Donquixuote Doflamingo - The Long Game

One pieced is known for its well thought out story, and it’s ability to foreshadow. Creator, Eiichiro Oda, Truly is a genius. He will have a mind blowing revealing moment in episode 1000, that he began teasing in episode 300, aka 15 years ago in real time. It takes patience, not only from the creators of the show, but also from the viewers. There are many heroes and side characters that move the story along, but the villains also breathe life into the journey. There’s so many enemies that the main character “Luffy” and his crew encounter, but one that pushed them to the limit, was Donquixote Doflamingo. A wild dictator who was featured in one piece for 118 episodes (2 YEARS, 3 MONTHS, AND 19 DAYS!!)

There’s so many layers to Doflamingo (too many to unpack in this blog), but what I can say is he was ruthless, scarred from his past, not sympathetic at all, and persistent on ruling. His desire to control everything was 100 percent matched with his power, which was granted to him by eating the devils fruit called the string-string fruit. The fruit granted him the power to manipulate razor - Sharpe strings that can pretty much control anything like a puppet, or slice em’ up like a knife. His power initially caught my eye as a basketball player because of how we view an exceptional ball handler, we say “BALL ON A STRING”.

Although this notorious pirate warlord was a lunatic, I found his persistency, views on life, and patience to rule to be particularly fascinating. For years, he developed a plan all while recruiting other devious villains, and set things into motion when the government and pirates were at war. He took advantage of chaos in an attempt to move into a higher position of power. It’s something that I completely understand.

Although I don’t have any sinister plans, I do seek to be in a high position of power. I want to leave an imprint on the world that will never be forgotten. I want control in the basketball world that leads things in the right direction. May sound a little bit weird, but here’s how I see it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yUpXGpy2FC4

Turn to high school sports, tell me what you see. In Los Angeles I see the best players going to prep schools instead of playing for schools in the city they were born in, some of which don’t even have an actual campus. It more or less just feels like a travel ball team. I also see some of the best high schoolers going to play in the overtime league. There’s a handful of kids that should be  attending high school or their first year of college,  living a normal life, but they’re playing for the G League Ignite, competing against grown men, and  making 6 figures. In college there are kids that are playing no minutes at all, possibly considering going into the transfer portal because they feel they deserve better.

Actually, lets not even go that far. The other day, I saw a video of a parent choking out a ref at a kids game. And what in the world is up with 6th grade rankings? How silly is it to put a write up on the internet about the top 4th grader in the nation lol. AAU is a wild trip so I’ll just stop there.

I get on my phone and I’m seeing self proclaimed influencers that carry themselves like pro athletes that barely played in high school. The basketball world on social media, whether it be an influencer or a trainer…..a fitness trainer, It disgust me so much that I took a break from social media so people didn’t group me up with some of the stuff I was seeing. Where is the creativity? Where is the love? I just see a bunch of people screaming for attention, longing for validation, and secretly dealing with mental health issues.

Lol don’t even get me started on the NBA!

What I mainly see is chaos. And you know what, I love it. You know why? Because like Donquixuote, I want to emerge a leader in the midst of it all. 

For the last few months I’ve sat, observed, and planned. It doesn’t matter how long it takes to see this plan through because I’m playing the long game. One of the things that’s in the works is in the lab plus. Not only will the value of my documentaries go up, but the motivation for the viewers will also. And when it comes to developing players, ITL PLUS  will be the home for it. I’m crazy enough to believe it. But if I don’t believe in myself and what I have set in place, who the hell else will?

My favorite quote from Doflamingo is this:

"Pirates are evil? The Marines are righteous? These terms have always changed throughout the course of history! Kids who have never seen peace and kids who have never seen war have different values! Those who stand at the top determine what's wrong and what's right! This very place is neutral ground! Justice will prevail, you say? But of course it will! Whoever wins this war becomes justice!"

Basketball is in a weird state…everything is up in the air. The history of it all will be told by those who win these next few years. But I mean ….a year is 365 days, which is 52 weeks, and sheesh…we got 24 hours in a day? That’s so much time. I mean..the dressrosa arc in one piece took place in 2 hours (on the show) but in our time it was 2 years, so this is nothing. I’ll continue to keep playing the long game until I learn to positively influence and control the basketball world.

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- Dev