Monthly News June 2020

==Wiki News==
*Sorry for the late blog. Because there was no news blog in May, that month's news has been added into this one.
*Deadliest Fiction stands in solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement. George Floyd's murder was nothing short of a sign of the racism and flaws inherent in American law enforcement. If you want to support them, join your local protest (while abiding social distancing guidelines if you can), donate to charities that aid the African American community, and let your voice be heard.
==Battle Advertising==
*Geralt of Rivia (Witcher) vs. Scar (Fullmetal Alchemist): The prodigal son has returned and brought us the latest installment of his Battles Across Fiction warrior tournament which likely will never be finished. In the third battle of the first round, the White Wolf Geralt of Rivia takes on Scar, the serial killer who took on hordes of stat alchemists. Who will move to the next round and who will end up sticking in the dirt? You decide.
*BOPE (Brazil) vs. GEOF (Argentina): This is my battle. Please vote.
*Pygmy's Back for Blood: To kick off his new season, Pygmy brings us a two for one blog between the modern and ancient victors of his last season. First an epic battle of East vs. West as the soldiers of Han China take on the Iberians. After that, the zombie hunting nazi Edward von Richtoven takes on Alvin York, one of the greatest heroes of WW1.
*Generl Grievous (Star Wars Legends) vs. Fulgore (Killer Instinct): Machines, while shown to destroy their creators whenever they manage to get the chance, make quite the good combat units and soldiers. Needless to say, their effectiveness and enhancements prove superior to organic soldiers. Though the combination of both man and machine has proven to be near equal to the robots themselves and even better so when two cyborgs, combining both the greatest traits of man and cybernetics, go head-to-head, who claims victory?
*Cullen (Dragon Age) vs. Robb Stark (A Song of Ice and Fire): Army will collide with army as an epic campaign of fantastical proportions where honor, strength, and skill will all collide! Cullen, the former Templar turned commander of the Inquisition that helped save Thedas from the threat of Corypheus and the Qunari invaders! Robb Stark, the Young Wolf who marched the entire North of Westeros against the Iron Throne in a brave and valiant rebellion to the tyrant Joffrey Baratheon! Two warriors turned reluctant generals will trade blows and battles as the Templar hunts down the Young Wolf, all to determine which commander is the Deadliest Warrior.
*Joestar Group (Stardust Crusaders) vs. Squadra Esecuzioni (Vento Aureo): Years after their victory over DIO, the Joestar Group once again unites to fight another Stand menace, the Passione. This mafia organization ruled the streets of major Italian cities for decades, dealing drugs to the Italian people while holding them in an iron grip. Someone has to take them down. Getting word a dangerous group of Stand users threatens his rule, Diavolo sends the Squadra Esecuzioni after them. Aware that his assassins are starting to have doubt about their loyalty to him, Diavolo hopes that by pitting these two groups against each other will get rid of them. The only question is who he has to deal with once the dust settles.
*Jacket (Hotline Miami) vs. Martin Riggs (Lethal Weapon): Hey you! Yes, you! Want to help the homeless? Want to aid those less fortunate than you? Well you're in luck, cause Laquearius has put out another HRI battle. Here the crazed masked killer Jacket goes toe to toe against Martin Riggs, the Lethal Weapon. This fight has everything you want, gore, music, guns, and a ton of dead Russians. Who will join the gangsters on the pile of bodies? That's for you to decide.
*Like an Assassin in a China Shop: I know what you're thinking: "Another battle royale? So cliché." But this not a normal battle royale, this is a battle royale with a twist. The competitors do not only have to kill each other, but also assassinate their target. And there is another twist: the target herself is a competitor also. Will the assassin manage to beat the competition and earn their paycheck? Or will they all lay dead at their target's feet?
*Alistair Theirin (Dragon Age) vs. Jon Snow (A Song of Ice and Fire): Though Martin Riggs will be able to find himself a new home there are still plenty of warriors that are forced to wander the streets, homeless and without a battle. Luckily, Beast is likewise doing his part to help these poor souls earn a roof over their head. This time the King of Denerim Alistair Theirin takes on Jon Snow, the rightful heir to the Seven Kingdoms. Have you voted on Jacket vs. Martin Riggs and do you still want to help those in need? Then head over to this battle and vote.
==World News==
*Apologies if the stories below feel a bit samey. The current events of the world have released a spur of journalism to cover the protests, COVID-19 outbreak and a variety of other topics that have eaten the traditional news cycle.
*President Donald Trump’s numbers have effectively collapsed in recent months following a series of long protests, his response to the protests that has been seen as fascist or overly aggressive by traditional US allies and citizens, along with horrible mismanagement on the COVID-19 Outbreak. Donald Trump has seen his popularity plummet in polls after a brief rise during the initial moments of the outbreak. What once started as a decent high at 49%, has now dropped to 40-41%, which current trends suggest will continue to suffer.
*Beyond Trump’s approval ratings lacking any real turn around, polling data suggests that he is becoming increasingly vulnerable in states he previously carried in the 2016 election. Michighan which he had previously won, shows him dropping 12 points behind Joe Biden, the Democrat set to face off against him in November. Its not just happening in States, but national polls seem to suggest the trend of Trump’s chances of victory are becoming increasingly dire. New polling data now suggests that Biden is leading the election with 50.5% of the predicted vote compared to Trump's current 41.3% The blame regarding his failures can be attributed to his poor and tone-deaf response to the woe’s of the nation and recent problems and controversy have pushed Trump to the edge of oblivion as the situation and his status continues to weaken.
*Outrage has broken out across the nation of Jamaica as Noel Chambers has died after forty years of being imprisoned. Noel had spent those forty years locked away, but never having been convicted of a crime during this time. Last seen in images before his death, Chambers was filled with bug bites and a malnourished frame, although officials have claimed that the man had died of kidney failure. His death has caused further requests for investigation into the nation’s prison system and its procedures.
*Just in time for Pride Month, Costa Rica has become the first Central American nation to legalize same-sex marriage. After years of work and progress, the nation had been bound by the Inter-American Court of Human Rights, that requested all member states legalize these marriages. While this may seem to be Costa Rica giving into the request, the nation has had a history of pursuing progressive ideals and promoting social issues in particular climate change and renewables.
==Popculture News==
*Rick May, best known as the voice of Soldier in Team Fortress 2 and Andross and Peppy O'Hare in StarFox64, has died after contracting COVID-19. Besides being a well known voice actor, May is also a prolific theater and opera director and director having worked on over 300 shows including Fiddler on the Roof, Death of a Salesman, and The Odd Couple. In honour of his memory, Valve added golden statues of the Soldier in various Team Fortress maps. Rest in peace soldier, you've earned it.
*Fans of the game developing and publishing company Valve were in for a brief scare as the source code to their biggest games Team Fortress 2 and Counter-Strike: Global Offensive leaked onto the internet. As a result many feared that hackers could use the leaked information to hack into the games and upload a virus that players could contract that could mess with their Steam account or maybe even their own computers. But Valve themselves have come out saying that the codes were rather old and do not apply to the current game code but have started an investigation regardless.
*The end of the school year is approaching but because of the quarantine graduation ceremonies and proms have been cancelled. Normally that would have been it, with many students resign to simply stay at home and be sad about it. But thanks to the power of video games, there is another way. Instead of having proms and graduation ceremonies in real life, students are now organizing them in Animal Crossing: New Horizons by decorating their islands and inviting their friends who also have the game onto their island. While this is in no way a perfect substitute, it is nice to see people come together despite the quarantine.
*With cinemas being forced to stay close amid the corona crisis prominent movie studios have been forced to realise their latest movies onto streaming platforms in order to make a profit. Normally you would think that this would cause them to lose out on potential customers, but because everyone is forced to stay at home more are using streaming platforms than ever before so the movie studios have been making their money back and even seeing some success. This has caused some studios to become disillusioned with cinemas with spokespeople of Universal openly questioning their use after the success of Trolls World Tour. In response, major cinemas chains such as Cineworld and AMC Theatres declaring that they would no longer screen Universal movies. If this is a sign of things to come remains to be seen.
==Meme Review==
Since fuck all happened in May when it comes to pop culture I have decided to just review some memes. This might be a returning thing if I end up with no news again but don't hold your breath.
===Pepe===
Pepe is a surprisingly versatile meme with a ton of staying power. It along with its likeness can be drawn and edited to reflect a plethora of different people, feeling, and situations. What drags it down a bit is that it has been cooped and used as a symbol by various alt-right hate groups. Still, that doesn't mean its powers can't be used for good as well like this pride Pepe.
Score: 8/10
===All Your Base Are Belong to Us===
Most memes tend to die very quick deaths, such is the way of the internet, but even when looking at a dead meme you can get why it was funny. The same cannot be said of All Your Base Are Belong to Us. This was one of the first memes to appear on the net and like many things that are first of their kind it sucked. I don't even get why it was funny. Was it the Engrish? Or perhaps because we just kept repeating it and saying it was funny? Don't know, don't really care.
Score: 3/10
===Ugandan Knuckles===
This was a blast when it peaked. Unlike other memes that are solely expressed in images and videos, this primarily centers around people just messing around on VRChat. Combine this weird sense of community with some quotes the Ugandan film Captain Alex, a funny looking avatar, and some slightly edgy jokes and you got yourself an all-around funny meme. Though it didn't have a lot of staying power because there is simply little that can be done with Ugandan Knuckles so it didn't have a very long shelf life.
Score: 7/10
===Big Chungus===
Another meme I don't get but am a bit more apathetic about. It's just a picture of a fat Bugs Bunny with a silly name, that's it. Though I can see why people would think it is funny in a few ways this meme is just not for me.
Score: 5/10
===Press F to Pay Respect===
It is not uncommon to see a long line of F's in a Twitch chat after the streamer loses a game or underneath an article about a celebrity death. Use it ironically to mock someone's failure or to genuinely mourn the loss of an idol. Pressing F to pay respect has risen above being a simple inside joke among Call of Duty fans and become an enduring part of internet slang.
Score: 10/10
===Harambe===
I couldn't make this series of reviews without the original Chad himself. Harambe, the ape whose death started this downward spiral we now find ourselves in. From Epstein's murder to the coronavirus all could've been prevented if he wasn't killed. We can only hope that He looks down on us and protects us from the heavens above. Dicks out for Harambe.
Score: 11/10
===Minions===
Nothing can describe my utter contempt for these walking, blabbering, yellow pieces of shit. They are vile. What's worse is that they are everywhere. And while their popularity has dwindled somewhat over the years, you will still see a minion meme or two on your timeline posted by one of your elderly relatives. Fuck the minions.
Score: 0/10