#now-playing-on-frogs-spotify

[milliesfishes]

Hi sweetest girl in town, Millie! Can you by chance write something angsty for Alex? I love the best best friends to lovers trope before they are officially together, like in pwmov after they hooked up and felt really hurt and heartbroken. But they actually both loved each other!! Or love an “unrequited” love confession and just all the feels. Have a lovely night!

꣑ৎ౨ৎOcean Blvd꣑ৎ౨ৎ

[fem reader] contains: angst pairing: alex nilsen x fem reader summary: you and alex hook up on vacation author’s note: I very much hope this is good Pinterest Board Spotify Playlist

From this angle you could see your pale pink bra where it had been unceremoniously tossed the ground. Alex's fingers were nimble, and the swiftness of the removal had only made your heart beat faster.

Inches away was your top, further your shorts. Your panties were closest to the bed. His clothes were discarded at equal intervals, lying beside your things like a couple's picture. Close to the entrance of the motel room were both of your shoes, one of his lying sole up atop your sandal.

The sheet was cool around your chest where you had pulled it up once he'd gotten off of you, suddenly self-conscious despite what you'd just done. His hand was resting palm down by your hip, elbow on the mattress, thumb stroking your side lazily. You weren't sure if he was looking at you. A part of you hoped he was.

Turning your head to the side revealed that he was staring at the ceiling, his chest not rising and falling as quickly as it had a few minutes ago. Alex's hair was a mess from your fingers running through it, and you suspected your own was along the same lines.

When he shifted, your eyes fell away, focusing on the edge of the pillow under your head. Your hair was cushioned under your ear, ends splayed out toward him. Silence like suffocating smoke was filling the air, pierced only by the sounds of doors opening and closing outside, keys jingling cheerfully as their owners' flip flops thumped their heels.

Just minutes ago you'd been breathing his name, his lips ghosting your neck, hands gripping your waist so hard you wouldn't be surprised if there were bruises later. And now it was quiet. And you hated it.

It wasn't supposed to be like this. It was just another annual vacation with your best friend, the one you loved and trusted more than anybody else in the world. This trip to a sunny coastal town in southern California was supposed to be an escape from your problems, not a place to create new ones. But the tension had been thick, connecting both of you like an iron bar.

Today especially had been bordering the precipice. The two of you had walked, shoulders bumping, through the less-than-busy streets with grass and daisies growing between the sidewalk cracks. Ice cream from your cones dripping onto your fingers, you'd hardly stopped giggling the whole morning, playing a game of I Spy with the quirky things you spotted.

"Me," Alex had said, unwrapping a finger from around his ice cream to point at a stone figurine of a cat wearing a frog hat.

You nudged him with one elbow, chasing a droplet running down your cone with your tongue. "I think you'd wear it better."

"Of course I would, I'm adorable."

This continued until you stopped at a low stone wall close to the beach, sitting and resting your feet. You'd popped the pointed end of the cone into your mouth and set your bag down, stretching and tilting your head, gasping when you nearly fell backwards. Quicker than lightning, Alex reached out to steady you, forgetting that what was left of his ice cream was still in that hand.

When the cold of it smeared your side, you instantly knew what it was. As he pulled you in closer to him, away from where you would have fallen into a bed of sea grass, you could see the realization on his face. You braced a hand on his chest, laughter bubbling from your lips. "Is your hand sticky now?"

"Yeah." He cracked a smile upon seeing that you were unbothered, fingers starting to lift from your side.

You stopped him, grabbing his arm. "Keep it there. It'll hide the stain until we get back to our room."

Alex didn't argue, reaching down to pick up your bag and sling it over his shoulder. The two of you carefully stood up, walking side by side as you crossed the street. He adjusted his fingers where they laid a few times, and you felt electric just from that. Feelings were poking through your bubble without breaking it, swirling around inside you like fairy dust. The quiet that settled between you was comfortable.

It was the stark opposite of now.

You felt dread land like a lead ball in your stomach as he turned on his side to face you, hand reaching out to brush yours. "Are you-?"

"I'm gonna go to the pool!" Plastering a smile to your face, you stood up, ignoring the flush in your cheeks when you remembered you still weren't wearing anything. Pushing through it, you ignored the slight tremble of your knees in favor of finding your suitcase on the ground and pulling out a bikini. It was the only one that wasn't drying over the edge of the bathtub, but also the most revealing one. Not helpful.

Alex sat up, not bothering to cover himself. You averted your eyes, tugging on your bottoms and beginning to tie the back. He cleared his throat once. "You're...okay, I..." You looked up, and he scratched the back of his neck.

"I'll meet you down there," you offered, brushing your hair behind your ear as a distraction and adjusting your top over your breasts. Cramming your sunglasses on your head, you met his eyes again, saw the confusion swimming in them.

He ran a hand through his hair. "Uh...yeah. Maybe."

You felt a stab of guilt. "Okay." Taking your bag stuffed with sunscreen, a towel, and a book, you padded to the door, only stopping to pick up your shorts from the clothing trail and pull them on. Slipping your feet into your sandals, you slithered out the door like a snake, feeling like one too.

All the way to the pool, your eyes stung with tears, his tone echoing in your head. Depositing your bag on the chair next to you, an automatic habit in case he came down, you drew your knees to your chest, squeezing your eyes shut. There were a million feelings blooming in your chest and they were all foreign.

That scared you.

He'd been a constant in your life forever, truly the one person you could depend on, trust. And you might have just ruined it. The thought brought forth a tear from your eye, and you just let it fall. Nobody else was at the pool, the temporary residents of the motel likely off to town for the evening.

You felt like a fisherman trying to reel in a whale. The sparks you'd always felt with Alex weren't candlelight anymore, they were a fire, and it was consuming you. For so long you'd fought it, hidden away and told yourself you were only imagining it. But the truth was rearing its ugly head, even now causing you to close your eyes as if that would make it disappear.

You couldn't love him. He was your best friend. You couldn't.

Reaching for your book, you opened it to a random page, trying to veer your attentions away from something you desperately wanted to avoid right now. Your vision was blurry, and you could hardly make out the words before you. They may as well have been in Greek.

Everything in your brain had dissipated save for seconds-long memories like a montage of what had happened. Unlocking the door. Pulling off your shirt, laughing at something he said. Going quiet when he saw you topless. Pulling you in. Lips finding yours.

"You're beautiful."

His hands skimmed the line of your panties, thumbs hooking on the edges.

You were bare before him.

So was he. He was beautiful too.

The worst part of all of it was how right it had felt. Your bodies fit like they were made to be pressed together, swelling and flattening in all the right places. His touch ruined every sensation in the world, and you wanted to feel his hands on you over and over, like rolling waves on the tide. Late at night when you were too tired to deny anything about yourself you had wondered...thoughts wandering...how would it feel to touch him that way? To kiss him?

Alex kissed like he'd been craving you, his lips practically devouring yours. He knew just where to touch you, as if you'd done this every day for years. Even though you'd been able to feel how much he wanted you, he'd kept you on his lap, legs on either side of his thighs as he kissed you long and slow and sweet.

Now you knew. But you'd likely paid the price with the person you loved most in the world.

It was sunset. The colors were streaking the sky, some heavenly being's creation to ease mortals into the night. You would have snapped a picture if you hadn't left your phone back in the motel room.

Alex hadn't appeared once since you'd come down, and ever minute without him made you feel worse. This was the longest you'd been apart since the trip had begun, including the plane ride. You always drove to the airport together since it was so far from Linfield, splitting the parking for one car. His head always found your shoulder on the plane ride, your hand clasped with his because he often grew anxious at takeoff.

Already you were mourning the loss of these memories, ones you thought would repeat themselves over and over. This could very well be your last trip together. All because you couldn't rein in your emotions after seeing how he'd looked at you when you were only wearing a bra.

It was a sour ache because he was such a fixture in your life. Alex inhabited every part of you, had worked himself into so many details of your life. He took up a good fifty percent of the pictures in your phone. You'd shopped for all your furniture together when you got your own apartment, and he helped you put it together. So many of the little trinkets in your room were things he'd gotten for you, and even the bikini you were wearing had undergone his approval before you hit purchase. Not that it mattered- whenever you sent him pictures of things, he told you you'd look good in them.

Alex Nilsen's essence was draped over every aspect of you, tangled into your mind and firmly set like a mold around your heart. It was a wonder something like this hadn't happened sooner. A part of you wished it had, because then this wouldn't hurt as much. The other part was happy you got to have every moment with him.

Tears sprung to your eyes again, but you clenched your jaw, not wanting to cry anymore. This is stupid. You haven't even talked to him, one part of your mind insisted. You buried your face in your hands, trying to keep your breathing steady. Working yourself into a panic attack wouldn't help anybody. No, you just ran away at the scene before he could get a word in.

"Hey." You looked up, a strand of hair escaping your sunglasses headband and falling into your eyes. There he was, standing in front of you in his swimsuit and short sleeved shirt unbuttoned. The one you'd sent him a picture of as a joke because it had tiny mermaids dotted all over it, but he'd ended up buying.

Both your phones were held in one hand, and he set them down by your beach bag, sitting at the edge of the chair. "Are you alright?"

Your fingers flew to the ends of your hair, twisting them. "Yeah."

Alex gave a half-smile, his eyes never leaving your face. "Me too."

He understands. You let go of a breath, and finally met his gaze. "I'm sorry I left like that."

A single nod. "I get it." He held out a hand into the space between your chairs, and you met him halfway, clasping his fingers. Even his touch comforted you, easing the sharp feeling that had been cutting slowly at your being for the past while. "I took a walk. Had some time to think about...everything."

You cast your eyes to the ground. "We don't have to play any games. If you want to forget it ever happened..."

"No." When you looked back up at him, he looked surprised. Squeezing your hand, he asked, "Is that what you want?"

"I..." you were speechless. "I just thought..."

"Why did you hook up with me if you just wanted to forget about it?" Alex's words hit you like a punch to the stomach. He let go of your hand, and you felt tears rise to your eyes all over again.

"I didn't...I don't..." you were grasping, trying to find your words. "Alex..." Taking in a shuddering breath, you felt panic begin to constrain you. As you recognized the signs, you turned away, pressing a hand flat to your chest.

He touched your shoulder. "Hey. It's okay...you're okay-" You felt a weight on your chair as he sat beside you, fingers rubbing your skin. "C'mere." You didn't resist, turning into him and hiding your face in his chest. Alex's hand pressed lightly on your back, and you were too tense for his warm touch to cause anything but comfort.

You were flushed with humiliation- in all the time you'd known him you needed less than one hand to count how many times you'd cried in front of him. He let his chin rest on the top of your head, fully engulfing you in him.

"I don't want to forget any part of you," you breathed, voice hitching. One of your cheeks was pressed to his chest, half to skin and half to his shirt, one button digging into your face. He ran his hand up your back once.

His hand was at your lower back, two fingers lingering at the waistband of your shorts, the others splayed out on your skin. Now the sky was a brilliant orange, lighting the sun's glowing path as it sunk into the earth, lighting the day of somebody else. You watched it fall over his shoulder, legs half tangled over his thigh. The sunset shadows were thrown behind you, your silhouettes intertwined in a perfect shape that imprinted on your heart.

Alex waited for you to pull back first, keeping his hands at your waist, just in case. You met his eyes. "I don't want to forget you."

His shoulders slumped, and he removed a hand from your waist to cup your cheek. Rubbing your cheekbone gently, he murmured, "I don't want to forget you either."

You shifted, half-sitting on his lap now, and he touched your thigh, tracing your kneecap with his other hand. "Look...you know me. I wouldn't hook up if there wasn't...if I didn't feel something."

There it was. That scary, indescribable sensation in your chest, that fluttered your heart like a pair of butterfly's wings. Your instinct was to shrink away, but the way he was looking at you nearly sent stars shooting just so you could wish on them.

Reaching for his hand on your knee, you squeezed it. If there had ever been anything you struggled with, it was expressing yourself in words. But he deserved to know. "I feel it too."

Alex's face brightened like a light had gone off inside him, and your heart ached. He was so eager to love you. Exhaling softly, you looked away, focusing on the fringe of your beach towel. "I just don't want to ruin anything."

"Ruin anything?" He turned your cheek so you'd look at him. "How would that ruin anything?"

"Because I love you and I don't want to lose you," you pleaded, hand finding his wrist. "If we do this and it doesn't work out, I don't want us to become strangers. I don't want to see you in a room someday and know everything about you and not be able to talk to you."

It was clear the instant realization dawned on him. Your lower lip trembled just slightly, and you squeezed your eyes shut, a single tear dropping to your thigh. Alex pulled you into him again, smoothing a hand down your hair. You wished he could iron this out the same way.

"We don't have to go there yet." His voice was quiet, subdued. Drawing back to look at you, he tucked a stray strand behind your ear, adjusting the strap of your bikini top. "Just...know that I love you. In every possible way."

The sky was golden as you leaned into him, his arm around your shoulders. You watched the sun fall into the sea, stars beginning to dot the sky like an entity threw a handful of glitter over the dark canvas.

You wrapped your arms around his torso, the salt air hazy around the space. "I love you too."

He pressed his lips to your temple.

Maybe everything would be okay.

[oliverreedmasterass]

My GVF Predictions for 2024

Sam will attempt to grow a beard similar to George Harrison circa 1970. He'll nearly get there, but when he starts braiding it, his friends and family tell him to shave it off

A new music video will come out for either Sacred the Thread or Farewell for Now out of the literal blue

videos of Danny singing Bon Jovi in a Nashville karaoke bar will unearth

Josh will get another piercing

GVF will issue an apology, revealing that they accidentally deleted the files for the Broken Bells music video

Jake will commit to speaking in nothing but latin for an entire interview

Some cryptic sign will be dropped that Oliver Reed isn't dead

Something's gonna come out of that mystery song that they've been playing during their jam sessions on stage, I swear

Josh is gonna try to bring back shoulder pads and he may or may not pull it off

At least a few members of GVF will accidentally make their way into the background of a Mastercard commercial like Michael Clifford did in 2014

Danny will get another tattoo of something goofy, like a frog playing a banjo or a dorito bag

Sam will want to get a tattoo too, but talk himself out of it while it's happening so he's left with a dot tattooed on him, which he calls a freckle tattoo

GVF will release a new curated spotify playlist, but it's just Nicki Minaj's Pink Friday album

Josh will tease a new short film about space pirates with Jake cast as the evil, latin-speaking three headed villain

New outfit debuts all around for the next leg of the Starcatcher tour, including more capes, more sparkles, and more chains

Josh has spent their entire break trying to figure out how to apply pyro to his microphone so he can shoot shit out of it, which he will test during their next performance

GVF holiday single drop, but they're all giving their worst Frank Sinatra impression and it's a clusterfuck

[slowdive1994]

⋆ hello and welcome! ⋆ dandy // she/they // minor (15 and a fool <3) // sapphic (questioning bi again)// aus // enfp // leo ☼ libra ☾ pisces ↑ // basic dni // gluttonous user of brackets // in love with everyone and everything a little bit // life's so fun, life's so fun! // know it's for the be-e-e-tter.

⋆ misc ⋆ yellow dandelions and polaroids // matcha addict // this specific shade of green // guitar // obsessed with spotify // certified dog person // silk chiffon is my favourite song ever // music is the loml // always wearing eyeliner // summer is everything // friends give me life // in love with the city // literal golden retriever // poetry - i have a slightly inactive sideblog // laughs too hard and too much // i write songs a bit // my sleep schedule is absolutely fucked // chronic overthinker // tokyo is my fav city ever // in love with my friends // i live in wide leg jeans // strawberry sorbet // psychology // used to drink coffee like once a week and now im a fully fledged lorelai gilmore // headphones // i live for concerts // brown lipgloss <3 // that little black vest // a little selective about who i follow and i usually don't follow people without an intro post/bio :) // if we’re not mutuals and u wanna be js send me an ask pls // i love talking to people - ask box is very open and dms open to minors :)) //

⋆ music ⋆ mitski // big thief // paramore // boygenius // lorde // olivia rodrigo // lucy dacus // taylor swift // phoebe bridgers // deftones // esha tewari // billie eilish // lana del rey // gracie abrams // girl in red // maisie peters // noah kahan // chappell roan // renee rapp // nep // adrianne lenker // hole // mazzy star // the cranberries // tanukichan // wet leg // japanese breakfast // the last dinner party // boyish // cocteau twins // the cranberries // the cardigans // the sundays // clairo // kimya dawson // arctic monkeys // the smiths // my bloody valentine // the smashing pumpkins // slowdive // modern baseball // lsd and the search for god // laufey // beabadoobee // laufey // faye webster //

⋆ albums ⋆ norman fucking rockwell! // ttpd + the anthology // evermore // born to die // did you know there's a tunnel under ocean blvd? // pure heroine // melodrama // folklore // this is what it feels like // good riddance // hmhas // quarter-life crisis // if i could make it go quiet // am // the good witch // the rise and fall of a midwest princess // snow angel // punisher // stranger in the alps // the record // home video // historian // this is why // bury me at makeout creek // puberty 2 // five seconds flat // riot! // guts // bright future //brand new eyes // songs // capacity // masterpiece // stick season // preacher's daughter // live through this // sundays // prelude to ecstasy // wet leg // rae // saturday night wrist // i can // heaven or las vegas // vampire weekend // so tonight that i might see // no burden // brat // the secret of us // everybody else is doing it, so why can’t we? // maggot // charm // among my swan // celebrity skin // AM // around the fur // remember that i love you // a-sides // the rest // be the cowboy // loveless // siamese dream // nowhere // souvlaki // lsd and the search for god // sports //american football // she hangs brightly // beatopia // i know im funny haha // our extended play // atlanta millionaires club // bewitched // how im feeling now // melon collie and the infinite sadness // twin fantasy // pornography //

⋆ tv ⋆ gilmore girls // cruella // heartbreak high // 10 things i hate about you // 27 dresses // do revenge // friends // all the bright places // pride and prejudice // how i met your mother // mona lisa smile // never have i ever // gossip girl // pjo // little women // but i'm a cheerleader // now you see me // the hunger games // the breakfast club // murder mystery // the fault in our stars // yellowjackets // how to lose a guy in 10 days // heartstopper // the princess and the frog // knives out // tinkerbell // geek girl // to all the boys i've loved before // five feet apart // the devil wears prada // knives out // anne with an 'e' // atypical // the babysitter's club // riverdale // ratatouille // enola holmes // mean girls // wednesday // the vampire diaries // the perks of being a wallflower // ruby sparks // bottoms // buffy the vampire slayer // juno // scott pilgrim vs the world // girl, interrupted // eighth grade // 500 days of summer // boyhood //

⋆ books ⋆ the invisible life of addie larue // we were liars // the raven cycle // the folk of the air // anne of green gables // little women // daisy jones & the six // the seven husbands of evelyn hugo // the hunger games // red white and royal blue // they both die at the end // pride and prejudice // pjo // the fault in our stars // all the bright places // five feet apart // turtles all the way down // heartstopper // solitaire // loveless // tuck everlasting // one of us is lying // sadie // she's too pretty to burn // caraval // the illuminae files // aurora rising // emily henry books // the bell jar // girl, interrupted // the virgin suicides //

⋆ taglist + sideblogs + notes ⋆ #asks // #incredible remarkable awe-inducing mutuals <3 // #just dandy thoughts // #anon // #tag game // #picrew // #ask bait/#ask game // #dandy.txt // mp3 dvd rumble pack guitar // @path0logical-people-pleaser // @idespisemyrottenmind // @saturn-mo0n // intro post was inspired by @svnflowermoon and @glcive - go check their blogs out, they're lovely <3 // last update: 10 november 2024 // bye and thank you for reading!! //

[wofdesignhub]

Going over a bit of my headcanons on Mudwing life. I don’t care that the guidebook is coming out in a few months just to dump on lore, the books have been out over a decade and Tui is doing that NOW? Basic lore and information on the world building should’ve already been established at this point it’s been 15 BOOKS already!! Literally my biggest critic on the books as a whole, there IS world building but we only ever see it for specific tribes like Nights and Seas, we don’t even know what Moorhen’s palace looks like.

Anyways, here’s my take on Mudwings <3

Up first is the scenery/landscape. We already know it’s swamps and marshes, but the graphic novels make it look like a sad wasteland for some reason?? I’ve been to places like Louisiana, it’s nothing like that at all. It’s a lot more like a wet forest, trees and muddy water everywhere. Flowers are also quite abundant too, like water lilies and wisteria!! Some of the fauna that lives here could be such like crocodiles, frogs, waterbirds, TONS of fish and bugs. I imagine the deeper you go into the kingdom and villages, you start to see more bridges, gazebos, wells, and more such as that. Or in other words; lots of swampy fairycore vibes here

Next is the kingdom/residence. We don’t really see much of that, but we get the idea that they live in mud columns and such, but that was only seen in the outskirts of the kingdom. I imagine the kingdom having elements of the country side of England or places like the Netherlands or Ireland. Lots of overgrown buildings but still looking quite rustic, the nearby swamps may have the appearances of lakes as well while you pass by on bridges. While the pictures do show normal houses, I imagine there being homes deep within the forest that do show off that “overgrown” look like being a large tree stump or simply an overgrown hole. Some of the low class Mudwings will usually take in these homes

Now Moorhen’s palace. Once again, lots of English vibes here since that’s how I imagine the tribe to appear. The inside of the palace is very elegant and well structured with small ponds to dehydrate in. It’s also quite floral with lots of plants, but not to the point where it’s so messy and cluttered. Moorhen I feel would be very fond of collecting antique items such as fancy tea sets, rustic furniture, and even jewelry. I also think Moorhen’s choice of jewelry style is anything rose gold, so naturally most of the wealthiest Mudwings will be adorned in rose gold. (I imagine a dragon’s attire and style varies depending on their queen!)

There you have it! I plan to make other stuff like this for the other tribes as well. Hope you enjoyed it :)

psst, here’s a Spotify playlist for songs that I feel would be played throughout the kingdom. Very vintage type music from the 40s and 50s

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/0GKTMj9vEtRqyyHeDDyxSZ?si=EZvOOd6uS5GM0HSPTzGUQw

[lostbetweenvampiresandmusic]

Hi! I had the Outsiders prompt and that works for me! If you ever have the chance to watch it I highly recommend it especially the new musical! Speaking of musicals while I’m not sure you’re into them there is talk of the Lost Boys becoming a musical and the trailer looked promising! Thank you again and I’m so sorry for picking something you’ve never seen before! <333

I'm glad! I'll go and see if I can find it on YouTube/Spotify, I absolutely love musicals! I know they're working on a new musical for the Lost Boys, with music from a band (I've forgotten their name) but like three years ago G Tom Mac released a lost boys musical concept album and honestly - that version of Cry Little Sister is so good? It is a bloody shame that the whole album wasn't on Spotify anymore last time I checked. And they had this song that the Frogs were supposed to sing, "when all the damn vampires are dead," and it was a jam, seriously.😅

Thank you for requesting! No need to apologise for your initial request, hon! I hope you like this💜

--------------------------------------------------

You would have thought that growing up with four older brothers would have prepared me for a life with four boyfriends. I was used to people coming into my personal space, used to people stealing my stuff, stealing my food, poking fun at me. I had seriously thought that having brothers would prepare me for living with said four boyfriends, but in all honesty, it didn't. I didn't think so, anyway.

No, take David, for instance. He could be the sweetest person in the whole world, but sometimes? Sometimes, he would be insufferable. Playing mind tricks on me to mess with me, laughing at my expense whenever I didn't want to eat any worms, maggots, or beatles.

It reminded me sometimes of my oldest brother, who would jokingly hold worms on a stick in front of me, daring me to eat it. Of course, this was when we were little. I had been four, and my brother had been ten. Once, he had actually convinced me to eat it, but mom had gotten so angry and worried that we spent the rest of the afternoon in the hospital. I never felt the need to prove myself to my brother again, and ever since that day, I'd sworn off impressing others by doing stuff I didn't want.

Maybe my eldest brother had prepared me, just in a way I didn't expect. After all, David could try all he wanted to have his twisted idea of fun, but I wouldn't budge. I smiled at the thought, realising that he might find me at times just as infuriating as I found him at times.

When I was younger, my second eldest brother would always play wrestle with me. It started when I was six, and a girl at school had begun to bully me. My brother noticed and took me out to the backyard that same afternoon. He said he'd help me stand up for myself, and he taught me how to fight back. How to hold my own. I liked it in such a way that my parents agreed to let me take actual classes.

It was that skill set, initially taught to me by my brother, that absolutely excited Marko. He was always ready for a fight and to have someone next to him who not only could fight but didn't mind getting into fights? He loved it. So sometimes, when either he or I were in an explosive mood, we'd go to the boardwalk and pick fights, just for the fun of it. And if we couldn't find anyone, we would go against each other. Often, those moments lead to more passionate encounters, but still.

If it hadn't been for my brother, I was certain it would have taken more for me and Marko to become close.

My third oldest brother, who was three years older than me, had always been obsessed with music. He always picked what would be played in the car on road trips, always handed me the tapes and cassettes he didn't want to listen to anymore. My brother and I definitely bonded over that music, and now I realised that it helped me bond with Paul. Hell, it was the sole reason I met the boys.

After all, I had been working in a record store at night when Paul came in, asking whether or not we had the latest Springsteen album. We did, and after I sold it to him, we kept talking. About the Doors and the Beatles - whether or not the white album was worth the hype - about singers we thought were got and who we thought had the best songs. We talked for hours, and the night ended with an invitation to join him and his friends at a concert the next evening.

I'm glad I went. I was encouraged to go by my youngest elder brother, who was beyond happy that I was meeting someone I liked. He had always been supportive. Whether I wanted to talk about my crushes on boys or girls, he had always understood and always been open to it. He helped me get ready, forced me out of the door when nerves threatened to keep me inside, and in the end I met up with the boys.

And then there was Dwayne, the last of my four boyfriends, and quite possibly the easiest to hang out with. He wasn't big on mind tricks, wasn't big on fights - as much as I loved them - wasn't as loud as the others. With him, it didn't matter what you did, as long as it was done together. It was comfortable and often just very lovely. I could just be - and nothing else was expected.

As I looked at them, my boys, knowing I was theirs and they were mine, I couldn't help but feel as if my brothers had prepared me for a live they could never know about. Not since David had offered to turn me, and I agreed. Once I fully turned, I could never see my brothers again. But knowing what they taught me and what I took along with me - the lessons I learned from them - it brought a smile to my face. It was comforting to know that I always carried a piece of my brothers with me, even if they were no longer there.

[snake-and-mouse]

I'll be honest tho... I'm not upset to have one less reason to open youtube.

I am upset one more bit of joy is ending. I can't afford the subscription, not that I'd have gotten it if I could. Leaving because they don't "fit youtube", which is more hubris than truth, and with three shows made with fan submissions that I don't find appropriate to paywall and charge 6$ for...I'm not sayings it's good Watcher has decided they don't need or want their poor and international fans. But ignoring the debate of it all for a sec-

The very first time youtube tried to make me watch a forty five second unskippable ad, actually four ads in one, just the first ad roll of many for a twenty minute let's play, plus more ads slipped in after the video ends hoping I don't notice and exit fast enough, watched on a tv I can't put adblock on, forty five seconds and unskippable, as someone who remembered being pissed over a decade ago at the very first time I saw an ad on youtube, the only ad I saw the whole fucking day, which became multiple unskippable ads Every Fucking Video-

I knew my days of using youtube for entertainment were officially over. It was the last forty some straws on a camel that should have probably been dead years ago, but had stubbornly held on for convenience and habit until that moment.

Again, putting to side the various debates. The current business model is one that is very common, that I don't pretend to be above or immune to (or I wouldn't pay for spotify so I could stay sane in the face my day to day commutes) which is "Boil the frog; Over time the free version of your service becomes unpleasant enough to use that everyone eventually caves and pays to escape the constant torment of ads and locked features, because making a site as shitty as possibly is more effective than offering additional services."

And it works. Except for those of us who don't have the money. And for us? Youtube is just not a viable way to casually watch media anymore unless you have very thick skin and endless patience, the days of easy idle hours browsing long gone. Except people with adblock, youtube is dead to us, or at least dying. Which, I'm sure youtubers are aware of. The frog has noticed and is way too boiled. But you're not getting soup from us.

Instead youtube is now merely a source of annoyance and bitterness I can only bear exposing myself to for the very very few creators I'm too loyal to abandon being a fan of. I loosely keep up with a handful of youtubers, and only watch new videos as they are posted with maybe three.

And now that handful is a little smaller. Sad but convenient. I'm sure, despite the fact youtube used to be my main source of entertainment that I'd spend hours a day watching, one way or another the next few years that will dwindle to zero.

Back to Watcher, part of the shame here is, I'm honestly desperate for an option to watch and support youtubers I enjoy away from that site, as are many people, but a sustainable and accesible option that is realistic about the fanbase's needs and wants. Not that. That wasn’t a way to enjoy Watcher's content away from the dumpster fire. It was saying "If you can't pay or don't get our Vision™ then stay in the dumpster fire, which we're leaving, because we're Better, and those with taste and money will follow us, and those are the only fans we need."

Okay. Fine. Was nice knowing you, I'll miss Are You Scared, but I'm sure I can spend that time on something else now that won't show me six Arbys ads in a row.

[haveyoulistenedtothisalbum-poll]

Tracklist:

After The Ball • Goodbye, My Lady Love • A Bird In A Gilded Cage • Under The Bamboo Tree • On The Banks Of The Wabash, Far Away • Those Wedding Bells Shall Not Ring Out! • I've Got Rings On My Fingers • Come Down Ma Evenin' Star • I Don't Want To Play In Your Yard • Will You Love Me In December As You Do In May? • Meet Me In St. Louis, Louis • Love's Old Sweet Song • Waltz Me Around Again Wille ('Round, 'Round, 'Round) • Wait 'Till The Sun Shines, Nellie • I Don't Care • Shine On, Harvest Moon • Yip-I-Addy-I-Ay • Let The Rest Of The World Go By • May Irwin's 'Frog Song' • I Wonder Who's Kissing Her Now

Submitter's Note: These are all, obviously, covers

Spotify ♪ YouTube

[adrienneleclerc]

Boyfriend

Pairing: Xavier Thorpe x Hispanic!Reader

Summary: Y/N’s boyfriend ditches her at the Rave’N dance but Xavier makes her night better

Warning: spelling and grammatical errors probably

A/N: Inspired by Dove Cameron’s song Boyfriend because I have played that song 303 times according to my Spotify and according to TikTok, the majority of my birth placements give off Boyfriend vibes, takes place before season 1 of Wednesday.

Also “teach me tonight” and “there’s a frog in my hand” are probably my favorite fics that I have written

Masterlist

It was the Rave’N dance, the event many Nevermore students looked forward to. Where no homework was assigned to them because of the dance and where outcasts can bring normies, if there were any cool normies, as their dates. Y/N and Enid we’re getting ready together.

“Can you help me zip up my dress?” Y/N asked Enid.

“Yeah sure, then you can help me with mine.” Enid said. Now with both girls dressed, they helped each other with their makeup. “Do you think we’re a little too overdressed?” Enid asked.

“Let’s see…I’m Hispanic, this years theme is Olympus, we may be overdressed but we’re probably the best dressed.” Y/N said. “Do you think Daniel will like it?” Daniel is Y/N’s vampire boyfriend.

“If he doesn’t, he’s a dumbass. Come on, let’s go.” Enid said. They left their room and Y/N saw Daniel in a suit ready to go. They looped their arms together and made their way to the dance. Everyone stared as Y/N and Enid walked in.

Everyone was complimenting their dresses and Y/N and Daniel sat together. Daniel was on his phone while Y/N tried to make conversation. She gave up after 10 minutes and started chatting with other people at the table while Xavier looks at her from afar.

“Can’t believe she decided to go with that guy.” Xavier said.

“He’s her boyfriend, Xavier, they kinda have to go together.” Ajax said.

“But look at them! Daniel doesn’t take her out to dance, he’s on his phone, this is a dance, they should be out dancing.” Xavier said.

“Then take her out to dance.” Ajax said. But when Xavier was going to stand up, Ajax slammed him back down on his chair. “I was kidding.”

At the table, Y/N, Enid, Kent, and Divina were talking.

“We should dance, come on, let’s go.” Divina said. Everyone was getting up beside Daniel.

“You coming, babe?” Y/N asked. She didn’t give him any nicknames in Spanish because it didn’t feel right.

“Yeah, in a minute.” Daniel said. Y/N rolled her eyes and got up to dance with Enid, Divina, and Kent. Xavier and Ajax joined them too.

“Hey Y/N, you look beautiful.” Xavier told Y/N.

“Thanks Xavier, you look very handsome. But I prefer you with your hair down, may I?” Y/N asked. Xavier nodded and crouched down so Y/N took his hair out of the ponytail, fluffed his hair a bit, and finger brushed his hair back. “There, now you look rockstar dreamy. Are you here with someone?” Y/N asked.

“I mean i came with Ajax but I don’t think that counts though.” Xavier commented and they both laughed. “You came with Daniel, right?”

“Um yeah, he’s my boyfriend so we kinda have to go together.” Y/N commented. “I’m gonna ask the DJ to play a song real quick, hold on” Y/N excused herself so she can give the DJ a request.

“Enjoying your time with Y/N?” Ajax asked Xavier.

“Very much so.” Xavier said.

“Great, now when she comes back, ask her to dance with you when a slow song comes, okay?” Ajax said, patting Xavier on the back. When Y/N came back, the DJ started playing “Propuesta Indecente” by Romeo Santos.

“Hey there, Flaquito, you wanna dance?” Y/N asked.

“Um yeah, what kind of song is this?” Xavier asked.

“It’s bachata. I’ll show you how to dance it, just put your hand on my waist right there, hold my other hand like this and follow my lead.” Y/N said. Xavier was getting a hang of the dance, everyone around them was applauding after their dance. “You were a wonderful dance partner.” Y/N said, curtsying.

“Why thank you, milady.” Xavier said. They all danced, got virgin drinks from the bar, they were all having a good time except for Daniel. He went up to Y/N who was dancing with Xavier and he said,

“Hey, I’m gonna head out.”

“What? You can’t just leave, you didn’t even get to enjoy the dance.” Y/N said.

“I have much more important stuff to do than be at some dumb dance. I’m leaving, you can stay.” Daniel said as he walked away,

“Oh I am definitely staying, bye.” Y/N said. “Sorry about that, Xavier, sometimes me da tanta hockity pockity (a phrase from a telenovela meaning ‘they make me so mad’), I can’t stand him.” Y/N said.

“If you don’t mind me asking, why are you with him?” Xavier asked.

“He wasn’t always like this you know.” Y/N said,

“That may be true but you deserve someone who would go dancing with you, pays attention to you, who would buy you nice things.” Xavier ranted.

“That’s a really nice thing to say Xavier but what are you getting at?” Y/N asked.

“I could be a better than him! I could do the shit that Daniel never did for you.” Xavier said,

“Xavier, you’re out of line.” Y/N said leaving the dance but Xavier followed her out. “Why are you following me?”

“I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable Y/N, I’m just saying you deserve so much better than Daniel Mikaelson.” Xavier said.

“How could you possibly know how my relationship is with Daniel? You don’t know shit!” Y/N said.

“I know that Daniel kissed Bianca two weeks ago by the lake.” Xavier said. “What kind of piece of shit would kiss another girl when he’s already dating you?”

“Alright, fine, so Daniel isn’t exactly the best but..” Y/N started.

“Why are you defending him?” Xavier asked.

“Why do you care?” Y/N asked.

“He doesn’t know anything about you!” Xavier shouted.

“You don’t either!” Y/N said.

“I know you named that teddy bear i won you at the fair Berlioz after one of the Aristocats are you childhood pet.” Xavier said. Y/N just stared up at him. “When we go to the movies, you prefer candy over popcorn because you had braces when you were younger (me projecting, I’m sorry), you love rewatching Pretty Woman because of Julia Robert’s hair, and you’re favorite band is Chase Atlantic because I took you to a Chase Atlantic concert when they performed in Boston over the summer.” Xavier said.

“Okay, so you know a lot of things about me, what are you trying to prove?” Y/N asked.

“I could be a better boyfriend than Daniel, I could be such a gentleman.” Xavier said and kissed Y/N’s hand. “I would have never left you at a school dance by yourself. If you two came to the dance together, you two are supposed to leave together, it’s an unwritten rule.”

“I need time to think, okay? Go back to the dance, I’ll go to my dorm.” Y/N said.

“I’ll walk you, here’s my jacket, don’t want you to get sick.” Xavier said, taking off his jacket and helping Y/N put it on. Xavier then walked Y/N to Ophelia Hall. “Here’s your stop.”

“Thank you, here’s your jacket.” Y/N said handing it back to Xavier.

“Have a good night.” Xavier said, kissing Y/N’s cheek.

“You too, Flaquito.” Y/N said.

The next day, Y/N woke up and Enid was getting dressed.

“Why did you leave the dance early? You were having so much fun with Xavier.” Enid said.

“Things got a little weird, you know? Xavier was saying how he could be a better boyfriend than Daniel and saying shit that a best guy friend shouldn’t say at all.” Y/N said.

“Xavier is not wrong, Daniel is a jackass.” Enid said.

“Yeah no, he’s a total dill-hole.” Y/N said.

“Then why are you with him?” Enid asked.

“I think of it like a Jackie and Kelso moment, Jackie deserves better but there’s something about Kelso. I’ll break with him when I see him.” Y/N said and there’s a knock on the door.

“How did you do that? I thought you said you weren’t a witch.” Enid said.

“I’m an Earth Priestess, I didn’t do anything.” Y/N said getting up to answer the door. “Hey Daniel.”

“Hey, listen, I wanted to talk.” Daniel started.

“Me too, I’m breaking up with you.” Y/N said,

“What, why?” Daniel asked.

“De verdad lo preguntas? You left me alone at the dance and you kissed Bianca Barclay two weeks ago. We’re done.” Y/N said.

“Fine, you’ll never find anyone better than me.” Daniel said.

“I already did!” Y/N shouted, slamming the door in Daniel’s face. “Im gonna change.” Y/N said and snapped her fingers so she’s dressed in a casual outfit.

“What’s the difference between a witch and earth priestess? They do exactly the same thing.” Enid said

“Earth priestesses have more powers, witches have too many rules.” Y/N said.

“Ah, makes sense.” Enid said.

“Imma look for Xavi, see you later.” Y/N said. She teleported to Xavier’s dorm hall and knocked on the door and he opened up wearing grey sweatpants and a red t shirt. “I broke up with Daniel.”

“Oh, that’s good.” Xavier said.

“Yeah, so do you really think you could be a better boyfriend than him?” Y/N asked.

“If you give the chance, i’ll try my hardest to be a better boyfriend than him.” Xavier said.

“Okay then Flaquito, I’ll give you a chance. I’ll see you in the quad.” Y/N said leaving. Xavier closed the door and then Ajax came out of his hiding spot.

“Congratulations, flaquito.” Ajax said in a teasing voice.

“Shut up, I got the girl, who are you dating? No one.” Xavier said.

“That’s out of line, man.” Ajax said. Xavier didn’t care though, he was happy.

[bombshelllblonde]

🎶✨when u get this u have to put 5 songs u actually listen to, publish. then, send this ask/tag 10 of your favourite followers (non-negotiable, positivity is cool) 🎶✨

i got tagged by @coochifer !!

skiing in japan // yung gravy - literally has been number one played song on spotify for a couple years in a row now

cross your mind // niall horan - never fails to get me up and dancing at work

sophisticated // bbno$ - i don’t know what bbno$ puts into his music that makes it so catchy, but this is literally such a jam. YOUR SHIT WAY TOO DRY TASTE THIS PUSSY I STAY MARINATED

you’re own your own, kid // taylor swift - this will make me cry. have never once listened to this song without crying. especially if i’m alone in the car? “i hosted parties and starved my body like i’d be saved by the perfect kiss”

cutting my fingers off // turnover - i cannot say enough about this song. this entire album is so good. i need this album injected into my veins. “you always said that every thought i had was geometric”

no pressure tags!! idk if i have 10 people but here’s a couple

@peanutbutter-nutella @tisthegreatkimiofcourse @saucyscut @foreveruntiltuesday @lawyersarepeopletoo @lonesome-ranger @beeutifulllov3r @the-british-frog

[blocky-tides]

spotify ask game: 50 for hannah?

50 - why'd you only call me when you're high? by arctic monkeys

"hannah!" tina's voice echoed weirdly through the novelty landline phone shaped as a frog that boomer had gotten hannah for her birthday two years ago. it was more a decoration piece than an item that saw actual use.

"hi, darling. how've you been?" hannah indulges herself for a moment, pretending that tina was going to answer her. that she wasn't a long-gone voice that only existed as a played-back tape on her answering machine. biting back the ever present tears in her eyes, willing them to not fall down her face.

tina's voice continued on, "i tried calling your phone earlier but it didn't work it. but i saw this gorgeous, absolutely gorgeous plant that you would absolutely love! don't worry i already brought it. it's so cute. it reminded me of you too." tina pauses for a moment, listening to someone talking to her. "i gots to go now but i'll see you soon!"

"press seven to replay the voicemail, press three to save the voicemail or press pound to delete the voicemail. for other options press nine." the operator's voice was a irritable grate against her ears.

hannah presses seven. promptly losing the fight against the tears as tina's voice started again, they fall with abandon down her face. it probably didn't help that she was drunk off her ass, cradling the phone on the floor.

these were the last few messages she had left from tina after their big fight a few days prior. tina had blocked her on everything and she foolishly had no videos of tina.

"hannah!"

spoiler alert: they were just being dramatic lesbians they got back together the week after

[bustyasianbeautiespod]

Episode 74 Transcript: Goodbye... for now

[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 the 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 this episode, we will be discussing Season 4, Episode 14: "Sex and Violence," written by Cathryn Humphris, directed by Charles Beeson.

C: I know this isn't that bad of an episode, but I just had the most horrific time forcing myself to watch it. [G laughs]

G: Okay, that is a very, very nice segway to a very big announcement for us. [both laughing]

C: [laughing] Yeah, so, um-

G: Crystal had a rough time watching this episode, and now we're going to do a completely different podcast and we're taking a break from BABPod-

C: [laughing] - For 3 months.

G: [laughing] - for 3 weeks- oh, no, sorry, it's 3 months.

C: [laughing] Bye everyone! Sayonara, you weeaboo shits! But- [both laughing] No, okay, we are taking a 12 week break on BABPod because I'm insane and I begged Grey to do a Good Omens podcast with me because I can think of nothing else in my waking days; it haunts me forever and ever. [both laugh] And we can't run two podcasts at once because this is like, a 10 hour a week commitment for like, each of us separately, so we're leaving in the middle of Season 4. Maybe if Cas was in this episode, this wouldn't have happened. But you know what? He wasn't. [laughs] So.

G: Yeah. And we'll see Cas in 12 weeks. Bye, Cas! [both laugh]

C: Okay, so the name of our our new podcast is "Rubbish and Probably a Podcast." We have substituted the f-slur in the original book for the word "podcast." It will not be on this podcast feed; it'll be on another podcast feed, so if you just like, look up "rubbish and probably a podcast," hopefully, it'll show up for you on the Spotifies and the Google Podcasts and the whatever. But we're sticking to our same Tumblr and email account and Ko-Fi for anyone who wants to chat with us about Good Omens.

G: Yes.

C: Oh, also, we're finally doing the switcheroo, which I've always, always desired, which is where I've seen the show multiple times and Grey only knows about it from social media. So, hell yeah.

G: I don't know about it from social media. I know about it from you exclusively-

C: From me, screaming and crying.

G: Yes. So it'll be a really fun experience for me. And for you, hopefully. If it's not, this is gonna be so miserable. [laughs]

C: And for me, it will be. Yeah, because it is fully an act of charity you're doing for me. [G laughing] You should put this on your tax returns.

G: Exactly. And also, this is a wonderful opportunity for you to show some leadership skills because you're gonna be like, doing the like, hosting of the podcast [C laughs], which I'm very excited about. God.

C: So true. So very true.

G: When we do our intro, you're gonna be the first to speak. Are you excited about that in any way, shape, or form?

C: Oh, yeah, of course. It's all I've ever dreamed of ever since I was a little girl.

G: Exactly. Yeah. I am now the co-host and you are the host of this podcast.

C: Yeah. Yeah. So true. Well, there will be a trailer where we state more things, I suppose. So look out for that.

Back to this fucking show. [laughs] It's not that bad. But I just- to really get you into the mindset of how horrible it was to watch, I started watching at 9PM, and I couldn't get myself to finish until 2AM. And the things that I did in order to avoid finishing watching this episode, like, got a lot of water and snack refills, talked to my mutual Jeb on Tumblr about Good Omens, watched a 13-minunite Mitski video explaining how she wrote the song "Bug Like an Angel." I opened Pocket Frogs for the first time in 3 weeks to play it. [G laughs] I opened Disco Elysium for the first time in 2 months to play it. I also downloaded a game from itch.io that Danica's friend made, and then played all of that, and I watched an 18-minute Good Omens line reads compilation, and only after that 18-minute video of Good Omens did I have the energy to finish the last 6 minutes of "Sex and Violence."

G: I mean, this episode is not that bad, but it is one of those episodes that-

C: Hates women so much it's unreal?

G: Hates women so much it's unreal. And also, like, I think we do a good job in this podcast not talking about Wincest and the Wincest shippers of the world-

C: Yeah. But like, this, episode was like, a huge win for them, I have to say.

G: I would say, though, that every episode is probably a huge win for those people, [C laughs] because like, to them, everything is like- you know what I mean? You know what I mean? C: Yeah.

G: Like, if you're that level of- [both laughing] I'm not going to complete that sentence. It's way too mean. But-

C: This is just because Richard Siken is like- people think that Wincest is okay because he's out here doing good PR work for the evils.

G: Is he? I blocked him.

C: [laughs] Anyway.

G: I blocked him.

C: For real. [laughs]

G: I am of the opinion of Richard Siken's Twitter account is- I need to apply the same philosophy to it which I apply to-

C: As to any other- yeah?

G: - TikTok, which is that if it's good enough to be seen by me, there will be a person who shows it to me in some way. If the Tweet is not good enough to be seen by me, the middleman or the middlemen and women and non-binary people of the world [C laughs] will not show it to me. They will feel no need.

C: Yeah, yeah.

G: And my middlemen, I mean my mutuals.

C: Anyway, we're not mad at Richard Siken because we all knew it already [G laughs], but yeah, it was nicer when it was easier to forget. [laughs]

G: I don't give a shit. I really don't give a shit. Like, people were @-ing me!! Like, people were fucking messaging me! Like, "Grey, don't you love Supernatural and Richard Siken? [C laughs] Have you heard about this thing?" And I'm like, "Look. Look at me! I have heard about it. You are also the same person who messaged me about Misha Collins coming out as straight asking me if I've heard about it. I've heard about it all! [both laughing] So don't fucking go to my house and tell me- and ask me if I've heard about these things." You know what I mean?

C: Yeah. Yeah, yeah. So true. I mean, at least he said, "I can guess the t-boy part, but what is swag?" That was at least a good sentence.

G: Anyway! This episode-

C: Yeah.

G: What is going on in Cathryn Humphris's head?

C: I really think it was just like- "Well, we need there to be a twist. Like, it can't just be like, a hot woman." But like, why is he talking like that?

G: No, here's the thing. Here's the thing. Well, first of all, you know the person who I don't like the character's characterization the most in this episode? It's Sam Winchester. Like, I cannot believe that he would-

C: No, he would not do this unless he was poisoned! Like, you're telling me in this glass office with the blinds open? [G laughs]

G: Like, they are working a case where guys fuck women and then they kill the people around them. And he's out here like, "I'm just gonna fuck this woman." [both laugh] And he doesn't even have the "because I was poisoned" because he wasn't.

C: Yeah, no, he just fully chose this with full consciousness of everything he was doing.

G: And then he was like, "I'm so upset at you Dean because you don't trust me because I slept with a woman in the 'man sleeps with a woman and then kills other people' case. [C laughing] What's wrong with you, Dean?" And it's like, "Sam! What is wrong with you?" What the hell? Why's he acting like this?

C: I truly have no clue like. Like, the last time Cathryn Humphris wrote Sam, like, was in "Metamorphosis," right? Like, she seemed to understand things then. Why doesn't she understand things now?

G: Yeah. Well, anyway, let us start the episode. So-

C: What did I know about it?

G: Oh, yeah, we need to do that. What'd you know about it? [laughs]

C: Well, I knew that Nick, the siren, was going to be a man, and that he and Dean would have- would get along very well, but that like, he would be like, wanting to be Dean's replacement, little brother rather than like, a sexual or romantic person in his life, but that it's still like, weirdly homoerotic 'cause, you know, Tumblr is obsessed with this episode.

G: Ye.

C: And I also thought I knew things about this episode, but I think that they were actually for the other siren episode, in like, Season 5 or whatever where there's like the room with like, like, pink sheets and stuff, and then at some point like, Dean goes in, and he like, flips open the blanket where there's like, a naked guy in there like, to check if there's anything underneath. Do you know the the clip I'm talking about?

G: It's not from here.

C: Yeah. Is that from the other siren episode, though, like, in Season 5?

G: Not sure. Not sure. But he does look at the guy's dick once.

C: Yeah, I mean, I remember when Danica watched whatever episode involved looking at the guy's dick, I feel like she told me that Dean also has a conversation with the guy where they like, share a moment of like, bro solidarity, where, like, Dean's like, "Oh, you like, Asian chicks too?" [G laughs] And like, I'm looking forward to whenever that happens. [laughs]

G: Ugh.

C: But you know what? It'll be more than 3 months before we have to see it! [both laughing]

G: That is true.

C: Not that Good Omens isn't racist, but it is a different brand.

G: One of the only few things I know about that show is that once you told me that there was a Supernatural fan on Tumblr who said they don't want to watch Good Omens due to racism, and you were like, "You are a Supernatural fan. You do know that, right?" [C laughs]

C: Yeah. I'd say if I if I had to like, rank them, I'd say Good Omens the book is the most racist, followed by Supernatural, followed by Good Omens the show, but maybe refreshing my memory will change how I feel about it.

G: Well. Let us start the episode!

-

G: We begin at a suburban household where a guy comes home to his wife.

C: Does the "Then" sequence not matter?

G: Well, what is it?

C: Well, okay. It like, starts with like, Ruby telling Sam like, "Oh, like, you need to tell Dean what we're doing, because, like, if it doesn't come from you, he'll be pissed." And then it's like, Dean going like, "Oh, so you're BFFs with a demon? Like, something major must have happened." And that's a voiceover over the clip of the Samruby sex in 4.09, which is like, strange. Like, the implication- 'cause like, in the episode, it's like, "I'm friends with Ruby now because she saved my life when I was like, at my most suicidal." But like, the way that this "Then" sequence is putting it is just like, "It's 'cause [overlapping] we fucked."

G: Yeah.

C: Yeah, and then it goes like, Sam goes like, "Oh, then like, why don't you be more forthcoming? Like, tell me what happened in Hell." And then Dean doesn't answer, and then the sequence ends, which makes it seem like he's hiding something about it, even though, like, he's not. Like, we already got the answer to that. So like, it's just a very odd reframing of Season 4 thus far, which I thought was interesting. And I don't really know what a lot of it has to do with - I guess, like, the Samruby stuff is just like, "Oh, we're gonna make Sam seem extra untrustworthy and unsympathetic in this so that you understand why Dean, like, is looking at his phone and things like that." And then the Hell thing, I guess- like, I don't know. Like, Sam has his line later where he's like, poisoned, and he's like, "Oh, you just keep going, 'Blah blah blah! I'm so sad about the torture.'" which is so like, why didn't you show Dean being sad about the torture in the "Then" sequence? Why did you just end it on him not answering.

I don't know. Strange and odd.

Whatever. It's no pizza man montage. That is the strangest and the oddest thing they've come up with.

-

G: The beginning of the episode is a man shows up at his house, and, like, his wife, is like, asking him like, about work and all that crap, and he's just- every response he gives is one that reeks of like, anger and frustration, right? Like, at some point, she says, "Oh, a friend of ours invited us to a party, so we're going to a party on Saturday!" And the guy got really upset by this because he doesn't want to do that. And the woman just says, "We'll just cancel it. I don't know why you want to pick a fight with me." Then he bashes her head in with a meat tenderizer.

C: We now turn to a motel room, and Dean's like, asleep. But then he wakes up, and he hears Sam whispering on the phone. He's in the bathroom doing his secret phone call, but he's left his bathroom door completely open! Like, man. Growing up gay when your dad isn't around must be so easy. [G laughing] Like, [laughing] do you know what I mean? Like, he didn't learn any basic life skills like, at all. He probably like, never had to like, be on his laptop with like, one finger like, poised over the homework tab as he took "Am I Gay" quizzes. Like, not a single time, you know?

So he's talking about how there's like, no demonic omens nearby, but he'll keep looking, blah blah blah. And then he hangs up, comes back to the bedroom, and wakes Dean up. Dean is pretending that he was asleep the whole time. And Sam's like, "Oh, yeah, I wasn't doing anything. I was like, pissing and shitting. With the door open, you know."

He introduces Dean to a case. the one that we saw in the opening. And this is the third man like, in the last two months in Bedford, Iowa who has killed his wife. So yeah. RIP.

Sam references "The Shining" here. Sam does way more pop culture references than usual this episode. Did you notice that?

G: Yes. He even says like, some stuff that like, I have absolutely no idea what he's talking about, which is new for him.

C: I feel like it's possible that, like, maybe, like, Sam and Dean's roles were like, somewhat switched in this episode originally. And then like, it didn't work out because they wanted Nick as the little brother figure, so then, Cathryn Humphris just like, moved around some lines and things? 'Cause yeah, Sam feels really out of character here.

G: Yeah, that line is pretty much the - like, the whole, like, "You want me to be your little brother" - is pretty much the only thing that is character-specific about any of their interactions with other people this episode.

C: Yeah.

G: 'Cause, like, everything else is like, "That could be Sam" or "That could be Dean," and it wouldn't matter. Like, even in their big final fight, the siren poisons Sam, too. It's not essential that Dean gets poisoned and then says all this shit to Sam, you know? Because Sam gets poisoned too and says all this shit to Dean. So it's equal footing.

C: Yeah. And we'll get to it when we get to it, but like, it's weird that like, during the fight, I feel like Dean was saying things he meant, but I don't know- like, everything Sam said, I was like, "Is that something he actually like, thinks or cares about?" I don't know. Whatever. Maybe it is.

So we go to the prison where the man from the opening is being held, and Sam and Dean are pretending to be public defenders, asking him questions about what exactly happened. And the guy, Mr. Benson, is like, "I am pleading guilty because, like, I fully killed her just because I was angy about nothing at all, and I was completely in my right mind when I did it even though I loved her and we were happy." And then Dean pulls out some bank statements he has for Mr. Benson, and apparently he's recently spent $9,000 at a strip club. So Benson says, like, "Okay, yeah, fine. Her name was Jasmine." At no point in this episode do they like, actually mention that all the names that the siren is using are for like, Disney Princesses.

G: Yeah.

C: Was that just supposed to be like, "a fun little Easter egg 'cause like, not that many people are gonna get it!" Like, I know that men don't know about fairy tales, but-

G: I think it's more of like, "This is just what stripper names are."

C: Like, Disney princesses?

G: I mean, that's the implication, yes.

C: Okay, but like, later, Dean was like, "One of them was a redhead, and one of them was Asian," and he's talking about when the stripper was going by Ariel, and then Jasmine. Like, that's like, not just about the name. Like, they're like, taking on Disney princess appearances, supposedly.

G: I don't think it's enough of like, an obscure thing to be an Easter egg, though. It's just something that they- C: Yeah, I agree that it's not enough of an obscure thing to be an Easter egg, which is why I'm surprised that it wasn't pointed out. Or like, that Nick didn't have the name of a Disney prince or another Disney character to continue the thing to be like, one of the hints that it was him? You know what I mean? Like, this seems like, something that was going to be pointed out as part of solving the case, and it wasn't.

G: [laughs] That is such a goofy thing to happen, something that happened this episode. Like, imagine this entire episode, and then at the middle of it, they're like, "And this guy's named-" I don't even know the names of-

C: Sebastian!

G: [laughing] The guy's named Sebastian! [laughs]

C: Yeah. But then, like why do the like, specifically like, the siren takes on the name Ariel when choosing to be a redhead, etc. thing. Whatever. It's not a big deal. Who cares?

G: I mean, okay, put yourself in the mind of a stripper. You have red hair or you have a red wig, right?` And you think to yourself, "What will make me, like, a recognizable figure in this establishment?" You would want to draw onto your features that differentiate you from the other people there, right? So if you have red hair, you would be like, "Okay, I'm named Ariel now because I have red hair and Ariel has red hair, and I'm trying to stand out."

C: Okay. Alright. Fine. I'll allow it.

G: It's just what people do. Yeah.

C: Anyway, so yeah, Ben says her name was Jasmine, and Sam goes, "She was a stripper?" and Dean goes, "Dude. Her name was Jasmine." Which- I don't think-

G: First of all, many people are named Jasmine.

C: People are named Jasmine. Come on.

But anyway, so he met her when his friend was having a bachelor party, and apparently she was "Perfect. Everything that I wanted." I think he just has a thing for Asians. And then he says, "It wasn't about the money. It wasn't even about the sex. It was- I don't know what it was. It's hard to explain. [G laughs]

G: This literally-

C: We see the siren interact with someone later, and like, it literally is about the sex, because, like, the character that they're putting on has no fucking personality. [laughs]

G: Well, also, this is me in every single two-week fling that I have ever. [C laughing] "It's not about the anything! It's about the connection." God, hearing it from somebody else has made me realize how I annoying I am no matter what.

C: You were fine...ish [G laughs] during the last one. [C laughs]

Anyway, so, but his wife never found out. That's not why he did it. It was just because Jasmine said that they could be together forever if only Vicky was dead. And after the murder, he was supposed to meet up with her, but she never showed up. And he doesn't know anything about where she lives or her name, so he's got nothin'.

G: Here's my question.

C: Yeah?

G: In most like, monsters that Supernatural does, there's always some kind of motivation, right?

C: Yeah, right. Usually they have to kill to eat, or like, with ghosts, they're just so angry about something that happened that they just have to act on it.

G: There's absolutely no motivation for the siren at all for anything ever.

C: Yeah.

G: Like, is it the money? Is it because they're giving the siren money? And now the siren has money? Because, if so, why like, disappear immediately after you have established that this person will do anything for you, no matter what, you know?

C: Yeah, I mean, the confrontation with Nick later, doesn't he say something about how like, "It just feels so good like, knowing someone would kill for you. Like, that's it. I'm just evil." But like, I guess the implication is that there are like, perfectly nice sirens around.

G: Yeah, exactly.

C: 'Cause they don't have to kill to eat or anything. We just like, ran into a real dickbag.

G: But like, I don't even think it's about the "It's so nice that someone is willing to kill for you."

C: You poisoned them!

G: Because as a fan of toxic media, if somebody kills for you, you stay with that person.

C: So true.

G: Because then, you have like, something over them, you know?

C: Yeah.

G: "You killed for me already, so why not-" blah blah blah blah blah.

C: Yeah.

G: So this power play doesn't even work because you're gone before it has any effect. So boo! If you're a siren and you have the power to make people kill for you-

C: Commit to them.

G: Commit to the bit. Exactly.

C: Yeah. Also, I don't know. It's not even a "I like practising my skills of manipulation" thing because it's like, as long as you get the poison in them-

G: They are poisoned, yeah.

C: Right. You don't actually have to interact with that person in any way, like, you don't actually have to fuck them or do anything. But like, is it just about-

G: He didn't even kiss Sam. He just spit on his mouth.

C: Yeah, exactly. So I don't get- is it just about reveling in the power you have with the poison? I yeah, I don't know. I don't get it. They did not really flesh this out.

G: This is a poorly-written episode.

C: Yeah. Sam says, "You didn't think to tell this to the cops?" which, I mean, why would he? This just makes him look worse, doesn't it? Would this actually help his case at all?

And Benson's like, "No, I didn't, because it was me who was in the wrong, and if I don't get the death sentence, I will just kill myself." So yup.

Also, did you notice the just awful zoom-ins on this guy's face while he was talking?

G: There's a lot of it this episode.

C: Right. And like, has Charles Beeson done that before? I thought it was a Robert Singer, but no, this is like, new.

G: This is just like, because of the topic of the episode, I feel. Because the episode is supposed to be like, sexual or intimate or whatever.

C: No, but it was like, while this guy was just talking about how upset he was that he killed his wife. [G laughs] It's like, there's a bunch of weird cuts and like, zoom-ins on his face.

G: Yeah. I don't know.

-

G: We go to a hospital and it's kind of like, a pathology office where the only person there is this doctor who is holding, like, her head in her hands, and she feels a bit sick because of a hangover.

C: Dr. Cara Roberts.

G: Sam goes in, goes like, "Oh, you had a rough night?" and Dr. Cara goes, "No, I had a fun night, but I'm having a rough morning." And, like, you know, immediately you get the vibe of the character that they're gunning for, which is like, snarky, and- It's the type of character that they always pair up with Sam.

C: Yeah, yeah, she does have like, Sarah Blake vibes.

G: She has Sarah vibes. Madison vibes, even.

C: Yeah.

G: Why? Why do they always do this specifically for Sam?

C: I don't know. I mean, what's the vibe of the characters that they pair up with Dean?

G: Anyone? I don't know. [C laughs]

C: Yeah. Anyone. I don't know.

G: The thing is, I feel like a lot of the time with Dean, the characters they pair up with him are more of like, "I'm hitting on you."

C: Mm.

G: And with Sam, it's more of "They are hitting on Sam," you know.

C: Yeah.

G: So it is more like, the concept of, like, a type of woman that likes Sam is more conceivable than like, type of woman who likes Dean. [C laughs] 'Cause honestly, I don't think women like Dean that much. Like, think of one woman that, like, liked Dean instantly or before he was there, before he was like, flirting it up with her. You know what I mean?

C: Yeah. Huh. Good question. Yeah. I can't think of one.

So right, I guess, in order for them to hit on Sam, they have to have some kind of an assertive personality, and they've decided the way to make it hot in a woman is if she's like, snarky.

G: Yeah. Also, like, they always do like, the career woman for Sam. Which I think is their thinking where it's like, "Oh, because Sam was like, in college or whatever [C laughs], so like, he likes women who are career women."

C: Yeah, yeah, he requires a diploma before the smash.

Yeah, and you know, she's pretty, so immediately, you're like, "Oh, here's the red herring of the episode."

G: This doctor is the one who works on all the autopsies from the sheriff's department, and all the like, blood tests, like, tox screens for the people who are arrested and all that. And she says, like, "Nothing's wrong with the autopsy aside from the way they were murdered, which is pretty straightforward." And there was this moment where Sam is like, pressing on about the blood, and she just goes, "Well, can I see your ID again?" And Sam shows it, and she looks at it for a while, and then and and then she gives the file. And like, I think they are trying to do something with this. And like, later on, with the FBI guy siren also, like, checking up on their credentials.

C: Oh, yeah. That makes sense.

G: So I think maybe there would, there would be a portion in the episode where you think they're both sirens or something.

C: Hmm!

G: But like, that's not what they do.

C: I don't think so, though. I feel like they've made it very firm that like, "Oh, the siren only takes the shape of a woman." So I feel like that's enough to throw them off.

G: Yeah, I guess so. I mean, I don't recall watching this episode for the first time at all, ever.

C: Mm-hm. And I already knew going in.

G: So I don't know what my reaction to this was. Yeah, I don't recall what my reaction to this was where, like, I didn't know who the siren was, you know?

C: Yeah.

G: Anyway, there was some stuff in the blood work 'cause there's high levels of oxytocin which the doctor describes as "the love hormone."

C: You know another reason I think this was written for Dean and not Sam? Sam would know what oxytocin is.

G: Exactly!

C: And he wouldn't later go, "So this chemical..." like he forgot the name?

G: It's a hormone!

C: Like, he would not forget the name of oxytocin.

G: And they do this like, little thing where Cara describes what love feels like, and they smile at each other. [C laughs]

C: Cornyass.

G: And then Dean comes in like, "Hey, what's up?" And like, you know, like, he's like, trying to put up the charm. But Cara don't give a shit, and just keeps on talking to Sam. Like, as they head out, Sam turns around and goes, "Hey, you know what cures hangover? A greasy breakfast."

C: Everyone knows that already! Like, how is he, dispensing it like, it's like, a line?

G: [laughing] I don't know!

C: "Hey. Sometimes you can breathe oxygen through your mouth if your nose is stuffy, girl." Like, that's what he sounds like right now.

G: It literally does. Yeah. Anyway, they have a little laugh about it. And then they go out and Dean tells Sam, "Dude, you totally cockblocked me!" But he doesn't say "cock," he says "C."

C: He can't say cock. Yeah.

G: I mean, I'm pretty sure they can say cock.

C: Can they?

G: Maybe not cockblocked, because that implies cock specifically being about the penis.

C: I mean, they can say cock for a chicken, sure.

G: Yeah. But like, technically, they can say "dick" even if it's like, "you're being a dick" because it's like, "You're being a Richard" [C laughs] instead of being a, you know.

C: Sure, yeah. I don't think they can say cock unless they're talking about a chicken.

G: Yeah, is cock worse than penis? Well, I mean, it's [laughs] it is, because penis is the medical term. It's cock than dick? Let's let's explore this.

C: I think so.

G: Really?

C: Yeah. I mean, cock is like, the go-to word in pornography. [G laughs]

G: Okay. Man. I mean, I'm pretty comfortable saying most words in English that refer to genitalia, but make me say it in any- like, in Filipino, and it's like, "Nooo! [both laugh] That's too much!" Like, I don't even know why. I think because, like, there's more of a modesty culture when it comes to like, speaking in Filipino.

C: Yeah, that makes sense.

G: But literally like- [laughs] I cannot- I cannot say it. Like, even right now, I'm thinking, like, "Oh, I should like, set an example and like, say it." And I'm like, "Don't say it in the podcast!" [laughs]

C: Yeah, hey, remember, when we started this podcast, you wouldn't say "bitch"-

G: I literally wouldn't.

C: - and like, you heard me quote it the first time and you were like, "Damn. I guess I have to now."

G: Yeah, I mean, you know. We live, we laugh, we learn, etc.

C: Indeed!

Dean has apparently interviewed the other two men who killed their wives, and both of them went to the same strip club called the Honey Wagon, but they did not hook up with someone named Jasmine, they each had a different person that they said they were seeing. But this person was described as "perfect, and everything that they wanted."

So Sam theorizes that they were under some kind of a love spell and notices that Dean is incredibly cheerful. And he asks him about this, and Dean goes, "Strippers, Sammy! Strippers! We're on an actual case involving strippers. Finally." Well. [sighs] I think we've already discussed how in like, every other episode of Season 4. Dean is like, "I'm in it just to look at naked women," but also in the other half of the episodes he's like, "I'm so guilty about Hell, and these cases are the only things that are like, redeeming me in the eyes of God." So, okay. Cool.

G: Yeah.

C: Leave people alone, Dean.

-

C: They go to the club and Dean's talking to the manager. So the three names used by the siren were Jasmine, Aurora, and Ariel. One is a redhead, about 5'9. The other one is Asian. And then, yeah, he gets cut off because the manager is just like, "I don't have any paperwork. I don't know anything because everyone here works for cash. and I don't keep track of this shit, and this is not my problem." Meanwhile, Sam has called Bobby. Is it always is Sam who calls Bobby? I feel like I haven't been keeping track. Yeah, it is weird that- like, I feel like most of the time when it's like, "I called Bobby and he has a theory," it's like, Sam who does it well, but like, Bobby still considers Sam his least favorite child.

G: Yeah. Sam is just work child-

C: Exactly.

G: - and Dean is his child child. Yeah.

C: Yeah. Their theory is that the monster of the week is a siren. And Dean goes, "Oh, like, in the Greek myth The Odyssey?" And Sam looks at Dean kind of weird and Dean goes, "Hey, I read!" which people like to quote

G: Which is such an odd thing- First of all, siren is just part of the cultural- it's just something that exists in the world as a concept. I don't think you have need to have read The Odyssey once in your life. I don't think you even need to know what the word "odyssey" means to know what a siren is. You know, and it's just this, like, super odd like, "Why is Sam so surprised? Why is Dean literate all of a sudden?" [both] No, I'm just kidding. Like,  why is Sam so surprised, you know?

C: Yeah.

G: And it's just- It does- I don't know. The whole like, "Dean reads, and is actually smart!" I feel like there's a lot of other references that he makes that can be attributed to that that doesn't have to be this stupid of a like, "Oh, this thing that everybody knows about? I know about it too!"

C: Yeah.

G: You know. Like, the guy love Kurt Vonnegut. He's the reason why I started reading that shit. Like, there's- I don't know. He consistently references Lord of the Rings, like, other big fantasy stuff. And also just like, the the sheer amount of pop culture he knows,  like, those things are already impressive. It just- I don't know. I don't know why I hate this line so much, but like, I'm not here to hit on the "Dean Winchester can read" truthers. [C laughs] But like, I don't know. It feels so stupid to me because of the context of it.

C: Yeah, and, I don't know, I feel like- like, he can be smart without reading. [laughs]

G: That's true.

C: Like, we can like, value different forms of intelligence equally, or whatever. Like, [laughs] do you remember that week everyone was- wait, is it okay to make fun of a fanfiction on our podcast? [G laughs]

G: Maybe. Maybe not. I'll decide in the editing room, which is also the room where I record 'cause it's the same room for everything.

C: The "Smart!Dean 'verse"- like, there was like, a series called like, "Smart Dean" or something like that.

G: [laughs] Okay.

C: And, like, it's- okay, okay, can I just read a passage?

G: The synopsis? Oh, okay, okay.

C: The synopsis is- the general plot of one fic in the series is that Dean shows up at Stanford and is hanging out with his college friends, and Sam keeps trying to change the subject to topics he thinks Dean can handle, but Dean is able to keep up with an academic debate and win it. And then the summary ends with "Sam is surprised. Dean's hurt that Sam thinks he's stupid." And at the end of a scene- okay.

Dean attempts a smile. It comes out as more of a grimace, though, so he lets it fall from his face. Finally he sighs, dragging a hand over his face.

“Dammit, Sammy. This is me. You want the real truth? I’ve hidden for as long as I can remember. I’ve hidden from you, Dad, Bobby, pretty much everyone we’ve ever come into contact with. And no, I’m not going to talk about why. No chick-flick moments, remember?”

“Dean—” Sam starts.

"No, Sammy. I get why maybe you thought I wasn’t a goddamn genius, but I don’t think I ever acted like that much of an idiot.”

“And are you?” Sam asks.

“Am I what?” Dean says harshly.

“Are you a genius?” Sam waits with bated breath. [G laughing]

“Yes. Yes, Sammy, I am.” With that, he turns and leaves. Sam watches him go, regretting his words, but most importantly his assumptions.

It has 817 kudos. [G laughing] Anyway. We can move on.

G: [still laughing] What is this? What is happening? What is happening? What is this? [both laughing] What is this?

C: It's like, one of Sam's friends asks him-

G: "I'm a genius." [C laughing]

C: "Sam"- [laughing]

G: "I'm coming out as a genius-"

C: [laughing] "- watches him go, regretting his words, but most importantly, his assumptions."

G: [laughing] "- and you can't ever shame me with who I am."

C: Oh my god. The next day, Sam texts him, and is like, "I'm sorry I never really knew you. Tell me about your favorite intellectual field." And Dean says, "Mathematics as a whole, if we're going to get particular, I'd say differential geometry and mathematical logic. And then there's philosophy. Well, individual philosophies that interest me personally would be a better way to put it." Like- [laughs] [G sighs] This is not- Like, a character can- You can respect people who know about cars and pop culture as their like, main interests! Like, you don't have to do this.

G: Yeah. Like, if you're if your like fucking PETA statement about how "we should treat stupid people niceys!" [C laughs] and your conclusion is "because stupid people are actually smart in the most traditional way that we think of intelligence." Like, dude! Come on!

C: Yeah. Yeah. It's- it's bad. [G laughs]

G: I'm so sorry, fic writer.

C: 817 kudos!

-

C: So Sam's like, "Well, the siren's not actually a myth." Like, that's hilarious. Everything you hunt is a myth that's not actually a myth. But anyway, so apparently, they specifically prey on men, which I guess is why the episode opens with three domestic abuse cases or whatever, and it entices them with their siren song. And okay, the two songs that Dean cites as being like, seductive, are "Welcome to the Jungle" and "Cherry Pie," which I don't know very well. I think I've seen an AMV of Dean set to "Cherry Pie," but I don't know "Welcome to the Jungle."

G: They're both like, songs that are loud and noisy.

C: Okay.

G: You know what? We need, Dean, to listen to Kali Uchis.

C: To what?

G: Am I pronouncing that incorrectly? You know Kali Uchis?

C: I think I may just not know the artist.

G: The first thing who sang "telepatía."

C: Oh. I never really listened to that. I know there's some good AMVs to the song, but like I just never finish them.

G: You've never listened to Kali Uchis? You need to. You and Dean Winchester.

C: Okay. I'll do it just to differentiate myself from Dean Winchester.

G: Yes, exactly.

C: So, you know, Sam says that they don't have an actual song. It's more about an allure. And sirens used to live on islands. but now, if in 2009, they are more likely to set shop in a strip club. Why would you go to like, the middle of nowhere, like, Bedford, Ohio, where it's a small town and like, there's like, one doctor. Couldn't- it's so obvious that something is up. Like, hunters are gonna come immediately, because 50% of the town's population murdered their wives, and the other 50% are the dead wives.

G: No, also, like, you don't have to be in a strip club. You can literally just-

C: You can spit in someone's mouth!

G: Yeah!

C: From 10 feet away!

G: Like, I don't know why anyone- I know like, it's because I'm a lazy fuck, but I cannot imagine wanting to work in any way, shape, or form [C laughs] if I have abilities that will allow me to just go, "Hey, do you want to give me money?" And a person just go, "Yeah." You know what I mean? [laughs]

C: Yeah. Yeah, I agree.

G: So like, I don't know. Why do all this?  If you're in the middle of the ocean, and you're like, "Come to me in the middle of the ocean on this beautiful island," like, I completely understand that. The ocean is beautiful. But like, what would you do in whatever fucking place this is.

C: Bedford, Iowa?

G: Who give a shit about Iowa? Go into the ocean, you know.

C: Yeah, I mean, there are people in Iowa, and I care about them in general-

G: Sorry, people in Iowa.

C: - but yeah, I do think that there's nothing about the siren that makes me think that they wouldn't be better served like, just spitting in random people's mouths on the streets of NYC.

G: Yeah.

C: Yeah. So that is the situation. Also like, the mirror thing doesn't come up this episode at all?

G: It does.

C: I mean, does it that much? Sorry. During the fight is there a moment where, like, one of them sees the mirror, and it helps break them out of it? 'Cause I didn't see that happen. Maybe I missed it.

G: No, there's just like, the whole like-

C: It's just that like, I thought it'd be more relevant that, in a mirror, you can see the siren's true form.

G: Well, I mean, we can, 'cause we see it, but not the victims, you know.

C: Yeah, but like, one of the men that the siren, like, seduces has what? Like, a fucking mirrored ceiling. And he doesn't notice that, like, in the mirror, is a horrific creature? I don't know what the point is if it wasn't going to be relevant to solving the case or realizing something. Also like, I don't know. I feel like strip clubs are often like, full of mirrors, so like, wouldn't you want to go to a more matte establishment if you wanted to like, get away with shit like this? Whatever. Who cares? Bad episode.

G: Do they even mention the mirror in the episode?

C: They don't. It's just that- they don't at all. We just see it. You'd think that it's like, with like, shapeshifters, it's like, "Oh, let's check all the camera feeds because we know this thing about their eyes." But like, with sirens, it's just like- I guess they don't know that they show up weird in mirrors, but it also never comes up that they show off weird in mirrors. Whateber.

So they can read your mind and then disguise themselves as whatever you want best. So this, like, the Ariel, Jasmine, Aurora, were probably all the same person. And, you know, Bobby's working on figuring out the right way to kill him. But currently, it's gonna be very hard for them to figure out who it is.

As they talk, like, there's like, a woman who walks by them, and then like, in the next cut, she's changed appearances from like, a blonde person to a brunette person. And she approaches some youngish guy named Lenny, and he says, "Hey, Belle." And she leads him out to his apartment.

-

G: They do this thing where the guy that she has come home with is taking care of his mom, which we- I think we can assume that's like, old and like, sick in some way. Yeah. So, you know, like, the- Belle is like, "Oh, it's so amazing that you're still taking care of her. Most people would just put their moms in a nursing home." And the guy is very like, "Yeah, I mean, she's my mom, so it's fine." But like, Belle keeps on insisting that like, "No, this is like, a big deal, and you're so strong and you're so wonderful for this."

C: Yeah, and the whole time she's also taking off her clothes.

G: Yeah. And then they have sex. And then, like, after the sex, they're doing pillow talk, and she goes like, "Oh, but it sucks that your mom's here like. It would be so much better if she just wasn't here so you can just be with me forevermore." And then the guy's like, "Okay." And then she goes, "You should bash her brains in." And he goes, "Okay." And then he does!

C: Yeah. Wild shit.

There's no skill here, no personality. Like- whatever. It's just the same thing where I don't know what the siren gets out of it. This is the most generic woman ever that they're playing right now.

G: Also, okay. I have seen many a takes about this episode. People who are like, "This is proof that Dean is bisexual." People who are like, "If you think this is proof that Dean is bisexual, you're feeding into like, the whole incest jujuju that the show is peddling." And then, I have seen a take where it's like, "There's a character in the show where he's taking care of his mom, and then he ends up killing his mom, and like that relationship is very strictly familial, so like, we can assume that, like, [laughs] Sam and Dean's relationship is also familial."

C: I mean-

G: Which like, I would love to- No, I that's a very bad way to put it. I am going to point out that, like, in this one, he is taking care of his mother. and then he has sex with her-

C: Not his mother. He has sex with the siren.

G: Yeah. And she goes, "We could be in love if you kill your mom."

C: That's very different.

G: It's not like [overlapping] "I could be your mother." [both laugh] Yeah! Exactly. So this is not the evidence that you're looking for that this episode is not like, weird in the incest way, you know?

C: Yeah. I mean, I think it's just like, Hays Code era gay villain shit. Like, "There's always gonna be a level of queer sexuality to something that is evil because we're Supernatural."

G: Yeah.

C: So yeah, I don't think they're feeling into the incest shippers on purpose-

G: Yeah, I also do not think so.

C: I think they're just like, "You know what's evil? Being gay. Also, Dean's most important relationship is with his brother platonically. We'll combine these 2 things, and it won't be weird. Prommy."

G: Yeah.

C: Is Cathryn Humphris the one who did bedtime stories?

G: I forgor.

C: I will check. 'Cause I was like, one of the most blatantly homophobic episodes that we had, right? Yeah, that was her. The "dude, could you be any more gay?" I think she's just kind of a sicko. Anyway. [laughs]

G: I've also seen someone say that like, "For a repressed queer person, it is very natural to think of like, [laughing] someone that you desire sexually to be like a family," which is such a wild to say, I feel, personally.

C: Huh.

G: So, I don't know. I don't know. I mean, maybe it is. Maybe it is.

C: I mean, maybe- I guess if you're like, trying to like, rationalize being very attached to someone.

G: Loving someone a lot, yeah, you can be like, "I love them in a family way!"

C: You're like, "This doesn't feel like typical friendship," then, yeah, that is like, one way you could choose to rationalize it to yourself. But like, I don't think that's what is happening here.

G: Yeah, [laughs] I also don't think that's what like, Cathryn Humphris was trying to say. I don't think Cathryn Humphis was trying to say anything at all.

C: She just was like, "Well, I don't want to be too obvious, the end." [G laughs]

G: Exactly. Yeah.

C: Yeah. I mean, but like, she is still saying something even if she didn't intend to say- [G laughs] I don't know. It's so odd. Like, honestly, even- okay, there's like, a way that she could be like, trying to say something that like, could be executed alright, I think, which is like, "Oh, like, for a lot of people like, sex and romance are the things that they long for the most or that they prize the most in their lives. But for Dean, it's like, this relationship."

G: You know what I read the most about it in the queer sense? Dean is aromantic. Isn't that like, something? You know what I mean?

C: Yeah, no, yeah. I feel like that is honestly- right, like, the biggest takeaway. Right. I think that's sort of what I was getting at. The way that it's like, "You don't have to prize a romantic or sexual relationship above all else, like, that could be something you don't even want that much, that you're just doing for the sake of appearances."

G: Yeah. I think if we're going to do like, queer reading of "Sex and Violence," Season 4 Episode 14 of Supernatural, that is like, I think the direction, I mean, I would personally take. Like, all these other people want romance in their lives. Dean... doesn't. He just wants a guy to hang out with. [both laugh] You know?

C: Yeah, exactly. Yeah. Yeah. And I think that could be done well, except they just make the whole Nick thing so... like, it's still a seduction, and it still feels sexual, even as he keeps saying the words "little brother." [laughs]

G: [laughing] Yeah, I suppose.

C: Yeah. There are ways- like, maybe you're thinking like, "There's just not a way to do something like this without making it seem sexual." But, in fact, if you read "bad moon rising" and its sequel, "rising sun blues," like, the author has taken Meg's character and changed it a lot so that like, sort of what she's chasing Sam around for is that she wants, like, a brother replacement for the one that they killed in Season 1, and like, that's done in a very interesting way where there's like, not a single hint of sexual or romantic tension with the two of them at all, but like, it is still like, a trying to convince you and like, longing and all that shit. But like, it's actually done in a way that separates the two modes of like, affection and shit. So yeah, Cathryn Humphris, take notes.

-

C: Dean's alone in the motel room, and Sam has accidentally left his phone unguarded, unpassworded in the room. Again, growing up without your parents in the house truly makes you a different person, I have to say. So Dean spends a long time looking at it, being like, "Do I invade his privacy?" Okay, I don't know if it's like, a "do I invade his privacy?" or like, "do I want to confirm this suspicion that I think is true but that I wish wasn't?" sort of look, but he takes a while before he picks up the phone and then goes to the third most recently dialed number, which there's no contact name in it, it's just a number with a 219 area code, which is Chicago. So maybe that's where Ruby lives.

So he dials, and he hears Ruby's voice go, "Hey, Sam. Sam? You there?" And Dean hangs up immediately and is upset.

So Sam comes in from interviewing Lenny from earlier. Apparently, he brought home Belle, he killed his mom right after. And Dean was like, "Wait. He killed his mom?" And Sam was like, "Well, it was the woman he was closest to," which implies that- I don't even know what it implies. [G laughs] It's weird that it's like, women only, but I mean, I guess Cathryn Humphris was like, "equality is when you try to kill your brother later in the episode."

G: Yeah.

C: And then Dean returns Sam's phone to him and Bobby calls and says that the lore indicates that probably the best way to kill sirens is to nick them with a bronze dagger covered in the blood of someone who is under the siren's spell, and the spell is probably some kind of venom that gets in the victim's blood. And Sam goes, "Oh, and it makes them go all Manchurian Candidate," which is his next pop culture reference that I feel like he wouldn't know. But basically, The Manchurian Candidate- oh, no, I thought I took notes on the Wikipedia page that I read, but I think, instead, I read the Wikipedia page and was like, "I need to go on YouTube and watch Mitski talk for 13 minutes instead of thinking about Supernatural." But basically, the The Manchurian Candidate is a novel that was adapted into a movie, and it was like- there was some guy who was like, the son of a prominent US politician, and he was like, in the army or something, and then he got kidnapped by, like, the Soviet Union during the Korean War, and then taken to Manchuria, which is like, northeast China, where they're like, in a camp and brainwashed into being Communists, and then they become like, sleeper agents and like, go back to like, the US or something, and then he acts as like, a Communist assassin or whatever whatever whatever. And also, his like, handler is his mom, and in some of the movies or in the book, too, he has a sexual relationship with her. I don't know. It just- it seems like just a bunch of Red Scare shit. [laughs] But that is that is what Sam is referencing here. [G laughs]

C: People would just write anything back in the day.

So yeah. So that's what we know. And apparently getting the blood of one of the people who is currently in jail is useless because they're no longer under the spell, so Sam decides that he's gonna go visit Dr. Roberts, Cara Roberts, Dr. Roberts, to pick up the blood samples that she has.

-

G: Sam and Dean go to the hospital again, and Doctor Cara's there, and they're asking her for the blood when suddenly, a guy goes up to them, and Dean goes all, "Hey, we're working a case here, and we're FBI." And then he shows his badge. And the guy goes, "Well, I'm FBI, too." And then they start talking to him. And he is suspicious of them and asks them about where they're from, who assigned them, all that crap. And Dean gives them a calling card of their superior officer, and so the guy calls this, and what do you know? It's Bobby! And Bobby's putting on such a fucking show, he's like, "Ugh. Are you questioning my authority? I checked, and it's under our jurisdiction. Or are you saying I'm wrong?" [laughing] Like, he's putting on bad cop so good.

C: And he's barbecuing the whole time, wearing a "Kiss the Chef" apron.

G: Yeah, he's like, "Next time you want to waste my time, don't." [C laughs] And then he hangs up. And then, like, you see a row of fucking phones that's like, with different tapes over them that says different things. And it's like, "Marshall," "FBI," you know, "CIA," all that crap. And I remember the very first- actually, here's a thing that I remember about this episode. I remember this scene. Is this the first time that we see this phone setup?

C: I feel like we saw a different phone set up earlier with like, a bunch of like, cell phones on a table, but I feel like they were not as well-labeled.

G: I think that was Dean with the phones, like, in the glove compartment of the car. But, like, in the late- I may or may not be misremembering this, but in the later seasons, the bunker kind of becomes this. Like, Sam and Dean would have like, a bunch of phones out in the bunker, so it's just like-

C: Well, Bobby's dead, so.

G: Yeah, somebody's gotta do the job. And I don't know. I always thought that this whole situation of like, "different phones, they build different things, and they have their, like, aliases and their personas, and who is playing who and which jurisdiction is which," like, write down every single thing, like, every single thing is accounted for right down to like, the very specifics. I always thought that was cool.

C: It is.

G: Because I am so interested about the logistics of all this shit, you know? Like, do they have a checklist? Do they fill out a form? [laughs] You know?

C: Yeah.

G: I always thought it was so cool that they just know what to do in these situations and they have their fucking cosplay characters in check at all times.

C: Yeah. So funny that the siren had to like, drive 20 miles to the nearest like, Kinko's to like, print out a fake FBI badge.

G: The guy comes back to Sam and Dean, and he introduces- Well, he introduces himself a while ago. He's Nick Monroe. He apologizes, shares some of his insights, which is that he knows about the strip club and that all of them went there and all of them spent lots of money there, and all that. And at first. when he asks Sam and Dean whether they should go and check it out, Dean was opposed to this idea, but Sam pulls him aside and basically goes, "Well, you just stay with him, keep him out of there, and I will just be here and like, getting the blood," right? So Dean heads out, and they also have this conversation where, like, Sam is like, "Focus on the naked girls. Dean [C sighs]; you'll forget he's even there." And Dean is like, "Okay. I'm doing it for the girls." which, you know, once you know how the episode turns out, it's like, "Okay, well."

C: Well.

-

C: We cut to Dean and Nick heading to the car. And Nick is like, "Oh my god, no way! You drive an Impala? Is it a 67 with a 327 4-barrel? Oh my god!"

G: [laughing] I'm pretty sure that, like, they said, a different 4-barrel number when John was being introduced to this car or whatever.

C: Let me check.

G: I will believe that no matter what.

C:  327 4-barrel. No, it matches up. Same thing.

G: Sad. Devastating.

C: Sorry.

G: What's the other thing that John says?

C: 275 horses. [both laugh]

G: I love that.

C: Yeah. So, you know, Nick's like, "Oh my god! Like, how did you get the FBI to let you drive your own car? Wow, you're so cool, Dean." Meanwhile, Sam's trying to convince Dr. Roberts to give him the blood, and she's like, "Bro, like, do you not trust me? Like, I'm a doctor. I did the tests." But eventually, Sam's like, "There's a specialist. We wanna try out a theory," etc. So she goes over to her cabinet, but the blood is gone. Gasp.

Meanwhile, at the strip club, Dean is not looking at the naked girls at all because he's asexual and aromantic is sort of the vibe of this episode, which I enjoy as a reading. If only there was good writing attached to it. So he and Nick are talking. They're like, basically just like, quizzing each other on Zepp songs, like, what year they were recorded, and then like, who wrote them and things like that. And it's like, man. Is this how like, men have fun? [laughs] Like, okay, you know that, like, probably completely bullshit era of like, people thinking that fandom was like, equivalent to like, social justice or whatever-

G: [laughs] Yeah.

C: - where they were like, "The way that, like, men enjoy things is that they enjoy knowing trivia and like, gatekeeping like, who is a true fan, and women enjoy things by being transformative and writing fanfiction." [G laughing] And like, that's bullshit, but also, like, currently Dean, is not doing much to-

G: Elevate, yeah.

C: - go against this statement that was made. Yeah. So they're having fun- G: I mean, to be fair. I think, like, the last- like, my most vivid experience of being around guys talking about an interest is- I think I mentioned this in the podcast before because I think about it constantly. One time, I was just hanging out with guys in my class, and they were talking about guns in extreme detail, and I was so shocked that, like, they knew anything about this. And they knew like, I think real shit. I mean, I don't know. I don't know anything about guns. So like, they were talking about things that I couldn't even begin to understand what they're referring to. So I was like, "How do you guys know all this?" and they're like, "Oh, we play it in video games." [C laughs] And it literally is just them like, exchanging like, information about guns. [both laughing] And I support that. I love it so much.

C: Yeah, yeah. Whatever floats their boats.

Dean's like, "Oh my god, dude, you know, like, for a Fed, you're like, pretty alright." And they're discussing the case a little bit, and then Nick is like, "Hey. I found something kind of weird at every single crime scene. There was a flower left behind, like a calling card." And it's a hyacinth, and it's blue, and Dean's like, "Oh my god! I think I've seen a flower like this before." And we cut outside of Dr. Roberts's office, where that plant exists.

-

G: Sam is there. Dr. Roberts is there.

C: Can I make it any more obvious?

G: Yeah. [laughs] They're like, watching the tapes.

C: Yeah, security tapes.

G: They're trying to look out for who stole the blood, right? And they can't figure it out. RIP.

C: Can you believe Sam just ditches town and doesn't tell her anything? Like, she's just like, "Well. He left. No arrests were made. The blood is still missing. We have no clue why. Oh, well, I guess at least no one else has murdered his wife." Also, like, again, like, all the people in jail who are going to get the death sentence, like, this is because none of you are willing to tell the world that the supernatural is a real thing. Like, those men are going to be executed because none of you will tell the world that the supernatural is a real thing. I hope you think about that sometimes.

G: And I think this is why Sam needs to be a lawyer, no matter what.

C: Yeah. Yeah.

G: Yeah.

C: This show would be so much more fun if he was a supernatural lawyer.

G: Yeah.

Sam is trying to tell her that like, "Oh, I think there's something that happened to them. Like, maybe they were drugged or something." Cara is just saying that, "Yeah, no. Sometimes you just loving someone so much, but you still want to bash their head in." And Sam is like, "Are you speaking from experience?" And she goes, "Yeah," and then starts going to like, the... fridge?

C: Liquor cabinet in her doctor's office.

G: I guess there is a liquor cabinet.

C: She's a terrible doctor.

G: This may be true. Maybe she's the Dr. House of her generation.

C: Yeah. Good point. She's not mean enough.

She offers Sam the drink. Sam takes it after, like, some banter about like, "Oh, it's a doctor! I'm fine, it's medicine." And she starts talking about her ex-husband, who is Carl, and, you know, she talks about it like, "I loved him. I really did. But one day I just looked at him, and I couldn't recognize him anymore." And then, like, at some point, Sam goes, "So you guys split up?" and she goes, "I suppose it's a word for it." [both laugh] Then, like, later we find out that he died! [laughing] Crazy shit.

C: Yeah. Which, like, okay, sometimes people don't want to say that their spouses are dead because, like, people just like, go full sympathy mode and don't find you hot anymore. So like, I get it. But like, they really did so much to set her up as a red herring that like- it doesn't even work because of like, how obvious they're trying to make it.

G: I mean, it's quite funny to think that like, they didn't technically split up. He just died. [C laughs] And the thing that she focuses on in that event in her life is that one day, she doesn't recognize him anymore and not the fact that, like, I don't know, a week later he was dead on the floor. [C laughs] Like, that shit's crazy to me.

C: One day, I woke up and I couldn't recognize him anymore, because the decay had set in.

G: Exactly.

C: Seriously, yeah. What a funny funny woman.

G: Well, somebody needs to compensate for Sam's absolute lack of any humor whatsoever.

C: Yeah.

G: I didn't know when this running gag of "Sam is so unfunny" in our podcast started.

C: Yeah, me neither.

G: I don't stand by it. I don't stand by it, but I think it's funny to say that I think Sam is unfunny.

C: I agree.

G: So you know what? Sam is unfunny, no matter what. [C laughs]

C: Every week, you bring a new verbal tic that you decide to just sprinkle throughout the episode. And I appreciate that.

G: What, me saying "no matter what" at any given opportunity? Yeah.

Well, they have sex.

C: Well, okay, first of all, Sam's phone rings, and it's Dean, who he knows is out on a case at the strip club where the siren usually works. And he's like, "I don't have to get that." What if he died?

G: Is it even Dean? It's implied that it's Bobby. It's implied that it's Bobby.

C: Oh, really? Okay. Never mind, then. It's fine.

G: But also like, Bobby is only going to call because of the case.

C: Yeah.

G: And he was like, "I don't really give a shit about it right now. I'm going someone in the someone in the 'fuck someone and kill other people case.'" [C laughs] Jesus Christ, Sam.

C: In the glass office! Also, like, you said they have sex so that you could skip the horrible dialogue that comes before they have sex [G laughing]-

G: Yes!

C: - but I think we really need to give attention to every single line exchanged here.

G: I don't wanna think about it! I don't wanna think about it ever again!

C: Because you hauve Covid? Okay, I'll do it. I'll do it. [G laughs]

So Cara's like, "Oh, well, you know, we all have our sad backstories, so let's have fun, no regrets, and live life like there's no tomorrow." Which is like, okay, cool. Definitely a thing a real person would say. And then, like, she starts scooting closer to him. And she goes, "For instance, I have been thinking about you all night. Well... parts of you." And Sam goes, "Just parts?" And then, due to the fact that they can't say cock on Supernatural, she says, "Yeah, like, your [both] lips." Sure man, that's what you were thinking about. And then she says, "Oh, they're very distracting, and I can't stop thinking about kissing them." This is like, a 12-year-old's idea of what a sex scene is. [laughs] And then they do- Sam's like, "That so?" and like, she takes his tie off, but like, she doesn't even unknot it. She just like, moves it around, and it just somehow comes off. I don't get it. And then, yeah, they have sex against the glass window where the shutters are open. Because, yeah. Also, like, the whole time, like, just at the beginning of the scene, like, her shirt is unbuttoned, like, to the waist. I mean, maybe she planned this. But also I just think that- I don't know. Just, you know, we've talked about the Supernatural costume designers, but it's so crazy how the Supernatural costume designers- Really, what her whole outfit reminds me of is like, there's a scene in Elementary where they're like, interviewing a barista who, like, may have interacted with someone that they need to question. And he was like, "Oh, yeah, like, there was like, this super hot woman who came in and like, I know, she was a doctor, and like, I could like, see her cleavage, and it was great." And like, later, Joan is like, "Okay, that was not a doctor because, like, there's like, a dress code for like, hygiene in the hospital, and like, she would not be allowed to have her shirt unbuttoned that much." And that's what leads them to find the actual person, because she's like, "He probably thought he was a doctor because she was wearing a white lab coat, but she was probably like, one of the women who give you perfume samples at the nearest department store because a white coat is part of their uniform." So yeah. I don't know. Cara Roberts and the Supernatural costume design people sure are people who make choices.

G: They are.

C: Do you think that, like, Ruby comes into Sam's thoughts at all throughout this situation?

G: What, you think he experiences guilt about-

C: I don't think he's in a monogamous relationship with Ruby. But like, this is like, as far as we're aware, the only person that he's had sex with besides Ruby in like, a while. Like, does he consider this to be just like, a completely different part of his life, so like, he doesn't really consider the two things similar in any way?

G: I mean, that could be a possibility.

C: Yeah, yeah. It's just- I think it's just because Ruby was so present in the "Then" sequence, especially the part where it's like, "Oh, what really changed his mind was the sex." And I was like, it's weird that that's not part of this at all or that, like, they don't try to draw some cornyass parallel between Ruby and like, sirens 'cause like, it's not a Sam episode.

Also, when I say the shutters are open, I mean, like-

G: They are open, yeah.

C: They are 90 degrees perpendicular to the window. And they're having sex against the window, and she's the one against the window, so like, they are fucking jabbing into her back the whole time! That cannot be comfortable! Whatever. And Sam's not even poisoned at all. Which, I mean, I guess is good cause, like, he's been through enough sexual assault already this season and every season. But like, he would not do this. [laughs]

Okay, well, that was a scene

G: It truly was.

-

C: Okay, so Sam heads back to the motel, and- wait. Why did we think that the call was from Bobby if Dean calls him and goes, "Where the hell have you been?" Doesn't that imply that Dean tried to get in contact with him earlier?

G: Yeah, but also later, Bobby says-

C: Oh, Bobby's like, "Neither of you picked up your phone, so I knew something was weird." No, but but okay, Dean called Bobby after this about Cara. So that was not the phone pickup that Bobby thought was suspicious. He was probably calling them during the fight, and we didn't notice.

G: Yeah, okay.

C: Yeah. So yeah. Dean goes, "Where the hell have you been? And you're not picking up your phone?" So that was him. So Sam was like, "Oh, I was with Cara. Someone stole the blood samples." And Dean goes, "Yeah, I fucking bet. Nick found these flower petals, the hyacinths, at the crime scenes, and those flowers are Mediterranean, which is from the island where the siren myth started, and Cara had those in her office or outside her office. And also, she's only been in town for 2 months, and her ex-husband, Carl, died of a heart attack with no warning." And Sam was like, "Well, I mean, I just don't think it was her!"

G: Yeah. You know the Tweet that's like, "But she apologized and her dick is ten inches throbbing."

C: "And I want her in me," yeah, no, 100 percent. Like, remember in "Monster Movie" when he like, ran over to like, fucking kill Ed at the movie theater with less evidence than this? Whateber.

G: Whateber.

C: So Sam's like, "I just have like, a feeling that like, it wasn't her. And the feeling isn't how like, my ass is still sore from her 10-inch cock." Dean's like, "Bro, like, you're being fucking stupid. Did you sleep with her?" And Sam goes, "No?" And Dean goes, "You're so stupid. That was so stupid. I do not get it." And Sam goes what? And Dean says, "Nothing." And Sam says, "No, say it." just like Edward from Twilight. And Dean goes, "Well, okay, like, first Madison, then Ruby, now Cara? Like, what's with you and banging monsters?" Which, I mean, I support monsterfuckers, but this is not a pattern because this is this is only the- Cara doesn't count, we find out later. But, I mean, what is with Sam and banging monsters? Is this something that we've discussed?

G: You know what? I don't think it's true. You know why?

C: Sarah?

G: 'Cause Rowena and him didn't even have sex, even once!

C: Oh yeah. That's true. I'm so sorry.

G: They had metaphorical sex in terms of he stabbed her to death, and she was holding his hand when the blade impaled her. And you know what? That, too, is, yuri.

C: [laughs] I agree.

C: But yeah. I don't think Sam really has a thing. I think the issue is just that he like, fucks people on cases instead of after cases. I mean, it's bad to fuck people after cases, too. But at least when Dean fucks people after cases, he knows that they're not the monster. [G laughs]

C: And Sam keeps insisting, "Hey, it's not her. I feel fine." and "You don't trust me?" And Dean's like, "Well, yeah, 'cause it could be the siren talking," which is, in fact, a fully reasonable thing to say. And Sam's like, "Hey, no like, let's meet up, and I'll help you out with the case." Neither of them have really considered who the siren would want them to kill. Maybe Sam was like, "It's fine, 'cause there's no women in my life." [G laughs]

G: Yeah.

C: Right. In fact, this episode, in addition to making Dean aromantic and asexual, also makes both of them transfem.

Dean's like, "Nope, you are not helping me. Shut up." And Sam's like, "Are you fucking serious?" And he gets so angy and he throws his phone across the room! God. Men will literally.

G: Maybe this is like, what Bobby means. "You didn't answer the phone!"

C: Oh, yeah, "You weren't picking up your phone because you fucking broke it." Yeah. Yeah. Whatever. I guess they're cheap and they do credit card fraud, anyway.

G: That's true.

C: But like, does he even remember Ruby's number? How's he gonna transfer it to the new one?

G: Man. I don't remember my own number. You know your number?

C: Yeah. And I'll say it right here on the podcast [G laughs]for everyone to prove that I do. No, but yeah, what was your statement?

G: No, I have two phone numbers, and I don't know one of them. So you know what? I know half of my numbers. And that's okay. Just be yourself.

C: Okay, you know what? I also only know half of my numbers 'cause I don't know my work phone number.

-

G: So Sam is so angy, and Dean calls Bobby, just updating him. And he makes another phone call, this time to Nick. He is asking for his help. So now they're both in the impala and they're watching Cara, the doctor. Apparently, Dean has explained to Nick that like, "Oh, I think these people are getting drugged, but I think it's Cara who's drugging all them. And also, I think Cara is transforming into all the strippers who told them to kill people." All that crap. Dean is just saying like, "Oh, you gotta trust me," and the guy goes, "I do, I guess." He hands Dean a flask. The guy has drank from it, and now Dean drinks from it. And then he goes, "Okay, let's say she is drugging the victims. How do you think she's pulling it off?" And then Dean goes, "You know, like, a toxin passed through physical contact." And then Nick goes, "Or maybe saliva. You really should have wiped the lip off that thing before you drank from it, Dean." C: Real.

G: And Dean like, realizes what's happening, but he is poisoned, so he can't do anything about it. And then Nick goes, "I should be your little brother." [both laughing] Funniest thing anyone has ever said ever.

C: Yeah.

G: And he goes like, "You can't trust Sam. You can only trust me. You should kill him now so we could be brothers forever." [C laughs] And then Dean goes, "Hell yeah." Have we considered that maybe they're just looking for excuses to kill each other so bad it's unreal?

C: Yeah, it's possible. Because, it's like, the siren, like, really played the long game with those other guys. But like, this is just like, five minutes work.

-

C: Inside the motel, Sam comes in and Nick is right there, and Sam's like, "Huh?" And then Dean ambushes him and holds a knife to his throat. Sam says to Nick, "I gotta tell ya, you're one butt-ugly stripper," which like, I think he'd be fine at a gay bar. He would get tips.

Sam's telling Dean, like, "Hey, fight this, please." whereas Nick is like, "Hey, like, why don't you just give him a little nick on his neck right there?" And Dean does. And he keeps talking and he says that he "gave Dean what he needed." He says, "It wasn't some bitch in a G-string." [flatly] Love that. Great. And then he goes, "It was you. A little brother that looked up to him. That he could trust. And now he loves me. He'd do anything for me. And that kind of devotion? Watching someone kill for you? It's the best feeling in the world." We've discussed that this is a bad explanation. And then Sam goes, "Is that why you're slutting all over town?" Would he say this?

G: I mean, he did, so. [C laughs]

C: Yeah. And then Nick is like, "Well, I got bored. And I wanna fall in love again and again and again." which, you know, really starts undermining the brother thing, like, right away. And, you know, Sam calls him a "needy, pathetic loser." And then Nick squirts poison right into his mouth. And he's like, "Okay, you two go fight to the death and scream and whatever. And whoever survives can be with me forever." We don't really know what Sam wants from Nick, you know? Like, okay, like, Sam's fighting, but like, why does he want to be with Nick forever? Like, what kind of role is Nick playing for him?

G: Because he's been poisoned!

C: No, I know, but like, doesn't the poison also like, make you think that this is someone that you like- doesn't it at least draw on like, your own desires in some way? Or like, is it just truly nothing here?

G: I think it's just whatever.

C: Okay. it would be interesting to know what Sam wants the most from a person.

G: Apparently, what Sam wants the most from a person is a person who gives him permission to kill his brother. [C laughs] And you know what? Good for him.

C: Yeah. Yeah.

Dean's like, "The Sam I knew is gone, and it's not because of the demon blood or the psychic crap. It's because you've been lying and keeping secrets, like calling Ruby and shit. And you're hiding things from me. We used to be like, a team and have each other's backs, blah blah blah." And then Sam's like, "Oh, well, you know the real reason I didn't tell you about Ruby and our hunt for Lilith is because you're too weak to go after her, and you're holding me back, and I'm a better hunter than you are. I'm stronger, and I'm smarter, and I can take out demons you're too scared to go near." Which we haven't seen- we haven't seen any of that in Season 4, right? Have we?

G: Yeah. I mean, most of it is like, not important to Dean's journey, so they don't show it. Also, I'm so fascinated that the thesis state for Sam and for Dean is like, [fake-crying] "You don't trust me! You don't love me enough!" etc etc. And for Sam it's like-

C: "Skill issue."

G: "You're a loser, Dean. [C laughs] You have a skill issue, and I'm too tired to compensate for your lack of ability to be a good hunter."

C: I know! It's so devoid of any leadup or any evidence or any emotion. I don't know, I just- do they just decide "this episode is gonna be a Sam episode" or "this episode is gonna be a Dean episode," and then they just like, go like, "Whatever. I don't care about the other one's characterization"? Is that just how Supernatural is written?

G: I think it may well be.

C: This is the woman who wrote "Metamorphosis," like, 10 episodes ago. And, like, Sam, stopped the car and yelled at Dean, and it wasn't about him being a bad hunter. It was like, a genuine emotion of like, "You make me feel like shit by like, acting in certain ways." Like, why couldn't that have been here?

G: Yeah. I mean, it could have been like, both of them being like, "You don't trust me because, like, I don't trust you because you don't trust me!" and like, "You don't trust me to do the good thing and like, to know what's right," and etc etc.

C: Yeah. I mean, I don't know. Maybe- Okay, let's- Should we explore the world where we take this at face value and this is truly Sam's number one issue with Dean? 'Cause there is evidence for it. Like, I know, in the panic room, isn't there the scene where Mary comes to him, and she's like, "You're stronger and better than Dean, and you have to get out and go after like, Lilith." So like, this is something that they've been trying to develop this season. Not well, but they've been trying. Right?

G: "Sam thinks he's better than Dean."

C: Is, I think something that they've been going for? I still don't see it. Is he getting arrogant this season? Is that something that's- It's just so many of these episodes are just generic case episodes where they just give each of them a random role. I guess, okay, you know what? I think maybe the only moments I can point to are like, in 4.07 when he tells Dean to like, stay behind and help the kids while he goes and confronts Samhain. Like, that's different from their usual dynamic. And then in "Family Remains," when he tells Dean to remain with the family as he goes to check out the attic or whatever. But like, I don't know. The generic case episodes is just like, each of them give themselves random jobs, and it's like, not really a big deal who does what, and it's not really clear who is better or worse. Like, maybe if he like, rubbed it in more about how like, the uncle died while Dean was supposed to be protecting him or something like that, I could see it. But I just don't- Yeah. I don't know. Like, this is something that's being told to me, but I am not feeling it.

C: Sam's like, "You're too busy sitting around feeling sorry for yourself, whining about all the souls you tortured in Hell. Boo-hoo!" This is how I act and talk about Dean as well, unfortunately. And then they start beating each other up. I don't know. It's just a fight scene.

G: Do you recall why Sam was mad at Dean in "Asylum"? Because this is like, similar vibes, right?

C: Yeah. I think it was about being at John's beck and call.

G: I think it's like, "Dad used to boss me around, and now you boss me around."

C: "You're following Dad's orders like a good little soldier 'cause you always do what he says without question. Are you that desperate for his approval? The difference between you and me is that I have a mind of my own. I'm not pathetic, like you." So okay.

G: I think maybe Sam really has like, a [both] superiority complex thing. Yeah.

C: I, okay, I can see it sort of in "Asylum." But like, that's quite different from like, "I'm a better hunter than you." Like, I think, like, "I'm willing to question dad," that's something that he- I can believe that he feels superior about sometimes. But like, about being a better hunter? I don't see it. It's not happening.

G: I mean, he did bring up that like, in his stint in Hell-

C: Oh, yeah.

G: Sam was able to save more blah blah blah. So I guess-

C: Okay. The pieces are there, but I don't think they've provided us with glue. It's not something that's been emphasized and Supernatural's not very good at subtlety, so I just assume that things have to be emphasized before they matter.

Eventually, Dean gets the upper hand. Sam's like, on the floor, and Dean's like, getting an axe to kill him. And he's like, "Oh, now, who's the better hunter?" basically. And he swings at Sam, but is stopped by Bobby rushing in. He gets Dean in the shoulder with a knife to like, get some blood, and then Sam starts like, yelling, "Noo!" as Bobby throws the knife at Nick, and it kills him. Goodbye, Nick.

So like, Bobby thinks they're gay.

G: Bobby definitely thinks they're gay.

C: Because they did not explain like, "No, he wanted to be like, my little brother." [both laugh]

G: God. Good for them.

-

G: Well, the episode ends with Sam and Dean and Bobby yet under another bridge. Bobby, like, gives them soda, and he's like, "Oh, you can't drink. You're driving."

C: So true.

G: And it's like, "When has that ever stopped them before?" But you know what? I'm glad they're stopping now.

Bobby, like, berates them a little bit about like, "Oh, you should have picked up your phone." And then there's this really awkward like, pause. And then he goes, "Are you guys gonna be okay?" And Sam and Dean are like, "Yeah, we're good! We're good! Yeah, we're fine! Yeah! Nothing's ever wrong in our life!" [C laughs] And Bobby is just like, "Okay." and then turns around back at them before leaving and says, "Those sirens are nasty things. There's no reason to feel bad that they got into you." And as he leaves, Sam and Dean continue sipping their sodas. And Dean goes, "Are you gonna say goodbye to the doctor? To Cara?" And Sam's like, "Yeah, no. What's the point?"

C: To be fucking polite! To be polite, that's the point.

G: Yeah. Well. Sam goes, "Hey, Dean, I didn't mean the things I said." [C laughs] And Dean is like, "Yeah, me, too." [C laughs] And Sam's like, "So it's okay?" And Sam's like, "Yeah." And then that's how the episode ends. I love it.

C: Yeah. I mean, at least Dean will never bring up that Sam called Ruby again because it's all forgiven now, and he says he didn't mean it. So there. A win overall.

G: He didn't mean it! Yeah. Well, what is our overall thoughts in this episode? I think it's not that bad, but also definitely not good, oh my god.

C: Yeah, I think it's- I feel like my thoughts on this episode are encapsulated by three texts I got from Danica while I was complaining about it where she goes "can't believe this is literally the Dean is gay for that guy ep and it's still boring," followed by "I mean, I know it's also the Dean is a misogynist ep, but still," and then, a few minutes later, presumably after she re-read the summary, "god, kind of wincesty episode, huh?" [both laugh] And you know? Yeah.

G: Yeah. Best Line/Worst Line? [C groans]

C: I mean, I'm assuming your worst line is the "I read!" because you spent so long complaining about it.

G: Okay, sure, yeah, that could be my Best Line/Worst Line. [C laughs]

C: I think that Nick and Sam are both very mean to strippers in the last scene, and it just- it seems unkind. Don't like it. So I guess those are my worst lines.

G: You know what? I actually really like the line where it's revealed that the flask is like, he's getting poisoned through the flask. I like that. When he goes, "You really should have wiped the mouth of that thing, Dean." It was like, very effective in being like, "Oh, no!" you know, that feeling. And like, I knew full well what the twist was, and yet I still felt it. So, I don't know. I like that line.

C: Okay, cool. I'm scrolling through the entire transcript, desperately trying to find a single moment I thought was good. Yeah, no. I'll just go with yours 'cause- Oh, wait, no, Bobby was funny. Maybe when he was like, "The next time you want to waste my time with stupid questions, don't."

G: [laughs] "Don't."

C: While he's in the "Kiss the Chef" apron. What a fun look for him.

G: Yeah. Well, spread those sheets

C: Alright. Well, I think there is some misogyny.

G: Yeah.

C: How much misogyny?

G: The thing is okay, like, the misogyny is not that there are strippers in the episode.

C: Yeah.

G: Like, I just wanna make that clear.

C: Yeah, yeah.

G: 'Cause I feel like when when we were starting the podcast, we would like, explain every single thing, you know. But like now, we would do this thing where we just assume everyone has listened to every single episode of everything we've ever said and done.

C: Yeah, and that every time I stop and say, "Okay," they understand what I mean by it. [laughs]

G: Yeah. But like, that's not the issue. The issue is that Supernatural literally only has two types of women in their head.

C: Yup.

G: And like, every time they do a woman, it's like- [both laugh]

C: What if we just didn't?

G: I mean, I don't wanna be like, "the mere existence of women-" [both laughing] I don't wanna be like, "The mere existence of women in the Supernatural universe is misogynistic," but boy, do they do it for fucking real! [laughing]

C: Well, they're gonna have better women. We're gonna meet Claire.

G: Yeah! Claire is the best.

C: And like, Eileen.

G: Eileen, love ya girl.

C: And a lot of people. But currently-

G: Charlie! We're gonna meet Charlie. Can you believe it?

C: - the one-off women in Supernatural are truly, truly Logan Roy-dreamed-up.

G: This could have been an opportunity for them to, I don't know, talk to one of the strippers. And they don't. Like, all of the strippers in this episode are literally just for set dressing and decor.

C: Right. They hired like, ten women just to like, be part of montages as like, untz untz untz music plays and they twirl around.

G: Yeah. And it's like- I mean, the reason why we don't even explain anything anymore is like, the explanation is pretty much, "It's Supernatural!" [laughs]

C: Yeah.

G: Which- I mean, it still is the explanation in this episode.

C: Yeah, it is unfortunate that "It's Supernatural" is the explanation, but like, I don't know, it would just take too much time for us to like, be how we were in Season 1.

G: Yeah.

C: Like, everyone knows everything already. I mean, this is the great like, what like, normalization/desensitization project that shows like this undergo, and it sure does work a little bit.

G: Yeah. Okay, before we tackle the homophobia, let's get into the racism.

C: How much misogyny points did we want?

G: Uh... maybe...

C: 2? 1 or 2? 2? 1? 2?

G: 2, yeah.

C: Okay. Racism.

G: I don't think there's much of it. I don't think there's anything that warrants a point.

C: Yeah, like, there's the one-off thing about Jasmine, but I don't think it like, matters that much. It does bother me that Dean's like, "One of them is 5'9 and has red hair, and also the other one's Asian. These are equally descriptive descriptions." [laughs] But-

G: Also, like, okay, do white people name their kids Jasmine?

C: Uh, let's see. The one Jasmine that I knew in grade school, I think, was Latina.

G: Every jasmine I know is Filipino by virtue of every person I know is pretty much Filipino. [both laugh] Yeah.

C: Oh, wait. I know another Jasmine, and yeah, she's Asian. Yeah. So. I don't know any white Jasmines.

G: 'Cause in the full context of the episode, where all of the names of the strippers are of Disney Princess names, it's like, having one named Jasmine is okay. But like, when the episode was starting, and we just learned like, Jasmine, and-

C: - and Dean's like, "Oh, obviously, stripper name."

G: Yeah. That did put me out a little bit.

C: I also did feel a little uncomfortable about it.

G: But in the fuller context of the episode, I guess it makes more sense. But in that specific moment, before we got the full context, I was like, "Well, why? Many people are named that."

C: The idea of stripper names is just an odd thing to me because I feel like a lot of the names that are considered stripper names are like, more common amongst people of color. Like, I don't know. Like, my sister was possibly going to be named Cherry, and my mom has a Chinese friend named Candy, and like, I don't know like, that's like, language barrier and cultural things and like, whatever whatever. But also like, yeah, I don't know. It's just- yeah. The concept of stripper names feels classist and racist a lot of the times.

G: Yeah. But, you know what? I won't count it. I'm not gonna give it a point. I just wanted to point that out because I did, like, have a reaction to it while watching.

C: Yeah, same

G: 'Cause the content, especially, 'cause I understand that most white Americans do not name people after food, but that is like, quite common in other cultures, you know? C: Yeah.

G: Like, what you said about Cherry, I know multiple Cherrys in my life. I know multiple Candys. I know an Apple, you know. It's like, people are just named that. And I'm not- these are not like, nicknames, but they have a different legal- like, no, these are like, legal names. You know what I mean?

C: Yeah, yeah.

G: So yeah.

C: Homophobia.

G: That's the kicker! What is it?

C: Like, is it? Like, it is but it's not?

G: It can be, but it's not.

C: Yeah.

G: They make no acknowledgement of homosexuality in this episode, even though there is like, aspects of it in it. And also like, surprisingly, it's kind of like, gay positivity. [laughs] 'Cause Bobby being like, accepting. [both laughing] Because there's this like, context of like, "This guy tricked you into falling in love with you. And you know what? It's not your fault." [both laughing] It's like- [laughs] I don't know. I really don't know. [both laugh]

C: That is incredibly funny. You're right. Him being like, "Heym don't feel bad about falling for it" is literally like," Hey, it's okay, if you like, fucked a guy. Like, you weren't in your right mind!" [laughs]

G: Exactly. This is exactly the vibe.

C: Man. What an odd relationship these three must have after this episode.

G: I'll give it a 0, honestly.

C: Okay, if you say so. Alright, it's a 0.

G: Happy 0.

C: Alright. IMDb? I have no fucking clue.

G: This has got to be a low 8s. 8.3.

C: Alright. I feel like every time I've gone higher in the past I've been burned, so I'm gonna go with an 8.2- well, I don't- This is like, sort of a famous episode, though. Like, aren't some people gonna like, enjoy the twi- whatever. No, I'm just gonna stick to my guns. I'm gonna say 8.2.

G: And you've been burned yet again! It's an 8.4.

C: [laughing] Fuck! Alright. Great. Love to hear it.

G: What the hell is this review? I love it. It goes, "Another good episode. 'Sex and Violence' seems to be the staple of any show on TV today. I believe 'Sex and Violence' grabs the viewers primeval urges. I found 'Sex and Violence' [both laughing] interesting." I love it! This is how every reviews can be written.

C: Yeah. Truly trying to match a word count that no one else is maintaining.

G: This one points out that like, it's nice to see the boys crossing paths with another FBI agent, even if they were fake.

C: That's true.

G: And they use gender mutual pronouns for the siren. I love that

C: Love that, yeah. The one that says the words "Sex and Violence" again and again, yeah, mentions that they like the plot twist because- they said, "Dean is an alpha male that has no problem meeting women but real friendship with men is difficult." Which is something that we pointed out with like, "After School Special," right? So this is maybe a- this comes like, right after "After School Special," right? So maybe it is like, an emotional continuity thing.

Yeah, this person points out that Dr. Roberts reminds them of Madison.

G: I mean, they do make a direct comparison in the episode, so.

C: They do. This person has just a paragraph defending bi Dean.

G: Yeah. And like, how it's not a Wincest episode.

C: Oh, no, there's two different reviews about bi Dean. "I think the character could be bisexual, but never went there, because, as we can see, the guy has some toxic masculinity in him. All his digs at Sam are 'you're a girl or gay.'" So true! "It's entirely possible, but come on, not because of this episode of this episode. If this episode is to be taken that way, it doesn't mean Dean is bi," yeah, blah blah blah blah. Yeah. And they end it with, "That's it. No sick Wincest." [laughs]

G: No, exactly.

C: Real!

Yeah, no, it's an earlier- cubsandculture, who talked about the homoeroticism in "Criss Angel" is one who's saying again that Dean's- there's queerbaiting regarding Dean and that he has a lot of homoerotic relationships with men, which yeah, I suppose so.

You know what we'll be watching next week? Not Supernatural! [both laughing]

G: Yeah, we should say goodbye. Goodbye, everyone.

C: For three whole months.

G: I don't even know how- That's it for this episode of Busty Asian Beauties. Next week, we will be discussing Season 1, Episode 1 of Good Omens-

C: "In the Beginning!"

G: Subscribe to us. "In the Beginning." Also the name of a Supernatural episode!

C: Yeah, I mean, it's in the Bible. People really like those words.

G: There are many words in the Bible. [C laughs]

C: It's true.

G: Yeah. There's a famous Filipino song that like, directly quotes the Bible, and it is the only Bible verse I can recite in full.

C: Ooh, what is it?

G: Thank you, Yeng Constantino. It goes, "Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast. It is not proud, it is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no records of wrong. Love does not delight in evil, but rejoices in the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, and always perseveres."

C: Nice. Yeah. That's from Corinthians, right? It's pretty common in wedding vows.

G: Yep. It is!

C: And it's in Mary Lambert's "She Keeps Me Warm."

G: Oh my god. That's a lesbian song, right?

C: Yeah.

G: Good for the lesbians.

C: Good for the lesbians.

G: It was corny as hell, though. Sorry, lesbians! [C laughs]

C: It's from a different era. I feel like the things that like, I needed to see in middle school and like, cry over in my little room by myself are like, the things that I would find corny today.

G: I never cried over anything in middle school. [C laughs] Probably because we didn't really have middle school. But, you know, that's a story for another day.

C: Yeah. Sure is. And that story will be on the podcast feed of [G laughs] Rubbish and Probably a Podcast, not here! Goodbye!

G: Not here on BABPod.

C: Not here!

G: Okay, well. I don't know. You can subscribe to us and shit. Okay, if you subscribe to us on Tumblr, we'll be there, no matter what.

C: Oh, yeah, yeah, We're sticking- yeah, so follow us on social media. We are gonna still be on Twitter at twitter.com/BeautiesPodcast-

G: We're still not gonna be on Twitter, if I'm being honest. [laughs]

C: We're continue not being on Twitter at twitter.com/BeautiesPodcast, and we're gonna continue being on Tumblr at bustyasianbeautiespod.tumblr.com. Our tag is #BABPod. Do we need a new tag for Rubbish and Probably a- Our official new tag next week will be #RubbishPod. [G laughs] And yeah. Thanks to everyone who's donated to our Ko-Fi, which will still be at ko-fi.com/bustyasianbeautiespod, and check out our merch, which will still only be Supernatural merch at babpod.redbubble.com, though I don't know. Maybe I'll Venmo our artist some more money and have her draw things. Who knows?

G: Who knows? Leave us a rating, something something- but that's not the part. It's [both] email us, at bustyasianbeautiespod@gmail.com. Also, if you're gonna email us about the Gomens stuff, it's still there in there because I don't want to check the other email. Thank you! [both] Bye!

[guitar music]

[beep]

G: Man, hearing you read them reminded me of why I don't read fanfiction any more. [C laughing]

C: Yeah, yeah.

G: I can barely read books that have like, a third person. You know how like, people who read fanfiction are like, "If it's in the first person, I ain't reading it." Well, if a book is in the third person, I'm not reading it, [laughing] because it reminds me too much of fanfiction.

C: Noo.

I mean, didn't we- I had a fanfiction era where I only wrote in second person.

G: I did that also.

C: Is that something that happened? Yeah. I don't know why. It just felt the most natural to me at a certain point in my life. Anyway.

C: Also, like, I need everything I read to feel like a diary entry no matter what. You know? [C laughs]

C: Yeah. So I guess first person is necessary for such aesthetic.

G: Yeah.

[galeforged]

Rules: tag 10 followers you want to get to know better!

Tagged by: @icybreaths​​​

Tagging: I haven’t been all that active lately so do I really want to be that guy IF YOU PERCEIVED ME... do it and tag me. 

Name: I go by Zephyr or Zeph!

Star Sign: Libra

Height: 6′0!

Middle name: Nope

Put your iTunes/Spotify/YouTube on shuffle. What are the first 6 songs that popped up?

“Yonder Hills”, by Robin Appelqvist

“Another Day”, by Tide Lines

“Take On Me - Sega Genesis remix”, by Pete Frogs

“Outer Fields - Alto Clarinet and Strings”, by Luke Pickman

“A Step Away (From Xenoblade Chronicles 3)”, by Guitarrista de Atena & Mozeli

“Break Through It All (feat. Kellin Quinn)”, by Tomoya Ohtani

Ever had a poem or song written about you: None that I recall...?

When was the last time you played air guitar: I mean I air piano when I’m not by my real piano? (funnily enough I’ve actually been learning some Fire Emblem Echoes songs by ear-)

Who is your celebrity crush: Uhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh-

What’s a sound you hate; sound you love: Nails on chalkboard is an easy hatred. The sound of rain is an easy love!

Do you believe in ghosts: Not really, but I’m not about to knock others for it!

How about aliens: Oh I’m certain there’s alien life somewhere out there. Can’t be just us on this big blue marble in space, right?

Do you drive: I do! I named my car Ferdinand because of the colour and now have to change its Ferdinand von Tires

If so, have you ever crashed: Drove since my late teens and nearing 30... while I’ve been in two accidents, so while my driving record isn’t entirely spotless, it’s not the worst. Second one was a doozy, but thankfully no injuries-

What was the last book you read: The Hobbit, by J.R.R. Tolkien!

Do you like the smell of gasoline: Okay but who actually does?????

What was the last movie you saw: In theatres? The Super Mario Bros. Movie, had a fun time.

What’s the worst injury you’ve ever had: Fell on my back when I was in kindergarten as part of a lateral rope climb thing in gym class, I’d think? There were no mats on the floor, and I got taken to the hospital after that. Couldn’t sit on my ass for two weeks...

Do you have any obsessions right now: Let’s see. Just finished Xenoblade Chronicles 3: Future Redeemed (I HAVE SO MANY FEELINGS ABOUT THIS EXPANSION and do I want to add Rex as a muse now??? not to say I’ve really got an active Xeno mutual though, at least I think)... Soon enough, I know it’ll be Tears of the Kingdom taking up all of my free time, so... yanno, apologies in advance.

But right now? I’m actually shiny-hunting the legendaries in Pokémon: Let’s Go, Eevee!, at least before I sell it since I’m ultimately tapped out with the game (just... really not a fan of the GO-style catching mechanic, even if shiny-hunting is easier here). Still, never went that far in Pokémon before!

WITH THAT SAID, LET ME BRAG FOR A SEC AND SHOW YOU ALL MY PRIZED ARTICUNO-

[jimmyflemion]

Death Songs

40th Anniversary Visitation

Why Death Songs? Easy, we finished playing our final show at The Starship club in Milwaukee, Wisconsin in 1982, the club was closing, there was a finality to it all. After the show, we had agreed that we would not play a show again out in a live setting until we had all original material. For 2 years we had graced the stage with but a smattering of our own compositions. Soon shortly, come May 4, 1982, I moved out, exiting our childhood home & in together with Dennis to a Jupiter Deluxe apartment on the East side, 6 c to b exact. The songs that would mark this new next phase direction came from my pen on the subject of death. Why around this same time at the early age of 21 would I find myself attracted to such an old subject where these thoughts & feelings & ideas come to mind usually at an advanced ripe old age, well looking now back over my shoulder now I have a theory. My hair had seen a slight receding at the temples & I saw to it to even see a hair clinic about it with their magical shampoo product line which evidently backfired for those of you in the judgement field & myself allegedly judging your judgmental position. Life, death, reason, purpose, a duty, a privilege, a path, importance, all the breathtaking scenarios. Death entertains life & purpose & wonder. A question, why am I here? Do I have the answer, is my purpose my real purpose? What truly matters, is important, which are all personal questions that contribute as we all do to the cosmos. Everything in service to someone or something. Am I helping, what's it all for? Anyway regardless, none of that influenced anything, these songs just started coming out with the same thought in mind for some reason from a cobwebbed corner of my brain & collected themselves in a conceptual fashion & quite easily attached & named themselves, Death Songs. It became a running routine as after one was finished, we had a pretty good idea which direction the next selection would take. The different characters deeply imbedded within their own curious character weaving their tales in an attempt to fulfill their desired destruction. Dennis would go on to paint monsters on his drums not once but twice, Multi colored on white shells & then again paint the sides black with white monsters. As an artist he got bored easily so eventually he ended up painting completely over the monsters a third time. When our friend & yours Bobby Brabant came over & saw that Dennis had completely painted over the monsters he got mad, couldn't believe he would have done that. To his point, as a testament & to the fact that we r a bit French, definitely in name, Flemion, say it with me, the heretofore monster painted drums, in time machine fashion should b hanging in the Louvre today, as I type, write & breathe. All the songs r here from The Death Tour which saw Dennis' wife Janice create & construct the original signature wings & the fog machine & flash pots completed the scene. The Frogs "Death Songs" (40th Anniversary) has arrived, a reimagined vision. All the favorites r here from an unearthed synthesizer driven "(I've locked you in my) Dungeon, previously unheard revved up take 2 of Hades High School, 2nd take of the exciting bass version of the upbeat co penned & Dennis sung, Sunny & Bright, songs from the period u have yet to hear that will soon lend a neighborly ear, a total of 16 cremation creations, & an aditiional disc of 16 to boot hill. 40 years later, the celebration begins & ends from your friends, The Flemions, or as you have come to know them The Frogs.

Love,

JImmy

The Frogs

Death Songs (40th Anniversary)

Out today in this digital wonderland of Spotify, Itunes, etcetera, etcetera, etcetera...

#jimmyflemion

#dennisflemion

#deathsongs

#40thanniversary

[elifsavasblog]

Rut-atatata:



Listening to the So Many Steves on Spotify. Love and hate relationship with Steve Martin for what he was and what he is later. But I have experience enough to know that it is me, not him. People go up, go down, please you, unplease you, rents gotta rent, mortgages gotta morg. A long career has so many opportunities to disappoint, yet there is always more of a person in them than you prefer. So. Being in a terrible rut, I listen. So Many Steves. And of course, there is more to him than I'd like to admit. Maybe because I am not his friend, I don't know him really and I haven't even been a good fan, that's why I was so pissed at him. I wanted him to let me know why he was letting me down, what was up with that. Apparently. Taking notes of Lewis Carroll and Wittgenstein. Honestly because I am looking for those perfect three sentences for my Actors' Gang class. We were told to pick a commedia dell'arte character, and I chose Columbina. I chose her because I loved and hated playing subrette when young. Yet she is the smartest, most complicated. The survivor. All the qualities I adore and aim to have and might somewhat have. A little bit. Ucundan (*TR).

I have been liking myself better than usual while in this class. I stay away from spilling out all my thoughts which makes me look very thorny (although I have failed a couple of times, but not enough to ruin things). And I try my best to stay away from my inner-raging pissiness while doing the games the acting classes do.

But the worst thing that happened to me for last two weeks happened because of the audition I did there. The audition went great. I am not talking about what the judges experienced. I am talking about my performance. But they just won't release their decisions. I am not good at waiting while functioning. My brain locks into a target and won't bulk. I have gotten divorced, I got back to relationships, I have run away from my country, I have quit things, I have said yes to things I did not want to, because my brain locks into "now" target. Things have to be resolved (for better or for worse) NOW. And the brain let's go of everything else. If I lived in prehistoric times, I would be the master hunter of quick-running prey, and I'd die during the farm faze.

I could not stop checking my emails. Not in a cute "OMG" way. More like "I'll die checking my emails and I cannot function" way. Ugly obsessive unattractive lizard brain way.

Today I am going back to the tempestuous land of "you will not know the results for a while and stop dream-building your future over this thing you cannot control, and go live some".

During the rut, I stopped reading my books, I speed-watched about 20 horror movies, did not draw, did not write, yet rarely left my chair and watched my brain drip out of my ears in the form of oozy warm slime.

Life is a struggle with oneself. And getting stuck in rolls. If the roll is bad, your life is bad. If the roll is good, your life is good. Till the next bad roll. Living in the moment has its negatives.

Jumped into a youtube video about Hegel last night that my husband was watching. From the rut I was thinking this is all make believe. None of these really exist; he was trying to create a meaning to his life. Lucky him, Hegel. And then started thinking: why not? Maturity is not about stopping creating make-believe concepts. It is about knowing that they are make-believe and making the make-believe better. I shouldn't mature into a body of cloudy vinegar. This paragraph is shit. But I won't delete it.

Today I read a NYT article on poison frogs' toe-tapping while hunting. I immediately think about Columbina tapping her toe, irritated. Can't wait. Gotta be NOW. (Hmmm, is this why I chose the character? Sure. And for other reasons. Learn to live in many possibilities being true at the same time. NOW, spread thick over probabilities. So, having other reasons does not nullify each other, why I chose Columbina.) I kept reading the article, in war with it for about 25 seconds, because I wanted the frog to be tapping without any meaning. It taps because it is too excited, no? No. well, they are still studying. If I am right, I'll be disappointed, because the possible reasons the scientists came up with are so much more exciting. Maybe it is disturbing the floor to get the prey moving. Maybe it is luring the prey closer. (I don't understand how that would work, but that is on me. Maybe the pray moves away from the toe to a more preferable space, closer to the frog's tongue? Or the prey is attracted to the tapping toe?) And also, the most happy info is that the accelerando: it taps faster and faster and then the tongue flicks out. I guess the prey does not have a sense of rhythm: -it is getting faster, I should run away now! Or maybe the prey thinks that but too late and the lesson learned is not passed down the DNA.

Maybe I am right with my uneducated status, and the frog is getting more and more excited, taping away, and there is no trick there.

Not a small difference. When Columbina is tapping her toe, is she communicating with another character? -Hello there Mr Harlequin! I just about had enough with you here! Or is this how she is communicating with the audience? -You do see I had enough with this character, and I am sharing my frustration with you, you know. Or is the actor letting an inner feeling be known to the audience without Columbina character's knowledge? I don't know. Worth playing around with. Maybe all of them, in different situations. Mature me says all these possibilities are possible.

My toe-tapping ends here. Thank you for watching.

*TR: some of my posts might be impossible to understand if one is not a Turkish- English speaker.

ES 021824