Tera-pies

Giancarlo Esposito as Lex Luthor  

The past 5-10 years have proven me this guy is the most badass "big boss in suit & tie" character.  I don't even think he needs to go bald for the part. He has the ruthlessness that all the live action Lex's are missing so far. I mean Michael Rosenbaum was dope, but technically that all happened pre-Superman, so sorta doesn't count.

Josh Brolin as Old-man Bruce 

Tell me the resemblance isn't frickin uncanny.  Nuff said. Now give us the Batman Beyond live-action movie we've been waiting for. 

Willem Dafoe - Joker (Arkham Asylum-inspired) 

I always wondered, how did the execs at WB ever thought "Hey, you know that scene in Spider-man when he was laughing maniacally in the mirror?". If I remember correctly, he even said it outright in interviews that was what he was channeling. C'mon la WB.

Bill Skarsgard - Joker / Batman Who Laughs

If we're going for a slightly younger Joker, bruh, haven't seen anyone do that evil clown grin better than this guy. As a bonus, it'll be even cooler if they make him the Batman Who Laughs opposite Rob Pattinson. Dark Nights Metal as a movie would be dope. Alternatively, the guy who played the clown from Terrifier would be a very close runner-up for the next Joker. That one's all kind of messed up too.

Danny Trejo as Lobo 

Originally I went with Mamoa. I mean c'mon, he is Lobo in the flesh, minus the grey skin and red eyes. But then, I totally understand the reasoning to #MakeAquamanGreatAgain. So, how bout Machete as an interstellar bounty hunter? Si!

Jaime Alexander as Wonder Woman 

Well, since the Snyderverse isn't really canon anymore, can we bring back the obvious choice? I mean c'mon, look at the picture side by side, give her the tiara and tweak the armour a bit, boom, Wonder Woman. Sorry, I just can't buy Han from Fast & Furious's dead girlfriend as Princess Diana of Themyscira.

Bonus: Cast they got spot on

Brenton Thwaites as Dick Grayson / Nightwing / Robin 

I'm pretty sure there are plenty of other names here, but for my money, this one really felt like Grayson jumping right out of the pages onto screen ("Fuck Batman" and dark/gritty show tones aside).

Hi.

It's been awhile.

Straight up, I've been declining mentally and emotionally as of late. Various things that happened in my life basically made it difficult for me to sleep most nights.

And then it hit me - despite being mostly alone back in the day, with a constant revolving door of friendly characters, writing was my release (no matter how nonsensical it was). It definitely helped me work out my demons.

That's why we're here today, continuing from where I left off. I decided to keep the old stuff here in spite of how very clearly cringe of a person I was, as a reminder I suppose, of what not to do or who not to be anymore.

So, what have i been up to for the last 5 years?

Well, I got married.

I'm keeping up with a bubbly, fun and equally chaotic 2 year old.

Been in the ad game, although it's a weird relationship - it's not really my thing but I can't stay away for too long either (I take a break from it every once in awhile, but any other line of work is just too slow or makes me braindead).

Oh, and there's this one mistake I made about 4 years ago that essentially handicapped my financial freedom and I would say is the main trigger for all my unresolved anger and resentment from years of growing up. But hey, that's a story for another day.

But really, what sparked the urge to suddenly write again was a simple thought -

I imagined answering the question "what's it like being a dad?".

My answer? Lots of scrubbing. 

After every meal, every snack, without fail, she'll have stains. And weirdly enough, I enjoy the clean up. I actually savour those quiet moments of just locking myself in the bathroom and scrubbing the stains off her PJs. It's a form of therapy really. 

That and our afternoon drives. Semi-quiet moments with Blues Clues or Bubble Guppies songs playing, her singing along, bopping her head to the tunes and me just escaping for an hour from life. 

I guess some things don't change - driving is still relaxing. The only difference is now I have a mini co-pilot, who by the looks of it, also enjoys the drives as a form of escape too.

Oh, and after 20 frickin years, I'm finally moving out to my own place. You have no idea how excited I am for this. I reckon I'll get more into this in a future post.

Ok, real talk now.

I think my emotions have been very much unchecked as of late.

Whenever I feel someone is getting in the way or breaching my space, I want to utterly destroy them.

In fact, I have been very overprotective of my space and boundaries a lot lately.

I constantly feel the need to punch something or someone.

I get triggered by the most mundane things.

People that sorta annoyed me, now REALLY annoys me.

Trust is a finite resource.

I think it's also the first time I realise I truly miss friends.

Yes, this coming from the guy who can disappear for years and suddenly call you out of the blue to lepak or to check out your latest gig.

I think it's important for me to address this, especially for those who thought I might have abandoned them or taken them for granted.

If I don't see or contact you for long periods of time, just don't take it personally.

I tend to get caught up with whatever's in front of me. Here and now kinda deal, y'know?

Sometimes names will pop up on my periphery every once in awhile and will remind me to ping or nudge.

But for the most part, I just like to be left alone to my own devices, to be able to do things at my own pace and dive headfirst with total abandon into whatever I'm doing.

But yea, that's a little bit of a general catch up from me.

Hope everyone's doing well.

This is not gonna be a regular thing due to my day-to-day schedule, but there'll be life here again.

Oh, and conclusion for my mental & emotional degradation? I should probably see a therapist about it.

...is such an overly marketed cliche for my generation.


But I find myself in situations where that line makes a lot of sense.

I missed my great grandmother's passing(she was close) because I prolonged my stay in another country to build up my savings.

Today, I just missed my fiance's graduation, even though I actually planned on making the trip 2 months back. But I chose to stay, again, to save up for us.

And then it hit me. The first advice I got from my soon-to-be father in law;
(paraphrasing here)"Don't make the same mistake as I did. I worked so much I didn't get to see them growing up".


I'm a realist though. An optimistic realist.

On one hand, I am severely made aware of the consequences of blindly following my instincts, dropping whatever I'm doing and racing towards the people I care about. It's a noble and admirable gesture, but without money, you can't support them to your fullest extent.

Then again, I also am a firm believer of "money will come, one way or another", and I mean that only in a halal way. Because I've been thought that by my dad, and my friemd's dad too. (Again, paraphrasing)"Duit tu boleh cari bila-bila, yang penting family".


Guess I still haven't quite learn that lesson yet.

*POSSIBLE SPOILER ALERT

1. Deadly Alliance retcon
Quan Chi is dead. Assuming his character ending is legit, he's now the Elder Gods' bitch anyway("reprogrammed" to kill the now corrupted Raiden).

2. Deception retcon
IF Reptile's ending is canon, it seems he would be too preoccupied with returning his people to the surface rather than unwittingly stumbling into the Dragon King's lair. Likewise, I have a feeling Cassie's ending is canon as well, considering the whole Dark Raiden turn of events(basically, she killed Shujinko, on the orders of Raiden, thinking it was Shang Tsung. Most likely Raiden commanded it on purpose to ensure the Dragon King won't be ressurected).

3. Expressway to Armageddon
Kenshi and Takeda's ending suggested that they stumbled upon the whole Daegon/Taven scenario.

4. Dark Raiden
Pretty much confirmed with the final cutscene, further supported by Raiden's, Scorpion's and Kotal Khan's individual endings. And I got my answer as to what happens to Hanzo and his Shirai Ryu(Scorpion becomes Raiden's personal "anti-Spectre", if you will).

5. Rulers of Netherrealm
Also confirmed in the final scene, as well as Liu Kang and Kitana's character endings(still don't know whattaheck happened to Jade though). Kung Lao and Kung Jin's character endings would also explain why Kung Lao was absent from the Netherrealm ruling committee.

6. A Death In The Family
Sonya and Jax's endings would suggest that Briggs Sr might not make it to the next game, after trying to save the cubs' lives from an Erron Black ambush.

7. Notable mentions
Kano's son would probably be a new character for the next game. Shang Tsung would make a come back(if Ermac's ending is legit), and possibly have a hand in the events of the next game.

*SPOILER ALERT
1. The Cage household
Papa Johnny beat Shinnok(to the point he saw him as a legit threat). Mama Sonya beat Quan Chi. Little Cassie beat "roided-up" Shinnok. Yup. You got Caged, betch!

2. Takeda Takahashi is baus
Son of Kenshi(got daddy's telekinesis), trained by Scorpion himself(to Chunin level), saved Scorpion's life twice in the comics(once, on a "moral" level, which by default, saved Sub-Zero's life in the process), dating Jacqui Briggs(whose dad was a recently ressurected, former servant of Quan Chi, former Special Forces...and let's face it, them bionic arms...that Asian kid's got balls man).

3. The Scorpion-Sub-Zero tea ceremony
Adorable gila babs.

4. Where the fuck is Bi-Han(elder Sub-Zero/Noob) and Jade???
Seriously? Bi-Han is mentioned through out the game, but tak nampak pon batang hidung dia. Same with Jade.

Here's a new segment, if you will. As always, it's a form of therapy for me. You know, the whole "reflecting on thyself" and all that jazz. I'm not here to open debates and start arguments. That's not why I'm here. There are other writers out there who'd be more than happy to accommodate you. These are just MY thoughts on the matter, and thus, shouldn't be taken as gospel/scientific fact/academic reference/argument fodder. I just don't like confrontation, that's all.

1. I'm proud AND guilt-ridden of who I am at the same time
See next point.

2. Uh...yea...The NEP thing
I acknowledge and am very much aware that I'm a product of the NEP...all...the...frickin...time. All of my future achievements in my adult life(heck, even my current and past ones) will undoubtedly come with a catch; "Where would you be without it?", either shot by peers who'd question the validity of my hard-earned success(because I have a "leg up", as they would put it), or my parents/Malay-sympathizers who'd lecture me if I ever bring up the idea of racial equality, and the much-overdue needs-based over race-based policy(this, seems like a frecken no brainer to me, especially to deal with corruption and misappropriation of funds). I am the walking, talking, breathing equivalent of "having your cake and eating it". It's like being the only middle-class white boy in a hip-hop crew from Compton.

3. ...more on the NEP thing
This whole "Malay first" ideology is actually a bad thing, for ALL involved, because the Malays are raised knowing that there'll always be some kind of a safety net for them. Maybe it's just me, but if we're talking about reasons to be proud of one's culture, wouldn't it be better if we were known for being resourceful, adaptable and having a natural competitive edge? The simple fact is, the "Malay first" ideology, with regards to the bigger picture, is actually dulling these qualities rather than honing them.

4. Ultra-melayus and Islamic-radicalism
I am a Muslim, and a Malay, and I am as shitless-scared as the rest of you are of this bunch and what they are capable of. For one thing, it's because I KNOW I'm not a saint, and I'm not living in denial, trying to Arab-icize(is that even a word?) myself. Also, because I love hanging with my "braders" and "machas" as much as I love hanging out with my "members". Life would suck if it was a "Malaysia for Melayus only". You know what? Any form of legislation that's Saudi-based would SERIOUSLY SUCK as well, because most of my friends are women!

5. It's all geography man
When you say "Malay" to me, I think of the whole shabang; as long as you have an ancestral link from anywhere within the SEA region, to me, you're some form of "Malay". It was called the "Malay Archipelago" by the mat sallehs after all(Malaysian/Singaporean/Indonesian/Phillipino are simply politically-bound labels to me). I'd like to go further and suggest that we might even be closely related to the Latinos(same biological features...heck, same frecken stereotypes too).

After 3 years of to and fro, this place ain't so bad...

...With the exception of two, very simple things.

1. "Ta".
Yup. Exactly how it's spelled. Supposedly it's thank you, in short form(at least that's what I've been told). Except, I find it really, really, really, really...(this will go on for quite awhile)...annoying. It just sounds soooo frickin gedik(also somewhat posh-but-not-in-a-good-way/pretentious as well) no matter who says it. Seriously. I dunno why I hate it so much, but everytime a customer says "Ta" to me, I'm quietly grinding my teeth behind a forced smile. Rasa cam nak "ta"-mpar je sial.

2. Asians speaking broken english, with a thick made-up Aussie accent
Wehhh, aku takleh doh. Can you please just speak with your original accent that you were raised with? It's more natural, and actually more pleasing to the ear. Sebab diorang ni tak pandai nak pronounce or enunciate betul-betul, tapi nak jugak tambah accent ciplak dia kat situ...

*le sigh