Ramblings and Musings of the Insane, Philosophical Ladybug

So I was re-reading the two separate The Batman Strikes! comics and the graphic novel compilation I have. As I mentioned before, I thought the third Riddler comic was very badly done and OOC for him. There were always oddities in their Riddler stories, however, and I found myself wanting to believe the comics were a separate continuity and did not take place in the same verse as the show.

Some of the specific oddities: The Batman Strikes! Riddler is always blowing things up. Compare this to The Batman TV show Riddler, who threatens to blow things up, but actually only has lime Jell-O in the canisters. LOL. He isn't trying to hurt random innocent people; he just wants a distraction to keep Batman away from where he's stealing technology information.

Also, while I loved the first of the three Riddler comics, one thing I always found a little strange was that in the climax, he's built himself what looks like a throne. Now, he's a very arrogant fellow, it's true, but that seems a little extreme even for him. In the TV show, he never does anything to give the impression that he actually thinks of himself as royalty/a king/etc.

To me it feels like the comics have a sense of who this Riddler is, yet they miss the mark and never quite grasp it all the way.

Yesterday I found proof that the comics are indeed their own verse. In the TV show, Bruce Wayne meets Selina Kyle at a dinner party in the episode From Ragdolls to Riches. They become more or less friendly and continue associating. But Bruce starts to become suspicious of her and is surprised when she cashes a large check he gives her and donates it to a pet fund. She wasn't fond of Bruce's dog art. Oddly, neither he nor Alfred ever considered that maybe she liked another animal instead of dogs. **rolls eyes.**

In the comics, he meets her for the first time at an animal shelter event, where she adopts every kitty there. He wonders if she's going to give some away, since that's a lot of cats, and she says she could never give one of her darlings away.

I suppose it could be argued that since in the comics they just had the one meeting, maybe Bruce had forgotten it by the time they met in the TV show episode. However, it would seem he would remember eventually, especially considering she adopted all those kitties. That's not something one could easily forget! And if he remembered about the kitties, he wouldn't be surprised at her donating the check to the pet fund.

Therefore, I can only conclude that the comics meeting came before the TV show episode aired and each is meant to be their own verse. It makes me feel a lot happier to have come to that conclusion.

I wish the comics had been a little better with their Riddler characterization; I love new adventures featuring the versions of characters that I love. But it seems like in general, whenever I venture into a media type other than the TV shows, I'm disappointed by the characterization or other things in them.

I was excited when I heard about the Diagnosis Murder series of novels that would be written some years back. However, they were written by one of my least favorite writers from the show, Lee Goldberg. I know he's usually praised, but I think a lot of it is misguided hype. I find it disgusting how his scripts and also the novels tend to feature death in the most bizarre and gruesome ways, like one episode where a man is crushed by a bed of spikes plunging through him. Horrifying! Also, he tends to rely a lot on stupid scatological humor more than other writers. And I don't always like his characterization. I wasn't entirely fond of his version of Jack Stewart, and in his Monk novels, I think he misses the mark on Monk's characterization and also on Sharona's. One novel even features Monk chasing after another character over continents because he can't stand them going away. That is not Monk. He might feel like doing it, but he doesn't do it. If he was going to, he would have done it when Sharona left.

And then there's the My Little Pony comics. Someone said that they felt the characterization in the comics is basically the stereotypes of what the characters represent, without really getting into all the facets of the individual characters. To some extent, I agree. I don't like the characterization in the comics, especially of Rainbow Dash, and the Cutie Mark Crusaders drive me bonkers. They're being held prisoner and all they do is sit and talk about how maybe they'll get their Cutie Marks for being kidnapped, and other silly things like that. They drive Chrysalis crazy, so if that was their purpose, it was genius. But instead it seemed like they really were being brainless dolts, talking about their Cutie Marks instead of devising a plan to escape, like I'm sure they would have on the show. And other comic arcs just really make me raise an eyebrow, like the pirate one with Fluttershy. She seemed OOC there, from what I've heard about her trying to keep a fish when it didn't want to stay, and there are others who feel the same.

I think just about the only thing I like in the comics is that they made Trixie a deeper character. In the show and the movies, she's pretty much the most shallow character there. But in the comics, she recognizes she did wrong and is honestly trying to better herself.

And then there's the recent Six Million Dollar Man comics, which are much more gruesome than the show and take things into really bizarre territory, like a scientist getting cut by an alien substance and mutating into an alien creature. And the substance has infected others and the entire base is now under siege by this nonsense. It sounds like something from Superman or Marvel Comics, not The Six Million Dollar Man. And in the main plot, a rampaging robot tore off all the prosthetic/bionic limbs from Barney Hiller, a twoshot character from the show played by Monte Markham. It's treated very seriously and isn't gory, but it's sickening and horrifying and is much darker than the show.

And then there's a whole other category of "this isn't as good" when it comes to The Saint. I still feel like the TV show is better, but I don't think I'd ever dare say that to a nest of Saint fans. Most of them prefer the books and the character in those. Of course, unlike with the other things I've been talking about here, the books came first, so there wouldn't have been a TV show without them. I appreciate the books to that extent. But I really don't like how much more permissive The Saint is in the books and how he'll even let murderers go free if he thinks they were justified in killing. Sometimes, in some books, I believe he even kills himself, and not just in self-defense. I think it's only if the person is particularly evil, like a mad scientist or something, but still.

This week, MeTV has up two episodes based on short stories in the one short story collection I have: The Gentle Ladies and The Ever-Loving Spouse. I don't really like The Gentle Ladies in either incarnation, but I certainly prefer the TV version overall. The blackmailing bad guy is killed by accident when he falls down the stairs, instead of one of the ladies killing him on purpose. In the episode, Simon helps them make it look like the guy was trying to rob the place to avoid scandal about the creep's blackmailing ways. In the book, Simon buries the body in the yard.

The Ever-Loving Spouse follows the plot of the short story a little more than The Gentle Ladies does, but it expands on it favorably and I quite like the TV version. The book version annoyed me not just for Simon's reaction to the revelation of the murderer, but because Simon seemed to just be sitting by and letting things unfold around him. He wasn't really actively involved, except for finding the first body and then confronting the two-time murderer later. And he just lets the guy go free because he feels that blackmailers are so repulsive and that killing two of them isn't a great loss to the world. What he doesn't seem to consider is that perhaps the murderer will someday be afraid Simon will talk and so he'll come after Simon to kill him too! I wouldn't put it past the guy, since he killed twice and since he didn't really seem to trust Simon.

The TV version has the same murderer, but Simon figures things out before the second death and calls the person to try to warn her. Then he comes to stop the murder and is able to, and is going to see that both people go to prison for their respective crimes: blackmail and murder. He expresses a bit of sympathy for the murderer due to his desperation and seeming madness from what the blackmailers are doing to him, but he isn't going to let the guy go scot-free.

I know the idea in the books is that Simon feels that legal justice isn't always good enough for some criminals and so he takes the law into his own hands a lot more. But I guess I'm just a prude; I prefer the more cleaned-up version of the character in the TV show.

Bleh. Saturday was spent mostly in pain. I hate when that happens, especially when it's so bad I can barely think straight. The only good thing about it is that when it's that harsh, it's usually gone sometime the next day. I'm definitely grateful for that, but I feel bad that I really couldn't converse with people when I was trying to.

This past week I've been amused thinking back to when I first became interested in Boba Fett. I had the figure of my brother's, as mentioned, and I wondered who he was. Mom and I looked on the figure chart and found his name. Then I wanted to see him in action, so we watched the Star Wars films again (or rather, the latter two, since we didn't have a copy of A New Hope back then) and ... well, it was pretty much instant intrigue.

Then I started doing very strange things. I had Kit and Molly from Talespin become Boba Fett's wards. I don't know what happened to Rebecca. I do remember at that time I was on the rocks with Baloo, which was totally unfair to him. I think it started because I didn't like the way he acted in the episode Stormy Weather, which was childish of me since he was only worried about Kit getting in with a creep and doing dangerous things. But so anyway ... Kit and Molly were Boba Fett's wards. And I made up silly posters on some pink paper one of my aunts gave me that said "The Kit and Molly Show! With Boba Fett Too!"

Mom thought it would be nice to give her one of the posters, so she could see I was enjoying the paper. So I did, and she read it aloud and Dad was there and went, "... Hey, isn't that the guy from Star Wars?" and I wanted to sink into the floor.

I also remember that one of my first hurt/comfort adventures involved Kit bringing Boba Fett ... somewhere, and saying he wouldn't wake up, or something (I was six; I don't think I knew a big word like "unconscious" yet). And then after a while I was embarrassed by the whole thing and when I had him wake up, I wasn't sure how to have Kit react and it was all very weird.

I used to occasionally draw Boba Fett, but all that armor was confusing to figure out, so I didn't do it very often. I did draw Kit and Molly a lot, badly. Mom drew better, and I'd have her draw paper dolls of all the characters we used in our stories. So there were the paper doll storylines and the action figure storylines. Later on, since later we mostly played with figures and there weren't existing figures for everyone I wanted in the stories, we developed a verbal-only storyline that we still have ongoing today.

I remember other oddball adventures back in the day like Kit being a brat and pretending he had amnesia and saying his name was Guacamole, because I thought that was a hilarious word. LOL. Poor Kit. I did such weird, weird things when I was a kid. And I had no concept of OOCness.

Leonardo Turtle owned a restaurant with his brothers. Probably a pizza parlor. LOL. Later on he sold it to Rebecca.

Don Karnage and Mad Dog hung out together. I wasn't crazy about Dumptruck or Gibber, so they weren't there. Over time, Karnage and Mad Dog pretty much became OCs rather than the Talespin characters. Eventually they really only shared the names and a couple of key personality traits (Karnage's conceit, Mad Dog's whining). I even redesigned them as other animals (Karnage as an Alaskan Malamute, Mad Dog as a Siberian Husky). The OC versions became the central characters in the stories I used to write and sell in the old neighborhood to get money. I also created a skunk character, Jackly the Pew, who was originally based on the Tiny Toon Adventures character Jonny Pew. (Jonny ended up being Jackly's brother.)

I created a whole bunch of skunk characters actually. I loved Fifi on Tiny Toons and she entered the storyline, as did Miss Skunky (an orange skunk who cameos with Jonny Pew in the episode), Red-and-White (a blundered version of Miss Skunky when I couldn't remember what she looked like), and a collection of girls either inspired by Fifi or who were early attempts at drawing Fifi when I didn't have a picture to be looked at: Viva, Vivi, Vifa.... Vifa, who started out as a sweet girl, eventually showed her true colors as a femme fatale and became one of my primary antagonists even today (albeit as a human version, not a skunk). I first tried that in my sixth YGO mystery and it continued from there.

Later, Vifa developed a twin sister named Flo. Flo was originally just Vifa in disguise, but then I wanted her to be another actual character. For the longest time, I had trouble giving her a separate personality from Vifa, but recently I differentiated them by having Vifa interested in money and jewels and Florence interested in power. Vifa could be pettily bent on revenge, while Florence didn't usually bother with that. Lately, however, she has gotten so frustrated with Ginger and Lou overturning her plans against them that she has made it a personal goal to defeat them someday.

Meanwhile, Jackly (or Pew, as we started mostly calling him) started out as an antagonist, frustrated by Karnage doing stupid conceited things and Mad Dog being embarrassed and whining and bawling about it. It was only after Karnage enlisted in the Army that Pew started becoming friends with Mad Dog. Eventually, they actually became closer friends than Mad Dog and Karnage had been.

Karnage drove General Stilton (from The Cat From Outer Space movie) utterly mad with his nonsense of wanting to look in mirrors and shiny hubcaps and anything else that resembled a mirror. Karnage eventually made friends with Corporal Klinger from M*A*S*H. Yes, we said "Screw time periods!" and pretty much added anyone we wanted. The setting was the present day, but anyone could wander in from other eras, at the same age they were in the other eras. And characters like Karnage remained anthropomorphic animals, while human characters stayed human. They co-exist together very easily.

Karnage was in the Army for many years, and then left to marry a mirror. LOL. It was a gag based on something from years earlier, when he'd talked about it and Mad Dog talked him out of it because he wouldn't be able to go on dates with anyone and back then, Karnage was a Casanova and loved dates. But this other time, Mad Dog couldn't talk Karnage out of it and Karnage said he regretted listening to Mad Dog that first time. There was a big wedding in New York City, with Lieutenant Schrank from West Side Story very unhappily running security and Ron Updyke from Kolchak: The Night Stalker being abducted by a bunch of rabid Karnage fans that demanded that Karnage be allowed to marry the mirror or they would keep Ron hostage in a hot-air balloon.

Ah, good times.

Currently the main characters are in Los Angeles, where they've mostly been for three years, since Karnage married the mirror and went to L.A., where he burst into court and got on the witness stand and said, "I solemnly swear that I'm glorious." Hamilton Burger's expression was priceless. LOL.

There was a sanity hearing, which dragged on and on because the judge and Karnage's lawyer were crooked (something Karnage was oblivious to), and Mad Dog and Pew and company came out from their main residence to participate in the hearing. Eventually Karnage was put under the observation of some doctors, who are fascinated by him and aren't much help, except for keeping him from doing dangerous stunts like getting on bridges and screaming about being wonderful.

Both Vifa/Vivalene and Florence pretended to be nice girls and talked with Pew, who wanted to give them a chance to start over despite thinking they were both awful in the past. He learned their true colors later and felt deeply betrayed. Then he met Virginia, a mysterious girl who likes to steal things and then pretend she didn't, and generally is a mercenary out for a buck. Her full origins are still unknown, but she causes trouble for the characters every now and then, including Ginger and Lou.

Fifi worked for a private-eye character called The Tester, who used to test Pew with mystery scenarios to train him to be a detective. The Tester is the English Cat from Scat Cat's Aristocats band in disguise, albeit I've never conclusively revealed that. Fifi eventually disappeared and they're still not sure what happened to her, but a girl resembling her has surfaced in London. She has amnesia and was found wandering by Simon Templar, who took her in as his secretary. She has adopted the name Patricia Holm, the name of Simon's girlfriend in the books. This is the TV Simon, so there is no real Patricia. And since Fifi is an anthro skunk, there is no romance going on between them. If she has any feelings for Simon, she will keep them to herself.

And as if all this nostalgia isn't enough, today I woke up with an urge to finally write my sequel to my fic for the much-hated TV show The Batman. I honestly really enjoyed the overhaul and found the series very fun and fascinating. About six years ago, I wrote a oneshot examining their version of The Riddler and then did a multi-chapter involving him that ended in a mysterious way. I never abandoned my idea and desire for a sequel, but I've just never got around to it. Now, suddenly, I really want to do it.

I re-read the oneshot tonight and will probably re-read the multi-chapter tomorrow. Maybe I'll re-read the three Riddler comics from The Batman Strikes! tie-in comic series, too. I really only liked the first one of those, though. And I especially detested the last one and felt The Riddler was OOC and the issue didn't live up to the awesomeness of its cover. I remember I planned that my sequel would tell the story that I thought that comic issue would, based on the cover.

I also want to bring in the idea from the main comics where The Riddler eventually at least semi-reformed and became a private detective. The first multi-chapter I did ended with him supposedly dead, but his body missing and a paper left in the freezer chamber that had the first riddle he gave Batman on it. I'm not sure I ever will reveal how he got out of the morgue, since there should always be some mysteries surrounding him, but I'm thinking the sequel involves him turning up as a private detective under his real name and staying in the shadows for a while, only revealing his identity to Batman and Yin later on.

I really hated that they dropped the Yin character from the show after season 2. She was awesome! And she certainly should have at least been in the episode where Ethan comes back to himself, since they were partners.

I don't know when I'll actually get a chance to start writing any sequel, though, or if I really will at all despite the abrupt burst of interest. I've got all the October Writing stuff to work with, and an idea to write a book about season 1 of Mannix, and I've been seriously neglecting my Perry blog lately.

So, a week or so ago I bought issues #34 and #40 of The Batman Strikes! comic based on my beloved The Batman TV show. I already had #17, in a trade paperback that featured issues #11-#14 and #16-#18. Yeah, I don't know why #15 was skipped. Anyway, so #17, #34, and #40 are The Riddler issues. X3 #34 and #40 came today. Well, yesterday now.

#17 is LOVE. The Riddler robs a military establishment and steals some thermal photograph technology to unmask The Batman by taking a picture of him and then gradually unveiling the mask in the picture to show what's underneath. Batman and Yin chase him all over the city. It feels like an episode of the TV show, as does #34. #17 is the only one of the three issues, however, that doesn't feel like it ends too soon. There's a lot going on and there's time to show everything that needs to be shown. I feel like the other two should have been longer.

#34 has The Riddler reluctantly teamed up with a big robot that thinks it's the Joker. LOL. The Riddler wants to beat the thing and prove he's the true Riddler. The computer was programmed by Hugo Strange to have traits of every villain, so it also thinks it's best at riddling. LOL. They have some amazing banter at the beginning. The Riddler asks when DAVE (the computer) was last defragmented and later asks if he's ever heard of a virus scanner. LOLOLOL. And the Riddler wears black nail polish! Oh gosh, I LOVE that. ♥

There were still oddities, though.... Mainly that Batman addressed the Riddler as "Nygma" (well, he said "Nigma", but that doesn't look as pretty), when it was never revealed in the comics or the corresponding TV show what his last name is. At least, it was not ever shown, and I was annoyed that it never was. That comic was out after the Riddler's Revenge episode, however, but I like to think it took place before it. XD There's no real timeline for the comics. However, if it did take place after, then it could be said that Batman would know the Riddler's last name. Julie probably told it, even if the Riddler never did. Or Batman could have looked up the sabotage incident in the newspaper after hearing the Riddler's story.

I did like that little name bit for one reason, though: it proves I'm correct that Batman would address the Riddler as "Nygma" upon knowing his true identity. X3

#40 is ... odd. The cover picture is AMAZING, featuring Batman and Batgirl (who isn't even in the actual story, WTH) breaking through a crossword puzzle. The Riddler is standing there smirking saying "Welcome to the Riddler's puzzle, Batman!" The story doesn't have much to do with the cover. The crossword is an incidental thing, everything's blowing up, and the Riddler is trying to drop clues to lead the Batman to where the Joker is holding hostage the Riddler's favorite guard from Arkham. The Joker is blackmailing the Riddler into committing crimes more like the Joker would do and bringing him the stolen goods. The Riddler is trying to get there himself to save the girl, but is arrested again before he can. But thanks to his clues, Batman and Robin rescue her.

I already knew the story in #40 was a bit odd, and I guessed at most of it from sample pages found on scans_daily. However, it did have *a lot* of potential and I wish it had been written better. I also wish Chris Jones had been able to illustrate. XD; He only did the cover, and the guy who did illustrate the actual story ... doesn't draw a very flattering Riddler.

I also wish the story had corresponded more to the cover picture. I was thinking about it and wondering if I could write a fic that really utilizes the crossword puzzle. XD; Because a crossword puzzle mystery would be so COOL!

One thing I did like was that there was actually a Bible reference. The Riddler poses an Abel and Cain riddle to the Batman. X3 That was very unexpected and cool.

I got myself the Riddler figure, too. X3 He's a bit smaller than I thought **was picturing more like the big YGO Mattel figures**, and he could use more articulation (which I already knew about), but I like him. ^^ Collecting is fun.

I've also been thinking and wondering if I could crossplay the Riddler for Halloween. X3 For once, I could actually use my own hair, and it's about the right length. LOL. I'd probably have him wear something more like the suit that other Riddlers have worn, but without any purple and no ties at all. XD The Batman's Riddler likes green and black, not green and purple. Mom has a green jacket I could borrow. I'm waiting for stores to get in their Halloween stuff to see what else I could dig up. I'd like to have the dark green lipstick, but in the case of not being able to find it, I can at least have the tattoo marks with some black makeup I got the first year I was Marik. And I'll paint my nails black again. Buwahaha.

What should I be more disturbed about---that I had a dream where some nut reanimated Gunju's body to use as a zombie attack dog, or that I'm actually considering writing the thing as a Halloween fic? XD; (It would also include Gunju himself somehow being trapped in his old body and powerless to stop its rampage.)

My multi-chapter Batman fic is moving along. Now I have the idea for each remaining chapter to cover the events of one day, leading up to Friday. I even had the crazy idea to try to finish each chapter to match up with the day, starting with today. Can I do it?

Buwahaha. I wish I could. I'm so anxious to tell this story that I wrote a blurb for myself of the end of the Friday chapter, plus the epilogue.

I also started a blurb where T&D Seph and FF6 Kefka are fighting. The inspiration was Superman's speech in the final episode of Justice League Unlimited. ♥

- Frank Gorshin would have made an awesome Joker with that laugh. But all Riddler fans have gotta love him, whether they enjoy the over-the-top portrayal or not; he made the previously minor character popular.

- The Batman's Penguin does a very good (if slightly over-the-top) imitation of Penguin's voice from the live-action show. Especially on the laugh (though it is exaggerated).

- The Batman's Riddler is prone to sudden fits of frenzied behavior when desperate. It isn't only in Riddler's Revenge when he does this, but in Night and the City too, and a bit in Riddled.

... I'm seriously getting plunnied here. Must do a oneshot of the Riddler preparing for one of his schemes. And something about Batman's thoughts after their meeting in Riddled, and their future encounters. Before Riddler said anything, did Batman remember the odd and dangerous man who "redecorated" Gorman's house?

Then there's the continuation of my timeline and Riddler making a deal to receive immunity if he helps bring down a far more dangerous criminal than himself, that he knew in the past. I'm hovering back and forth between Yin or Batman being the one to talk to him in arranging this; I'm more interested in Batman and Riddler interaction, but Batman's not on the police force. XD; However, with Commissioner Gordon being willing to acknowledge that he and Batman are allies, maybe it would be alright for Batman to be the one.

**has started chapter 6 of Diamond Rose Glass, too.** Things are getting juicy. X3 Man, this fic is so fun.

EDIT: And completely and totally random, I thought of a possible meaning for the name Fragmented Triangle. XD Dalton and the Rakesh twins are a trio. Gunju's dead; the trio has been disrupted.

The weird workings of my brain when I am going into giggle fits.

Finally saw Batman Begins, which I've been wanting to do pretty much since it came out. The Dark Knight spurred me to finally do so, since I wanted to see the first film first.

And honestly? I loved it. It was darkish, but just the right level that I like it. The story and ideas expressed are largely the kind of stuff I enjoy writing. The characters and acting were awesome. Christian Bale, Liam Neeson, Morgan Freeman, Gary Oldman, Katie Holmes ... all excellent! Michael Caine has never been a particular favorite of mine, but he was wonderful as Alfred. And I recognized certain plot points that were used in some way in The Batman TV show.

I did regret that there wasn't more done with the Scarecrow villain; having two villains made it more difficult, I imagine, especially since the other one was the top dog. And I remember some comic fans whining about The Joker not being the first villain faced. I dunno, I like it better the way things were here. And the nod to The Joker at the end was awesome foreshadowing.

One thing I wondered was, is the time period modern or not? XD; I was confused because I thought I heard the Depression mentioned at one point. Yet things looked fairly modern. **wondering if it was ambiguous on purpose.**

Overall, awesome superhero movie. Ever since I started really showing some interest in superheroes, Batman has been my favorite. I like that his powers come from his own strength and from technology; he doesn't have to rely on superhuman stuff.

On a semi-related note, I've always been one of the few people who hasn't understood the Spiderman craze; I found the first movie extremely depressing (though the graphics were awesome). I need to watch it again now that I'm a lot older and could maybe appreciate it more, but ... **shrugs.** I'm not sure I'll ever fully get why it's been hailed as being so amazingly awesome and better than many other things. I never even have watched the sequels, either, since the first movie overall disappointed me. I'll get around to it sometime, I imagine.

I may find The Dark Knight depressing too. Dunno. I guess we'll see.

Boy, this week has really dragged on forever. It seemed like two weeks instead of one.

I actually finished my Von Schraider fic, though! **flops over the keyboard.** As usual, it took all evening to do the final proofread. ^^; That probably has something to do with the fact that I was talking to a lot of people. There were seven at once, at one point. If anyone wants to read, it's http://www.fanfiction.net/s/2565343/1/ It's a lot more words than I thought it would be. XD; Wow. I tried to keep him as IC as possible, but judging from the end of the Grand Prix and his actions then, I think he might have changed somewhat, at least to realize that what he did, and especially involving his brother, was foolish. **nod.** He's still arrogant and vain at times, though. **laughs.** He wouldn't be Siegfried if he wasn't. And I didn't focus on his eccentricities much. I decided to leave those alone. ^^; He does have a rose occassionally, though.

The morning was great! I loved the YGO episodes, though I was disappointed that they didn't focus more on Leonhard's duel. I would have rather seen more of his duel than Joey's. XD; And Weevil and Rex have become such clichéd comedy relief since Doom Arc. I hate what the writers did to them, really.

Oh yeah! And The Batman was awesome. XD Joker kidnapped Yin and Hugo Strange hooked up a machine that would allow him to astral-project into Joker's mind to find out where she is. Bruce Wayne has a prototype of the machine, so he hooks it up, gets the frequency, and goes in as well (as The Batman, of course). It was a wild ride. XD; My favorite Batman episodes usually have Joker in them. The best line from this one was right after Batman entered Joker's mind. There were Jokers everywhere in his version of Gotham, and even the moon looked like him. LOL. The Moon-Joker cried, "Yegads! A Batman in my belfrey!" XD

I really love what they get away with on that show. This episode was really psychological and dark, and they even allowed there to be images of skulls!

I watched the Megaman episode I recorded from last week. Wow. It was so great. And sad, too. I love this Dark Protoman saga. And Annetta is a cute character. ^^ I like her a lot.

The Shaman King finale was rather disappointing. I was expecting more from it. I guess the major action happened in the episodes previous. And I think they cut some stuff. **had been looking forward to hearing the kid who follows Hao around talk after the battle's end, but it didn't happen.** Jessi-Chi saw the original episode and said he talked in it.

After I watched the second YGO episode, I recorded Megaman while finishing up the last Sociology exam. (I can't believe they asked me what I think should be done about the homeless. Ugh. I feel so unqualified to try to answer that!) Then I watched a clip or two from the second YGO episode the previous week. ^^; I love that one. Now if I could just remember to email Eric Stuart about Siegfried's voice actor, for Heaven's sake....

I want a Hellsing shirt! I went to Japanimation.com, but now they don't have the one with the Alucard silhouette anymore. XD; I really liked that one. I think *maybe* I could get away with the Alucard and Seras shirt. ^^ I don't think Dad would like pentagrams, nor Alucard baring his fangs, as I mentioned before. But the shirt with Alucard and Seras is cute. ^^ I love the kind of father/daughter relationship they seem to have.

The YGO episodes were so awesome! I wasn't looking quite as forward to them since the bikers are all gone right now, but DANG! I loved them! Episodes like those remind me why I fell in love with the show in the first place.

One of the two Sonic X episodes they showed was the one with the Chaotix. They've become a detective team now, though I heard something about that before from Sonic Heroes. What I'm confused about is, Where did Mighty go?! It's only Vector, Charmy, and Espio now, and they act as though Mighty never existed. That seriously annoys me, since Mighty was definitely a part of their team in the earlier game they were in, and in the Archie and Fleetway comics. I think I need to write a story telling what happened to Mighty. And you know me, whatever I'll come up with will naturally be angsty and sweet.

Since TMNT has gone into reruns, I've also been watching The Batman. It's really surprisingly good. I used to watch it at the beginning of the season, but then stopped when I got into F Zero: GP Legend. I really didn't think I'd be interested in a show about Batman, but I honestly love it. It's a deep show, often dark, and has philosophical and psychological moments. Seriously, it's not the kind of show you'd expect to find on Kids WB. I highly recommend it. It's one of the best things the American animators have come up with lately.

It dawned on me a while back that most all of the songs I love are bittersweet. XD; I'm a very serious person in general and that sort of thing appeals to me. It would have to, judging by the kind of stuff I usually write. Occassionally I'll fall in love with a song such as Open Up Your Mind or Genki no Shower, as well. The Japanese have a tendancy to write beautiful songs like that. I really doubt that too much stuff like that comes from American music. ^^; Another thing I noticed is that most all of my fave songs are by foreign bands. The only American ones I have much interest in right now are Linkin Park and Evanescence.

Speaking of what I usually write, I worked hard on chapter 9 of The Darkness Within all through Saturday, but FF.net refused to let me in! I put the computer on standby and kept trying, but it was adament. Finally it let me post it this morning. By now I almost have chapter 10 done, as well, but due to the delay with chapter 9, I don't think I'll finish it right now. I'm going to save the final scene in the chapter to write later today, then post it in approximately 24 hours from now.