters to build up my own idea on the mystery. I'd also love to see if I can get the og voice acting to go with the steam chapters because I know the performances add a lot to it.

anyway Mion is so transgendery to me but in a complicated way and also like. Accounting for me not having absorbed the full range of chapters yet & also acknowledging any reading of her gender is gonna be skewed bc I don't have the personal insight on rural japanese kids and gender expectations lmao, also especially for Higurashi bc the specific culture of it would probably cultivate its own views on gender and obviously being a girl in each of the main families, since there are specific roles associated with them. I think what I really like about it on a personal level is that it feels like she jokes about being less feminine, or being an old man or wishing she was born a boy as some kind of defense mechanism more than something people actually ascribed to her. Cause she is definitely feminine and cares about femininity, it's just that she's also really assertive, has a lot of responsibility on her to take up leader positions both in her family and socially (Which is an extension of the family position). Yknow, hard not to compare her with Shion but obviously Shion is super feminine and is kinda taken as the ideal girl apart from the fact she's like hilariously cruel LMAO. Shion didn't have that kind of responsibility and has gotten to be more frivolous and a bit less rural living bc she gets to be in the bigger city/town.

I'm a big fan of trans readings that are messy where it is like, oh socialization and trauma and maybe my own seperate feelings on transness are all merging together and I can't really tell where one starts and where one ends. Very much how I am, she's not necessarily associated with being a boy because she's responsible, bc her family is matriarchal, she's totally inline for behavior there. So then she's boyish for being a joker but not enough for other characters to regularly drag her for it, she's still insanely competent and driven for a kid, and we know that her being jovial is also a front of a sort. But I think what makes it feel transgendery is that it feels her joking about being a boy is a purposeful thing she's clinging to because it makes her happy, the same way being rowdy and fun with the club is. Equal parts something she does think about, equal parts a bit defensive because she doesn't feel like she can be seen as a regular girl with no burdens. Ultimately she's just doing her best within a box like all the other characters are. So basically I think she's a little transmasc but I don't think she'd have the space to unpack it within the main like. Loops, I've seen so far. It'd be very like in another time and place if things worked out and she had the weight taken off her back. Literally <3

[roguish-gallery]

Did you ever make that joker tier list, I always like seeing what people think of all the different ones. Though if they put Romero last I can no longer respect them.

LMAO I DID! I think I’ve made it kind of obvious in this blog but I... don’t... particularly... care... for... the joker.... unless he’s, y’know, fun to watch. Cause he’s a clown, and clowns are supposed to be entertaining. But since you politely brought it up, and and because I have a deep respect for mutual Romero-lovers, I guess this would be a good time to explain my rankings and just discuss my general thoughts on each clown:

General Thoughts:

For the most part, I don’t really care for the Joker. This is hardly an uncommon opinion here on tumblr, but I definitely fall on the side of the fandom that feels that he gets too much attention from DC. I get WHY they use him so often for films and comics, and I don’t have anything against *most* folks who consider them their favorite Batman villain, but at this point he’s used more for shock value and as a crutch instead of anything interesting. Like, instead of giving attention to the other Rogues, writers (at least for the comics) will try and make up some bullshit story that they can shoehorn the Joker into, ‘cause it sells. It’s tiring, and I feel like the character has lost his meaning; I can only read so many stories about the Joker, I don’t fucking know, wearing a suit made from dead babies and Jason Todd’s flayed corpse before I get sick of it.

I’m at the point where I’ll like any Joker who’s just fun to watch. I genuinely respect those who prefer darker interpretations of the character, but that isn’t me; I vastly prefer the lighthearted takes on him, because... at this point... writers who use the “cleaner” version of him tend to be more creative, since they actually have to write a Joker story that doesn’t rely on gore/torture porn.

TIER ONE:

Joker Baby: Self explanatory. Joker Baby is thematic, thoughtful, and intense. Everytime I watch this video, I shiver with fear and pleasure; something primal in me awakens whenever Joker Baby runs his fingers through his spray-on dyed hair, and ends up smearing green paint on his forehead- it represents the inner turmoil, the chaos, that resides within the disturbed body that is Joker Baby. Nothing can ever hope to top the artistic and cultural impact Joker Baby has had on society.

TIER TWO:

Batman Ninja: I genuinely believe that Batman Ninja is one of the most fun, organic, and creative things to come out from the Batman side of DC comics in like... hmmm... a decade, maybe (I could talk for hours about how much I love this movie but that’s something for a future post). This Joker is easily, and unironically my favorite interpretation of the character, period. I love his energy, his design, everything. This is the most fun I’ve ever had watching a Joker on-screen, and for that I’ve gotta give the film credit where it is due.

Batman ‘66: I looooove Caesar Romero. Batman ‘66 in general is one of my favorite pieces of Batman media, and I absolutely adore this Joker. The show is pure, genuine fun, and it’s nice to turn my brain off and watch a show where the entire cast was allowed to goof around. This Joker is just a cute, goofy little clown-man who likes to commit crimes, go surfing, turn Gotham’s water reserve into gelatin, and have wild orgies with Penguin, Catwoman, and the Riddler. I massively appreciate the hustle. I love his little mustache and his facial expressions. I’d give him a chaste little kiss on the cheek if I could.

The Batman: EXTREMELY CONTROVERSIAL TAKE BUT. I think TB!Joker is better than what people will give him credit for. I can only imagine how stressful it must have been to be the first Batman cartoon to follow BTAS and the writers for this show knew they were gonna be fucked no matter what they did with the Joker, so they just decided to try something completely different with him. Personally, I appreciate the new direction- he has a fun, unhinged energy. I’ve placed him higher than BTAS/BTNA!Joker simply because The Batman was the show that got me into the Rogues in the first place, and I’m just a bit closer to this Joker because of it. Also his vampire form was cool as FUCK in Batman Vs. Dracula and the scene where he gets drenched in blood at a blood bank is fucking awesome.

Batman the Animated Series/The New Adventures: Everyone loves BTAS’s Joker, and I’m no exception. Mark Hamill is fucking great, and the writers clearly knew the character well enough to create a version of him that can be fun and threatening. As an aside, I unironically like his redesign in BTNA- I remember Hamill mentioning somewhere that he thought it was neat that this Joker looked more like a shark (I’ll see if I can find a source on that... I think he said it in an interview with Kevin Smith?) and I kinda agree with him. the redesigns in the final season are hit or miss, but I didn’t get why so many people bitched about the Joker’s new look.

Batman Unlimited: Hear me out... Hear me out... Clown... funny... and cute... He wears a little crown and gives Solomon Grundy a little smooch on the cheek and it is as delightful as it sounds. Yes the Batman Unlimited films literally only exist to sell toys but that doesn’t mean I can’t enjoy them on some ironic level.

TIER THREE:

Lego Batman: He’s a gay icon. He has the range. Enough said.

White Knight: This is just a genuinely good, original take on the character, and the art in White Knight is absolutely gorgeous. 

Arkham: My friends and I joke that this Joker is basically a more unhinged version of BTAS! Joker and... yeah. I’m glad Hamill and Paul Dini got to fuck around with the character more, but I never really dwelled on the Joker parts of the games like I might have for other characters. I definitely liked him the most in Arkham Asylum, as he was more fun to watch. Arkham City was fiiiiine, but I think I replayed the game so much that I kinda got fatigued with everything about it. Genuinely hated his part in Origins, and I was pissed that he stole the attention from Black Mask and Bane (who’s the best fucking part of Origins IMO). I’ll admit that I... Haven’t... played... Knight yet (I have it on PC but my laptop is too wimpy to run it) but like... He’s dead at that point, so I’d assume he isn’t the main point of that game anyway. I love Mark Hamill and the fact I can personally beat the shit out of this Joker, so he’s ranked up pretty high for those reasons.

TIER FOUR:

Batman ‘89: TBH this Joker should be a rank higher, but I’m too lazy to hop onto PicsArt to change it. NIcholson was an excellent choice, and I apprecaite how this Joker makes use of the playful and unhinged aspects of the character. Also, his outfits are cute, and I love the museum scene.

Brave and the Bold: Technically this Joker SHOULD be ranked higher since he’s literally based on the more lighthearted comics in the 60′s but... ehhh... I haven’t really watched BATB so I don’t have any strong opinions on the show and how it handles the character. he’s ranked this high through beause I appreciate what they were going for.

Golden Age: The quality of comics are always subjective, based on the creative team behind them. Some I’ll like more, others less so, It’s kind of hard to rank the pre-52 comic version of the Joker because of this.

TIER FIVE:

Killing Joke: Read it, didn’t care for it. I acknowledge how massive the impact this comic had on... everything, but just because I recognize how important this graphic novel is, doesn’t mean I have to like it.

The Dark Knight: Ledger did an excellent job with the role, but uhh... I’m kind of sick of the alt-right chuds who are out there sucking this Joker’s dick. The fanbase definitely ruined the character for me.

TIER SIX:

99′: Eh

Endgame: No

Suicide Squad: NO

Death of the Family: Hate him. Despise him. Lame stupid dumb little edgy bitch.

Gotham (Jeremiah): I don’t particulary care for Gotham in general, but the only reason I ranked this Joker over Jerome is beause I thought it was kinda funny to see that they made him a little rat-man, and I liked watching all the fujoshi on here cry and complain that they can’t ship this version of the joker with the pre-pubescent Bruce Wayne in the show bc he’s too ugly.

Gotham (Jerome): stop shippping this freak (who is fucking eighteen years old) with a literal twelve year old child. what the FUCK is wrong with yall.

UNRANKED:

The Joker (2019): I don’t plan on watching this film, nor will I ever. I know this is ironic, coming from someone who runs a Rogue blog, but stuff that focuses primarily on a character’s deteriorating mental health makes me reaaaaallllllyyyyy anxious (it’s kind of a phobia) and considering that I don’t particularly the Joker, I have no reason to watch something I know will only give my dumb ADHD-ass intrusive throughts.

[aftermathdb]

DEATH BATTLE Review: Black Canary vs. Sindel

So… Sindel for Injustice 3 then, or Black Canary for Mortal Kombat?

Gotta say, this being a Mortal Kombat episode and not really having the room to say Black Kanary is sorta annoying.

Well… Looks like they fixed… something here. These guys aren’t as nightmare-inducing as last time, but they are still kinda uncomfortable to look at.

Black Canary′s Preview.

DC History lesson time. A long time ago, the Justice Society of America were the first recorded instance of a group of Super Humans banding together to form their own group. This included plenty of crazy people, like a furry boxer, the manifestation of God’s wrath, and a Judo master known as Black Canary.

But the BC For this DC Rundown is the one that made it a household name, Dinah Laurel Lance. The second Black Canary.

Incidentally, Boomstick basically makes himself known as Barbara Dunkleman and Chuggaconroy’s love child in Canary’s rundown. I don’t know whether to cheer that thought on or to shudder at it, so I’ll leave it at that.

Anyways, long story short, Dinah would have not have started her Superhero career if not for a certain thing that happened to her.

Whether you believe that it was the Metagene or a wizzrd’s doing, Dinah developed the signature Canary Cry.

And as for a disguise, she originally wore a blonde wig, but eventually did a permanent dye-job of blonde. Or as Boomstick put it…

God, I love puns.

Dinah’s attack here is one of the most deadliest things in comic history, and when she amps it up, she can pull off so much crazy stuff that it almost sounds like Ollie is the one made of Kleenex.

With enough force, she can even fly. Doing so requires about 195 Decibels to do so, and I cannot tell you how much auto-correct was a friend of mine in writing the word “decibels.” That’s gotta be in the top 20 most misspelled words of all time or whatever.

Of course, this does lead into an obvious weak-point…

Attacking the throat disarms her voice.

Luckily, she’s basically a master martial artist to back her up, and Canary Bombs to do all the sonic screaming for her while she catches her voice.

This leads into a Wiz and Boomstick segment.

Also, yes. Expect that whole “CENSORED BECAUSE NIGHTMARE-FACE” thing to be a running gag for me. Hopefully until they f*cking fix that goddamn Boomstick smile! Yeesh! Not even the Joker makes me cringe that much.

Anyways, Dinah has some impressive feats, as the hosts go over

Then there was one time she did this:

Dinah also survived having her Canary Cry being reflected back at her. Admittedly, this is because of the “required secondary powers” trope being in action, but still, really impressive.

Now, Dinah once claimed that she could react to nano seconds. But that’s actually backed up. She outraced a Green Lantern’s scan on a robot, and has done some other crazy things.

And the end quote is pretty much the victory screen from Injustice 2. Which I can’t feel too upset about considering Sindel’s end quote.

Sindel′s Preview.

So, Mortal Kombat history lesson time. Edenia was a peaceful and prosperous realm, a Garden of Eden, if you will. Until the Outworld Emperor Shao Khan came along and grabbed it all for himself.

Feeling pretty good about himself, Shao Khan tried to take a shot at Earthrealm

Sindel turned out to be a Kung-Fu sorceress, who offed herself to keep Shao Khan’s next target, Earthrealm from being hit.

Khan’s answer?- Resurrect and brainwash Sindel and take Earthrealm by force.

And apparently, she could do it too. As the hosts point out, despite her being dead for a long time and the whole “From another realm” thing, Sindel is an expert in a couple martial arts.

And we also learn a few new things about Boomstick too. Like… How attractive he thinks Sindel is… I don’t blame him. Winx Club made me want to have the Wicked Witch of the West step on me. Speaking of witch, when Icy vs. Elsa?

Anyways, Sindel can create sonic screams known as the Banshee Scream, which can explode heads, rend flesh, or even strip off skin.

She can even concentrate them into balls of energy called “Star Screamers” And Boomstick brings up the obvious…

When Luna vs. Freddy Krueger, am I right?

Anyways, Sindel once used that Banshee Scream to blast apart a canyon.

It was comparable to a Magnitude 5 Earthquake.

For reference, that’s 500 Tons of TNT.

We get into our next Wiz and Boomstick segment…

Okay, can I just say that I really really appreciate it when the Wiz and Boomstick segments are used to further the analysis rather than just be there for a joke?- It feels a bit more appropriate that they went over Sindel’s strength level here than if this was just used as a joke piece for some gag that could have very well have fallen flat.

Tangent aside, they mentioned that Sindel is also comparable to Kabal, who could slash bullets from automatic weapons in midair. Putting Sindel at hypersonic levels.

She’s not doing so bad for herself as a… “Zombie MILF” (Boomstick’s words, not mine. Someone please ask what was up with that, ‘cause I’m sure as hell not doing that).

But whether you choose to follow the original timeline where she freed herself and retook the throne,

Or the new timeline where the coup was her idea,

You’re going to go down screaming if you stare down Sindel.

(Told you that Canary’s “end quote” was an appropriate compliment to Sindel’s)

The Battle Itself.

Luis and Kiid are maining the animation, Black Canary will be voiced by Blythe Renay and Sindel will be voiced by Caitlyn Elizabeth. , Brandon Yates is composing Sirens of Combat (Not spelled with a “K” unfortunately), and audio led by Chris Kokkinos.

So the fight story for this one is pretty basic.

It’s basically just Black Canary vs. Sindel in the tournament. And while I could make the joke of “We could have had the ‘FIGHT’ graphic come back for this” I’m… Probably going to redirect you to my DA Journal Entry where I point out that if they had really wanted to point to an episode to justify why they got rid of it, they should have chosen a better episode than Widow-Widow.

Back to the actual battle, right off the bat, it’s pretty easy and quick to see that Canary easily takes the speed advantage.

Sindel actually fails to land any blows until she grapples Black Canary and slams her around a few times.

Luckily, Canary has defenses for this sort of stuff, and counter-attacks. Also, I’m going to take this point and say that Sindel’s hair is really distracting. It’s like she’s just asking for it to be pulled, and given what Shao Khan basically does, that thought now fills me with squick.

By the way, if you’ve ever liked a beam struggle, you’re probably going to love a sound-based one!

Anyways, Black Canary manages to blow Sindel away and asks a question that I think a few MK fans have asked.

Sindel then states the obvious.

So we get into our finishing blow (Yeah, this one was kinda short)

Verdict + Explanation.

So, right off the bat, Sindel had some things that gave her an edge up.

Sindel certainly had strength in the bag.

But Canary’s seen and fought stronger. So it’s not a heavy-hitting edge.

Plus, Canary’s way faster.

Seriously. How does she not break Ollie when they put Arrows in the Quiver?

Plus, Canary has a massive edge in martial arts skills. She’s mastered over 15 while Sindel only really has two.

Of course, none of this really matters until we get into the big question: Which is deadlier?- The Canary Cry, or the Banshee Scream?

Black Canary’s current score clocks in at about 300 Decibels. Impressive.

Sindel’s score clocks in at 235 Decibels. Also impressive. But then Boomstick points out the obvious:

As it turns out, Decibels go up in logarithmic units, not geometric ones.

This means that Black Canary’s scream was over a million times more powerful than Sindel’s.

There was no way that Sindel was tanking any of that any time soon.

Like I said: Love child of Barbara Dunkleman and Chuggaconroy. Let’s throw Pearls Before Swine cartoonist, Stephen Pastis in there too.

Overall impression.

Short battle, but given that we’re getting 20 episodes this season, I’d say that this is a pretty good fight.

I’m not a fan of how they didn’t go over durability feats, I feel that that would have solidified the overall result a bit more. Admittedly, if each of them had just opened up with their strongest attacks, Canary would win that easy what with her 300 Decibel cry, but durability is one of the many major factors in the battle.

Also, Sindel’s hair was super distracting throughout the animation. Plus, we didn’t get to see a whole lot of stuff in the fight. If Canary had said something along the lines of “You’re strong… I’ve fought stronger.” in the battle, that would have better demonstrated that Sindel’s strength wasn’t anything new to her, and that she would be more actively moving to avoid hits.

7.6/10

Next Time…

So, remember how they said that Leonardo vs. Zits was originally going to be Leonardo vs. White Ranger, but was changed because of a poll?

We got ourselves a variant!

Is there a fight that you want me to review? - Send an ask/request, and I’ll look into it!

Do you want to read my fanfic based around DEATH BATTLE itself? click here!

Thank you for reading, and I hope to see you next time for…

Leader-In-Blue vs. Red T-Rex.