#Maybe it’s just a fun fact about pre-social media me

[watermelonsloth]

I’ve seen a couple of people talk about rewriting Naruto on my posts and, honestly, props to anyone who completes it. Even if it isn’t good, finishing a project that big is a feat.

And I would know. I spent 1-2 years trying to do better than Kishimoto and I approached it from like four different angles before throwing in the towel (for a variety of reasons, most of which were my fault).

[neyafromfrance95]

It’s called “Golden Darkness”, and it’s from 2003, actually (Galadriel x Annatar): https://m.fanfiction.net/s/1074226/1/Golden-Darkness

There are several pre-RoP Galadriel x Sauron fanfictions, in fact. Back in the day (early 2000s), crackships were *the* thing. People would ship characters that never met, from different universes, sideways, upside down, enemies, random pairings. People knew these characters would never met, end up together or whatever, and no one cared (social media wasn’t a thing). Those were the days 😂 so much fun. “Aragorn and Arwen?? Pff, boring, what about Aragorn x Mouth of Sauron??” 😎

You can yall thank these authors for manifesting this whole thing!

eru iluvatar may bless the sauron x galadriel rare-shippers for manifesting trop into existence 20 years later 🙏🧎‍♀️

or maybe it was apollo bestowing the gift of prophecy on those brave souls? 💥

but honestly, while tolkien probably didn't intend it to be read as anything implying romance (though, who knows, truly? he might have played with putting a secret insinuations in his texts), galadriel and sauron's relationship is quite ambiguous in lotr. the wording of "he gropes ever so for me and my mind", sauron seeing galadriel as his chief adversary but being patient with her and placating her, galadriel seeing into his mind... i mean??? i guess they were just insanely horny for each other's power potential but still.

anyways, thank you sm for the link 💙 gonna go devour this ancient manuscript whole now!

[realcube]

YOU GOT: ISSEI MATSUKAWA (time-skip)

˚ʚ♡ɞ˚ matchup for @slut4msby

˚ʚ♡ɞ˚ if you would like a matchup, read this!

'I am a big fan of quality time (like dream activity with a partner is sitting in the same room in silence just scrolling social media) aswell as gift giving (I love remembering small details about people and giving them gifts based on that randomly and going overboard for events)'

𓆩♡𓆪 matsukawa would be so down to do the first one

𓆩♡𓆪 like he's chill and would just thrive getting to spend any sort of time with you

𓆩♡𓆪 and omg he's so chill and a lil lazy to the point where if y'all are together and he is scrolling and finds a video/image/whatever he wants you to see, instead of just leaning over or getting up to show you irl

𓆩♡𓆪 he will just send it to you over the app 😭 despite the fact you are literally in the same room as him

𓆩♡𓆪 and if you point this out like 'issei why did you send this to me?? we're cuddling i'm RIGHT next to you'

𓆩♡𓆪 he'll be like 🤷‍♂️

𓆩♡𓆪 but whenever he shows you something, it's either some SO brainrot and unintelligible that he finds funny

𓆩♡𓆪 or it's like to with one of your interests

𓆩♡𓆪 like you mentioned you like musical theatre so he would defo send you any clips he finds of shows or links to those posts detailing new shows and tickets and stuff

𓆩♡𓆪 or for books, he'd 100% send you those twitter threads of the crazy book reviews

𓆩♡𓆪 oh and he loves hearing you recap books that you read , especially if they are unhinged or if y'all are zooted lol

𓆩♡𓆪and issei is calm but i don't think he's an introvert or shy so he would definitely thrive if you were to go all out for his birthday or vb celebrations (tho he plays for seijoh so theres not much to celebrate smh)

𓆩♡𓆪 but yeah if you were to go big for him he'd SO love that and would not be the slightest bit embarrassed by it

𓆩♡𓆪 oh and even if the event isn't related to him, he still enjoys you going overboard

𓆩♡𓆪 like if you were to dress up all fancy for a date , he'd appreciate it and take SO many pics

𓆩♡𓆪 oh and this is slightly unrelated but his camera roll is 50% choatic screenshots and 50% pictures of you

𓆩♡𓆪 i imagine his main love language is quality time but he's defo not bad at giving gifts

𓆩♡𓆪 maybe not as great as you but you can tell he always puts effort into his gifts

𓆩♡𓆪 and usually with him, he'll get you one silly/joke gift and one sentimental/serious gift

𓆩♡𓆪 like for your birthday you WILL be receiving one of those rubber shrieking chickens bc he said it reminds him of you but you will also get those expensive shoes you mentioned wanting or a designer perfume you got a tester of once while y'all were on a date and you said you liked

𓆩♡𓆪 and for your anniversary you WILL be receiving a personalised card with a picture of you both on the front except your face has been covered by the text so it's just him, but you will also get a massive bouquet of your favourite flowers and one of those framed photos of a graphic of the constellations of the day you both first met

𓆩♡𓆪 he's multi-faceted!!

︵‿︵‿୨♡୧‿︵‿︵

'is a taller guy or around the same height (im 5’11) as i can get super insecure about my height :p'

𓆩♡𓆪 the wiki doesn't have a post-timeskip height for him </3

𓆩♡𓆪 BUT pre timeskip , homie is 6'2" so he is at least that tall post-timeskip

𓆩♡𓆪 so yes he will be taller than you and no he will not let you forget it

𓆩♡𓆪 like he will call you shorty and if you try to argue or remind him thta you are objectively tall in comparison to other ppl he'll be like 'and are the "other people" in the room with us right now? 🤨'

𓆩♡𓆪 a bit of a gaslighter but not really bc its in good fun

𓆩♡𓆪 but yeah he milks tf out of those 3" he has on you (or more depending on his time-skip height)

𓆩♡𓆪 always teasing you and asking if you need help reaching things (even if you don't need help at all)

𓆩♡𓆪 on carnival dates you'll tell him a ride you want to go on and he'll be like 'but bae sorry i don't think you're tall enough to go on 😔'

𓆩♡𓆪 sometimes you'll walk in mid-way on a conversation between him and hanamaki and they'll be laughing and you'll go 'what are you guys laughing about? 😊'

𓆩♡𓆪 and issei will be like '😬 sorry babe..... it's a tall ppl thing you wouldn't get it'

𓆩♡𓆪 meanwhile maki is 6'0" so ONE inch taller than you ARGH

𓆩♡𓆪 anyway he would NOT let you be insecure abotu your height bc firstly he thinks you're gorgeous and will make you aware of it and secondly he genuinely doesn't make a big deal out of you being tall, since you are still shorter than him after all

𓆩♡𓆪 if you are feeling extra insecure he'll be quick to remind you that you're model height

𓆩♡𓆪 however for the most part he's doesn't pay much mind to your height

𓆩♡𓆪 like to him you're not his 'tall hot gf' , you're his hot gf who is tall iykwim ??

︵‿︵‿୨♡୧‿︵‿︵

'what i look for in a partner is not someone who is not overly clingy and can identify when i need space and wont make a huge deal out of the fact i need space'

𓆩♡𓆪 he is defo not clingy

𓆩♡𓆪 i wouldn't go as far as saying he's distant but he doesn't mind when you need your space

𓆩♡𓆪 but he will still be there for you whenever you need it

𓆩♡𓆪 and he's kinda the same bc i imagine he'd probably also need space and time alone after seijoh's loss

𓆩♡𓆪 so he'd appreciate that you're understanding of that and don't cling to him when he would prefer to be on his own

︵‿︵‿୨♡୧‿︵‿︵

'arcade!! I love the idea of an arcade date, it really shows you a lot about a person and whether or not they are a sore winner/loser or not. And at end of the night if the date’s been going well a nice night walk and some desert c:'

𓆩♡𓆪 matsukawa would so enjoy the arcade

𓆩♡𓆪 he's a bit competitive but for the most part he just likes to tease you

𓆩♡𓆪 like if he wins he will say you're going easy on him or maybe he's just that good

𓆩♡𓆪 but if he loses he'll be like 'nahh it's coz i had an eyelash in my eye' or 'that was just a warm-up! let's go again for real.'

𓆩♡𓆪 but you can tell he is doing it in a joking way bc he loves to see you get a little worked up

𓆩♡𓆪 and plus it gives him an excuse to ask for a rematch , therefore more time spent with you = profit!!

𓆩♡𓆪 oh and you both end up playing so many games by the end of the night you have like.. thousands of tickets

𓆩♡𓆪 and have to decide together what to spend it on

𓆩♡𓆪 matsukawa will probably suggest something goofy like a slinky or those stinky , cheap little putties they offer or a rubber bouncy ball

𓆩♡𓆪 but he could be convinced to get something else like a cute keychain or plush

𓆩♡𓆪 he would insist on giving it a name and sharing custody though

𓆩♡𓆪 omg he could also be convinced to go into one of those silly photo booths they have at the arcade and take filtered pics in front of the eiffel tower and niagara falls

𓆩♡𓆪 he'll say the pics look crazy bad bc parts of you both are clipping through the background but he'll still keep the strip in his wallet or in his phonecase

𓆩♡𓆪 he'd so be down for a little sweet treat too

𓆩♡𓆪 and would lk be the type to offer you some of his cake or icecream or whatever then feed it to you 😩😩

𓆩♡𓆪 WAIT ok so if it was like a small cake he'd pick it up and when you take a bite he'd push it into your face a little so you'd get cream on your nose

𓆩♡𓆪 so he can laugh and take a pic but also that would sooo be the moment he falls for you 😵

𓆩♡𓆪 and he'd wipe it off with a napkin like a gentleman!!!

︵‿︵‿୨♡୧‿︵‿︵

for @slut4msby: i was thinking kenma but firstly he's not tall and also i think you being an ambivert would suit matsukawa more

[r-i-fakier]

The editor was sitting on the floor, his laptop on his lap, fingers running down the keyboard. The day felt slightly colder than usual, even though that was a big deal for the editor, due to his severe frostbite, he didn't care. As he wandered through forums and other social places, looking for something interesting to do or someone who was looking for a new editor, he comes across a social media page. "Tumblr?" He mumbles out to himself, he looked at the page for some time, before finally clicking on the sign in button. Who knows, maybe he could find some new friends.

//RP Blog introduction!!//

//More info under the cut. Check before interacting.//

Hi guys! I am Lem, the person who runs this roleplay blog. This blog is part of the bursonaverse thing created by @emeraldsandpearlsxx, and is made just for fun.

This blog is "partnered up" with @coldarg , who is another argbur blog that's also part of the bursonaverse, our blogs might eventually interact.

My main blog is @ghostlem, I am a 15 years old Chilean. (fun fact I'm also an argbur fictionkin)

This is a "Canon-divergent" roleplay (canon-divergent means that it follows the Canon pre-established, but also adds some changes, or at least that's what I understand from the word).

When I'm talking OOC (out of character) I will write with // on both sides in a specific way.

//Example text.//

Asks and written stuff that contain NSFW insinuations will be seen and answered, as long as they don't contain visual stuff such as NSWF pictures or videos or isn't too explicit.

I created myself a system for asks, since I get confused if I should answer it on the "blog" or as if it was an interaction outside it. When sending asks to Jubilee's Blog please put something like "[{user}/anon sent and ask!]", when is an interaction outside of the blog, please put "(interaction outside blog.)" If you have any questions about this please feel free to dm me!

This blog might contain stuff that can trigger some people, they will be tagged properly, but please keep it in mind.

(with headcanons I mean the important data you should know about argbur before interacting with him and his blog, I'm just trying to make this intro thing look good)

☆-Argbur's name is currently unknown, as he doesn't like sharing too personal info about him.

☆-He uses He/Him pronouns.

☆-He uses this blog as a personal space, sometimes he might post stuff that could be seen as "incoherent".

☆-The glasses will be a current thing happening in this blog, it won't be explicit most of the time, but pay attention in the way he writes the posts.

☆-He's a video editor, sometimes he will post videos he has edited, but something might feel odd about them.

☆-He doesn't use tone tags (he doesn't even know what that is), because of this, the tone he writes in might be misinterpreted as mean.

☆-You can always interact with him, he'll be just a little weirded out about the social interaction since he's not exactly used to it (he's just weird over all /hj)

☆-He is Chilean, but doesn't speak Spanish often, and when he does, the Chilean accent is very noticeable, as well and the fact he speaks way too fast.

☆-He's so cold.

When he posts about stuff that happens in his life, it will go with the tag #An Editor's Life

When he posts a video he has edited, it will go with the tag #New Edited Video

When he answers a question, it will go with the tag #Editor Ask

All his posts will be tagged with #Argbur's Roleplay

Ooc posts (out of character) will have the tags #ooc post and #tda chatchat (which is shared with my main blog)

Posts where he speaks Spanish will be tagged with #Chilean Editor

I might add more tags, depending on what happens.

[0perfectimperfections0]

Hi fellow doll, I hope you're doing fine. I've been quite busy lately, college and life in general have been kicking my ass, so I was forced to take a step back from social media for a while to try to contain the chaos.

Firstly, I'd like to share a fun fact with you! I don't know if you're aware but did you know that Lou's Mansion has a Pool? You can see it more clearly in the Mansion's Concept Designs/Art on this site:

•https://www.claytonstillwell.com/ugly-dolls#23

However, the real reason for this ask is to present a possible answer/theory in regards to how the doll-sized phones came to be in the world of your stories (you can tell this is still related to our chat on Wattpad).

Recently, I came across the images you're seeing on Pinterest. They're Wide/Aerial Views of the Institute of Perfection and one thing that immediately stood out to me is that Giant Eye-Catching Dome behind the TV.

I mean what's its purpose, why is it even there to begin with and what's inside of it? I've been thinking about this for a while and would like to hear your thoughts about it as well, if you're willing to share them.

By any chance, have you seen the movie Wreck-it Ralph? There was a part where the villain enters the code of the game he's in and I think the Dome's purpose could follow a similar, if not equal, vein.

Now that I think about it, Lou and Vanellope's circunstances are almost identical, trapped in the same place for years without the option to leave, simply because of who they are and the traits they were born with, but didn't choose to have.

Sorry, I let my mind run on tangent there for a while, it wanders frequently which makes it hard to keep track of my line of thought.

To circle back to the main topic of discussion, what if the Dome is a Central Station of the Institute, like a Panel or Center for Command Control (or Command Control Center)? CCC for short? Ok, I'll stop trying to be funny...

Perhaps it could be a subroutine of the factory's software, a program linked to its network and wifi that contains all guidelines and rules that govern the Institute and must be followed and executed to keep it functional - a blueprint if you will - and is in charge of all commands, protocols, activities and operations being compiled and run by its machinery, such as the doll-scanner, the robots, the washing machine, the recycling, the Gauntlet plus the mechanical baby and dog and the Portal, just to name a few.

This means that it'd also take care of overseeing the integrity and performance of said machinery as well as its maintenance. It'd even be responsible for generating clouds and the artificial weather because apparently weather is still a thing, even though the Institute is inside of a factory.

I wonder if this subroutine would be run by an AI or simply an intelligent system/computer program. This world's version of Siri? 🤣

Or maybe I'm greatly exaggerating its function/letting my imagination run wild and it literally only gives Electricity for TV and Institute. Where was I going with this? /were we again?

Morever, it could be a storage unit that contains all collected, analysed and reviewed data regarding the inhabitants of the Institute and their responses, physical or emotional, to certain pre-determined stimuli.

It could also have a list of the factory's Perfection Standards: what consists/constitutes a Perfect Doll / product, its traits...

what can go to the market and which flaws/imperfections can't be ignored/overlooked and have to go to the recycling immediately, kinda like separating fruit/food

To sum up, it's the Institute's "rulebook", but instead of being specifically made for the prototype, it's more expansive and focuses on the Institute as a whole.

After the events of the movie, dolls with engineer role job created phones with recicled parts dangerous/turned the recycling into a good thing/while recycling was turned of and parts are human sized, plenty to spare and create phone since dolls come back now, have free time to assemble the parts and construct them and connected them to the signals/frequency emitted by the dome or they hack/steal or find out the password/'hijack' the signals🤣, use it to make them connect with each other but can't enter the dome without proper authorizations/permissions

Fun fact #2: Lou animatronic, would be a hipocrite if he called the Uglydolls "Ugly" has never seen a Mirror before

•https://www.indigobluepencil.com/ugly

Scroll almost to the middle (pre-planned concepts: dome by TV and washing machine, Big baby, Lou, Mandy, Tuesday and Kitty, Victoria, Perfection Council/of Dolls=board of investors directors reference)

•https://www.scottfassett.com/uglydolls-gallery

Had to restart Two Times... I hope you found this ask both entertaining and informative. Hopefully it'll give you Inspiration for your stories...

Okay, I had to do quite a bit of research and asked someone who knows a lot more about computers than I do.

So, I do agree that the dome has an electronic purpose. It really surprises me that STX animated an entire dome within the Institute and literally spoke nothing of it or what's inside of it. Like, seriously, it's huge and can't just be empty on the inside.

My theory, after some research, is that the inside of the dome is essentially a hard drive computer tower. For you younger folk who weren't raised in a 90's home, here's what I'm talking about:

These things right here used to be what would get hooked up to older Dell/Windows computers. The ones that weighed, like, 50 pounds and took up an entire desk.

Instead of a dvd player (which I didn't get one until maybe 8 years old) I would stick my Kidz Bop cd or movie into that slot at the top and watch the movie on the computer with Video Player.

Count your blessings.

But this is what I believe is inside that dome. These things are what holds the CPU (central processing unit), GPU (graphic processing unit), and stores the memory, data, audio, and everything of the computer.

@natalie-the-writer and I have a running fanon that the company is older. The technology is older, the building is older, and everything is set in a pretty retro time period. So, this hard drive tower is connected to those bulky take-up-all-the-space-on-the-desk-computers.

The GPU in this system is also what control the day/night cycle in the Institute and the weather. It essentially simulates a troposphere and an environment that makes the dolls comfortable and prepared for the Big World.

The CPU is how the data is transferred. Info from the robots is controlled and processed, the Individualization scanners are monitored, the portal is opened and closed, the TV runs, and the holographic tutorials Moxy and her friends see in the beginning are kept on, all of it.

It basically functions as the brain of the Institute, but the sole controller and monitor of it is the CEO (Greyson Everett).

I also like to think that Lou's microchip (another fanon thought between Natalie and I) is also monitored via this hard drive tower. Any information that Lou learns and processes is sent into separate files on the computers back in the company building.

This is why in my Shell-Shock series, when Lou's emotions go south, the Institute begins to get windy when he's hyperventilating or rains when he cries. The ground trembles when he has body tremors and the lights flicker when his powers are used. He is literally connected to the whole Institute because his microchip and its data accidentally grow and manifest themselves into the files of the other Institute functions. His programming basically goes rogue and infects the Institute system like a virus.

I'm veering toward the explanation that results in Lou being the first successful form of Artificial Intelligence. But, for the moment, he is basically acting like a virus and it's not until he learns to control this new system he's connected to that it stops becoming a deadly thing.

[iwozlegit]

Post 5 songs in your current song rotation and tag 10 people

Oh my god, yesssss. I was tagged by @lets-try-some-writing and @spreadwardiard, and adored the latter’s wee Megop/Megaop take on things so I feel like I could maybe rustle up a few wee songs that I adore for the disaster duo as well (and those ones that help me write, too, especially!)

1.) I See Fire - Celtic woman

I actually stumbled across this pretty recently (probably less than a month ago) and honestly this is so beautiful. I think it serves well to foreshadow and then kind of elucidate a world falling apart to the flames. It’s got a great narrative flow, and personally as far as my tf writings go, this I find is perfect for Orion starting to see those small breadcrumbs that all is not well with the bot he’s so frequently calling his brother 👀…(fun fact: it’s written by Ed Sheeran)

2.) On My Soul - Tobe Nwigwe, Nas & Jacob Banks

I mean…this is probably predictable, right? The film for me personally could have been a bit tighter plot wise (I did like it btw!), but honestly…this song slaps! I remember they released this a week or two prior to the film and I wasn’t as invested with it, but damn the bass of this shakes my car the right amount 🫶🏼

3.) Maria Maria (sped-up) - Santana [feat. The Product G&B]

Now if this isn’t Megop, heh, I don’t know what is. This is totally like someone exterior creating a bit of gossip and narrating about the higher caste archivist taking all his leave to go and see the gutter-born gladiator a little too regularly. I mean, the lyrics: “…Stop the looting, stop the shooting. Pickpocketing on the corner. See, as the rich is getting richer. The poor is getting poorer. See me and Maria on the corner. Thinking of ways to make it better…”

4.) Mary On A Cross - Ghost

Because this is completely original and didn’t take over most social media platforms a few months ago 💀🫶🏼. No, but for real, this is such a class driving song, oh my god! Probably a good pre-war Megop song, too! Like I see this very much as Orion finishing up with the week, and rushing to catch the transport to Kaon as fast as he can with all his datapads he’s bringing for revolution research.

5.) 4 minutes - Madonna [feat. Justin Timberlake & Timbaland ]

Again, this is just a recent feel-good song that I pray plays when I’m driving with my driving playlist. It’s just got a good beat. I think I’d heard the intro tune on a video online and had to find what song it was and well…here we are. (Sidenote: there’s a trend online at the moment where a certain music piece plays and all your favourite characters just walk on all badass to the tune…this could be one of those songs fr. Like the intro really does slap!!!).

Tagging:

@malika-carnelian @wolfkid22 @lesbianambulon @sugarand-everythingnice @thebrokenbean @justawannabearchaeologist @rewindedart @echoblaze5 @letslipthehounds @melishade + anyone else who would like to have a whirl ;) (no pressure to those tagged btw! <3 )

[xplrvibes]

on a serious note, are the boys actually okay? they seem so distant and they look drained. and let me just say, i'm sure this isn't the girls' fault. the boys aren't being held at gun point to stay with them. like you said, if they're making snc miserable, they wouldn't be with them.

I truly don't know. They aren't very forthcoming on xplrclub these days, either; the party line seems to be that they just have a lot of moving parts in their lives and are very busy.

If you want my honest theory, they should've taken a long, serious break after Colby recovered from chemo last year. There shouldn't have been a hell week or anything like that. They should've been on a hiatus.

Colby was declared cancer free at the end of June(ish?), and they were back to filming, editing, and traveling full-time by early July. That is just not enough time, physically or mentally, to adjust or process the whirlwind of everything that had happened.

They dove headfirst into grinding at the same level they were at pre-cancer and I just don't think that was a good idea.

Couple that with all the other crap going on right now - the Conjuring shit, the fans, the constant travel, the fact that Colby is still doing over 50% of the editing when he damn well shouldn't be, etc - and I honestly just think they are treading water and spinning plates.

Especially Colby. Sam...I don't know. It's hard to get a read on him. That philosophy he's always spouting really never actually says all that much, if you truly look at it sideways. The message he seems to be throwing out there is, "Everything sucks but also everything's cool and I'm just gonna focus on the cool and keep it moving," which...ok. Have fun, I guess, but that approach to life has to be exhausting after a while.

Then again, Sam does seem more animated and interested in their recent appearances on public podcasts and interviews, whereas again, Colby just seems to be checking out mentally. So, idk. Maybe Sam's just having an easier time putting the "Sam and Colby LLC" mask on right now, but I noticed it with Colby way before I noticed anything with Sam.

As for their distance - to put it plainly, the internet sucks. Colby has made it apparent for years that it's hard for him to see the things said about him online, to the point where he admitted to having a breakdown about it all about a year or so ago, and has recently said he can't even look at comments anymore. Even Sam, who always seemed to have a more healthy wall up between him and the uglier side of social media, has recently made a few comments suggesting that he, too, is sick of it. So, that coupled with just being busy and having a lot of shit to do in a day - it's really easy, if something needs to be eliminated from your daily schedule for you to have more free time and a better quality of life, to cut social mesia from the roster.

I also lowkey think they are starting to be sick of the paranormal stuff, but that's just me.

I think they need to take a break, sit down, and really work on restructuring their business and their lives in a way where it isn't so go-go-go and the onus for everything isn't on them. They need to take a break from social media and the rat race that it can be, and they both need some serious therapy.

But I'm sure they will do none of that, so this cycle will probably continue in perpetuity.

[kirk]

One of the things I think is so appealing about fob is the way they came up - it seems like theyre one of the last examples I can think of of a band coming up from the hardcore/punk scene that became genuinely massive. Like, it used to happen pretty often, but since their ascent I can't think of another band (not counting ones from the same timeframe that they were involved with) that made it anywhere near as big as they have that weren't somehow tied to the industry or something. I guess nowadays it's different with social media, and small groups will get larger fan bases from posting things online than playing local shows, But like I have friends in bands, my cousins band even plays in Chicago sometimes, and it just doesn't seem like any of the guys in those scenes seem to have a thought in their head that they could ever make it big. maybe that makes it more authentic in a way, Like they knowthe odds are stacked against them, so they're just being honest and not worrying too much about promotion, but  It does make me sad to think of all the great acts were missing out on because of how the industry has changed (Not that it was ever great, but whatever ) Also sorry this is in ma huge font size I have no idea how to fix it.

first of all, no need to apologise for the huge ass text i’m obsessed with it it’s like your yelling at me over club music in a bar. and me? i’m listening so intently but yeah anyway i think you’re right, i also think they know that too, i think fob know they were one of the last to really hit the ground running once they did from their origins and so always just kept themselves true to what they came from. and still do. which is. literally have fun with it. i also think because even if this used to happen all the time, fob were such a rare case themselves in the fact… they breached our, even in pre-h they didn’t just stick to pop punk which they became known for. they stuck to what they wanted to do through it all, and right up to this day. pete’s even said recently they don’t want to make a cork tree 2. but yeah anyway it is unfortunate that it never really happens anymore and that bands are now usually a more local thing and can’t hit the ground running as easily. but. if i had to choose any band to be one of if not the last to make it big from the hardcore scene, it’d always be fall out boy. they’re not afraid to stay true but also not afraid to branch out as long as it means they’re 4 guys having fun and messing around the same way they did in that broken down van :,-) also i say all this back to you while gesturing wildly with an orange juice in hand

[wholelotofweird]

Meowdy, I hope you're ready to take a peek at all of the books I've read the last 3 months!

By read, I do also mean listened to. I'm a huge fan of audiobooks, because my brain is bad.

Everyone in My Family Has Killed Someone - Benjamin Stevenson

I love a good mystery book, and this is a good mystery book. The narrator has a strong voice and is up-front about their unreliable nature. This book does a great job of making sure you are on the narrator's side, it never feels like they are purposefully keeping readers in the dark in order to pull a gotcha.

Pacing and suspense are SO well balanced to the point where I devoured this book in a day.

Paladin's Grace - T. Kingfisher

I was so prepared for this book to lean way more heavily into a fantasy world where I'd have to learn more terms and how social systems work, and just 1000 other things that can put me off of fantasy books. It's part of the reason I put it off for so long after getting it recommended to me (sorry, Ben.)

THIS BOOK, THOUGH, is not that at all. We don't have to learn new names for "church" or "palm tree". The author manages to thread the line between assuming that readers know the world already, and not creating a bunch of buckwild new words. The handholding though the worldbuilding is so light that you almost don't even feel it.

The setting manages to feel modern and fantastic all at once, which is just... The perfect food for me. The pantheon exists, but it isn't the focus.

This is a romance novel but not a bodice ripper, or overly erotic. I feel the depths of the emotions between the two main characters, which is what I really want.

My one gripe is that the final resolution feels very deus ex. Now, if I was going to pull out my fancy degree and analyze this, I could make an argument that the ending is supposed to feel that, for [spoilers]. But... I'm not sure how true that is. Maybe I'll have to re-read the book and keep that argument in mind.

Even with the ending, this book is lovely.

The Cybernetic Tea Shop - Meredith Katz

This book is short and sweet and a lovely look at an ace relationship.

I haven't read a book sub 200 pages in about a billion years, so many modern books are 600+ pages. Some of them! So good! Others!! Painfully long! This book manages to build an amazing world, atmosphere, multiple characters, and a believable romantic relationship all in the space of a few hundred pages.

Not just that, but the story happens to be about grief, and life, and what it is a person really wants. There are a handful of books I've read in my life that I connect with on such a deep level that I feel seen and changed, Convince Store Woman is one, and this is one.

Cults - Max Cutler

Taking a hard swerve into some non-fiction. I'll be honest, I wasn't sure what I was getting into with this one. I'm not HUGE into true crime (anymore, 14 year old me S U P E R was), so I was a little concerned that I was signing up for some grim, overly detailed, look into the crimes.

What I got instead was a thoughtful look at the psychology behind cult leaders. Yeah, there are a few sections that are pretty grim, but the book doesn't revel in them, if that makes sense. There is never a point where I feel like I am supposed to be ENJOYING the crimes being detailed.

The focus on not just the leaders lives pre-cult, but the lives of the cult members does a ton of work to unmythologize (.... new word alert) some of these leaders.

House of Salt and Sorrows - Erin A. Craig

So... I don't know. I didn't dislike this book, but I'm not sure I'm a fan. I will read the second one when I have access to it, but I don't know that I'd read this one again.

Here is a true fact about me - I don't read summaries of books or horror movies. This, as you may imagine, leads me to having to some WILD times with media.

Anyway, the point is: I was expecting a mystery period piece. What I got was a fantasy mystery period piece. It was fun, it was a little overly complicated. At the end of the day, I was definitely not the target audience for this.

I'm Glad My Mom Died - Janette McCurdy

Jesus. Christ.

When i-Carly was popular I was juuuuuust old enough to say I hated it, while watching it with my younger sisters pretty frequently. I didn't make sure to watch any of the big event episodes. I didn't see every episode, but the show was a constant in my life.

To get such a raw look at someone's life who was molded to be a 'peer' was WACK. Jennette doesn't sugar coat anything. Her experiences are raw and honest and it is probably the only way these experiences could be expressed.

Paladin's Strength - T. Kingfisher

You may be asking "why didn't you put this up next to the first book?"

Great question.

I'm putting this list in order that I read them, so like. Ease off.

I equal parts liked this book just as much, and had trouble getting through it. I am once again in love with the world and with the characters. During some of the middle of the book it felt like the book was 600 pages just to be 600 pages, and not because things needed to be said.

When I was in college I was accused of writing too many "stage directions" in my literature. I blame my years of RPing on Gaia Online and fan-fic writing on that. There is a definite style that comes from those writing exercises, a style where you want all of the readers to know everything from point A to point B. The thing is, not all of that is needed. I don't need 200 pages of sexual tension and flirting to believe in the relationship of two people. It's the "show don't tell" rule taken to the extreme.

There are some times when it's okay to tell and not show.

I like this book, I wish it was shorter, I will be reading the next one in the series because, damn it, this series is fun.

The Curse of Chalion - Lois McMaster Bujold

I don't tend to read fantasy books Like This anymore. When I was younger this type of book was my bread and butter. I've found that a lot of them (to me, at my advanced age) are tedious. And I'm tired.

This book! Manages not to be tedious and absolutely cradled me in the arms of fantasy I loved when I was younger. The book isn't, plot wise, comforting and yet I felt comforted reading it. I understand that the sentiment makes little sense. I'll say, though, if you were like me and were/are a big fan of Tamora Pierce's work - I cannot recommend this book enough.

Mrs. Sherlock Holmes - Brad Ricca

What is more cool than a woman lawyer, investigator, and social rights advocate in the 1900s? Basically nothing. This is another non-fiction book that truly brought to life the folks it detailed. I am OBSESSED with this woman.

I had never heard of Grace Humiston, which seems like an absolute shame, not just because she was cool as all hell, but because she spent so much time and effort protecting the underserved classes of 1900s New York. She was a lawyer who often worked for free to represent folks who could either not speak or write in English and were being taken advantage of.

She became an investigator, basically, because she knew the police were not putting effort into it.

The Salt Grows Heavy - Cassandra Khaw

This was another one that I didn't read the summary for before jumping in. I knew it was a queer book and I knew there was a mermaid, I didn't need any other convincing.

Here we have another sub 200 page book that tells an amazing love story. A story of personhood and growth and revenge.

It is not an easy read either in content or syntax. I haven't really put any trigger warnings with any of the other books, maybe that's a system I'll implement if anyone is interested. But this one: Body Horror, and Gore. If you have a weak stomach I would, sadly, not recommend this to you.

That said, this book is one of the more poetic ones I've read in a long time. Every word feels purposeful in a way that I don't run into often. Keeping the book short works perfectly for that style. If it were any longer I could easily find myself getting lost in the writing.

Legends & Lattes - Travis Baldree

This book has been on my TBR for... A While. It took my friend starting it and sending rave reviews for me to pick it up.

Here's another fun fact about me - My brain is broken. I have a hard time engaging with media that I KNOW I will enjoy, simply because. Because why? I don't know. To be contrary? Because I don't want to be disappointed? Because I'm scared I'll like it too much?

Who knows, don't recommend shows or movies to me and expect me to get back to you in a timely manner. You have to wait 3-5 years.

So, knowing that, I am glad I forced myself to pick this up. This is the coffee shop AU that we all love. The creation of this AU was treated with such love and care, it's clear the author knows what's up. All I want is a big strong character to fall in love with a smaller, softer, character and also run a little shop.

This book delivers on that and more. I cannot WAIT for the next book.

Leech - Hiron Ennes

I'm going to start with the easy stuff - This is a wonderfully dark book. I'm not usually a gothic horror reader, but wow. This book is about horror, identity, reclaiming the self. My library had it miss-tagged as romance which??? It is SUPER not.

The harder part is putting into words how I feel about this book. I like this book, it is complex and poetic. There were times where I felt like I was about to crawl out of my skin, in a good way. Emotions are so viscerally described that I could feel them in my gut.

The history of the world feels so deep, and the author does an amazing job at making me feel like that there are things going on outside the view of the character. That is an amazing skill to pull on, making the world around the character feel truly alive.

I told my friends when I finished it that sometimes "u read a book and the book read u."

I haven't put on my literature analysis hat on in nearly a decade. I would LOVE to spend more time to sit with this book and peel back the layers and figure out all of the ways this book makes me feel seen as a queer person. I don't have the words for that right now. Just know that I felt it.

Ghost Eaters - Clay McLeod Chapman

I don't know how I feel about this book. I think, overall, I like it. I think the plot is interesting, but the book isn't really about the plot, it's about the character. It's about grief and relationships and healing.

I felt like the first 200 pages were a real struggle for me. Unlike some of the other books I've read on this list, I did read a blurb about this one. I wonder if that was why the first 3rd of this book was a struggle. I was waiting the hook to find me. Instead, I had pages and pages of character exploration. I don't hate character exploration! But it wasn't what I was expecting.

The end... Left me feeling sad, and a little hopeless. Which, I think is the point. I think is why I don't read a ton of horror books. I love horror movies, I don't mind if the endings of those are bleak and hopeless. I think the difference is time spent. Reading a book takes so much more time and dedication and like... I want to be happy, is the thing.

I like this book, I think it's a wonderfully written look at addiction and grief and the ways those can eat a person alive.

Paladin's Hope - T. Kingfisher

I devoured this book in 5 hours. I... I opened it and did not put it down. I think this one may be my favorite of the three. I think the author managed to strike the exact right balance of tension, romance, and action.

Unlike Paladin's Strength, I never felt that there were these big empty spaces -- There was momentum.

I want to once again say that I LOVE that the characters are into their 30s. As a person also into their 30s it's just nice to see folks who feel real. Maybe I've been reading the wrong books for years, I simply feel a deep connection for characters similar in age who are just so... Normal (ignoring that some of them are paladin's of a dead god... you know what I mean).

[sofakingmanyrecords]

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I am really starting to distance myself from the internet. The fact that I can no longer share content across platforms easily is so stupid to me. If this shit keeps devolving I’ll probably just stop bothering with social media as a whole. I’m getting old, it’s been fun but it is no longer much fun, so who cares? All I ever see on my TikTok-lite Instagram feed are ads, not my friend’s content, and suggested reels of OnlyFans ladies that I have no interest in. Like, what the fuck? I really think the only way to maybe even consider getting these fucking data harvesting corporations to bother listening to the public is to just stop using their currently shitty platforms because this is just stupid!

So that’s the end of my rant. Here’s my stupid fucking Instagram post:

I listened to the rest of the album on Spotify and felt the same about most of the rest of it as I had felt about her first album. But my love for that one song necessitated my owning it on vinyl.

Upon seeing the prices used reissues were going for I realized I wouldn’t get this unless it was reissued yet again.

Luckily, in 2021 the 50 year anniversary edition was released. I pre-ordered this 3/11/2022 and it finally arrived today, 5/30/2023.

Never have I ever waited so long for an album to ship.

In a few years this won’t be a problem anymore. The US and the rest of the world will have more new record pressing plants and the majority of the people who got into vinyl in the last 3 years will have either stopped collecting vinyl because they realized it was stupid to pay $25+ for a reissue of something like Jackson Browne’s “Running on Empty” or if they have truly found fun in audio, some will realize they prefer buying new gear as opposed to new records and that a well thought digital system sounds just as good or better than analog and that shit takes up WAAAAAAYYY less space. On top of the fact that old CD’s and quality streaming services are far cheaper than new vinyl and decent turntables. At which point the market will be flooded with even more copies of all the truly unnecessary reissues of the past 10 years and the people still left buying new vinyl will no longer have to wait over 15 months to get record that still somehow comes to you with a slight warp and pressed on noisy vinyl.

By the way, I am not hating on the newcomers to this hobby but hating on the record companies that keep pushing out reissues of shit like Frampton Comes Alive and the like that created these log jams at the pressing plants and now they don’t even have the decency to give you a digital download.

[lunarfly-studios]

Mistletoe #2 for Kit

okay for some reason it's not letting me just copy/paste text so here

OKAY So I'm assuming this is for BMFM!Kit since that's the most recent one I've been posting about lately.

Short Answer: Yes.

Long Answer: It depends on your definition of 'friends'.

Lets be clear: In the universe of BMFM, after the stars and the planets aligned to work out a certain way, she became a billionaire overnight at age 20/21 with no warning. She already didn't really have friends before all this, except maybe for one (that I might need to design), and she wasn't anyone's favorite 'quiet art kid' in high school. After acquiring that much wealth, she had even fewer fans.

Because of A. Her circumstances helping to care for a very large family, B. Her own insecurity, and C. Her crippling anxiety and depression, even before she became rich, she was already extremely isolated and had little to no social life.

You would think after becoming rich, she'd have a million friends, ro at least acquaintances, but other than her household staff she inherited, she actually became even more isolated because she couldn't live with her family anymore. She had to relocate to a place she'd never been to, where she didn't know anyone. And the idea of trying to go out and make friends so soon after leaving the nest absolutely terrified her.

And fun fact about Kit: She's half Venusian, and Venusians can read minds. She tries not to because it's rude, but she's acutely aware of when people are genuinely being nice to her, kissing her ass for status or wealth, or kissing her ass out of fear of reprisal, and early on, it was almost consistently the latter two.

And that's not even getting into the fact that she has autism and ADHD, which can already make socializing and making friends hard.

It took her a while to take control of her estate, her company, and her life, but once she did, once she was more secure in her position in the company, her role in society, and the control and autonomy she had over her life, she very quickly became a social butterfly (no pun intended).

One of the things that's kept her as CEO this long, minus her sincere success, is her charm and charisma. She can get a read on what type of person someone is pretty quickly, whether by reading their mind or just studying their behavior. Cater to their interests and you've got anything from a friend to an acquaintance to an ally to a business colleague.

Of course only a handful of these actually qualify as 'friends'. There are a handful of other CEOs she's met that she just really hit it off with, but they were few and far between. A lot of wealthy elite businessmen and politicians are kinda passive aggressive towards her cause she has the audacity to not like it when her employees are living off food stamps.

She gets along very well with people in the media and culinary industries, though, mostly because they can sincerely connect over those passions.

The only people she could really consider CLOSE friends would be the three Biker Mice, Charley, Sisi, Li, Anastasia and Sabrina (that pre-rich friend i mentioned earlier that i need to design lol).

She's extremely good at building business connections and socializing with others, as draining as it is, but forging and maintaining strong, close connections is still like navigating a minefield for her. She's been burned by past friends and people she had crushes on in the past, so even after coming to like and trust most of these people, with the exception of Li and Sabrina, she keeps everyone at a certain emotional-arm's-length so to speak.

Fun to be around, kind, supportive, willing to listen and always wanting to help out? Absolutely. Letting someone close, letting others see her vulnerability, showing weakness around others, opening up to others... that's a rougher challenge.

In spite of the fact that she rationally knows all these people like her, deep down, she spends a good chunk of Season 1's episodes fully believing that her friends secretly resent her for her wealth and influence, and are just being nice about it. She's generally on edge, just waiting for the other shoe to drop.

It does after a while, but once that shoe drops and she gets assurance that "No, we don't hate you, you're a wonderful person and we love you", she slowly starts letting herself be vulnerable and opening up to others.

Maintaining relationships is hard for her, but she's grateful to find people who are willing to be patient and help her feel comfortable and safe.

...That said, she will absolutely crush anyone in 'biggest burp contests' even after just meeting them, she grew up in the south in a family of 14, you had to assert your dominance sOMEHOW.

[handelplayssims]

We’re back once more! Let’s see...we ended the night with Lou so what does Celene want to do? Talk to someone on the phone. Also chat with Kril, Bianca’s ex. Both sound like things to do when people properly wake up at 7AM! Bianca...is feeling tense from the lack of a promotion. She needs a thousand followers before she can attempt that! So let’s study trend on the computer and see what’s up. And Rory...is still angry. Take a pre-work jog, you. Hmm. Lou wants to admire art and we do have some torn up portaits around he could look at. And then there’s also the fact he wants to befriend Jacob. It would be possible but he’s about to snooze. ...eh screw it. Let’s make some light chatter at the Moonwood Collective before he takes a snooze.

Trending video topics are – Archaeology! Bowling! Kids! Inspired Vlog. Welp, it’s time to get in that inspired mood! After we do some other social media posts. Well Celene is heading to bed and Lou is just napping on the ground. As he does. And Rory is also taking a quick pre-work nap as well. So let’s work on that inspiring vlog! Hmm, but what to title it? Oh! And Lou is awake and- is all rested. Hmm. I say it’s more snoozing time for you Lou. Anyway, video is recorded for Bianca and now for some light editing before it’s sent off onto the internet. Video posted! Let’s go and post more to social media before actually doing Bianca’s whims. Of music listening.

Lou’s awake. Again. Now I guess it’s time to resign to our fate of being up during the day. Whims are to, befirend a vampire and befriend Jacob again. HOW DARE WE BE FRIENDLY TO VAMPIRES!? We must be mischevious! And mean! But Jacob we can befriendly with! Besides which, he’s back from school at this time! This is mostly so I don’t take control from the lot itself. Because I have this rare time with Bianca and Celene and I don’t want to ruin it! I did think to ask about becoming friends with the Moonwood Collective with Jacob but eh, seems like it’s a thing for the Alpha, Kristopher, only. Anyway, Rory’s back from work! She’s level 3 at this career meaning she can ditch it and go for something else. Like acting! ...it uses fitness! Sleep for her and sleep for Bianca. So now it’s time for Lou to go and pester a vampire!

First things first, we mark our territory! Then we steal something! A tablet is lying about and evidently it counts! Mwahahaha! Then to our target in question. We find out Cecil Leone’s job and one of his traits! The better to become enemies over! Unflirty! Oh no! Now we shall be sworn enemies! Nah. Just disliked honestly. ...wait a moment! We found out with Lou’s mean interactions that he’s evil! Acceptable target! Time to make an enemy! And for a supernatural smackdown! That’s what the fight interaction is called and yeeeeeees. If the game will let it happen. Had to move them both outside of the house.

Noooo! Lou! You failed me! And he got a massive embarassed moodlet for it. Maaan. Let’s retreat with our tail behind our legs. Sadly. Celene still wants to clean something and -shrugs heavily- I dunno what to offer. Maybe the Moonwood Collective’s left out food. Perhaps that’ll work. Rory still has that dead-end-job sadness. Evidently that also clears when you quit a job but not when you immediately leave one job for another. Should have been smarter about it. Either or! Let’s go see about auditions for her! Keeping in mind it’s midnight on Friday and we’re ending our time with this household on Saturday so...likely nothing I could do within the time frame.

...yeah audition is at Saturday at 9AM and if she got the gig, it’d be at noon Sunday. ALAS. Aye! The cleaning up of food for another wolfpack tribe worked! Nice! I have a fun idea since Celene is out at night. It’s time to take a dip in the pond and-

GREG SPOTTED! This is a dangerous feral werewolf who’s driven mad by his rage at his loss of his fated mate. Basically he attacks anyone. And this is quite the dangerous night for Celene to go out alone in the woods… Back in the home area, Rory was going to pacify a soon to be rampaging Lou but evidently, he can’t be pacified again yet. Alas! Also Rory’s sad and hurt by Lou still. Celene attempted to communicate with Greg but he, he fightened her away. And got that fear of the dark again. Welp. Let’s try one more time. ...nope. Just fear! Anyway, Lou’s rampaging now. Excellent. Sad Rory, gloomy about Lou pranking her. Scared Celene, with all of these rampaging werewolves. Rampaiging Lou. And Bianca waking up and going on a hunt. Good for her. With all of that, time for!

Neighborhood Watch!

Brindleton Bay: A dog was adopted by the Saito household.

Talon Ramos in the Ramos household has died. Talon was milking it and got too close to a cowplant.

[bustyasianbeautiespod]

Episode 51 Transcript: Music Killed My Grandma!

G: Hellooo everyone. 

C: Heyyy people. Guess what day it is.

G: We're doing a cold open because it's…

C: It's Spotify Wrapped Day.

G: Spotify Wrapped. And we want you to inform us about your Spotify Wrapped this year. Only if–

C: But just the podcast part, I don't really care about your top song. [G laughs] Well, I kinda do, let me know. 

G: Only if- I think it's fun if we find out, like, people who have us as their top podcast, what music they listen to. So we only care about your Spotify Wrapped if you also listen to BABPod.

C: This is true.

G: Yeah. Yeah. We know there is 69 of you [C laughs] who have us as their top 1 podcast.

C: Yeah, that is the stat Spotify gave us. 69 of you.

G: So all 69 of you should tell us. [laughs] 69. I love that number, and I'm very grateful that there's 69 [C laughs] of you guys out there who have us as their top 1.

C: You have to stop saying 69. [G laughs]

G: I think it's so funny!

C: It's really good.

G: This cold open is going on for way too long.

C: Yeah, just tag us on Tumblr and we'll love you forever, thank you.

G: Yeah, Tumblr, Twitter, email?

C: Sure.

G: You can do it. Yeah. Anyway, that's it. Let's get on with the episode!

C: Yeah, have a good episode.

-

[intro guitar music]

G: Hello! My name is Grey.

C: And my name is Crystal.

G: And this is Busty Asian Beauties, a Supernatural commentary podcast where I, someone who has seen this show several times.

C: And I, someone who only knows the show through social media, discuss every single episode of Supernatural from start to finish. Also, we are both Asian.

G: Both Asian! For today's episode [C groans], I still have not pulled out- I have pulled out- what's the name of this episode and who's the director?

C: Who have you not pulled out yet of? [laughs]

G: Wait, don't say "pulled out" independently like that. It sounds weird. What's the name of this episode?

C: "Fresh Blood."

G: Fresh! I was looking up "true blood," and apparently, there's a TV show called True Blood, so-

C: Yeah. Yeah, there is.

G: Okay. So today, we're talking about Season 3, Episode 7: "Fresh Blood," written by Sera Gamble, directed by Kim Manners.

C: Death to Sera Gamble. [G laughs] Um, I can't finish the second part of that because he did die. [laughs]

G: Noo! Noo! We're horrible people.

C: You can cut that out, if you want.

G: No, it's funny. I'm putting it in.

So what are our pre-episode thoughts?

C: Hatred, biting, killing, which are all things that do happen in this episode. [G laughs]

G: Yeah. We had- I don't know. You know, like, sometimes, you watch an episode of a show, and you're like, "Okay." And then that's your only reaction. [laughs]

C: Yeah.

G: That's kind of how I felt about this episode. They were trying to do a lot of things, and the only thing that actually affected me emotionally was the very last thing that they did, the one with the car.

C: Yeah, where Dean is showing Sam how to fix up the car. Yeah, that was a nice scene in an otherwise horrific episode.

G: Yeah, I mean, at this point, is this a horrific episode, or is this just an episode of Supernatural? Maybe Supernatural in and of itself is horrific, and we need to accept this fact.

C: Yeah, to contextualize like, where I'm at, like, since watching this episode, the media that I have consumed are all of season 1 of the Interview With the Vampire (2022) show [G laughs], Little Women, directed by Greta Gerwig, and The Farewell, directed by Lulu Wang. So at the end of that, my main thought about Supernatural is, "Why am I still watching it?" [G laughs] There's a limited amount of time in my life, and perhaps every single thing I could watch other than Supernatural would be better than Supernatural.

G: Yeah, I've been saying since, like, last episode, that I've been playing and actually finished playing The Great Ace Attorney [overlapping] and it's such- it's such good media. It like, it is such a good story, and everything, and it's like, why am I watching Supernatural? There are moments when I was saying The Great Ace Attorney, ‘cause like, a major theme of that game is like, "the people you look up to are not always going to be good," you know, shit like that. And I was like, thinking, they were also trying to do this in Supernatural and it was not this good! [both laughing]

C: Yeah, they try to do a lot of things in Supernatural. And it was not that good.

G: Yeah. So what did you know about this episode before watching it?

C: Gordon escapes from jail, gets turned into a vampire, goes all bloodlusty, and then gets murdered horrifically.

G: Yeah. Good summary.

C: Yeah.

G: We can end the episode now! [laughs]

C: [laughs] Okay, goodbye everyone, see you next week for "A Very Supernatural Christmas." Email us at- okay, anyway. But yeah, I also knew about what Sterling K. Brown, the actor for Gordon, said about this episode, like, I'd seen the excerpt from the interview that he had. Should we just read that now?

G: Sure. Yeah. Go on.

C: Okay. Yeah. So okay, the interviewer asks him, “In Season 3's ‘Fresh Blood.’ Gordon is transformed into a vampire. How did that sit with you?” And he says, “That was really hard. I called Eric Kripke when I first got the script and realized I was going to be expiring. I wasn't so bummed about expiring, because all good things must come to an end. The thing that was horrific for me is that Gordon turns an innocent girl into a vampire. That was hard because his sister was turned, and he had to take her out. That began his career as a hunter. So I know Gordon does a lot of jack things, and isn't the most righteous individual. But did he have to do this? Eric was like, ‘We talked about it for a long time, but now that he's a monster and operates off instinct, he is not so logical, when the bloodlust comes on and you have the desire to feed, it is huge, and your strategy does not take into consideration collateral damage. His endgame is to kill Sam, and anyone else who has to experience detrimental effects because of that is not a concern of his.’ That was tough for me to process and get on board with.” Sorry, Sterling K. Brown! You went to Juilliard for this!

G: Sorry, dude. It's like, when the whole time Gordon was, you know, doing his thing, all I could think of was like, “This should be more emotional for him because of his backstory,” like, that was- Sera Gamble also wrote that episode, so like, why did she forget?

C: Yeah. Yeah, I don't think she forgot. I think she just assumed that he doesn't have feelings?

G: Doesn't care. Yeah, which is weird, given that they were trying to do the whole “monsters can have feelings too” thing for like, God knows how long.

C: Right. Yeah, like, she did the episode with the good vampires that have feelings. But as soon as the vampire is not the pastiest white woman that ever did live, no more feelings.

-

G: So to start, we have Gordon talking to Bela like, in the middle of a road. 

C: Yeah. I do enjoy this interaction. They're good characters to face off.

G: Yeah, because, like, Gordon is like, so dictated by what he deems is good, and you know, stuff like that. And then Bela is an all-money person. It's like, fun!

C: [laughs] It is fun.

G: Yeah, so at first, Bela doesn't know who this guy is, and he says, “I'm Gordon Walker,” and she looks a little bit alarmed, and she's like, “Oh, I know who you are. I've heard about you,” and they start talking, and Gordon has a gun pointed at her, and is basically saying, “Tell me where Sam and Dean is, or I'll shoot you.” And they even do this thing where Bela’s like, “Well, you can negotiate with me,” and then he puts down the gun, and is like, “Well, in exchange for telling me where Sam and Dean is, you get to stay alive,” you know, and stuff like that. [laughs] It’s honestly super fun! I like this scene.

C: It is fun.

G: And eventually what happened is, Gordon is like, “I can give you $3K.” And then she goes, “I don't wake up for $3K.” And…but she sees the little hex bag- they call it something in the show. 

C: A mojo bag. 

G: Yeah, a mojo bag. [laughs] I find it hard to believe that Bela would say ‘mojo bag’ but like, ‘mojo’ is an actual word?

C: Yeah, I think it's a hoodoo thing. It's like, specifically a bag that has powers that derive from hoodoo.

G: Ah, so it's Dean who's using it wrong.

C: Wrong. Yeah. [laughs]

G: Yeah. Okay. So she sees the mojo bag, and she's like, “Oh, that's priceless. If you give it to me, you'll find the Winchester brothers,” and Gordon eventually does, and Bela calls Dean and goes [British accent] “Hey, Dean, where are you?” [both laugh]

C: God, she's so real for this.

G: Yeah.

C: Also Dean picks up like, right away. This man is dickmatized for real.

G: This man is smitten. 

C: It was good to see Bela. I didn't know that she was gonna be in this episode. Oh yeah, also, I think in this scene Gordon calls Sam Winchester the [both] Antichrist, which is very fun. Love that name for Sam. Also, the last time Bela saw Sam was Sam getting sexually harassed by an old woman, so I feel like this is a strange thing for Bela to be hearing.

-

C: So okay, Sam and Dean. They're like, working a case. They're like, near some warehouse, something in the dark. And there's a man who is bleeding out on the ground, and Sam’s doing the whole, like, “Don't worry. We're getting an ambulance for you,” while Dean's doing the [yelling] “Where is she? Where's the vampire?” at this poor, dying man. [G laughs] So Dean runs off. And he does this thing that I've seen gifsetted a lot by people who want to fuck Dean Winchester, where- right, so he tries to lure the vampire out by, like, making a cut across his forearm. He goes like, “Smell that? Come and get it!” And he says, “I smell good, don't I? I taste even better.” [laughs] Okay. And a woman who has her face covered in blood comes over and like, tries to bite his neck, does bite his neck, and then he injects dead man's blood into her, and she passes out. Sam comes over and tells Dean, like, “Hey, that was kind of a risky play there,” which is something that continues throughout the episode.

G: [laughs] Ugh. I hate it here.

C: They've done this for so long. We've done this for so long. 

G: I know! It's been seven episodes. Like, I mean, I get that the main conflict of the season is that Dean is dying. But have we considered that we can have other conflicts in this season? I mean, I guess Sam being- trying to be killed by Gordon is conflict, but like, it's ended now. 

C: Yeah, yeah. Yeah, that one ended pretty fast. Also, I feel like- I find it strange that we haven't seen Ruby for a little while, because they've pushed the whole “Dean's deal” thing as a subplot so hard in this episode and some of the previous episodes, and I feel like we never really resolved Ruby saying that she could get him out of it. But, you know. Whatevs.

G: Whatevs!

-

G: So back in the…motel room. No, are they in a motel room? The transcript says it’s a motel room.

C: Yeah, but it looks sort of like they're squatting.

G: [overlapping] Yeah, it seems like it's just a house. Anyway, there's the girl from earlier, she’s tied up to a chair, and she wakes up, and she is very confused, and like, almost crying, you know. She's miserable, and Sam and Dean are doing their bit of like, “Where's your nest?” And she's like, “I don't know what you're talking about!” And they're like, “Ha. Nice try, bitch. But where is your nest?” You know, stuff like that. Eventually-

C: Yeah. Also, she's very tits out, which I guess we find out later because she was turned at a club, but like, ugh. Do we have to do this? Do we have to? Also she’s blonde, which is relevant.

G: She's wearing a corset, which is- Yeah, she is blonde, and that's gonna be a thing. [laughs]

C: Jesus Christ!

G: Love that. 

C: Love that. 

G: I don't know why that's making me laugh. I'm sorry, blonde women. You’ve been through enough. 

C: Yeah, I’m sorry, blonde women. You have a lot of privileges in life, but one of your not-privileges is that every serial killer wants you. So yeah, F to you.

G: Yeah. So, the vampire, the vampire lady is saying that she took something, and that kind of alarms Sam, and he's like, “Wait. You took something?” and she mentions- it's so fascinating to me that they never say the word “drug” in this episode.

C: [laughs] Yeah.

G: ‘Cause what happened was, she was like, in the club, and then a guy came up to her who was the dealer, and he said, like, “I can give you something that you've never experienced before.” And then he put it in her drink, and then she became like this, and by “like this,” like, she can hear heartbeats from a block away. Lights and sunlight and sounds and everything are so intense, the smells, everything. Stuff like that. And what she's saying is basically, she can't come down. Like, it's fascinating to me also that they never say the word “high.” It's so funny! Like, she's like, “Oh, I took something, and it was from a dealer." But like, never say the word drugs. But then she keeps on saying, “I want to come down. I want to come down. I just want to come down.” And then Sam and Dean like, go to the other room to talk it out. 

C: Yeah. They also ask what the guy looks like, and she says, “He was old. Like, thirty.”

G: Thirty! [C laughing] Wonderful.

C: How old is she supposed to be? Because, like, the actress, like, I would say, is like, 25 to 30 years old. How old is she supposed to be?

G: The guy looks like, 26, you know, and she looks like, 30.

C: [overlapping] Yeah, and she looks 25.

G: So like, what's happening? What's going on?

C: "He was old. Like 30." [both laugh] Do they think only teenagers watch Supernatural?

G: This woman is operating on K-pop age standards, you know, how like-

C: I was gonna say she's operating off of like, queer elder standards. [G laughs]

G: If you were on Tumblr when Superwholock was big, you are a queer elder. [C laughs]

So Sam and Dean go to the other room to talk about it, and they're like, “We have no choice. We have no choice.” And Dean goes back to cut her head off. And, like, I was a bit uncomfortable by the fact that there was no, like, any push back anywhere.

C: Yeah! Uh-huh. Like, we know that vampires can subsist off of animal blood. Like, they met Lenore like, last season, so it would be possible to just inform her of the situation, and then tell her that she has to feed on cattle. When the werewolf-

G: Yeah, why couldn't they hand her off to Lenore?

C: Right. They don't have a Lenore’s contact info, because like, she ran off-

G: Eh, maybe they do.

C: But yeah, they should have gotten Lenore’s contact info. When Maddy got turned, they called Bobby to ask if there was a way to unturn a werewolf.

G: Yeah!

C: They did not bother here.

G: I'm sorry I keep interrupting. But with Maddy, it's because Sam was in love with her, or whatever they had going on. But like, this poor woman, because Sam did not feel an ounce of affection for her, just gets to die?

C: Yeah. And especially because they deceived her earlier-

G: Yeah, and it's so prominent-

C: They were like, "If you tell us what happened, we'll let her go." Like, ugh!

G: Yeah. Also, like, it's made even more prominent, like, the Madison and this girl comparison by the fact that the shot where Dean is like, cutting her head off is pretty similar to like, how the Madison's episode ends, you know what I mean?

C: Right, 'cause it's Sam's face and-

G: It's Sam's face only, and then you hear it. Yeah. So it really takes you back to that episode, and you're like, "Why didn't they try to do literally anything?"

C: Yeah. Yeah. It sucks. It sucks so bad. Ugh.

-

C: So we cut to a hospital room, and the guy that was bleeding out because of the vampire that they just killed, he's there, and Gordon and Kubrick, baby, are here.

G: Jesus man is back! Jesus guy is back.

C: Jesus man is back.

G: And is it just me, [laughs] or is Jesus Guy and Gordon- do they have a little something going on?

C: Oh, they definitely have a little something going on.

G: They have a little something going on. And I love that!

C: They didn't have that much going on last time. I feel like since Kubrick helped Gordon escape, they've had a few stray hookups, so. [G laughs]

G: I mean, spoiler, but Jesus man dies this episode, and the death scene was so like- like, it was like Hannibal, the scene where Hannibal guts Will type of situation. [C laughs] I'm right, though. I'm right, though.

C: Yeah, no, you're right. And that is what romance is. So yeah. You are right.

So right, the two of them are questioning him. They're FBI agents. Oh, I didn't manage to pause and see what the name on Gordon's badge was. I don't know if it was there. It'd be fun if he also did like, rock stars. [G laughs]

G: What do you think would uh Gordon have as his name?

C: Like, what do I think Gordon's Spotify playlist looks like? I have no idea.

G: Do you think it's like, a rule in hunter culture that you should go with a pop culture reference, or do you think that's just Sam and Dean? And if so, what do the others do?

C: I think Sam and Dean are just losers.

G: What do the others do, then? Just use random-ass names.

C: Actually like, try to look up an actual FBI agent and take their name.

G: Oh, that's smart. [laughs] Yeah. Just like what Dean did that episode where he turned out to be like-

C: Oh, when the cop was Black, yes.

G: "I've got that Michael Jackson disease." [both laugh]

C: Just like that.

G: Yeah.

C: So yeah, Gordon asks about the person who attacked the man, and he was like, “Yeah, it was some woman who bit me in the neck,” and they asked, “Did any of her blood get inside of you?” And he was like, “No,” and Gordon says, “Well, that's good, because we would have had to kill you.” And he just stares the guy down afterwards. The guys like, “Haha! Good joke.” And Gordon just unblinkingly looks at him. Is Gordon usually this bad at being an FBI agent?

G: I mean...

C: Like, he's considered a very good hunter. Like, he should probably be better at this.

G: Yeah. But you know, this episode, they were trying to do something, I guess.

C: Yeah, they're like, "He's so scary and evil." So yeah. Whatever.

And the man mentions, “Oh, like, these two guys rescued me,” and Gordon's like, “Huh. What did they look like?” And the guy was like, “Oh, one of them was really tall.” [G laughs]

G: Okay, if you were a witness to Sam and Dean’s shenanigans, how would you describe them? Two white guys...

C: Two white guys, lumberjack look. Yeah, I don't know.

G: I think I would- I have never met a person who was six feet tall. Like, that's my basis of like- that's my-

C: Wait, really? Not even six feet?

G: I don't think so. Like, I don't think so. Because, like, the average height of Filipino men are like 5’8”, something like that, and like, for women, it's like, five foot. So like, I don't-

C: Average?

G: Let's look at the average height for men. "Average height men Philippines." Okay. Average height for a Filipino man is five feet, 4.25 inches tall. Average Filipino-

C: Wait, 5'4"?

G: Yeah. [laughs] Short king. And for women, it's 4’10”.

C: Wait, 4’10”? No. That can be right! For real?

G: Yeah. I'm 5’3”, and I'm the tallest person in my friend group.

C: Wow.

G: If I'm in the train, and we're standing, I'm towering over everyone.

C: Huh! I always assumed you lived your life as a short person. [G laughs] But okay.

G: I'm only a short person in comparison to you, and also, like, every single girl I've dated. [C laughs]

C: Good for you.

G: Thank you. Yeah.

So I think I would be like, “Oh my god, they're super tall,” because, you know, my basis for height is quite short.

-

C: They're leaving Spider, which is the club that the earlier woman said she was at, and they reveal exposition-wise that apparently, all the people who have gone missing have been blonde women, and three of them have gone missing from here. And then they see this guy with a blonde woman like, going around into an alley, so they follow them.

G: It's so weird that they were like, “One guy’s going out with one girl. That must be the vampire.” And they were right. [C laughs] Like, that's the amazing thing. They were right.

C: Yeah. Good for them. So the guy, he has this like, eyedropper sort of thing, and there's blood in it. I- okay, don't you have to- I thought you had to bite them and then feed them your blood. You can just feed them your blood, and that's enough?

G: I think so. Because like, if it's in the mouth, right-?

C: In Interview With the Vampire, they had to.

G: Well, Interview in the Vampire- With the Vampire. I don't know. What is it called? It's IWTV, so it's "with the vampire"- and Supernatural run in very different leagues, so.

C: They actually mention that decapitation is a way to kill a vampire in Interview With the Vampire, though, and dead man's blood is a thing, too.

G: Wow!

C: So they should be consistent, lorewise. And, you know, since Interview With the Vampire’s the better piece of media, then its lore is the one that should be respected.

G: For the very real creature that is the vampire,

C: Exactly. This is the more scientifically-backed show.

So yeah, he is about to put some of his blood in her mouth. Do people in clubs really just take drugs from random people? Like, I know that they do. But like, do they really?

G: I don't know. I'm not the type to like, know anything about drugs so like, don't ask me.

C: That's fair, yeah.

So before the blood can get into her mouth, Dean like, starts beating up the guy. Sam pulls her away and tells her to run. And there's a bit of a fight. The vampire runs off. But you know who is there is Gordon and Kubrick.

G: [laughs] I love that.

C: Yeah.

G: They literally just showed up and like, it's such a bad timing, bro. It's such a bad timing. Because what happens next is, there was a fight scene, and, as you know, I do not know how to describe fight scenes. But basically, they're just fighting. [laughs]

C: Yeah. [laughs] True. They sure are.

G: And then Gordon gets cornered by the vampire. I have no idea how this happens. Like, the logic did not flow for me when I was watching the scene.

C: Yeah, right. Sam and Dean- well, Dean does a thing where he like, decides to like, let Sam escape by distracting Gordon and Kubrick by like, jumping around on cars as they shoot at him. [laughs]

G: Yeah, like, it's a very big deal because it's like, "He's jumping into the line of fire!"

C: Yeah, blah blah blah, he's being so reckless. Subwaysurfersnatural is real, though. [G laughs]

G: Anyway, and Gordon is like, attacked by the vampire. I don't know why the vampire- oh, okay, I get it like. I was wondering like, “Why is the vampire attacking Gordon? Didn't he technically help him?” But like, he knows Gordon.

C: Yeah, 'cause Gordon killed his sister.

G: [laughing] It's literally like "music killed my grandma," but like, “Gordon killed my daughter” or something.

C: Wait, who killed her? Who killed whose grandma?

G: In Trolls?

C: In Trolls?

G: Yeah.

C: [laughing] I haven't watched Trolls.

G: It's the funniest thing! Like, there's this one guy, and like, the trolls love to sing and scrapbook and stuff like that. And then this one guy is like, “I don't want to sing,” and then they give his backstory, and the backstory is like, he was singing, and then his grandma- [both laughing] died.

C: Oh, god, you you know how the Cruella live action movie, Dalmatians killed Cruella de Ville's mother? [laughing] Like, a bunch of Dalmations ran her mother off of a cliff and her mom died?

G: "Dalmations killed my grandma," “music killed my grandma,” “Gordon killed my daughter.”

C: Yeah. [laughs]

-

G: Anyway, back in the motel room, we just have Sam, because, like, Dean is still out and, you know, getting shot at. And when Dean enters, Sam’s like, “Oh, thank god! Where have you been? What took you so long?” And then Dean makes a joke that's like, “Oh, yeah, I got some pie” or something. Good for him! It's a joke, right? Like, he didn't actually like, go out for a slice, or-

C: I don't know. Maybe he did.

G: You never know with this guy. Yeah. [both laugh] And then Sam berates him for doing the whole "go in front of the weapons." And then they start talking about Gordon and the fact that he's out of jail, and Sam asks, “How did he find us?” And Dean stops in his tracks and goes. “Oh my god!” And then he calls Bela.

C: Yeah! Bela!

G: And basically, Bela is like, super laughy like, “Ahaha, yeah, I gave your location to Gordon Walker. It's fine. For money.” And he's like, “Oh, you terrible, horrible, no-good, very bad person.” [C laughs] And then Bela says, like, “Oh, I mean, I was gonna call. I just got sidetracked. And also like, he's just one guy.” And Dean goes, “There were two of them,” and you could see Bela's face fall, which I thought was surprising. Like, does she actually care about the Winchester brothers? Who would've thought? I mean, they did save her life.

C: Yeah, it’s quite cute. Especially because, like, when she says, “Oh, yeah, I sold your location for money,” like, Dean doesn't seem that mad. But what she's like, “What was I supposed to do?” like, he seems mad that, like, she didn't call to warn him. Oh, well, she says, "He had a gun on me,” and like, Dean’s like, “Okay, that's fair enough. You should have just given us a heads-up.”

G: Yeah, anyway, Dean says that like, “If we make it out of this alive, the first thing I'm gonna do is kill you." And Bela’s like, “You're not serious,” and Dean goes, “Listen to my voice and tell me if I'm serious.”

C: What a fucking loser.

G: Like, he's really bumping down on her. And you know what? Something I realized in this scene: maybe I am a Bela apologist. [laughs]

C: Yeah, who's not a Bela apologist?

G: I don't know. People of IMDb are not.

C: That's true.

G: But I am, and this is a girlboss moment for her. And she redeems herself! So like, it's fine. Who cares? I am willing to admit all the mistakes-

C: Were we supposed to be mad at her for selling that information? It was literally fine, and she should have done it more.

G: I know. I'm willing to forgive Bela for her mistakes, which are nothing. She has never done anything wrong.

C: Yeah, exactly. Also, she looks genuinely scared after, like, Dean threatens her life. Which like, I don't know, honestly seemed a little excessive to me. Like, is Bela really that scared of the Winchesters? Maybe a little, but I don't know.

G: Maybe a little, but also, she should have known that they're not going to kill a human being.

C: I mean, they've threatened to-

G: A white girl. A white woman. [laughs]

C: - kill her once every two minutes that they've been around her. But yeah.

G: No, but were they actually trying to kill her?

C: No, but I feel like they would not- I mean they were going to kill her by omission by like, refusing their help.

G: Yeah, refusing to help, yeah.

C: So yeah.

-

C: So we cut to a warehouse where the vampire we saw earlier, who I don't think gets a- oh, no, wait, he has a name. It's like, Dixon, or something, right? Whatever. Who cares? So he's in the warehouse. Gordon is there, he's tied up, and what he sees around him: There's like, two young, attractive, blonde women who are like, chained up by their wrists. And yeah, it's just  such a stereotypical like, horror serial killer den. And I'm very sorry to these blonde women.

G: Yeah.

C: So right, the vampire comes in, and he starts feeding them blood. And yeah, Gordon talks with the vampire a bit. The vampire says that he considers these women family, and “I do what I have to. We're a dying breed.” I wasn't sure throughout this episode if we were supposed to feel sympathy for this guy. Because he has a whole monologue later, too.

G: Yeah, I don't think- We're supposed to see in him, in his desperation, the desperation Dean had when he sold his soul for Sam. Like, stuff like that.

C: Oh, interesting. I did not catch that.

G: Like, later, later he's like-

C: That's true, no that's true, very- Yeah, he was like, “I was desperate. Have you ever felt desperate before, Dean Winchester, when you sold your soul to save Sam?" [laughs] God, it's so fucking funny.

G: Yeah, that's what I was referring to. Yeah, oh my god.

C: Yeah. I just feel like if they wanted him to be sympathetic, like, they didn't have to have him specifically go after hot blonde women he clearly wanted to fuck. [laughs]

G: Yeah. [laughs]

C: Yeah. So right, he says, like, “I know you, Gordon, because you're like, one of the most prolific vampire hunters out there. Like, we're going extinct because of you.” And the whole time, Gordon's like, insulting him and insulting vampires. Yeah, the vampire does the whole like. “Oh, right like, we're so much worse than you, I'm sure, even though you guys killed a bunch of people, too.” Honestly, I'm getting a little bit tired of every single antagonist in an episode, being like, “You think we're so bad. But you are also just as bad.” It's just silly at this point.

G: Yeah, it's repetitive. But also, what if- consider this. A villain who was just bad, just because. And it wasn't like. “Oh, I'm bad, because you're bad, too, and we're bad together." Like, why can't you just accept that maybe you're an evil person, and then stop at that?

C: Yeah. [laughs] Yeah, like, why can't you just be like, “Yeah, I am bloodthirsty. Isn't that fun?”

So he reveals that Gordon, I think, probably apparently killed his daughter. Or like, just hunters in general killed his daughter, and I don't even know if Gordon was one of them.

G: [laughs] Yeah.

C: Yeah. And this guy refers to the blonde women he has chained up as his "new daughters," which again, very weird, because they're clearly like, the sexiest blondes he can find at this club.

G: Also, it's like, the, you know, we we saw him with that one blonde woman earlier, and that was not a daughter. [laughs]

C: Yeah, no. They were about to start humping each other.

So yeah, Gordon is also reluctant to believe this, but he calls these women “fangwhores.” So that's great. [both laugh]

Gordon, yeah, there's just more Gordon insulting vampires. He says something about like, how they spread their filthy disease on pure base instinct, which I feel connects to the way I feel like a lot of vampire media connects to serophobia. But yeah, the vampire is like, “Huh. Well, I've decided, because you're being so vampirephobic, that I am not going to kill you. I am going to do something that you will find worse.” And he turns Gordon into a vampire by like, pressing cuts on their arms together. And yeah, Gordon struggles and yells. He's not having a good time. But, alas! It has happened.

G: Yeah, his scream- like, he's screaming, “Noo!” And then it cuts to like, a whirring sound, to Dean sharpening his machete.

C: Yeah. That was-

G: How do you pronounce muh-sheh-tay? Is it like that?

C: It's muh-sheh-dee, I think.

G: Machete? [gayer voice] Machete. That's such a gay way to pronounce it. [C laughs] I think in Filipino, it's muh-sheh-tay, so like, I'm confused. But he's sharpening that. And I thought that transition was super cool. Like, I liked it.

C: Oh, yeah, it was. Yeah.

G: And Sam and Dean are trying to figure out what to do. Because the vampire is out there, but, like, Gordon, is also out there, so they can't kill the vampire if someone's out to kill them.

So Dean starts saying, like, “Well, if we find Gordon, you do know he's not giving us much of a choice, isn't he?" And Dean is like, “Yeah, let's go kill him."

C: Sam. Sam was like, “Yeah, let's go kill him."

G: Oh, yeah, Sam goes "Yeah, let's go kill him." [C groans] And Dean goes, "Oh, really? I thought you were gonna be- you would have been like-" and then he puts on a voice! Very Greycore. Very Greycore. He puts on a voice, and he's like, “I thought you were gonna be like, [higher-pitched] ‘No, we can't. He's human, it's wrong!’” [laughs] I found this so amusing. Good for him.

C: Yeah. I do find it annoying that they show Gordon being turned into a vampire before this scene happens because-

G: So like, you as the audience, you're like, “It's okay if they kill him because he's a vampire now!” But like, they didn't know that.

C: Yeah, they didn't know that, that's true. So it is still a moral decision that they have made, which is a bad one.

G: Yeah.

C: But I feel like we forgive- they did this so that the audience would forgive them faster because we know that he's not human anymore.

G: Anyway, Dean’s phone rings. It's Bela, and Bela is saying that she doesn't like it when she is being threatened by people. So she found Gordon's location. And how she did this by like, channeling someone, I think, or like a ouija board situation, right?

C: Yeah, uh-huh.

G: Where she like, connected with someone from the dead, and the person from the dead found out where Gordon is, which I thought was super fun. And she gives a location, kind of. A vague location, and like, some street signs or something. And then she said that the spirit also said, “Don't come for Gordon, no matter what." I found this so weird. Like, why would the spirit say that? What's the point?

C: I don't know. Maybe the spirit was like, “He's a vampire now, and it'll be hard for you to fight him”?

G: Why would the spirit care at all?

C: Yeah, I don't know who this spirit is.

G: Yeah. Maybe it's John Winchester. [both laugh]

C: At this point, the blonde women who were turned into vampires recently are still alive, right? So it's not their spirit. I get if it was their spirit, they'd be like, “This guy literally just gnawed my head off. Like, you should run.” But yeah, I don't think that's the spirit she channels. So I don't know.

G: Yeah, 'cause they're still alive at this point. Yeah. "Don't come for Gordon Walker."

C: Yeah, it was just to build suspense in the episode.

G: Yeah. And like, here, like, Gordon- we're back to the warehouse, and Gordon wakes up, and he's changed- chained, just like the other girls. And-

C: He's not like other girls. But he is like other girls.

G: He is like other girls in this situation. He's tied up, and there is like, a beating heart, and like, rushing of blood sound effect that's playing over the scene. So like, you're supposed to be in his consciousness, right? And he's like, struggling through the chains, and then he finally rips it out, and he starts to walk away when one of the girl goes, “Help us, help us.” And he- well.

C: It cuts.

G: It's a suspense, what happens. It cuts right after that.

But he goes out, into the street, and, like, we see him look at some lights, like, a street light, a neon sign, and it's like, way too bright. Way too bright. And then a car passes by, which I thought was like, Sam and Dean, but it's not. It's just some random-ass person. And those lights are too bright, and then he like, looks over to one side of the street, and there's a guy like, fixing a tire. And he like, looks at him with bloodlust, and like, repressed hunger.

C: Also, his eyes are really bloodshot in this scene. He does not look like he's slept well. And I feel like we didn't really see that with the other vampires.

G: I don't know.

C: Yeah, but maybe it's just a side effect of the light? Sensory overload king.

G: Yeah. And what he does is, he hops into the car of that guy, and then, when the guy finishes with the tire and hops into the car, he bites him and kills him. My thought here was like, "Why make him finish the tire?" [both laugh] Like, spare him the misery of changing a tire by killing him instantly.

C: Maybe Gordon took the car to drive to the RV?

G: That's a wonderful idea. And probably true.

C: Mm. But yeah, okay, like, I guess I sort of- like, I know that when you’re first turned, your hunger is very severe, so I guess I can excuse this first killing. But I do feel like Gordon would try very hard to have more control than he is having right now.

G: Yeah.

C: Yeah. I don't know. It's odd.

-

C: So we cut to the warehouse. Sam and Dean go in, and we see what happened to those two new vampires, 'cause their heads are gone, and original vampire guy’s on the ground crying and shit, and he's like, “Go ahead, just kill me.”

G: Yeah. I like the reveal of the of the beheaded girls.

C: Yeah.

G: I thought the the special- is it special effects? What's it called? Practical effects? Were very good this episode.

C: Yeah.

G: So, and I mean, the practical effects of Supernatural, especially in these early ones, are like, mostly good most of the time. It's the visual special effects that are like, “Well, that sucks.” But like, these ones are pretty good. So hats off again to the selling- I don't know. What the department is this? I guess this is the practical effects department .The props department, yeah.

C: Yeah. Though yeah, I do think that one thing to mention is that Gordon's like, victims throughout his arcs have been-

G: Yeah. Are white women.

C: - like, young, attractive white women, and that's like, a very specific thing like, Black men menacing a white woman is like, an image, used a lot of white supremacist literature and such. So yeah, I feel like the reveal was like, very fun in a suspense way, but like, they also did it like that to up the horror of Gordon.

G: Yeah.

C: So yeah, the vampire’s like, “Oh my god! Gordon was here, and he killed my daughters. I should have never brought a hunter here. Like, he killed my family.” And then Dean's like, “Oh, yeah, you're such a family man.”

G: And then it's the beginning of the most contrived monologue to ever exist [C laughing]. Most in your face monologue to ever exist.

C: [laughing] Yeah. Oh my god. Yeah, he's like, “No, you don't understand. I was desperate. Have you ever felt desperate?” And it cuts to Dean's face. “I've lost everyone I ever loved! I'm gonna like, live my whole eternity alone!” Cuts to Dean's face. [both laugh] Like, Jesus Christ.

Maybe this guy was like, “I've watched Supernatural, and I know the only way to maybe make it through an episode is to be a Sam or Dean mirror. [G laughs] So I'm gonna act my vampussy off trying to do this.”

Yeah, the vampire's like, “Just kill me. I don't care anymore. Like, I'm in hell. I'm in the worst. hell." Dean's like, "Well, the worst hell is the actual Hell that I'm going to because I felt desperate, lost everyone I ever loved, and stared down eternity alone." But yeah. And then Sam notices that for the bodies in the warehouse, the heads were ripped off with bare hands and not cut off, which means that Gordon suddenly has a lot more strength than he did before. And he goes, like, “Dixon, what did you do to Gordon?” And it cuts, and we never find out if they actually did kill Dixon, but like, they probably did, it just wasn't important to Sam and Dean's journey.

G: They probably did, yeah.

-

G: The next scene is [laughs] the Hannibal scene.

C: Yeah.

G: It's so good! I was watching it, and I was like, "They really acted in this scene. They were Acting, capital A." But basically, Kubrick is in the RV, where we saw him also, I think, [laughs] flirt with another guy a couple of episodes back. So there is a pattern with this guy. Too bad he's dead.

C: He has a Jesus painting next to him, of course.

G: Yeah. And then what happened was, he hears a sound outside, so he peeks out the window, but then he turns around, and Gordon is there, and he's like, “What happened to you? I thought they killed you.” Gordon says, like, “They did something worse. They turned me.” And they're so near each other! [laughs]

C: They're so fucking close.

G: They're so near each other. And Kubrick goes like, “I'm sorry about that, and you know what that means, right?"

C: He puts his hand on Gordon’s shoulder when he says, “I'm sorry.”

G: Yeah. And Gordon is like, “Yeah, it means you have to kill me, but not yet, because I still need to kill Sam Winchester.” And Kubrick is like, “Gordon. Come on, man, like, we can't do that. I can't let you walk out of here.” And Gordon insists that like, “This is the one last thing that I can do good in the world.” Ah, that sentence is not correct. “This is the one last time I can do a good thing for the world.” There we go. And throughout this, Gordon is like, looking at the crucifix [laughs], which is so funny! But he's looking at the crucifix, and he's like, “Yeah, I'm trying to do a good thing.” And then Kubrick is like, walking in the back, and he grabs a muh-sheh-tay. [gayer voice] Muh-sheh-tay. Muh-sheh-tay? Muh-sheh-tee. Machete. And he like, slowly paces to Gordon, and he's like, “Yeah, you're right. Yeah, it's one last good thing. I agree with you.” And we go to Gordon's  perspective where he hears the heartbeat and all that stuff. And then right as he's about to slice Gordon’s head off, Gordon turns around and inserts his hand through his heart.

C: Yeah. So good.

G: Wild. It's so good, and it's like, the way Kubrick dies is like, [laughing] they stare at each other for a little while.

C: Yeah. And he falls onto Gordon's shoulder.

G: And he falls onto Gordon's shoulder. And Gordon like, kisses his forehead, right?

C: He does?

G: Or did he turns his head in a way that made me think, like, "He's kissing his forehead!" And I was like, “Wow! Wow! Good for them." One of them is dead, but good for them.

C: And he goes like, "Sorry."

G: Yeah, he says.

C: Yeah, no. This is truly romance. What- like, Hannibal ate like, part- what part of Will did Hannibal eat?

G: I have no idea. I don't think that's true. I don't think he ate any part of him.

C: I thought there was a time when he, like, dug one of Will's organs out and ate it.

G: No! [laughs] No.

C: Maybe that's not true. I think he just force-fed Will their daughter's ear. Never mind. That's different.

G: Yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah.

C: Okay, yeah, anyway, Romance.

G: But this was literally reminiscent of the gutting scene from "Mizumono," which is the last episode of season 2 in Hannibal. Have you seen that?

C: I have not seen Hannibal.

G: You never watched, right? Yeah. Because it's too brutal for you.

C: I just like- they just don't seem very nice, you know? They don't seem like nice people. [both laughing]

G: Maybe Hannibal the cannibal is not a nice person. Have we considered that? [C laughs]

C: I just don't like that he killed their daughter. I just think that if you have a found family, you should be nice to each other. You can kill other people, but you should be nice to each other.

-

C: So they're back in the motel room. Sam and Dean are around, and Dean hasn't been able to find Gordon yet, and Sam goes like, “Hey, give me your phone, because if Gordon knows our numbers, then he can track us down.” And then it it looks like he's just going to take the SIM cards out. But actually he's just stomping on the phones. [both laughing]

G: Stomping with his giant foot on the phone.

C: Yup. And Dean comes back with the Colt, and he's like, “Sam. You stay here, and I'm just gonna go out and get Gordon.” And Sam goes like, “Uh, no, you're not going to do that alone, because you are going to die.” And Sam starts going worked up. He's like, "Oh, you're just acting like you have nothing to lose because you think you're already dead. [G laughs] I'm sick and tired of your kamikaze trip.” Yeah, Dean says, “I'm more like a ninja.” And Sam says, "That's not funny," and he's right. It's not a good joke. So yeah, Dean's all like, “What do you want me to do? I'm just gonna sit around and write sad poems?” And Sam goes like, “Dean, like, stop joking about everything and stop trying to act like you're not afraid, because I can see right through you.”

G: [laughing] And then, the corniest music starts playing-

C: [overlapping] It's some fucking sad piano music. I feel like if there wasn't this music, I might actually be a little tiny bit touched by this scene. [G laughs] But as soon as the music came in, I was like, "This is the silliest thing I have ever seen on the screen with my own two eyes.”

G: It literally is. It literally is.

C: It's sad piano music.

G: So silly!

C: And Sam goes, [dramatically] “I've been following you my entire life! I've been looking up to you since I was four, studying you, trying to be just like my big brother.” Sam would not fucking say that. Yeah, so he says, “I know you better than anyone in the entire world. And this is exactly how you act when you're terrified.” And he goes like, “I wish you would drop the show and just be my brother again.” And he starts tearing up a bit, and he says, like, "'Cause... just 'cause." And the puppy eyes have worked.

G: Yeah. Like, when he was saying like, "Just 'cause," I was thinking like, he said, like, "Because," and then, like, in my mind, my mind filled up the rest of the sentence with like, "We just have like, less than a year together." And so like, when he continued, like, "Just 'cause," and I was like, "Oh, he stopped himself from saying that." [laughs] Good for him.

C: Yeah. So Dean's like, "Okay, fine. We'll stay here." I- has Sam been looking up to Dean since he was four, wanting to be just like his big brother?

G: I mean, maybe.

C: I- yeah, I mean, I guess I'm the oldest, the older sibling, so I guess I don't understand Sam's position in the family as well, but-

G: I've never looked up to a sibling ever. [laughs] I don't know.

C: Yeah, I think my sister has looked up to me before a bit, but I think that was more our parents doing the whole like, "Why can't you be like Crystal?" thing. So.

G: Yeah, I don't know.

C: Do you think John ever did a "Why can't you be like Dean?" thing to Sam?

G: Yeah, maybe like, "Why can't you just be like, obedient just like Dean, the most obedient child in the world?"

C: Yeah. But I don't really think that's what Sam's saying here. Yeah, I don't know. But yeah, I did like these lines. Just, the music was so bad. Like, I don't know. I feel like we often think that the brothers don't like each other very much, and they probably don't, but they do know each other.

G: Yeah, maybe.

C: Maybe.

G: Do you think they know each other? [laughs] Do you think that's true? I think like, knowing someone is-

C: Well, growing up with someone means you sort of have to.

G: Yeah, but like, you know, like, who you are in front of people you differs, so like, I think there's still room for surprises in the both of them.

C: Oh, yeah, I agree.

G: Because they've only been interacting with each other for so long for like, for long periods of time, I think they know each other around each other. But I doubt that they know each other in terms of, you know, like, "What are you like when you're with somebody else?"

C: Yeah.

G: Which I think is also an important part of your personhood.

C: Yeah. I agree. I think maybe I'm having this reaction because I'm annoyed by like, the Deanfan posts that are like, "Sam will never understand Dean because when Dean's around Sam, all he does is like, act to try to be the perfect parent figure to Sam," blah blah blah.

G: That's untrue. [laughs] "The perfect parent figure for Sam." Sure. Why not.

C: Blah blah blah. Yeah, like, I feel like- first, Dean does not do that. I don't think he does. Second like, you can't spend like, 18 years with someone, like, every single day-

G: Pretending, yeah.

C: - and not, yeah, not trip up, like, at least like, ten-ish times. So, you know.

G: And also like, every single time you are a person, you are a real person.

C: Mm.

G: So like, even if you're like, faking it, you're still real in the faking. You know what I mean? So like, I think it's unfair to be like, "He's always faking." 'Cause like, if you're always faking, then that's just who you are.

C: Yeah.

G: So like, the argument doesn't fly. I support my idea better, which is "We're different people in front of different people," so like, you know, like, they know each other around each other. Like, for example, like, with Charlie later on, Dean is like, you know, very sweet and loving with Charlie in a different way than he is with Sam. So it's like, maybe Sam is surprised by that. You know, stuff like that. Because- blahblahblahblah. I got tired of explaining myself halfway through.

C: Well, yeah, I got it. You're right. Yeah. Also, I feel like is this sort of is a tiny bit of a reveal on like, for Dean, because I feel like we've like, we've seen him talking to Casey, for example, and he said that, like, you know, he's not really that scared because he's just tired. And I feel like we were supposed to think during "Sin City" that like, since he's not talking to Sam, he is being honest with this demon that he's just met. But, like, Sam knows that Dean is terrified. And maybe Dean thought he was being truthful when he was talking to Casey. But like, this is like, confirmation that he is definitely scared, whether or not he knows it.

G: Mm-hm. Yeah.

C: Yeah.

So Dean gets a call, and it's Gordon. And apparently, Gordon tracked them down- or he got the number because he could smell Dean over at the cell phone store because Dean bought a new phone after Sam smashed theirs. And Gordon says like, "You have to come to me because I have a woman who I have held hostage. And you have to come here in twenty minutes, or the girl will die." And Dean goes like, “Gordon, don't do this. You don't kill innocent people. You're still a hunter.” And Gordon goes, “No, I'm a monster.” And- [laughs] okay. [G laughs] This was the thing that Sterling K. Brown did not like. And Sterling K. Brown was right.

-

G: We have Sam and Dean going to the place/warehouse/factory/whatever it is. And they untie the lady, and they carry her out, and Dean is like, “Sam, stay close to me." And then, while they're walking out, Sam’s like, lagging behind, like, maybe three steps, max. And the moment Dean steps out of this, like, one room, the door from, like, you know, like, the thing they used to close up stores, it falls down and locks Sam inside and Dean outside. And all I could think of was-

C: What was Gordon's plan if Sam wasn't walking behind?

G: The thing I thought of was like, "How are they able to lock this?" Like, is it like, an automatic mechanism? Because it's so funny to me that they were like, "Oh my god, it fell! Let's try to kick it down." Like, why don't you try lifting it up? [laughs]

C: Yeah. [laughs] I don't know.

G: But they were having this time of their lives trying to kick down this metal door. Obviously, it's not working. So Dean is like, freaking out like, "Be careful, Sam! Be careful, Sam!" And then on Sam's side, the lights turn out. And Gordon starts speaking in like, the middle of the dark.

C: Yeah, he's so real for this. He's like, watched so many horror movies in preparation to make this as dramatic and cool as possible.

G: Yeah, it's like, Sam is like, "Get out of here, Gordon. I know you're here!" And Gordon's like, "I'm here," and then, like, Sam tries to swing the knife at him, and he's like, "Hahahaha!" Like, Gordon literally went, "Hahahaha." [both laugh] And yeah. So this is just what's happening. And basically, Gordon is saying, like, "I sacrificed everything to be here in front of you right now and like, get the chance to kill you." Gordon calls Sam like, "not human." And then Sam goes like, "Look who's talking." And then Gordon is like, "Well, I'm a bloodthirsty killer. But I guess that's one thing in common for the both of us." And he- and Sam says like, "You're not a bloodthirsty killer by instinct. You are by choice because you didn't attack that poor woman." And Gordon, says, "I didn't. I did something much worse." And then we cut back to Dean, who is fighting for his life, trying to open the door, and the girl has turned into a vampire and is trying to attack him. And he shoots her with the Colt?

C: Yeah.

G: Which feels very like, "I don't want to deal with this. I don't want the extra gore. Let's just use the Colt." That's something Sera Gamble said. She literally said it. She put it in the script. "I don't want the extra gore. Let's just use the Colt."

C: Yeah, or maybe the props team was like, "We've made too many corpses for this episode. I don't like, want to do another headless body. Can we just shoot her?"

G: Exactly. And Gordon says like, "I know you, Sam. I can see right through you. We're the same. And it's too bad, because you won't do the right thing, which is kill yourself." [both laugh]

C: Gordon's on a Reddit forum replying, "Kill yourself" to Sam Winchester.

G: He's flooding Sam Winchester's messages so much right now. "Kys kys kys." [C laughs] Yeah. And he says like, basically, "It's what I'm gonna do after I'm done with you. It's a shame that you wouldn't do it for yourself, so now I have to be the one to do it."

And then, we start seeing, like, the place from Gordon's perspective. So it's like, red tint, 'cause it's like, dark, right? So like, for Sam, it's just dark, and for Gordon it's like, red, and like, he sees Sam clearly, and then he attacks. And they fall out of the wall? Like, the wall collapses?

C: Yeah. Something.

G: The wall collapses, and they're fighting for their lives. And Dean comes in and starts attacking Gordon, and Gordon like, actually bites Dean, so Dean is all bloody. And then I don't know what happens next. But what eventually happens is Sam- ties a cord around Gordon's neck, and it's such a long scene.

C: Yeah.

G: This is such a long scene. He like, pulls the cord to opposite directions and like, strangles Gordon, until the head gets cut off.

C: Yeah, it's pretty excruciating.

G: Yeah, and like, I'll finish this scene first and then we'll talk about it. And then Dean like, recovers from his neck biting situation, and he's like, "Wow! You just killed a super vamped-up Gordon with no weapons." And then he like, cracks a little bit of a, "That's a bit reckless, huh?"

C: It's such a stupid joke.

G: So stupid.

C: Sam did not choose to be in that situation. Right, also, I feel- after Sam kills Gordon, like, they put in like, extra shots of like, Gordon's headless body; Gordon, like, Gordon's head on the ground, letting out a last breath. And it's like, it's not good to look at.

G: Yeah, here's the thing. I- actuall,y me and Crystal. We're talking about this earlier. [laughs] Why am I suddenly talking about you like you're not here? But we were talking about this earlier, and I said like, "Something I find-" 'cause a part of this scene that you're supposed to feel is, "Oh, Sam is vicious. Sam, like, maybe he is different." Like, that's something that I think you're- not, even though it's not explicitly said, it's something you're supposed to think. I just find it fascinating- and by fascinating, I mean, "Oh my god, Supernatural," that like, they keep on doing this specifically to Black men. Like, it's always like, "Sam is vicious. Sam is like, a different person." But every single time, like, the victim is Black men. Like, they do it with- what's his name?

C: Jake.

G: They do it with Jake, and now they're doing it with Gordon, and it's like, both of these deaths are so visceral and so violent in comparison to a lot of other deaths in the show. And it's just like- Crystal, say the thing that you said to me after I said this earlier.

C: Oh, it was- yeah. They were like, "Well, we have to show that Sam's going off the deep end, but we can't make him irredeemable. So let's just have him kill a Black man!" Ugh.

G: Yeah, it very much has that vibe? And it's quite frustrating.

And also, let's talk about- because this is the last we see of Gordon. Obviously, he's dead. But I think we've already said before that like, his characterization, you know, a lot of people have said it probably better than we will, but, like, his characterization, is like, racist.

C: Yeah. [laughs]

G: But, like, specifically, the way the arc ended. What are your thoughts on it?

C: I feel like- I do feel like a lot of the stuff that I'm bothered with with Gordon come from earlier. The way that they set him up to be like- "he's fantasy racist in this world without real racism, or this world where we've refused to acknowledge actual racism." And the way that like, they set him up to be like, this evil, vicious hunter in order to make Sam and Dean look better, which is fucking annoying. And yeah, I guess I was thinking in the shower earlier today, like, in the world where, like, Gordon is the main character of Supernatural like, he like, would get a season where you know he's shown as this badass hunter, but he's like, not very- he doesn't really distinguish between like, creatures that can or can't control themselves, and like, stop hurting people. And then, like, him being turned into a vampire would be an opportunity for him to go through character growth by like, understanding how hard it is to resist the bloodlust, but also understanding the amount of like, reason and sentience he still has, and like, I don't know. I feel like if they wanted to turn Gordon into a vampire, they didn't- but they did it here, just so that they could kill him without feeling bad about it.

G: Exactly.

C: Even when there were like, a lot of narrative opportunities to develop him as a character, they just did it so they could get rid of him

G: Exactly. Like, that's the crux of it. They turned him into a vampire so that they can excuse murdering him. That's literally it. And the thing is, again, like, you said, like, a lot of the things that I don't like about Gordon, what happens to Gordon in this episode are actually like, considerably very little things. Like, for example, like, if you are going to turn him into a vampire, why not acknowledge his backstory? Like, we've said this before, like, it's such an integral part of his character, and it's one of the very first things we learn about him. So why not bring it up now? And it's like, it's frustrating in that way. Because if they really wanted it to end this way, then, fine, you know? It started on a bad note. If they want to like, cut it off- I mean like, the story and the character, then, like, okay, fine. But you could have done it better, and you could have like, acknowledged that he is so person with like, a backstory that you already gave him. Like, you're not even inventing a new one. You've already given it to him. And you can have him- just have, like, very little character growth, you know?

C: Yeah.

G: And it's frustrating that they were like, "No, we just want to get rid of him, and we don't want the audience to think much about it that like, maybe that's wrong of us."

C: All his dialogue is like, "I'm incapable of change, and I'm a monster, and you should definitely come kill me." Like, okay. Cool.

-

C: So we're at the epilogue, which is a pretty good scene, but unfortunately happens in this episode.

G: Completely disconnected.

C: Yeah, no total tone shift. Like, it starts with them just like, chilling out, and Sam just like, getting a beer out of a cooler. Like, neither of them seem to feel that they have committed a brutal act of murder like, five minutes ago.

Yeah, so Dean has the Impala's hood open, and he's poking around in there, and he asks Sam to pass him a wrench, and then he thinks for a second, and he goes like, "Sam. Like, come over here for a second." And he starts sort of like, teaching Sam on how to fix the Impala. Like, he's saying, "These are the things that could be causing the rattle. Here are like, the parts. Look, that's a valve cover."

G: Wow.

C: Yeah, he quizzes Sam a little bit about what the parts' names are. It's quite sweet. And then Sam goes like, "Hey, like, why are you like, teaching me auto shop?" And Dean like, hands the wrench over and tells Sam that, "Hey, like, you should be the one to fix it." And Sam is surprised at this because he says, "Dean, you barely let me drive this thing," which is a new development! [G laughs] In season 1, Sam was allowed to drive the fucking Impala, but whatever.

G: Yeah. But only in relevant moments where he gets to stop the car in the middle of the road and storm out.

C: Yeah, he's so real for that. Next time, he should take the keys as he does it. [G laughs]

G: To leave Dean stranded? So real.

C: Yeah. And Dean goes, "Well, like, it's time. You should know how to fix it, because you should know these things for the future." So they both sort of pause and feel emotions, and then he goes, "And besides, it's my job to show my little brother the ropes." And I feel like you sort of expect Sam to argue or like, say something else about the deal.

G: But he doesn't!

C: Yeah, he doesn't. He just nods, and he starts fixing up the car. And yeah. There they are. End ep.

G: Okay. Ep ends in that note.

-

G: Okay, I have a question for you. Do you think all this like, fanfare about "Dean is going to Hell," and the fact that we have it for one whole fucking season... Maybe- I'm trying to think positive. Maybe this is like, a good thing, because, like, when Dean gets resurrected from Hell, it feels like an even bigger deal.

C: Right.

G: Have we considered that? [laughs]

C: That's true. It does make Cas cooler.

G: Yeah, it makes Cas cooler. Because, yeah. That's- yeah.

C: I do think that it's helpful in the lead-up to season 4 as well because you sort of understand how much grief Sam is going through right now, and how much he would have gone through during the summer when Ruby came over-

G: Yeah, okay.

C: - and just led him into hot demon blood land. [G laughs] Yeah. But also, you know, it'd be nice to have a different B-plot conversation sometimes. [G laughs]

G: Yeah. It's fascinating, because, like, literally in season 2, they just dip regarding plot, and then they resurface the plot. And now it's like, "Here's the plot of the episode. And now, here's the plot of the show." And it's just, "Okay, cool." Sometimes, though, I miss the monster of the week that's just- that's good, you know? I feel like there's no good monsters of the week this season 3 so far.

C: Well, I liked the changelings.

G: Oh, that's right! That is a monster of the week. Yeah. I think you're right, that one is good. But it feels so far away now. It feels so long gone.

C: Yeah.

G: Yeah. So, Best Line/Worst Line.

C: Oh, geez.

G: I think my worst line is like, the daughter line. [C laughs] Like, "They're my daughters." I was like, "Okay, bro."

C: Yeah. [laughs] Yeah. Alright, buddy.

Right, I guess maybe my worst line is like, "I was desperate. Have you ever been desperate?" [both laughing]

G: "Have you ever been desperate?" Yeah.

C: Yeah. But also didn't like Gordon's like, "No, I'm not a hunter anymore. I'm a monster!" Like, okay, bro. Okay. And by "bro," I mean Sera Gamble.

G: I think my best line is probably- should I go the gay route and say that it was the "sorry" when Gordon killed-

C: That was pretty gay. That was pretty good.

G: Yeah. What's his name, even? [laughs] I've forgotten Kubrick's name. Kubrick. So yeah. I like, that line because it like, you know, it's nice. Good for them. Somebody just died.

Also, I want to point out, I forgot to say it earlier, but like, in the scene where Gordon is calling Dean, he lifts his fingers- his hands is lifted up, right? And you can see that his fingers are like- you know how like, when you get manicured and they're pink? It looks like, that because of the blood from like, gripping Kubrick's heart.

C: Ooh.

G: Which is like, super fun.

C: He didn't wash it off entirely-

G: Well enough, yeah.

C: Yeah. So real. God. Do I have a best line? Maybe I should just go with yours. [G laughs] I'll go with yours.

G: Okay. So yeah, that's- That's not it. We still have to do our worksheet. No, not worksheet. Spreadsheet.

C: Spreadsheet, yeah. Right. Okay, so we have misogyny and racism. I think that both of these things are relevant this episode. I think misogyny not too high.

G: Yeah. Because the women don't have speaking roles? [laughs]

C: I'd say a 1. [laughs] Yeah. Yeah.

G: One woman speaks in this- two women speak in this episode, and one of them literally just says, "Help me!"

C: Yeah. So is that a one or two?

G: I think maybe it's a one.

C: Alright. Racism, it's- Okay, yeah, so we go from 1 to 5. It's- should we sort of consider the entire Gordon arc altogether in this rating, or-

G: You know what? I don't know. Because- I feel like we we shouldn't. Let's just consider this episode.

C: Okay. Right. I feel like the whole Gordon is probably a five. I feel like this episode alone, a bit lower. Four-ish?

G: Maybe 2, 3?

C: Oh, three. Okay.

G: Add three, yeah.

C: Okay, we can go with 3.

G: 'Cause like, we're also consider- like, even though we're not considering the whole arc, it's still influenced by the whole arc. So like, you know, like, a 3, I think, is reasonable.

C: Okay. And I don't think we have any homophobia- [G laughs]

G: Do we really put the homophobia in? Is that for real?

C: [laughing] Because of "Bedtime Stories," we added a homophobia column.

G: What even happens in the episode?

C: "Dude. Could you be any more gay?"

G: Oh my god, yeah! It was that episode. Goddamn.

Okay, so, IMDb rating. I would say, this is probably rated- I have no idea how this is rated.

C: Yeah. I feel like this is probably middling.

G: Maybe an 8.3?

C: Yeah, yeah, that seems about right. I'm gonna guess maybe an 8.4 from the IMDbers?

G: Okay. I'm clicking! I can't see it. Hold on! I have to rotate my iPad.

C: Your iPaddy [EYE-pa-dee]?

G: It's an 8.4, you're right! My iPady. You're mispronouncing it. It's eye-puh-DEE.

C: Your eye-puh-DEE. I'm sorry! Your iPady.

G: [laughing] For context, I call my iPad "iPady" in front of only myself and Crystal because I'm too embarrassed to call it iPady in front of literally anyone else.

C: It's your friend!

G: [laughing] I call my laptop "lappytoppy." [both laugh]

C: I say lappytoppy sometimes.

G: It literally sounds like sloppy toppy, which is so funny. [C laughs]

C: Uh, okay, yeah, 8.4 definitely too high for this one. Let's see what takes people have.

Sorry. [laughing] Someone called this "the fluffiest episode so far"? [both laughing]

G: You ever decide that you want some fluffiness in your life, and then you watch this episode, and you go, "That's sufficient!"

C: Okay, someone said that "I don't know what is the writers' problem with female characters on the show. They start them out as interesting, and then go mess the characters up over the course of the events." And then they said, "The Bela story is getting ridiculous, with her using the boys in a way that makes them looking like morons."

G: Well, they are.

C: "But I'm willing to get over this." Yeah, they are. Yeah, I mean, I agree with the first part, but I don't see how that connects. I don't know what they dislike about the Bela story.

G: Yeah, I also have no idea.

C: It ends with, “Oh, Dean, how can you just be so great? Okay, I know it's the crazy fangirl in me talking right now.”

G: It literally is. [both laughing]

So yeah, I think that's it for this episode of Busty Asian Beauties. Next week, we will be discussing Season 3, Episode 8: “A Very Supernatural Christmas.” Bit early, but we're doing it. Leave us a rating or a view wherever you get your podcasts.

C: [muddled] Follow us on- [spits] blargh! [G laughs] Follow us on social media! We are on Twitter at twitter.com/BeautiesPodcast and on Tumblr at bustyasianbeautiespod.tumblr.com. Our official tag is #BABPod, B-A-B-POD, and thank you to everyone who has donated to our Ko-Fi at ko-fi.com/bustyasianbeautiespod.

G: You can email us any feedback, comments, or feedback at bustyasianbeautiespod@gmail.com. See you guys next time, buh-bye!

C: Bye!

[guitar music]

[toreytores]

a shame truly, id love to post my art more often here but i hardly draw and usually when i do its just personal ocs, LOL, very rarely a fan art kind of guy... im sure i could post my more personal art and be just fine, but there is always that twinge of nervousness posting in general on social media. pretty much all of my accounts other than tumblr are private..!! at the very least, tumblr feels sort of like im talking out into the void, so its not that bad. it also helps that my parents dont have tumblr accounts. that would be terrifying quite frankly. ahh, well maybe at some point ill post more art, not like i have a huge following who are waiting for my beck and call, i do appreciate anyone who is in fact following though and seeing my art! even if theres no interaction, i still do appreciate... n_n perhaps ill post an oc i made more recently, but there is an added layer of nervousness on top of that because its an oc for a pre-existing game. i usually make ocs just for my own amusement and enjoyment, and i dont really bother making them 'accurate' or palatable... but when i'm making an oc for something that already has pre-existing characters and a story line, i feel a need to make sure it comes off correct and not mary sue-esque. god. using that word in 2024. well anyways. since im just talking into the void i doubt theres a need to be mysterious about it. ive been playing pressure lately! on roblox! and i made a little oc for the game. just because i can and i thought it would be fun. and it was fun! but i doubt id share her outside of my friend group.. who knows maybe if someone sees this and really truly desperately wants me to post her i will, but for now shes in the tori vaults.

[pearatwar]

I'm not posting enough, let alone blogging enough! Here's to you with a review of the Quest 2 from my 3 hours or so of gameplay, idk.

My friends gifted me the VR headset formerly known as Oculus Quest 2, formally as Meta Quest 2, and even though I have an utterly incapable laptop the fact it can work on its own makes it a cool experience.

The setup was a cool experience in and of itself, even - I was blasted away by the graphics, having never experienced VR, and after a while I got it up and running.

Using it is cool, and it even allows me to use glasses. I hear you say: "But why do you need glasses? Isn't the screen up in your face? Literally?". And to that I say... well probably there's some lens magic refraction tech magic going on to allow for depth perception as God [i'm not religious shut up] intended, so glasses are a given.

You can use your controllers to point and use triggers, sure, and you can use hand tracking to break your fingers instead of your controller when you inevitably punch your closet (more on that later), but did you know there is a secret third way to do things? When you're using controllers, the Quest is so kind that it shows you your hands' outline around the controller: you can use the FINGERS OF THE OUTLINE to press on the UI. THE DIGITAL HAND!! That's cool.

About punching closets, there's some countermeasures! Three of them and then some. Boundaries come in two flavors: Stationary and Roomscale. The former is just a circle for when you sit down or stand still, but really, you might as well go the pro gamer way by defining a room-scale (eh? get it?) boundary so that it may fit your room's shape better. The third way is Passthrough. The 144p, 15 fps, black and white cameras kick in, and suddenly virtual reality is just a bank security camera. You can use it for a cool menu, mixed-reality games, or have it turn on when you go out of the boundaries you set so you see where the hell you're going.

The game selection appears to be quite cool, honestly. Job Simulator, Car Mechanic Simulator, Simulator Simulator, Super Simulacrum Simulator Returns XXAC+R The Definitive Trilogy Nintendo Switch, it's all here! I didn't pour any money into the Quest as of yet, mainly due to my mother being all pissy at the sight of me spending anything on virtual commodities, but I guess I've played Gorilla Tag...?

Gorilla Tag is just as shown on social media: native English-speaking pre-teens will yell at you their know-it-all monkey jargon about how to walljump, juke, korean backdash and solve antiderivatives. It's like you were playing Getting Over It with your arms, and it's most serviceable as a glorified VRChat with a hint of bananas and tea. 8/10 would pay, like, 5 bucks? It's free anyways.

I've also played some Roblox games experiences with VR-Exclusive features. Crazy Stairs among them is a game where usually you'd climb up a set of platforms interconnected by platforms using powers to aid you or fuck over other people... on VR you scratch the climbing aspect and just mess around. Fun, really! VR Hangouts also exist: non-VR players run around in this comically massive map, and VR players are this comically massive floating head with comically massive floating hands that they can use to fling non-VR players around to kingdom come, slap them into the atmosphere, or just play with the comically massive props. Also fun, also free, would not pay five bucks but definitely refreshing.

What about Steam games? You can play them, if you have a PC able to handle them. I can't, so I'm stuck with the Oculus' Meta Store: the one-stop shop for hardcore golf players and the maniacs that want WhatsApp on their headset.

It performs well, despite having a phone's GPU. All games in the Meta Store were carefully optimized for standalone gaming, and Steam games run on your PC, so you're strapped in for an adventure of whimsy and motion sickness!

Talking about motion sickness, I had none. Maybe after laying down while playing GT I got weirded out a bit - your PoV does not move vertically with your headset, so finding myself kneeling but still standing at the same time was slightly disorienting?

Another nitpick is that the charger is, hear me out, USB-C TO USB-C. You pretty much have to use its own charger, but that's okay really.

Overall: make sure to have enough room to fling your arms about and try to stop your mother from taking silly pictures of you with the headset on.

[velvetporcelain]

👋 Knock knock baby, it’s me. Your favorite mind fucking whore. 🧠 ⛓️

I’m in a mood void. An anxious yet exhilarated movement moves through my manic mind. I’m really getting a hold of this whole thinking ability.

What can we do to practice thinking? I say, writing. I love coming here and putting my mind to the test. What do I have to say when I am alone and life seems uneventful, yet peaceful? I want to know too. So here we are.

I did a lot of thought while tending to my house chores. My favorite thing to do. But when it seems my mind is tending to think ten steps ahead of me I get distracted and overwhelmed. I had to do a double take today to get myself straight.

I don’t know how I feel about the term “over thinking.” I guess it would depends on if it is creative or deconstructive. Destruction is a form of creation. So the artist in me says it doesn’t exist. But then sometimes I hear the worry in my daughters voice and I find myself telling her not to over think it. Well, maybe now I’m over thinking it. 😂👀

Thinking is sitting back and observing yourself with logic. Of course you may feel lost because you have never been this version of yourself. I don’t think I’ve ever got this lost in myself. Ever. I am totally digging me right now.

Four years ago I decided to take a big step into the world of social media. Boy did I learn so much about myself and this superficial social world. It has done something to my brain the real world could never do. At first it was thrilling, but then it became almost nauseating. Like a rollercoaster ride on the same continuous loop. At first you’re having so much fun but eventually you become sick. Sick with a world that only consists of videos and photos of reality.

Was I missing the entire point of this world? I just couldn’t grasp what it really meant to be “social” on social media. I still don’t. I have been focusing more on grasping earthly connections. I do not care if the whole world never saw me. I do not care if the world never sees me. I see me. I get to be me.

Writing satisfies me almost instantaneously. The invisible weight that falls from my mind is what keeps me coming back. I do not feel the need to be validated here, or anywhere for that matter. The fact that I am alive and creating and thinking is plenty valid.

I got lost in the cyber woods but I was never afraid, only curious. At what point does curiosity turn against us? I felt just like Alice, lost and alone in some wonderland with things I’ve never encounter before. There was fucking content everywhere!!! Mega mind tripping honestly.

What if social media is one big psychological journey? Couldn’t it be? I mean think about it. It’s has become such a “dual life” to others. How? Why? Am I seeing this correctly? Well, there is no correct here. We are here, with you void.

I’m not sure if I found anything truly fascinating other than the human behavior displayed. What it does to the psyche and how it completely rips it to shreds and immediately begins to rebuild itself. It was fucking wild to be apart of.

I think it consumed me a bit. It was so intrusive in my life that now I think being away is some sort of new age rebellion. Millennials are so close from giving it up completely, I’m convinced. They have this sort of pre-social media mind that lures them back into the real world right before the portal closes forever. There is still time to get out. I’m confident in my decision to leave. Mark my words though, just in case. 👀😂

It’s like I woke up from some extremely twisted concept I had on reality. It really does now all feel like a dream. I can only compare this feeling to the same feeling I get when I felt like I was actually in my dream while dreaming. Do you know what I’m talking about? It was so real that you woke up scared, not from the dream but because you believed you experienced this dream. 💭

Call me a psychopath and I’m down on my back like the hyena in the Lion King when the other say Mufasa’s name three times. I am something more rare, so rare that there is no word yet invented to describe me.

So yeah that’s what I’m thinking. Nothing major or deep. 👀 I never knew the shallow end of the ocean because I think I was always the tide. Pulling you in deeper and deeper, before you know it, you’re either sinking or swimming in between the coagulated, goo- webbed, folds of my bubble gum membrane. 🧠

I like wearing clothes that tell people “I don’t give a fuck” right when they see me. lol why am i talking about this? This is so left turn material. I was just thinking about brains and thinking- oh yeah- and how anything can trigger a persons inner monologue.

I get pleasure out of making people’s inner monologue speak to them. THEY ARE THINKING and I love that about them. Good. Use your brain. Use me. Think. Think. Think. It’s way healthier than you think. I prefer giving people indirect motivation. Either way, if you hate me, or if you love me, I’m always going to be inspiring you into something more concrete in your ideology. Maybe I have answered questions you’ve hung onto for years. Or maybe I can teach you the many meanings of the word “monster”. Whatever the case, I like to call this process the spark. Hopefully it helps people light fires within themselves, and maybe they feel a little bit warmer. Whether it be hate or love.

I really think I have sparked things up on my neighborhood street. Don’t tell anyone my evil plan to get inside their minds. 👀 *rubs hands together* Nah, I’ll be good, I promise. I’m tired of running away from myself. I’m tired of shaming my dark psychology, it’s not even that dark 👀. Especially when we are all knee fucking deep in a negative head space due to the over saturation of true crime, death, paranormal and horror.

What’s with all the mongering? Especially of fear, beauty, sex, medicine, fast food and war. Now I would look at my boys with a tilted head, and say “now boys I know you are smart enough to know————THAT WE ARE SMARTER THAN THAT. THAT WE ARE MADE FOR MORE THAN THIS.”

Am I? Am I the problem? 👀😂 you’re gonna look at me and tell me that I’m wrong?

Grow up.

-x