#well maybe they do. i don't know i've never been 105

[helianthuse]

we actually don't know how old my cat is. when we got him in 2005 they said he was probably 2, which would make him 20, but then one of our vets this year said there was an error in his records and he's actually 22, and of course when you ask him his birthday he says he's an old man and he doesn't remember

[scoonsalicious]

5.4 Major*

Pairing: Bucky Barnes x Fem!Reader

Summary: Lily McIntyre, trainer for new SHIELD recruits at the Avengers Tower, has been in love with her best friend, Bucky Barnes, from the moment she met him. She's been content with her role of the #1 girl in Bucky's life, even if it means she has to sabotage a romantic relationship or two. It'll be worth it when he realizes that they're meant for each other, right? There's just one small problem: Lily McIntire never expected Bucky Barnes to fall for You.

Warnings: (For this part only; see Story Masterlist for general Warnings) Language, explicit sexual content (hand stuff, fingering) Minors GTFO: I don't serve your kind here.

Word Count: 900

Previously On...: Lily knows Bucky's been lying to her, and she's surmised he's on a date. That's got to end.

A/N: Posting a little early today to make up for yesterday being so late!

I've decided to postpone my break by a few days, so I will give you Chapter 6 in its entirety before I take my mini-hiatus. It's only three parts long, so I will start my break on Thursday, 5/16 and resume posting on Thursday, 5/23. It's a better place in the story to leave you, a little bit more dramatic than at the end of this chapter, like I had originally planned, lol. It felt off leaving you all here.

NOTE! The tag list is a fickle bitch, so I'm not really going to be dealing with it anymore. If you want to be notified when new story parts drop, please follow @scoonsaliciousupdates

Thank you to all those who have been reading; if you like what you've read, likes, comments, and reblogs give me life, and I truly appreciate them, and you!

You flopped your body down onto your bedsheets with a giggle. “Full marks, Sergeant,” you gasped between panting breaths. “Once again.” It was all the two of you could do to get back to your apartment without ripping each other’s clothes off.

Bucky laughed and came to lay down alongside you, propping his head up on his vibranium arm. Leaning over, he bent down to kiss you. “I couldn’t have done it without you, doll” he said with a grin, but then his face grew serious. “Seriously. It’s never been like this with other girls.”

You blushed and playfully pushed at his rock hard shoulder. “Come on, Bucky,” you said with a laugh. “You’ve already got me naked and exactly where you want me; you don’t need to sweet talk me.”

Bucky placed a hand on your sweat-slicked hip, gently turning you to your side so you were facing him. “I’m not,” he told you, searching your eyes with the utmost sincerity in his expression. He pushed back a strand of damp hair away from your face. “I’ve been with… well, a fair number of girls over the years.” At the raise of your eyebrow, he held his flesh hand up defensively. “What? I’m 105 years old, doll. I’ve been around the block.” You couldn’t hold back your laugh at that, and he kissed your nose before continuing: 

“Like I said, a fair number of girls. And none of them, not a single one, ever made me feel the way I have when I’m with you.” He cupped your cheek in his hand and you felt your cheeks flame in a blush. “Come on, sugar. Don’t tell me you don’t feel it, too. That this,” he took his hand off your cheek to motion between your two bodies, “isn’t something special.”

“It’s been a little over a day, Bucky,” you chastised him gently with a smile, afraid to admit that you, too, felt this was something unique. “Maybe thirty hours?” Thirty hours in which the two of you had somehow managed to have sex eight times, not that you were counting. You couldn’t believe how quickly he was able to get it up again after he came, but he’d assured you that was his favorite side effect of the serum that had made him a super soldier. It had quickly become your favorite, too.

Bucky’s face fell, and you realized that he wasn’t going to judge you if you told him the truth, because he felt it just the same. “The best thirty hours of my life,” you clarified, tucking your fingers under his chin so you could bring his gaze back up to yours. “And yes, I feel it, too. It’s never been like this before. Not with anyone else.”

“Not even with your ex-husband?” Bucky asked with a playful smirk.

“Especially not with Conner,” you told him with a roll of your eyes. “Took me years to teach that man where my clit was, and even on his best days, he still needed a map.”

“Oh, you mean this, right here?” Bucky deftly slid his hand between your thighs, finding your hub of nerves almost instinctively and began to lightly trace it with his finger, sending an electric tingle through your body. 

“Fuck, yes,” you exhaled, reaching up to grab Bucky’s shoulder for support as he increased the pressure. He moved his metal arm from under his head and slid it behind your shoulders as he pulled you flush with his chest.

“I got you, sweet girl,” he murmured into your hair as he moved his fingers faster against you, occasionally dipping them down to your entrance to collect some of your slick for lubrication. You hitched a leg up over his hip to allow him better access to your core. 

“Jesus, Bucky,” you moaned, feeling yourself building to the crescendo. Taking your hand off his shoulder, you grabbed his wrist, guiding his movements so you could grind your desperate cunt against his hand.

“Do you want my fingers, sugar?” Bucky panted. You looked up at him to find his gaze locked on where his hand had vanished between your thighs, his pupils completely blown from lust. “Do you want me to fuck you with my fingers until you squirt all over me?”

You couldn’t even get out a coherent word, just a pathetic whine that turned into a near scream when Bucky plunged three of his digits into you. The air was full of the frantic sounds of your combined breathing, along with the rapid squelch of his fingers driving in and out of your cunt with a speed you didn’t know was humanly possible. It felt like he was hitting every part of you, even parts you didn’t know existed until now. Every time with Bucky felt that way.

“How you doing, sugar?” Bucky asked as he continued to drive his fingers home. “You okay?”

You nodded and grunted in the affirmative, loving how he always checked in on you. You were so much more than okay. You were transcendent. 

Soon, you felt that intense, unfamiliar build up that only he had been able to pull out of you once before, on the living room floor. The pleasure was so intense, you couldn’t see straight and you were exploding all over again, clinging to Bucky for dear life as you screamed his name. 

<- Previous Part / Next Chapter ->

[taketwoinink]

I posted 1,942 times in 2022

That's 1,942 more posts than 2021!

355 posts created (18%)

1,587 posts reblogged (82%)

Blogs I reblogged the most:

@chilikit

@secretsinthevoid

@eleilinnrallin

@moony4pads

@thatfaecreaturee

I tagged 1,500 of my posts in 2022

Only 23% of my posts had no tags

#reblog - 202 posts

#mutuals - 105 posts

#answered asks - 81 posts

#thatfaecreaturee - 64 posts

#queer - 60 posts

#signed in ink - 53 posts

#the ink answers - 45 posts

#yes - 43 posts

#&lt;3 - 38 posts

#tumblr trick or treat - 37 posts

Longest Tag: 139 characters

#also i was trying to write this story and i was going to push the coming out until like five chapters in and no it happened like right away

My Top Posts in 2022:

#5

Sister: "Don't date your friends, you're not going to be able to stay friends after you break up"

Me, a demiromantic:

61 notes - Posted July 11, 2022

#4

this is kind of a half-baked thought but here we go

there's this thing commonly said in the trans community of "we didn't pick our genders, this is just the way we are"

yes, this is true

however, I do want to bring attention to the idea that perhaps it isn't true 100% of the time. And for those people, whoever they may be, who maybe don't feel as if they were always trans, you're valid too in whatever gender you choose to be!

I think that saying we were born this way is how we kind of argue against transphobes and people saying that we're just confused or we don't know what we're talking about. And for so many of us, it's true! personally, yes, I feel as though I was never a woman but have always been something else but hadn't yet figured that out. (which is why I feel weird saying I discovered I was nonbinary because yes that is the true but in a way I've always been nonbinary. that's a talk for another day though)

But as I've thought about it, I've come to the conclusion that in any other timeline, when placed with the option to be a cis woman, I would choose to be nonbinary every time.

And not everyone would.

And that's okay! We're all different! Being trans/nonbinary is a struggle. It's isolating and sometimes feels hopeless and it's frankly just a lot to deal with. And everyone deals with it in different levels and different situations.

So I believe that not all trans people are born this way. AND THAT'S OKAY. They are every bit as valid as any other trans person, or any other person in general! And people who were born this way? Also valid!

Whatever reason someone may feel as if their gender switched, maybe it's trauma, maybe it's preference changing over time, maybe it's just something random and not completely understood, it doesn't matter.

I think they should be recognized and included just the same as anyone else.

-- I haven't ever actually met someone who has told me that they don't feel as if they were trans their entire life. However, if someone can change sexuality over time, then why shouldn't it be possible for someone's gender to change over time as well? I understand that there are a lot of differences in how sexuality and gender evolve, but there are also a lot of similarities.

Just something to think about.

64 notes - Posted August 25, 2022

#3

Here is the longer version of the thunderstorm for anyone who wants it!

71 notes - Posted August 3, 2022

#2

oops I made another one

Aromantics:

and another one

See the full post

79 notes - Posted September 8, 2022

My #1 post of 2022

Alrighty folks, you know the drill.

I found another picrew

tagging! @earthtokit @gemstarstarlight @venusqq @thatfaecreaturee @jinxneedssleep @eleilinnrallin (if you're into this sort of thing!) @quinnick @chaserofstarsandtheabyss @secretsinthevoid @lilywolfgray @elumax-archive @ringnea (ONE DAY YOU HAVE TO SUBMIT TO MY WILL AND DO ONE OF THESE)

547 notes - Posted October 6, 2022

Get your Tumblr 2022 Year in Review →

[teddyshoney]

I posted 546 times in 2022

65 posts created (12%)

481 posts reblogged (88%)

Blogs I reblogged the most:

@gleefulpoppet

@steph-luvs-klaine

@klainetkm

@jayhawk-writes

@klaineccfanficlibrary

I tagged 377 of my posts in 2022

Only 31% of my posts had no tags

#glee - 138 posts

#sweet sweet boys - 111 posts

#klaine - 107 posts

#blaine anderson - 105 posts

#kurt hummel - 98 posts

#klaine fanfic - 65 posts

#writing friends - 33 posts

#klaine fanart - 32 posts

#sweet sweet boy - 31 posts

#best friend writers - 29 posts

Longest Tag: 132 characters

#with blaine's help kurt grows into this confident boy who knows what he wants and can help blaine through his emotions and struggles

My Top Posts in 2022:

#5

So, the @gleeful-paintbox-project prompt got me inspired to write a little ficlet, which got me inspired to leave this open-ended so I can fill other prompts in a similar style. So, here we are with Glee According to Kurt Hummel.

The first ficlet in this...series?...is called Mr. Cellophane, in which Kurt is standing backstage, waiting to audition for the New Directions.

Ficlet below the cut. Or you can read it on AO3 or FF.net.

Kurt Hummel stood backstage behind the curtain, taking deep breaths and trying to calm the butterflies currently stirring up a tornado in his stomach. He thought he was going to be sick.

He could hear the clear, strong voice of Mercedes Jones demanding R-E-S-P-E-C-T, and it added more fear to the lump in his throat. He began to second-guess himself. Am I actually going to do this?

A beat went by, a beat of indecision. I shouldn't do this. It was a silly idea. I thought I could fit in somewhere, but I don't know how important that really is. I'm okay on my own. Right. Right? Am I? He immediately remembered some of the thoughts he had earlier in the hallway outside the counselor's office and shuddered. Maybe I'm not. Am I really going to do this?

He reminded himself that he had to. He could hear his dad's voice in his head, telling him that he wanted him to join a club. The request had come out as a do-this-or-else command, but Kurt had grown to know his father well enough since his mother's death to understand that his dad was looking out for him as best he could. He loved him, no matter how gruff he sounded or misunderstood Kurt felt at times. Kurt loved his dad, too, and appreciated his concern.

It did little to help the butterflies, though. Am I ready for this? I've never sung in front of other people before. What if they make fun of me? What if I sound bad? What if I can't hit that high note? Why didn't I pick a different song? Should I go a little more Top 40?

Then his thoughts shifted gears, moving to the future. He loved watching reality TV, and he had been on a kick recently, watching cast reunions and interviews. Will I make friends like that? he wondered. Will there be people I remember fondly, want to see at class reunions? Will I find someone who actually wants to be friends, who sees me for who I am? The thought Who knows I'm gay? flashed through his head, too, but he shoved that backward. Better to not be too hopeful, he told himself.

Just then, he heard Mercedes sing her final note. Then, there was the sound of Mr. Schuster's voice, saying something to her.

He took another deep breath in through his mouth and closed his eyes, letting it out ever so slowly through his nose. Center yourself. Focus. You can do this. Maybe it will even be fun.

He opened his eyes just as Mercedes walked by him, and he made himself give her a smile, however unconvincing. Then, he heard Mr. Schuster call out for the next person, and he took one last deep breath before he squared his shoulders and headed out on the stage. I just have to try. If I don't like it, I don't have to join. This doesn't have to define my high school career.

The next thing he knew, he was standing on the "X" in the middle of the stage. His voice came out stronger than he expected when he said, "Hello. I'm Kurt Hummel, and I'll be singing Mr. Cellophane."

46 notes - Posted January 22, 2022

#4

Klaine 3-2-1 Prompt Bang Fic: When You Wish Upon a Star

Author: @teddyshoney

Artist: @teddyshoney

Prompt Provided by: @gleefulpoppet

Pairings: Blaine Anderson/Kurt Hummel

Rating: M

Word Count: 15,459

Characters: Blaine Anderson, Kurt Hummel, Isabelle Wright

Summary: When Kurt leaves California for a fashion show to premiere his line he's been working on for a few years, he never expects to hear a familiar voice or see a familiar face, one that he hadn't thought he'd ever see or hear outside of his head. It all starts with one sentence, and it blossoms far beyond what either Kurt or his mysterious and handsome stranger could ever have imagined.

Genre/Tropes: Strangers to Lovers, Meet Cute, Soulmates

Warnings: None

50 notes - Posted July 23, 2022

#3

Klaine 3-2-1 Prompt Bang Fic: To Serenade an Angel

Author: @teddyshoney

Artist: @teddyshoney

Prompt Provided by: @redheadgleek

Pairing: Blaine Anderson/Kurt Hummel

Rating: T

Word Count: 12,375

Characters: Blaine Anderson, Kurt Hummel, Roderick Meeks, Trent, Nick

Summary: After the death of his father, Kurt receives a letter from a prestigious musical college, inviting him to attend. He decides to attend, and shortly after his arrival, he hears a strange voice beckoning him down a forbidden hallway. Kurt begins a relationship with the voice, unsure why he finds him so intriguing and why his heart beats more rapidly each time he thinks about the voice. Who does the voice belong to? And what does it want with him?

Genre/Tropes: Emotional hurt/comfort, friends to lovers

Warnings: minor character death mentioned; minor mentions of abuse

51 notes - Posted July 13, 2022

#2

This story is now complete! All 14 chapters have been written and posted! Thank you to everyone who has been reading! I appreciate all of you! And thank you very much to @klaine-word-scramble for the challenge! It's been fun!

Title: Words Unwritten; Stories Untold Chapter: 14/14 Words: 58,181 Summary: During his first ever author book signing event, self-published poetry author Blaine Anderson meets famous writer Kurt Hummel during a slightly awkward chance encounter. Blaine considers this to be a self-esteem boost and nothing more until an innocent-looking email turns into a whirlwind summer romance that Blaine is certain he'll never forget. To read it from Chapter 12 (the first new chapter), click HERE! To read it from the beginning, click HERE!

58 notes - Posted October 31, 2022

My #1 post of 2022

Klaine 3-2-1 Prompt Bang Fic: Measure for Measure

Author: @teddyshoney

Artist: @datshitrandom

Prompt Provided by: @quizasvivamos

Pairings: Blaine Anderson/Kurt Hummel

Rating: M

Word Count: 16,588

Characters: Kurt, Blaine, Sam, Tina, Mercedes, Mr. Schue, Ms. Pillsbury, Rachel (mentioned), Madame Tibideaux (mentioned)

Summary: Blaine Anderson, the new band and choir director for McKinley High School, immediately feels a connection to Kurt Hummel, the English teacher, during their initial teacher inservice days. He wants to get to know him, and after a conversation with the art teacher, Tina Cohen-Chang, he finds out that Kurt is stand-offish with nearly everyone at school—except his students—and his only real friend is Mercedes. Spurred on by his feelings, Blaine decides to do something brash: give himself five days to win Kurt Hummel. After he learns more about what secret Kurt's been hiding, however, that might prove to be a taller order than he'd originally thought.

Genre/Tropes: Strangers to Friends to Lovers, Pining, Love at First Sight, Drama

Warnings: Sexual content (see fic tags for more information)

Author's Notes: The title Measure for Measure has a double-meaning in this story! If you want to know how, check under the cut. I don't want to spoil it here! Many thanks to @datshitrandom for the gorgeous artwork. You can find another lovely piece below the cut that is also located at the end of the story! Also, a big shoutout to my friends, @jayhawk-writes and @gleefulpoppet for their support and beta skills! ❤️

Read it on AO3.

See the full post

65 notes - Posted May 7, 2022

Get your Tumblr 2022 Year in Review →

[bustyasianbeautiespod]

Episode 105 Transcript: Defining Life in Apple Pastry Terms

[intro guitar music]

G: Hello, it's Grey.

C: Hello, it's Crystal.

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

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

G: Both Asian! For today's episode, we will be discussing Season 6 Episode 1, “Exile on Main Street,” written by our new showrunner, Sera Gamble, directed by Phil Sgriccia, air date September 24, 2010.

C: Sera Gamble is such a person who would say that Dean is gay for having a girlfriend.

G: Yeah? I think Sera Gamble thinks everything is gay.

C: Yeah. And it is. [laughs]

G: If you're in love with your girlfriend, dude, that's gay as fuck. [C laughs] Maybe it is. I don't know. This- okay, couple things. As we've said, Sera Gamble is now the showrunner of the thing. It's our first showrunner switch. Do you feel a difference or? I think, honestly-

C: I don't think one episode is enough for me to know.

G: Yeah, I do think so. I think maybe it is also the fact that Sera Gamble, first season under her, Sam is not there. Like, this is not Sam, and it is- I wonder what the public reception was or what the fan reception was. [C: We'll find out.] And it's like, "Oh, new season. New showrunner." Yeah, we will find out. But like, are people like, "Ugh! Why is she writing Sam this way?" which, I tried to imagine watching this episode without knowing the twist, and I think I would have disliked it or something. I don't know.

C: He seems like a perfectly nice young man.

G: Honestly, he seems normal. [C laughs] It's because the show was trying to make it seem to be a certain way. I did laugh out loud when he rejected that damn car. [C laughs] He literally was like, "You're obsessed with that car, not me."

C: [laughing] Yeah, it was so funny.

G: This episode sucks. [both laughing] I think it's fine. Is it?

C: I think it opened okay enough, and then Samuel Campbell came in, and I went, "This is fucking stupid!" [both laughs] And then I zoned out for the rest.

G: I will admit the Sambell Campbell- [laughs] "Sambell Cambell." The Samuel Campbell bullshit is kind of corny, tired, and played out, and it's been going on for one episode. [C: Yeah.] So I don't think I'm gonna like it. And I never did like it.

C: At least he dies, eventually.

G: It is fascinating, the thing I guess they're trying to do, "What does family mean?" Honestly, it's just so incredibly hilarious to me that, like, Supernatural family-

C: "Does family mean your brother, or also your cousins?" [G laughs]

G: Or also your grandfather that you've never met? Like, okay. [laughs]

C: Well, they did in the past.

G: Honestly, what I feel about this is that Supernatural is a show about family, except they keep trying to move that fucking goalpost, and instead of being about whatever family or about how family isn't everything, there's other people in your life, too, [laughs] it just keeps on expanding the family unit, which is pretty funny to me.

C: I wish that Lisa had a personality or something. That'd be cool.

G: It is fascinating that they try to give her a personality, and then they don't. What's that about? I think misogyny [C: I don't know.] is what that is about.

C: Yeah. I mean, she's there for Dean to be worried about for his growth, and that's about it this episode.

G: Yeah. And also another thing, I think maybe it's just like, because it's Season 6 now, it's just my brain doing it because of that distinctive line between Season 1 to 5 and then 6 onwards, right? But it feels a little bit like Dean has just- this is not- Ah, okay. Many times this episode, I was watching it, I had the thought, "This is Jensen Ackles." [C: Hm.] Which is like, I've never thought that about Dean, ever. There's always been like, exclusive to Jared Padalecki [C laughs] for me. Watching this episode, I was like, "Oh, we're watching the TV show Supernatural." I don't know it was. It was such an extraordinary distinctive feeling for me that I felt the need to point it out. Can't believe we're watching the TV show Supernatural.

C: Pretty fucked up.

G: Yeah. I'm excited for this season to get going, and that, you know, Cas and Crowley and all that.

C: Yeah, yeah, and I want soulless Sam to get a little weird with it.

G: Yeah, I do feel Supernatural is just never that good with beginning seasons. They're just never that good. Cool.

C: 2.01 was good.

G: Yeah, and 4.01 was good. [C: Yeah.] But, you know, 3 out of 5? [laughs] That's most. Well, now 6 out of- No, wait, it's 4 out of 6.

C: 4 out of 6 were bad? Yeah.

G: Well, I mean, 1.01 was okay.

C: It was fine. It's not good.

G: No, I think it's a pretty solid introduction to a concept of a TV show. [C: Yeah, sure.] Now, they're introducing concept of seasons, which I think can be just a little bit more intricate. Let's start the episode?

C: Yeah. Wait, no no no.

G: No! What did you know about this episode?

C: Very little.

G: Define "very little."

C: I only knew about the montage at the beginning.

G: Of course. The ever-iconic montage. And of course, when the Yellow Eye hallucination goes, "Your buddy Cas was brought back" or something, because that's part of the-

C: I don't know that part.

G: That's part of the Destiel supercut for some reason. [C: Oh.] Season 6, Deancasnatural, you know what I'm talking about, right? [C: Mm-hm.] That series of Dean and Cas scene collections for AMV makers, Season 6 starts with that scene, which I also thought was weird, and watching this episode now, I'm like, "That is weird. Why did they put that there?" [laughs] Is it just because they imagine Cas? Well, okay.

C: Yeah, I think so.

G: Well, it's important to mention Cas, but I don't know how it's relevant to Destiel, really. [C laughs]

C: Cas isn't relevant to Destiel. You heard it here first, folks.

G: No, but [C: I understand.] they don't put Cas scenes in there. They put Destiel scenes in there. Well, you know that Sam is gonna be back, but you don't know how they're gonna get reintroduced, I suppose? [C: Yeah.] Well, we start the episode. There's like, bunch of flashbacks of what happened last episode. And it says, "one year ago," and flashback, flashback, flashback.

C: Yeah, all in black and white in case you didn't know it was old.

G: Yeah. In case you didn't know that this happened a year ago. [C laughs]

C: They didn't have color television.

G: AKA the oldest thing that's ever happened, yeah. But like, slowly realized that it's Dean dreaming. Or is it? Are we supposed to think that? Because I wasn't paying that much attention, [laughing] watching this episode.

C: No, I think it's just the "Then" sequence.

G: No, because I thought,what happened is that it fades to Dean, who's already awake, so he's awake, thinking back to this or something.

C: It's possible.

G: Yeah, we go to Dean. He's lying in bed. He's comfy cozy, and it alarms. 7 AM. He turns around. Lisa's there.

C: Yeah, she's sleeping with her back to him to show her subconscious emotional distance from him.

G: Is it subconscious emotional distance, or a willingness to trust?

C: I'm not sure.

G: What is the symbolism in sleeping in beds? I don't like that. I severely dislike it. So maybe for me, the symbolism of being in bed with someone is [laughing] "I hate this so much, [C laughs] whichever direction I'm facing." [C: Real.] Lisa, her first words this episode, “Are you okay?” [both laugh] which really sets up her characterization for the rest of it. They tried to give her something a little bit more towards the end, but I don't know if they did. [C: Yeah.] I just don't know. Dean's like, "Yeah." They roll out of bed. They start the day. There's a montage. The montage is like, very domestic. Well, one, he's cooking breakfast for Ben and Lisa, and there is like- it's cute. They're like, all in the kitchen, all in the dining room, and there's like, some dynamic movements, whatever. [C laughs] The pan is fun, you know? Like, I did always like that motion [C: Yeah, I do like the pan.] of Lisa going under his arm as he's moving through the kitchen. He's a carpenter! Love it! Love a carpenter!

C: I thought he was a construction worker.

G: Well, he's specifically working with wood.

C: Does that automatically make you a carpenter?

G: There's parts of the construction work. If he was a fucking... mason? That's right. Mason, in English. [C: Ah, true, yeah.] If he was a mason, he would have been working with the damn cement or something. [C: It's true.] Or what's that? Cinderblock. Is that what you call it? [C: Yeah.] But yeah, he's a woodworker specifically. He's a carpenter. He's working with that fucking chisel. He's hammering it with a metal hammer, which I did find fun because I remember watching someone talk about the importance of a mallet when you use it with a chisel, and how like you can use- if it's a plastic-handed chisel, you can just use whatever with it, even a metal hammer, and in fact, you'll see that a lot in construction work. And I was like, "Oh, okay." And then like, seeing Dean use a metal hammer for chisel and construction work is pretty fun! [C: So true.] And, you know, he's cutting up some wood. [laughing] I'm really occupied with this carpenter shit. But I love that he's a carpenter. Love it!

C: Important part of the montage is that each scene is intercut with a flashback from hunting life [G: Oh, yeah! Completely forgot about that.], like when he's making the eggs, it goes to shaking salt on windows to keep demons out. For the carpentry, there's him killing vampires with like a saw or a stake or whatever the fuck- no, it's a saw. Stakes don't work on vampires.

G: Yeah, when he opened a car trunk to get something, and it's like, weapons to real life. And also, like, I did feel a little bit emo about that part when it was him teaching Sam about the car and it's intercut with him teaching Ben about the car. I was like, "Aww." Which makes it even more funny that later on, he was like, "Sam, you take the car." [both laugh] And he literally DGAF.

C: Yeah. And the song playing over it is "Beautiful Loser," so.

G: Yeah. The song is about like, your dreams falling apart.

C: Yeah, it's about how you can't have home and security as well as living like a sailor at sea, so it's about how Dean has to choose one between hunting and domestic life or whatever the fuck, I assume.

G: Yeah. And he'll choose to do "Goodbye Stranger," the song, not the episode. I guess he also chooses to do the episode. The final- you know, there's like, some guy throughout that montage that he grills stuff with. Incredibly funny. What is it with like, men and grilling? [C laughs] Or like, the American concept of masculinity and grilling? Is it like, the only acceptable form of cooking in terms of masculinity?

C: My dad does barbeque things.

G: You did mention this, yeah.

C: My dad also cooks normal style, though. [laughing] But my dad is not, I think, the pinnacle of American masculinity.

G: Well, I mean, you know, he should try harder. [C laughs]

C: Yeah. I'll tell him to watch more football. No, yeah. I think I think there is an idea of like, they would not cook in the kitchen, but they do barbecue because it's like, charcoal in the open flame, so it's tough or whatever.

G: My dad also does the grill. [C laughs] So maybe it's also Filipino masculinity. [C: So true.] And now we go to Dean and this dude named Sid, who sounds exactly like Sam Winchester. Well, sounds exactly like Jared Padalecki.

C: He does, yeah. Grey pointed this out. I didn't notice while I was watching it, and then I rewatched that scene with my eyes closed, and, like he actually does have Jared Padalecki's voice.

G: [laughs] Which is, of course, how I watch every episode of Supernatural. [C laughs] With my eyes closed! But yeah, he sounds so much like Jared Padalecki. I literally- I was startled watching it. Like, "Oh! Sam is already here? I thought it was later in the episode!" But no, it's not Sam. It's Sid. I forgot what he's complaining about. He's talking about, I think, his old life, right? But he's like-

C: I think he like, fucked a goat or something.

G: Is that it? Did he fuck-

C: I don't know what the joke is. He's just saying that "Luckily, no one took a picture of him and that goat and put it on Facebook." And it's like, what did you do with the goat?

G: But he's saying like, "Ugh, I can't believe like this is my life right now. I'm in the suburbs." And he's trying to get Dean to tell him about his past, but Dean is quiet and reserved about it. And we establish, it's like a year ago, and Dean says he's in pest control, and he's like, "Yeah, I help people-"

C: Which Cas also says in Season 10, right? That he's an exterminator?

G: Yeah! You don't let the bedbugs bite, is what he says. [both laugh] He winks in that scene! [giggles] [C: Yeah.] Cas is so wonderful! You can literally hear the difference of the lilt in my voice talking about him. [C: Yeah.] Well, yeah, Dean, saying he's from pest control, corny, tired, and played out. Cas saying he's from pest control, the most adorable thing in the world. And Dean, you know, is like, "Oh, it's like a little bit scary that this is all happening, but, you know, it's wonderful, too." And then they do the scene where the bartender hands Dean like, a receipt with her number on it, and the guy's like, "Oh, I think that girl's into you," and Dean's like, "You think?" and then he raises the receipt with the bartender's number on it. And what we're supposed to learn from this is like, "Yeah, Dean has settled down, but not because he's not desirable anymore. [C laughing] He's soo desirable. People are soo into him."

C: "Women wanna fuck him soo bad, but he just won't, because he's loyal."

G: "Yeah, because he's a good person! 'Cause that's what makes you a good person! Being loyal to your beautiful wife!" I guess. They're not married. Are they married?

C: They're not married.

G: They're not married. Well, maybe they should have gotten married here in the Philippines. That way, Dean could never have left her! [both laugh] It's still unbelievable that we don't have a divorce. I feel like the older and older I get, the more ridiculous I think it is. Why don't we have it? Like, every time somebody is like, “I'm getting married,” instead of being like, “Happy for you!” which is, I believe, what I would feel if there was divorce, [laughs] I'm like, "Are you sure? [C: "Are you fucking sure?"] This is irreversible!" [laughs] Well, yeah, anyway, he tears this fucking receipt apart and everything. But yeah, he heads home.

-

C: So as he's heading out, he hears a scream in the distance, so he goes to inspect some deserted building near some hotel renovation thing, and it's all drawn out and suspenseful, and there's claw marks and blood there, but he can't find anything else.

G: You know, there's multiple parts in the scene where he just literally hears a house noise. Like, a noise that a house would make. And he's like, "Ah! Ah!"

C: Yeah, he's swinging his gun around.

G: I think Supernatural is getting into my psyche [laughs] because like, a sound will happen in our house, I'll be terrified. [laughs] And every single time I'm like, "Oh, this happened in Supernatural." And then the second voice in my head is like, “Supernatural is a fictional TV show.” [both laugh] But yeah, house noises, bit scary.

C: Yeah. Back at Lisa's, which the transcript calls "Dean's house." I don't know about that.

G: Well, it's his home now. Ew! Sorry. It is his house.

C: It's Dean home. I don't think it's Dean's house.

G: Yeah. Is his name in the fucking lease agreement?

C: Exactly. I don't think so. [G: Or mortgage?] His credit score sucks. She would not have him co-sign the mortgage.

G: When she's signing that mortgage, she actively hides that there's like, some other guy that was gonna live with her. [laughs] [C: Yes.] She's like, "You're gonna fuck up my chances of getting this fucking done."

C: He's calling the police station and trying to see if anything has happened near that area that they've heard about, and he sees Lisa standing in the doorway, and then he starts pretending that he's calling his friend and then hangs up, even though she literally knows about hunting, so there's no point

G: Yeah, I do find it fascinating what they do with Lisa, just because you're right that like, she knows about the hunting life. So when Dean is doing all this, it's like, he doesn't need to hide it, but I suppose, like- I mean later, I think he does do a solid with asking Lisa and Ben to step out for a bit so he can reassure himself, and that's the way he worded it. Like I think it's a good thing. I think my main thought is like, I wonder how often this happens. Dean later alludes to their relationship or their life being a fucking mess a lot of the time, and like, is this what it's referring to? Like, Dean is quote-unquote "paranoid"?

C: Yeah, like, has this happened before? I mean, they act like it's a new thing because of the poison, but yeah, not sure.

G: Yeah. It could be that this time, it's real. And maybe other times, Dean was like, "Oh, I thought it was real, but it's not really," even though maybe it was, you know? Or something happened. Or maybe it wasn't.

C: Well, the claw marks weren't real.

G: What?

C: Well, the claw marks and things aren't real.

G: Are they really not? [C: No?] I completely did not understand the djinn subplot of this episode.

C: Sam was like, "They make you experience nightmares and stuff until you overdose"-

G: And I'm not stupid! [laughs] Sorry.

C: - and Dean flashed back to the claw marks, [G: Ah.] which implies that that was like, hallucinations.

G: Yeah. Well, if there are any visual cues this episode, I completely missed them. [laughs]

C: Yeah, because you were knitting. [laughs]

G: Yeah, I'm making one of my beautiful socks, everyone. First pair. Love it!

C: Yeah, so he lies and says that he's trying to set up a poker game with Sid and that he'll be right up. And Lisa just goes, "Okay!"

G: It is fascinating he has like, one friend. Because I feel like the vibe that we get from suburbs is like, bunch of people being friendly. I don't know. I don't know anything about the suburbs.

C: They are direct neighbors, so they would be closer.

G: This is true. They share a fence, I think, is the implication of the scene later. [C: Yeah.] Or no, no, they don't.

C: Well, he sees him through the the window, so I think he's right there.

G: Oh. That's him?

C: Him and his wife?

G: That's his family that was being killed later?

C: [laughing] Yeah! He went, "Sid?" when he was rolling the body over!

G: Well, you know, I was making the toe of my damn socks, so I was really into it. [C laughs] If I was making the body of the socks, I would have known his. It is fascinating that it's Yellow Eyes that they bring back in terms of that because, you know, it could be anything. It could be anyone but I suppose they're truly hammering home the fear of domesticity turning bad that Dean has because they do with Lisa up the fucking wall later. [C laughs]

C: Yeah. Ugh.

G: Supernatural. Is it a bad show? [C: Yeah.] Many people are discussing this.

-

C: The next day, Dean's driving around. He sees the exact same claw marks as he saw in the house. He sees the same claw marks on like, a fence, or a door or something, and he has his gun out, and he opens it, and it's like, a little dog that runs out. And then Sid sees him and is like, "Bro. Is that a gun?"

G: [laughing] And Dean's like, "No. Yes."

C: "Yes, I- I have a permit for it." And his excuse is that he thought that that the dog was a possum, and they have rabies and shit. But then Dean sees sulfur on the ground, gasp! I think it was at this point where Sid starts going like, "Huh? What?" that I realized that probably- Is the reason that Lisa moved between Season 3 and now because if he was in the Season 3 town, they would all know about hunting because they all saw the changeling shit happen, so there's less of that sense of normality that he has to keep up?

G: Yeah, I suppose. Because if it was there, it would probably be a better situation. He wouldn't have to- [C: Lie?] He can balance that shit, you know? It's not one or the other, which is, I think this episode kept on trying to be like, "You can only choose one!" I don't know, man. I think you can choose both.

C: Yeah, it's what "Beautiful Fool" is about or whatever it's called.

G: Yeah. Also, I do find fascinating, earlier, we forgot to mention in the montage, you know, Dean's checking out the house before he's going to sleep, and he's like, in his comfy cozy sweatpants and everything, which is pretty fun. And then it ends with a gun under his bed, like he's sleeping.

C: Oh my god, yeah. A fucking loose gun just under his bed.

G: And it's like, it's not like a pistol or whatever the gun that everybody has has. You know what I mean, right? It's a fucking saw-off shotgun, I'm pretty sure. [C laughs] Do you know anything about guns? Or is that correct?

C: I don't know anything about guns.

G: But like, it doesn't look like a- I suppose it's because it needs to have a salt round. He's not trying to kill an intruder who's just a guy, which I think is what most people justify having a gun in the house for. [C: Yeah.] And by most people, I do mean most Americans. [C laughs] Are there any other countries with the kind of gun laws that the US has? Do I always have to preface it that way?

C: I don't know.

G: What I mean by that is like, I'm not trying to dig at anyone. What I mean is just that I don't experience that. We don't have that experience here. I just see it on the news with American news and stuff.

C: Yeah. I don't know. I'm sure there's other countries that-

G: In the world, full stop, yeah.

C: - have a lot of gun-carrying people, yeah. But yeah. You saying that it's a salt round does make me feel better 'cause like, if Ben shot it, he probably wouldn't die.

G: He'd be hurt. I mean, we know-

C: But he would be hurt, yeah. I think he should not be having that just loose under the bed like that.

G: How old is Ben by now? He's gotta be like, 12 or something right?

C: We already have this conversation, I think. 11, right? Because it was his eighth birthday party in Season 3.

G: No, I mean, last year. It's been a year, so he's 12 now? Or was he ten in Season 3.

C: Well, if he was 8 in 3.01, it would make sense that he's 11 in 6.01, right?

G: No, but like, 3.01, and then a year, and then Season 4 and a year. Season 5. And then Season 5 goes for an entire year.

C: Well, Season 5 follows directly from the end of Season 4.

G: Yeah, but it goes on 5ever. [C: True.] So Season 3, that's a solid year. Then Season 4's a year, Season 5 is a year. That's 3 years. [laughs] Wow. And now it's been a year after that. So he's 12 now.

C: Alright. I believe it.

G: I do- I wish there was more of a- Something I would have liked to see is because I think towards the end of the season, they're gonna make an argument that Lisa is good for- well, they're making it now. They're trying to make it now, right? Lisa is good for Dean or something, and this is a life that's good for him. And the thing is, the way they are trying to frame it is suburban normalcy versus the hunting life. And I think if later on, they're going to make an argument that Dean is actually using something real and solid here, that argument is going to be based on the fact that Lisa knows about his past. He's not like, fully trying to hide all of this shit, you know? I think it would have been interesting to see some of the accommodations that the Braeden household has made for Dean in this regard. You know what I mean? [C: Yeah.] Because the way we see it now is like, Dean is doing things, and they're letting him do things, which is like, yeah, that is a form of an accommodation, but, you know, like something a bit more proactive, especially on Lisa's part, I think, would be interesting to see. Maybe we'd see it in later episodes. But if the point that they're trying to make, which I think it is, is that Lisa accepts him for what he is and who he is and his past, etc, it would be good and also fun for me personally to see how that would manifest, you know? It's just that they give Lisa no agency. We don't see her do anything. You know what I mean? It's always a reaction to things or Dean telling her things. [C: Right.] I don't know. I think last episode, I was like, I understood that Lisa is a product of the story, but whenever I conceptualize the things I find wrong with her character, I still conceptualize it as like, Lisa, you know? Like, Lisa the character. I think seeing this now, and seeing how much like, "Actually, it could have been interesting." Like, it could be interesting. This whole domestic thing they're trying to do with Dean is interesting. The more I am like, "No, yeah, it is the writers' fault," and I'm able to separate her from the writing decisions that they have made for her.

Now, we go to Lisa telling Dean about “Hey, the neighbor told me that you almost shot a fucking dog. So what's up with that?” And Dean keeps on being like, "I don't know, man. No, it's fine. I just thought- but it's not the case." And eventually, he says, “Why don't you and Ben go out for a bit while I try to- I'll do one last sweep so that I can placate myself," which is pretty good.

C: Yeah. Lisa is the one who does the straight-up asking. Like, “Okay. Are you hunting something?” And she does it very matter-of-fact [G: Yeah.], which I think [art of the whole accepting him for who he is whatever bullshit.

G: And then Lisa goes, and Dean immediately is trying to get shit done. He opens the Dad's journal. I do find the journal shit fascinating because like, did they ever revamp that thing? [C laughs] Is it still what it was when they first got it in Season 1?

C: The prop?

G: Is there anything new in that thing, or did it stop in 2005?

C: Are you talking about the prop, or are you saying "Did Sam and Dean add to it?"

G: Yeah. Did they add to it?

C: I feel like they did. I mean, on the bonus material, Dean added the angels [age, and everyone GAF about that so much. Right?

G: But it was already full! Where are they putting the additional pages?

C: Was it already full?

G: No, yeah, you're right. It was like, 30 pages in [laughs] when John left it to them. [C laughs] He was like, "Ugh. The bullet journaling life is not for me. I don't know why! Why are we doing this?" [C: Real.] And it's not for me either.

As he's looking all around, Azazel comes about, and it is like, a bit of a shock. And I do- the choice that they have made this episode of just being- It feels like you, the watcher, being destabilized every single reveal, which I think is fun. With this is Azazel, it feels so not real. [C: Right.] And it isn't real. And the way you feel while watching it is without any of the gravitas that it should, so you're able to feel more what Dean is feeling of just confusion and shock. And then, you know, Azazel's here. He's telling Dean stuff, and he's telling Dean- He's like the manifestation of Dean's insecurity about not being able to keep this. But then, as Azazel's gonna go kill that guy, somebody stabs Azazel. It's Sam.

C: Yay! Hi Sam! Hi Sam!

-

G: Dean like, passes out, and he wakes up with Sam there. And Sam took him in a fucking abandoned house. But Dean wakes up and he's like, "What? Are you real?" And this is what I mean. Because earlier- like now, this Sam is saying like, "Oh, Azazel's not real." And now Sam's here, and it's like, "Well, is he real?" And, I mean, we know it is. But you're able to understand better what Dean is experiencing in that moment. And then immediately after, he meets Samuel. So like, you know, it's just up and up and up and up above things. I think the the first way, too, that we feel that things are weird is that Sam is weird. Sam is so... How would you describe Sam? The way he talks and the way he acts in this scene?

C: Kind of blase.

G: Is that what it's called? I thought it was blaze. 'Cause I was thinking, "I should say he acts blaze, but I should wait for Crystal to say their piece first." [C laughs] Can't believe it. It feels like he doesn't understand the gravity of the situation, which is like, a common thing later. Later on, with the car, I thought what they would do is he just straight up refuse it. But he doesn't. He says, "Thank you. I appreciate it," meaning that he understands that it's a big deal, he just doesn't feel it. And I think that is maybe perhaps the vibe of this scene, too. Where like yeah, I suppose conceptually, Sam can understand that this is like, a really emotional big deal scene for Dean, but he can't access that particular feeling.

C: Dean does ask if this is Heaven when he sees Sam, [G: Aw, yeah.] which is, yeah, sort of nice. And like, he knows Sam Sam is in Hell, so he just thinks that this is some kind of weird memory loop thing, [G: Yeah.] and that's nice. But Sam's just like, “No, I'm real,” and he does the silver blade test and the salt water test.

G: And this is a fun sequence where he like, you know, "I'll do it for you!" And then he just glugs some holy water. It's fun. I never figured out why they glugged that thing. If you throw it at yourself, you'll be fine, I guess. But I guess then you'll be wet, [C laughs] and they're like, "I'd rather have diarrhea than have to dry my clothes."

C: For real. This is me when I eat bad vegetables because I don't want to put them in my trashcan because [G: You don't wanna deal with the trash.] then my trash will smell bad. [both laugh] Yeah. So yeah, Dean finally realizes that this is Sam for real, and he hugs him very tightly. And Sam just makes like an “okay!” [laughs] sort of face about it. Dean's very stammery, very emotional. And yes, Sam is blase. He just says that he has no idea how he's back, he's been trying to call Cas, and he hasn't answered. [G: Yeah.] And then he's talking, and he's talking, and he's like, “Man. It's so crazy. I looked and looked for what brought me back for like, weeks." And Dean was like, "Wait. [laughs] [G: "What? What?"] Wait, how long have you been back?" And Sam's like, "Oh, you know, like a year." And Dean starts getting real upset about that, and he starts yelling, like, “Why couldn't you have texted?” And Sam's explanation is, “Oh, I was doing you a favor because you finally had what you wanted, like a family. You were building a real life and all of that, so I didn't want to show up and ruin everything.”

G: Yeah. Later on, Bobby shares the exact same sentiment as his reasoning for not telling Dean. You know, that scene happened, I was like, "Wow, maybe Bobby does love Sam as a son." [C laughs] But I think what's happening in that scene is Sam was like, "Don't tell Dean because you love him as a son!" [both laugh] And Bobby's like, "You're right, and you're a coworker."

C: So true. Yeah, which starts the whole thing this episode about how suburbia and having a girlfriend and a kid is "real life" or something. I don't know. It's some weird Company-ass bullshit.

G: And it is fascinating what Sam says here. “I have a family of my own” or whatever the fuck.

C: Yeah. Well, he says that he's been hunting and that he's been working with other people, and Dean's like “What, like strangers?” [G: "You're working with strangers?"] And Sam goes, “They're more like family. And, they're here!” And he just leads Dean to another room, and there are some Campbells in there. There's Gwen, and because she's a woman, she has to be homophobic towards Dean to prove that she's tough enough to be a hunter.

G: Yeah, I did hate that the way it is done- I mean, the fact that it's done is annoying. But the way that it's done is her telling Dean like, “Oh, Dean, you're like, so pretty!” And come on! What the fuck is this? What is this? [C: Don't know.] It boggles me a little bit that they feel the need to- attractiveness? Like, "Oh, he settled down. But don't worry!" Don't worry of what? [both laughing] What shouldn't we not worry about? What's going on? [C laughing]

C: For real. So yeah, Gwen Campbell's there. There's like, some guys named Christian and Mark Campbell, who- I didn't even remember there were two separate guys here.

G: [laughing] I thought it was just one guy named Christian Mark if I'm being honest. [C laughing] [C: That's so real.] They're like, absolutely nothing characters.

C: And yeah, they are also absolutely nothing characters, which yeah, just feels surprising. Like, it seems like they'd want to know a little bit more about their cousins, but whatevs.

G: Yeah. But Sam is soulless and doesn't give a fuck is the implication.

C: Yeah. And they all grew up hunters. And then Samuel Campbell shows up, and he's like, "And I brought all these people together!"

G: For real. He like, immediately hugs Dean. [C: Yeah.] He's like, "My grandson." or whatever. [C: Yeah.] What a weirdass guy?

C: Yeah. I mean, is that weird?

G: What's weird? Calling your grandson your grandson? Yeah, I think so. [C laughs] No, I just mean like, they're trying to do something this episode with regards to "What is family? Who is family?" And like, it is just fascinating that, like, you know, Dean's argument is "Family is- You don't leave them because they're the ones you grew up with and the ones that raised you," blah blah blah. And then what's the logic behind this guy? He's just some guy.

C: Yeah, I don't know. They care about their mom a lot, and he's related to her? I mean, they've met before. Dean revealed that he was his grandson to him in I forgot which season.

G: Yeah, and then he died.

C: Yeah. And then he died. But yeah, I guess they have a connection. They knew each other before in some way.

G: And they felt the need too to mention that, like, this guy went to heaven.

C: Yeah. [laughing] Incredibly funny.

G: They couldn't just say "brought me back." It's like, "No, they lifted Sam up from Hell, and they pulled me down from Heaven."

C: Pulled me down from Heaven. So yeah, this is the part where the episode just gets really fucking stupid. Dean's like, “Huh? How were you resurrected?” And Samuel was just like, [G: Dunno.] "Sam got pulled up from Hell, and I got pulled down from Heaven by like, some force? So yeah. Yay!" And okay, what got Sam out was Cas. Did Cas just go up and yeet Dean's grandfather down for no reason? Like, do we find out what happened here?

G: I don't know, and I severely do not like or care about this guy, so I suspect that I will remember. I don't suspect that I will remember. I suspect that I won't remember. Wow! Conjugation! Is that what conjugation is, or is conjugation a different thing?

C: I don't know what conjugation is. It's something to do with verbs.

They're like, "We need a Sam who's like, related to Dean." And they were like, "We got two of them. What do you want us to do?" "Just get both of them. I don't know. Throw them on Earth." No one else has been resurrected ever except for them.

G: No, yeah, what is that about? Or I don't actually know. And like, there are inklings now of the special monster situation that they have going, and I'm pretty sure Samuel is gonna turn out to be evil [C: Okay.] or something, so I don't know. Maybe he was brought up by some demon.

C: Alright. Maybe he's not Samuel. He could just be a special monster.

G: Could just be some guy.

C: But yeah, so there's some backstory. Samuel wanted to get Dean to join them on their hunts, but Sam said naur, and they're here now because some djinn attacked Sam. Dean calls djinn "exotic." Great. Good job. [G laughs] Yeah, Sam says that these are special ones because they kill you by touching you, and they poison you, and then you have nightmares, and then you die. I feel they can just make up a new monster!

G: No. I mean yes, make up a new monster, and there is like a sense of- We've talked about it before, but like djinns are like, part of Arab culture, and the way that they portray it is quite disrespectful and all that crap.

C: And just inaccurate also.

G: Yeah, inaccurate, disrespectful. And, you know, the way they interface with it, too, like Dean calling it exotic, you know. But the thing is like, what they're trying to do this season is like, "Oh, yeah, like, the monsters are getting fiercer. They're getting meaner and worse or whatever." [C: Right.] I don't know. Have some cultural sensitivity is what I think.

C: Yeah. Wait, so like, what are new vampires like?

G: I don't know. I think they're fiercer. [G laughs] [C: How?] They're getting too fierce with the vampirism is what I think.

C: It just seems like it becoming "They kill you through touch." Like, that just seems too different from what it was before. [laughs] It doesn't seem like an actual adaptation.

G: It is. What will happen later on is that the monsters actually are like, instead of being more powerful, they're more mutating- Like, for example, you'll have a werepire, you know. [C: Hell yeah.] Or like, I don't know. "Oh, this one is like a ghoul, but also a vampire, but also," you know, they're forming supermonsters, I think, is what they call it at the end. So it could be that like, this one, the primary thing that they saw is a djinn, but they're actually combo monsters or so. But then, you know, begs the question, what is a monster, and what counts? Like, if a vampire took up witchcraft, is that like a super monster or what? [C laughs] Maybe he just has a hobby!

C: Samuel has a cure for the djinn poison, so that's helping them out. And they think that the djinn are after Dean because of how he killed one a while ago. And then Dean starts getting worried about Lisa and Ben and demands to be taken home right now. They go over.

Oh! There's some guy named Johnny Campbell who they sent to watch over Lisa and Ben, and he's dead. Like, the djinn got him. Do they not care?

G: Is that true? [C: Yeah.] I think they DGAF.

C: Like, why didn't anybody- He was sent over to watch Lisa and Dean and he got killed. Yeah, nobody- I didn't see any reaction from anybody about this!

G: No, yeah. I mean, are they all soulless?

C: I don't know. Are they? Or do they just not care about their cousins that much?

G: Yeah, they're allegedly family, but you know. They're coworkers.

C: Yeah, exactly.

G: Is Samuel soulless? Or what's the deal with him?

C: We'll find out.

G: Yeah, I suppose. I suppose we don't know. Or I don't know. I should. [laughs]

C: Mm-hm. Dean's freaking out, running around, but then Lisa and Ben come back in, and he's very relieved to see them, and he hugs them really tight, and Lisa goes, "Ow!" And he tells them that they gotta pack and go to a friend's house. So they start getting ready to do that, and then Sam is standing behind. [G: Shows up!] And Lisa sees him and is so shocked.

G: Well, Ben sees him first. And Ben's like, "Who the fuck is this giant man in our house?"

C: I mean, he has met Sam before in Season 3.

G: Is that true? I don't think that's true.

C: Wait, was Sam always somewhere else during that episode?

G: Oh yeah, he did like, save the kids.

C: I mean, it's possible that he never- [G: Interacted with him.] Yeah, well, Dean was at the birthday party by himself. He taught Ben to be mean to the bullies by himself, and Dean was the one who let the kids out of the cages.

G: Yeah. I don't think he knows Sam.

C: What did Sam do that entire episode? [laughs]

G: I think he just, you know, he hanged out with the MILFs or whatever.

C: So true. So they drive over to Bobby's, and Bobby is disappointed to see Dean because it means that his apple tart life is not going well.

G: No, this one, this one, is apple pie.

C: Okay, his apple pie life.

G: If you live in a college dorm, that's- The definition of an apple tart life is you have a beautiful girlfriend, but you live in a college dorm.

C: I see. [laughs] And an apple pie life is a beautiful girlfriend, you live in a house. What happens if you live in a house but you don't have a girlfriend?

G: I think maybe that's a- I don't know what. What's a food that you eat by yourself?

C: Any food? [both laugh]

G: That's an any food life, yeah. No specific food.

C: I see. [laughs]

G: 'Cause as you know, an apple pie, you can only eat with a family. With a beautiful girlfriend in a beautiful house.

C: I guess like an apple turnover is more of a one-person thing.

G: Yeah, this is true. Don't you make those?

C: I tried to make apple turnovers one time, but it was summer, and I'm also bad at freezing butter and not heating it up, and I don't have a marble countertop or whatever to keep it cold either, [G: Yeah.] so the dough was just like, not flaky, and I don't think it counted as an apple turnover.

G: Aw. So sowwy! You know what? An apple crumble. That's a-

C: An apple crumble can be pretty big, though.

G: It can also be small. [laughs]

C: An apple pie can be small, too.

G: Well, a small apple crumble [laughs] is what it is when you have a house but you don't have a girlfriend.

C: Okay, but if you have a girlfriend it's still an apple pie and not a large apple crumble?

G: I think if you have a girlfriend but you have a terrible house, it's an apple crumble life. [laughs]

C: [laughing] If you have a nice house and you don't have a girlfriend, what is it

G: No, that's a turnover. That's the turnover. [C: Okay.] The nice house is turnover. Terrible house? Crumble.

C: With or without a girlfriend?

G: An apple crumble life is if you have a terrible house, with or without a girlfriend.

C: Oh, the terrible house overrides it.

G: A small apple crumble is no girlfriend. [C: Okay.] Big apple crumble, girlfriend. Yeah.

C: Okay. Okay, thank you. I feel a lot smarter now. [G: Yeah.] Yeah, okay, Bobby doesn't like that. Dean is here because it means that his apple pie life is joever, and so he just sends Lisa and Ben upstairs, and Sam shows up behind Dean again, and Dean's sort of waiting for Bobby's reaction, and Bobby's just like, “Hey, man!” [laughs] And Dean starts getting very upset again about how Bobby knew that Sam was alive for the entire year.

G: Also, it's so funny to me that like- Does Ben say a single word this episode?

C: He says “Uh” when he sees Sam? [laughs]

G: Literally. Like, Lisa's barely a character, but Ben is not a character at all, it feels like.

C: Oh, not at all. He's just there to be like “Oh my god! And there's a child at stake, too!"

G: And like, the thing is like, you know, we've discussed in the past, like, maybe Dean doesn't even love Sam as a person, he just loves the concept of a little brother, and this kind of supports it. [C: Mm-hm.] A replacement for Sam is this kid. And that's like, kind of implied in the text because of the way the montage was set up, Ben was Sam's replacement in that thing. So I don't know. Now, it's like, we don't even know what Ben's personality is. He has no complexity as a character. So yeah, maybe Dean-

C: Ben's personality in Season 3 was being a misogynist? [laughs]

G: Yeah. But the way they do that even is like, "See, he's just like Dean for real. Because Dean is his father, and misogyny? Inherited trait!" [C laughs]

C: Yeah, yeah. We already had our whole discussion in 3.01 about "How is Ben like this if Lisa seems like a nice person?" But yeah. Bobby's reasoning for not telling Dean is the same as Sam's, is that he was so happy that Dean got out of the hunting life. And Bobby calls what he has "a woman and a kid." [laughs]

G: No, yeah, that's crazy.

C: [laughs] Which is kind of crazy to me. Like, sure, I guess. I don't know. But yeah, it really is just about random people who fill a prescribed role in your life and not about somebody.

G: Yeah, I mean, we had this discussion before, and I was like, “You know what? I'll be more forgiving with Sam and Dean for conceptualizing life this way because it's the way life is peddled to people.” But now, those roles are actually filled up. There is an actual wife, and there is an actual child, you know? And it just feels- If you're conceptualizing it from before. you're like, "What I want in life is a child and a wife." I'm like, I'm going to be able to comprehend that more, you know? Oh, yeah, 'cause you are visualizing something. But this one is like, there's no visualization anymore. Those people are real! [C: Right.] So I don't know. Don't like it.

C: Yeah, yeah. Seems like they really could be swapped out for anybody.

G: Yeah. And Cas will fucking try. Don't worry about it. [C laughs]

C: Yeah, Dean goes, "That woman and that kid, I went to them because you asked me to.” [G: Mm.] Incredibly funny sentence to me. I think less funny to gay Dean truthers. I can understand why. But yeah, and Dean says something that I do think makes sense, I'm glad that they are grappling with in some way, where he just goes like, "Okay, sure, maybe it was good for me in some way, but for them, I was out of my head with grief. I drank a lot, and I had a lot of nightmares, etc." He says that he doesn't know why they took him in and all that. He also says that he tried really hard to get Sam out, even though he prommied to not. Oh, we have the "Do I look out to you?" line also because-

G: No, incredibly funny.

C: Bobby told him he was out of the life, and Dean goes, "Do I look out to you?" Slay.

G: Slay! Happy gay Dean truthing. Later on, the way the narrative responds to this thing that Dean poses of like, "Yeah, for me. But what about them?" is that Lisa loved it! [both laughing] it seems like.

C: I mean, I'm not super upset about that.

G: No no no, I think it's fine, but I just think it's funny that the show felt the need to immediately respond to it. Like, "Nooo! Nooo, it's great! Lisa loved it!"

C: "The best year of her life!"

-

G: Now, we have a Dean and Lisa conversation. You know what? Not mind-boggling. I completely understand it. What they're doing is they're by the staircase, and Lisa is talking to Dean about how Ben is doing. And then Dean says, “Okay, me and Sam, we're gonna head out for a bit. You guys stay here for a bit.” And Lisa asks, "For how long?" and Dean goes, “I am so sorry, Lisa.” [C laughs] Incredibly funny response. Lisa asks, "For what?" Dean says, like, "Yeah, those things, they were always gonna come for me, and I should have known, and I'm putting you and Ben in danger." He says, "It's stupid and reckless. You can't outrun your past." Lisa says like, "Oh, you're saying goodbye." And Dean says he's saying sorry. And I mean, he is saying goodbye in this scene is what it feels like, but later, he changes his mind. And Lisa says that, “Actually, Dean, this was the best year of my life!” [C laughs] And they keep on bringing up this thing where, like, "You're so good to Ben," which I do find fascinating. Even Lisa isn't like, "You love me!" Is that right? You know what I mean? The way she words this, they could have been lavender married. [C: Yeah.] "It wasn't greeting card perfect, but we were in it together, and you know, like, you were so good with the kid," blah blah blah. I don't know. Maybe they were lavender married.

C: Yeah, I mean, she specifically says like what she wanted more than anything was a guy that Ben could look up to. [G: Yeah.] So it's like, she's been seeking relationships for her son to have a male role model, not really for any personal romantic fulfillment.

G: Yeah. And I don't know. Maybe this is a more accurate portrayal of relationships as you get older. I'm not sure. It is wild to me that even with Lisa and Lisa's perception, it doesn't feel like love, for her, is the main reason for this thing. It's sort of like a social responsibility to a child.

C: Yeah, like, "He should have two parents," etc, etc, or "I don't always have time to drive him to school. It's nice to have another person in the car here."

G: Yeah. And it's just- it's one of those things that- I don't know. They're trying to say something about domestic life. I don't really understand what they're trying to say yet. Like, they're portraying this as a good thing, right? Like this relationship? Or are they?

C: Yeah. I think so.

G: Okay. But I don't think they're portraying it as a good relationship in- I don't know. I don't know. Supernatural's weird about domesticity, which is on, you know, it's a show about being on the road, Jack Kerouac, so I get it.

C: It's just about the lack of romantic affection between them- Like, the reason this relationship is good is that he has two people that he is responsible for, but like, in a chill way. [laughs]

G: Yeah, maybe Dean really is aromantic.

C: Yeah. Lisa also.

G: I mean, good for them, honestly.

C: I mean, Ben's the result of she said she was just really into sleeping with biker dudes for a while. And like, she hasn't sought romance since.

G: Though, you know what? You're right. Yeah. This is gay Dean/aro Lisa situation. And I support.

C: Hell yeah! Good for them. This is a beautiful relationship, and he should keep it, then.

G: No no no, like, that's what I'm asking. Because to me, this dynamic of like, "There's no romance in the relationship. You're fulfilling a role, and it satisfies you-" because it feels like it satisfies Dean. He's happy to do this for Lisa and for Ben. Like, that is the kind of relationship I can comprehend and understand. So like, that's why I'm asking like, how is Supernatural portraying this specific aspect of the relationship? [C: Right.] I don't know. But I do like it, and if this was removed from the misogyny of Supernatural, I would probably be like, "Oh, yeah, look at this relationship that I really- Like, they can make it work!" blah blah blah, you know? [C: Yeah.] Dean actually is like, "No, it wasn't that good! I was such a mess!" But Lisa says, “Well, if the guy who essentially saved the world shows up at your doorstep, you'd expect him to have some problems.” Yeah, and she says the thing about Ben. She says, "I can't believe you think of it as all bad. And it's wonderful for me!" And I think this is the thing that convinces Dean later to make the decision he makes. [C: Yeah.] Like, it's not about- When he makes that decision, it's not about him, which I find fascinating. It's not him like, “I love Lisa, and I want to stay with her! And I love Ben, and I want to stay with her!” It's “I already inflicted with them the fear of not being safe, and so I should be here and keep them safe because it's my responsibility.” [C: Right.] I have a question.

C: Uh-huh.

G: Do you dislike Dean this episode?

C: He's fine.

G: He is? Really?

C: Do you dislike him this episode?

G: No, I find him interesting, but I would say I'm not particularly fond of him. Those are different things to me. [C: Mm.] I think he's just so sad. [both laugh] And as we have established, I don't really like sad characters.

C: Yeah, I think he hasn't really been condescending to anybody that much this episode. I think that's when I dislike him.

G: I think what it is is that he's in the disadvantage of not knowing things this episode. [C: Yeah.] So he can't like, out-snark or whatever like he usually does. [C: He tries.] He's not in the position of power to be in the position of power. [C: Right, yeah.]

-

C: He's talking to the Campbells, and he suggests being bait at Lisa's house. Sort of has a snarky thing because Christian Campbell's like, "Oh, you're not an experienced hunter."

G: "Leave it to the professionals."

C: And Dean's like, "Well, actually, because I'm super experienced, I know about this thing called bait, and I want to be that."

G: Yeah, he said, "I'm gonna queer that bait."

C: Exactly. So they go into Lisa's house, and they call him gay for like five minutes.

G: No, what is this about?

C: Yeah, I don't know. I think it's about how having a beautiful girlfriend and living in a house in the suburbs makes you gay.

G: In the apple crumble, apple tart, apple turnover, apple pie life, at what point is it gay?What makes it gay? Because they make fun of his hobbies, too, like, "Oh, he plays golf. Gay."

C: I don't think the golf thing was gay. I feel like that was just Sam being like, "That's stupid." I feel like the first two things felt gay-

G: I feel like it's more of like a class thing. [C: Yeah.] He's like, "Wow, you're rich now, huh? You play golf?"

C: Yeah, I think that's what the golf is.

G: Maybe being gay is rich. Or being rich is gay or whatever. I don't know. Maybe being gay is rich.

C: They did say that in "Terrible Life." [G: Yeah.] Yeah, Gwen picks up like a women's magazine or something, and she's like, "Oh, is this yours or your wife's?" The cover's Scarlett Johansson, I think, and it says, "150 best beauty buys" and also, "What to wear now. Weekend classics. Sexy date looks." Yeah, the magazine is InStyle.

G: Why do they keep making fun of Dean for having a wife or a girlfriend who cares about things.

C: I think it's just- I don't know.

G: The proximity of it, yeah.

C: She called him gay earlier, and now she's like, "And I bet you want to wear pretty dresses and have hot date night looks." I don't know what it is. I think it's just like, "This is a shallow thing to care about in general because I'm a hunter woman, and I don't, so either way, whoever owns it, I think they're stupid."

G: Yeah, I think that's the vibe with the golf also. Like, "Oh, you actually care about this?What a loser." It's about, I think, the sincerity of enjoying domestic life is what they're making fun of him for. Because if Dean stood there and was like, "[scoffs] Oh, look at this. So stupid," it'll be fine. So it's not the proximity. It's not the existence of the thing in a place he lives in. It's him not being bothered by it and enjoying it and fully participating in this kind of life. You know, Supernatural has this thing where "You can do it, but you need to be ashamed by it!" [C: Yeah.] You know? You can kill someone brutally in a hunt, but the concern is if you're not worried- if you're not sad about it, then that's a bad thing. But the killing itself is fine. And this is like, the same vibe.

C: Yeah, Mark Campbell's just looking at a photo of Dean and Lisa, and like, making a face about it. And Sam starts talking about golf.

G: No, literally. They're like, "Ugh, I can't believe you have pictures of yourself and your family in this house that you live in with your family." Like what? [laughs] [C: Yeah.] Yeah, as I said, it's the unabashed enjoyment and participation. If he was like apprehensive, if it was like, "Oh, there's pictures of everyone but me because I don't like taking pictures because I think it's cringe," it's gonna be fine.

C: Yeah, "My stupid girlfriend makes me do it."

G: It is- This does get to me. Because I remember one time, I was reading this research, and they did it in Indonesia, but like, it's based on research has already been done in other countries where it's like, they would- I forgot the actual procedure, but they measured the like, "What is the thing that makes men like, not like it when women are in the workplace or not like it if their wife goes to work?"And the findings are basically like, they're fine by it, like, as a person, but once you put them in a social situation with other people, that's when it becomes like, a bad thing. Like, it's not the personal perception. It's like, "Oh, but what will people think if my wife were smarter than me?" And this is like, the feeling of the scene, right? Dean is fine with it. Dean enjoys his life. But the question of like, "Oh, but what will people think if they know that I love to- I don't know. Teach a kid how to change a tire? [C laughs] What would they think?"

C: Yeah. "It's humiliating."

G: Yeah. Anyway, Samuel and Dean have this entire conversation where Dean is like, "Oh yeah, go ahead, tell me that I'm such a suburban- I'm a soccer mom." And Samuel kind of dismisses it, and then he goes, "No, I get it. You wanted a normal life. You got a normal life. Your mom wanted a normal life." And he says, "You remind me of her, actually. The same attitude." It's actually like, kind of smart of him to be like, "Oh, yeah, Dean, you remind me of your mom. And also, you should leave your entire family and join us." [C laughs] Like, this guy knows how to talk to people. By "knows how to talk to people," I mean like, manipulate other people's inclinations. This is where he mentions the whole thing with the djinn acting out and other creatures that weren't supposed to do things a certain way doing it that way. Werewolves are coming out even though it's not full moon and etc etc, and there's some creatures they've never seen before and yeah, so we don't know what's happening, but we need all hands on deck. And so he's asking Dean to leave his life and join the Campbells.

C: Season 5 also opens with like, Sam being a similar situation where he leaves hunting and all that, [G: Yeah.] and then people are like, "Well, everyone's gonna die and we need all hands on deck," etc etc. Does like, the show's attitude about this differ widely between the Sam and the Dean situations?

G: I don't know, actually. I feel like there is a bit more conflict that they give for Dean just because of the situation. Dean has actively a life he's gonna leave behind versus Sam, where they painted it as "He's leaving behind his life." [C: Mm.] So I don't know. You know what I mean, right? [C: Yeah.] Like, maybe if they did this a year earlier for Dean, like, they did it a month into his life, maybe it would be a bit more similar. But now it's like, I don't know. I feel like they're just incomparable because of the difference of what they're gonna leave behind if they go back to hunting.

C: Well, I mean, Sam was potentially leaving sobriety behind if he went back to hunting, but [G: Yeah.] yeah, I guess it's not really a direct one-on-one the way that Dean going back to hunting somehow means that he has to leave Lisa and Ben forever and not even text. [laughs] [G: Yeah.]

-

C: Mark is in a truck doing lookout, and his thing is just that he doesn't talk and is maybe mean? And he sees a bunch of djinn or three of them off in the trees. So Dean tell all the Campbell's that they need to leave because they won't come to the house if it's packed.

G: Ahh. [C: Huh?] The Campbell that died was the one in the car earlier.

C: Yeah.

G: There's like, a dead guy in a car. Okay, got it. [C: Yeah.] I couldn't figure out where the fuck a dead person was earlier, but now I remember and I understand.

C: Yeah, it was the person in a car who had to look out for Lisa and Ben.

G: I thought that was just some dude. I honestly was like, "Wow, there's just some guy here who's dead." [both laugh] RIP.

C: RIP for real. He tells the Campbells to clear out so that the djinn will actually come and attack them and they won't if they're outnumbered-

G: Oh, Crystal! [C: Yeah?] We forgot to talk about the damn splash screen.

C: I don't even remember what it was. [laughs]

G: It's glass. It's like, it's blue. It's like glass. There's no screaming. 'Cause I think last season was the screaming, right? [C: Yes.] This one has like, a pitch. You know, like the sound that Cas would make on the radio. [C: Aww.] Sounds like that. And yeah, and it's blue, so like, icy cold aesthetic, and then there's like, glass cracking. Or maybe it's ice cracking, but I'm pretty sure it's glass smashing to pieces. And I was thinking about this and my immediate thought was, of course, Lucifer's line about how Hell runs cold or like, Lucifer runs cold. And I think about like what we see of Sam in Hell later in the season. [C: It's fire.] And he's literally being burned. And it's like, aw, I'm sad that they didn't continue that motif. But I think that that is the feeling that evokes in me this season. I didn't really know how what else it should. I don't know.

C: Yeah, I don't know either.

G: These fucking season intros are very hit or miss as always.

C: So the Campbell's leave. While Sam and Dean are alone, Dean does the "Hey, do you wanna talk about Hell and your feelings or something?" and Sam just goes, "No. [laughs] Like, I'm back. I'm fine. Why do I wanna think about that?" And Dean tries to talk about it some more, but then he sees that his neighbor and best friend that he just let go, Sid, is being killed by djinn, and so is his wife. He starts running over there to save them even though Sam says like, "Don't bother. Like, they're literally already dead. Why are you doing this?" But Dean runs in anyway, and he's very sad about how Sid died, except he's not actually that sad. He just says "Sid" in like, honestly a voice that sounds bored, [laughs] so I understand why you missed that he was the guy who died, Grey. The djinn attack Dean, and they're like, "We're gonna kill you because you killed our dad in Season 2!" [both laughing]

G: No, this is their precursor to Jenny. [C laughs] [C: It really is.] They were like, "Let's try it out," you know? Like any season now, we could end it, so let's try it out.

C: "Let's try a four-season gap." Yeah. [laughs] So funny. And then he gets poisoned, and he starts hallucinating that Lisa and Ben are coming back, and they're gonna get killed, and Azazel's there-

G: Via lifting up the fucking wall.

C: - and Lisa's in the white nightgown. He lifts her up into the air, and then he cuts her stomach like Mary, and then she's on fire, and also the whole time Ben's there, and Azazel's like, "You should drink my demon blood. Yeah!"

G: It is crazy that that's like the direct line. Like it literally is like, Dean thinks of Ben like Sam. [C: Yeah.] It's so explicit. Well, at least it's supportive of my argument of like, Dean can't help but think of Sam as his kid.

C: Ohh. One of the djinn is the waitress who gave Dean her number.

G: The number? Oh, you know what? I couldn't- I'm so sorry, but I couldn't recognize her. I thought she was the other Campbell. I was like, "Oh my god! One of the Campbells is a fake Campbell and is actually a djinn!" [C laughs]

C: No. Yeah, I didn't recognize her. I thought she was just some new woman. But no. Okay. Cool.

G: It is kind of wild the way they are like, "Oh, this person is a djinn. And the way we're gonna show that they're evil is to zoom in on the tattoos they have." [C: Yeah.] [laughs] Kind of wild! Don't know about that, man. Don't know about that, Phil Sgriccia.

C: Kind of wild, yeah. There's glowing in Season 2, which, that makes more sense to me 'cause that's like, things that humans don't do.

G: These just look like some guys.

C: The tattoos, that's weird. [G: Yeah.] They capture Brigitta, the waitress, and like, get her in the van alive, and they don't really say what they do with her after that.

G: Yeah. Samuel's like, "Take her away." Ominous!

C: She gets taken away.

G: You know, when you say "They don't really say," are you like, saying that, or do you actually know? Or what's going on?

C: Oh, well, I was assuming they'd torture her or something. I don't really know what the point of keeping her alive is.

G: Well, I suppose you'll know.

C: Like, maybe to make his djinn poison cure he needs something? I don't know what it is.

-

G: Sam and Dean are now in the house, and it's just the two with them, like all the other Campbells have like, gone out. And Sam's like, "Oh, yeah, I'm gonna meet them. Are you gonna come with me?" And Dean says, "No, I'm gonna go back for Lisa and Ben." He says he changed his mind. And then Sam goes, "Look, I practically shoved you at them." And Dean literally says what you said earlier, like, "That's a really hilarious way to put that." [laughs] And Sam says, "I wanted that for you, but now I'm not sure." And Sam says something that, if you didn't notice before that Sam is acting weird, you definitely know this now. He just says, straight up, quite unfeelingly, goes, "I mean, you gotta consider the fact that you'd be putting them in danger if you go back," which like, we've seen Sam waver on this, right? Like, we've seen Sam make the other argument to himself. And then we've seen Sam make this argument to Adam, actually. [C: And to Jimmy.] Yeah, and to Jimmy. But the thing is, when he made those arguments to those people, it was either like, angry, frustrated, or like, very sad, and it's very obvious that it's coming from a personal conflict for him as well. Like, he considers this to be the case for him, and that's what- you know, like, it's coming from a place of sadness about his own situation. It's just this one is said so matter-of-fact-ually. Like, "Oh, yeah. I mean, you're gonna put them in danger." and so unfeelingly that you're like, "Oh. Something's weird!" I- honestly, why are people saying that- Okay. Sam, like, soulless Sam, honestly, my main thought was like, "They uncatholicized my boy." [both laugh] They removed his fucking Catholic guilt, man! Yeah, I don't know. I think it's great.

C: Yeah. I also like him.

G: Yeah. And Dean says, like, "Actually, you're wrong. I'll be putting them in more danger if I leave, because then no one's going to be able to protect them." And Sam says, "Well, okay, that's fine. But I still wish you were coming because you have this willingness to help people. That's what drives you. You don't think twice about it. Like, you went into that house without even thinking about it." And Dean is like, "Yeah, I mean, it was the wrong move, but also, you would have done the same thing." And Sam says, "No, I wouldn't have." C: "I don't care about people."

G: "I wouldn't even think to try." And Sam says, "Yeah, no, IDGAF actually, so." And as he's heading out, Dean does the biggest gesture that he is capable of in any situation. He tries to hand Sam the keys to the car. And Sam literally just goes, "Okay. But no." [laughs] He says, "Thanks, but I already got my car set up how I like it." [C laughs] [C: So fun.] And he goes.

C: It's a very good final note of like, "something is wrong with Sam for real." 'Cause like, "Swan Song" literally was about the Impala and how [G: How much he loves that.] important it was Sam, how it's his home, etc etc. So I think it's a very good ending note that's like, just the right amount of subtle and not subtle as like a "something is wrong with him." 'Cause I feel like a lot of the earlier stuff, you can be like, "Oh, that's the Hell trauma. That's the Hell trauma." But I feel like this one is like, "Oh, something really is up."

G: Yeah. I find it fascinating, and I don't know. The way people interface with Season 6 Sam, I think, is also interesting, because it's so much. It's so interesting what they're doing with Season 6 Sam. Yeah, I'm looking forward. Honestly, I know I berated this episode, but I am looking forward to Season 6, and I- I don't know. It's, I think, the first season we will watch- That's not true. I didn't know much about like, Season 2. No, I think I know more about Season 2 than I did- going into the podcast- than I did Season 6. But yeah, this is the first season where I think I'm in for a ride that I'm not that familiar with, you know? [C: Yeah.] So I'm excited. I think we'll see Cas in episode 3. So I don't think he's around next episode yet. [C: Mm-hm.] Yeah. And I'm not actually sure what the next episode is about. But okay, that's what I think about this episode. How about you?

C: Whatevs.

G: You don't care?

C: It was fine. It was an amount of time. [G: Yeah.] I mean, I look forward to seeing Sam again.

G: Yeah. I mean, it's a different Sam, so I understand if it's not like, the same fondness or whatever.

C: No, I like new Sam. I think he's fun.

G: Yeah, he is fun. Well, Best Line/Worst Line.

C: Oh. There were lines in this?

G: Yeah, it feels like just like, it feels like putty, you know? [C laughs] Like, I feel like the the reason why I'm like, weird about this episode is like, it does feel like something is off about it, and I can't pinpoint to anything other than "they've got a new showrunner."

C: I mean, I think a large percentage of it is hallucinations or feels like hallucinations, so that could be part of it.

G: What do you mean by that?

C: I feel like I was never really settled in the episode because it was often like, "Is this happening? I don't know."

G: Ah. Yeah, you're right. You're right. It's the nature of the episode as well. Okay. Best Line/Worst Line. [C: Uhh.] I think my worst lines are every single thing Azazel says. [C: Mm.] I just think it's so corny. Like, "Oh, no, Dean! Your life? It's gonna fall apart." [C laughs] Like, okay. Whatever. Everybody dies. Who give a shit?

C: Okay. For real

G: I don't actually know if there's any good lines this entire episode. You know what? I do like-

C: "I already got my car set up how I like it" was fun.

G: This is true. You know, I do like the way Dean talks to Lisa about sweeping over the place. Yeah. He does say like- this is the line. He goes, "I'll tell you what. Just because, you know, I have an OCD thing about this, why don't you and Ben go to the movies. Hit the Cheesecake Factory. You know, hang out with the teeming masses, and I'll do one last sweep just to be one hundred percent sure." Like, I like that he words it not as like, "Oh, I'm worried, so you guys should go." It's more of like, "I want to self-soothe by placating my feelings, and a way for me to do that is for you guys to be out of the house for a bit." [C: Mm-hm.] I wonder how much Ben knows.

C: I mean, he was in that that cage when the changeling shit happened.

G: Yeah, but do they explain to him that like [C: The Apocalypse?], "Dean almost died saving the world" or whatever?

C: Yeah, I don't know. I feel like he'd questions, but I don't know if they'd answer them.

G: Yeah. The thing is like, I think there was a time in my life where I was like, "How come Lisa is not curious about it?" Because I don't think she knows about what went down, and she doesn't ask. I think now, as I'm older, I'm like, "Yeah. Who give a shit." [C laughs] Not "Who give a shit?" but you really wouldn't ask, I don't think.

C: Hm.

G: Would you? You would?

C: Yeah. Yeah. "You said you'd saved the world from Apocalypse. Like, how? What? What was gonna happen? What are you talking about?"

G: Ah, okay. I don't think I would. I think I'll be like, "Okay, let's go. Are you gonna come with me? I'm gonna fetch the kid or something." [C: Hm.] Yeah. But as you know, the other week, I told you that I'm trying to work on being better talking at people about things. [C: Yeah.] And you asked, "So like, are you gonna talk to more people about more things?" And I'm like, "No, I'm never gonna talk about anything ever! I'm trying to not talk. [both laughing] That's what I do." So maybe that's the reason behind this thinking.

C: Maybe so.

G: Spreadsheets? Spread those sheets?

There's definitely homophobia. [C: There's something.] And I would classify it as homophobia.

C: It's there.

G: Okay, misogyny. How are we gonna do this?

C: It's there.

G: How are we gonna do this? How are we gonna do this? I'm inclined to say yes-

C: Yeah, but not high.

G: Not for Lisa. I wouldn't say- Not for Lisa specifically I would say the fact that they gave most of the homophobia lines to the one woman, and I do think it's because she's a woman because they're trying to like a "Oh, yeah, but she's not girly. [C: Yeah.] And Dean, you're girlier than her" or whatever the fuck. [C laughs] Like, I don't like that. And I also don't really like the thing that they do with the waiter of like, "Oh, she's giving her number to Dean," but Dean's like, "Ugh, what a- Women always like men who are unavailable!" He says that. [C: Yeah.] So I don't like that as well.

C: Mm-hm. Yeah. So is that a 2?

G: Yeah, I'd say 2.

C: Racism, I think, for the djinn, there should be points. How many?

G: 1 or 2.

C: I'll give it a 2 just to be even across the board because how much homophobia do you think there is?

G: A lot. I think it's fundamental to the episode.

C: Hm. How many homophobia points?

G: I'd say a 3.

C: Okay, yeah. Yeah. I see the vision.

G: Alright. Now, you need to do the IMDb for the Season 6.

C: Yes. You said evens and odds for who guesses first. [G: Yeah!] So who's guessing first this time?

G: Do you think of yourself more as an even person or an odd person? [C laughs]

C: I think odd.

G: You're odd. Okay? Why? What's your reasoning?

C: I don't know. The odds have the prime numbers in them. Those are fun.

G: What? But 2 is also a prime number.

C: There's only one even number that's a prime number. [G: Ah.] There's a lot of odds that are prime numbers.

G: Okay, okay.

C: This is a tough one. I really have no clue. I feel like some people- A lot of season openers just get rated high because people are like, "I'm so excited Supernatural is back!" but I feel like Sam acting weird might throw some people off. I think new showrunner might throw some people off.

G: Yeah. But there's also a chance that people went back to rate it. Like people-

C: Like, after the soulless Sam reveal, and they were like, "Actually, this was genius!"

Oh, interesting! 5.01 only got an 8.7. Is this better or worse than 5.01?

G: What is 5.01?

C: 5.01, "Sympathy for the Devil."

G: "Laz Rise," of course, is so highly rated. [C: Mm-hm.] "Magnificent Seven" is 8.5. That episode is balanced.

C: Yeah. So it seems that season openings don't actually get a specific boost that I think that they do.

G: I mean, we were right that Season 2 and Season 4 were uniquely good [C: True.] according to the IMDbs, and they were.

C: Yes. Okay, I'm gonna go with an 8.6.

G: That's good. You know, I still can't believe that "In My Time of Dying" is that good. It is actually stupendously good, and yeah. Great, wonderful. Well, my grade for this one is an 8 point- You know what? I'm gonna go lower. It's an 8.4. It's not that good. [C: Alright!] Okay, let's see. [gasps] It's a 7.6!

C: Oh, that's really bad.

G: People dislike it!

C: People fucking hate it.

G: I think for the reasons you said about Sam. [C: Huh! Alright.] People are saying Season 5 was so hype so like, of course Season 6 is gonna be bad. They're saying like, "There's no real explanation for anything," which is true. They're trying to hide all that shit. It is- I think it is pretty brave for Sera Gamble to go, "Season 5 was a banger season. New showrunner, everything. We're going to start this season. We're not gonna explain anything. It's gonna play the fuck out." I commend that. It's a miserable watching experience, I guess, if you're watching it the first time and you don't know what's happening, but I commend the bravery.

This one is complaining that Dean said possums carry rabies. Not true.

C: I mean, he was lying.

G: Of course, but like, you know-

C: He was making shit up.

G: Yeah, but this person's feelings were hurt because possums don't play like that. This one is like, "Oh, it's so flat and undramatic, like, Sam and Dean's reunion in comparison to like, Dean and Bobby and Dean and Sam in Season 4."

C: I mean, they just didn't see the vision yet.

G: "Ben's character is too flat." That one, yeah, no defense for that. It's true.

C: "And I enjoyed seeing Dean as a one woman man, not responding to girls trying to seduce him like he was in the past, is he really truly in love with Lisa? I have no problem with that!" end of review. [both laugh]

G: This one says, "Supernatural was, for me anyway a sign that good TV could still be found." [C laughs] And then they, like, you know, say good things about Season 5, they insult “Route 666,” and they say like, "Oh, Season 5 finale was great. This was really bad. It was a disappointment. It was bland. The role reversal sickened me. Bringing back gramps into the picture is a HUGE mistake." That one is true. [C: Agreed.] "I've decided to give it until episode 4 or 5 to become what it once was, hoping that it will get better. I'm sorry to say, I'm not expecting it. So in the event that it truly doesn't regain it's former glory, Farewell Supernatural! It's a shame to see you become one of the walking dead that your cast hunts." [C laughing] Kind of a banger. And it's 2 out of 10.

C: This is their last ever IMDb review. [G: Oh my god!] They've only got 2. They only have 2. So it's possible that they went back to Supernatural. We don't really know.

G: Yeah. So sorry. Well, at least they watch Biohazard 2, and it's the best of the now 5-game series. "Scary, suspenseful, and plot twist that will leave you in awe." [C laughs]

C: "I'll give it 3/10,one for bobby,one for sam and one for dean." [both laugh] So true!

G: That's hilarious. "Screenplay sucks! Get new writers!" "Get new writers!" Even more "get new writers."

C: Well, there's gonna be a writing duo called Buckleming [laughs] [G: Oh, god.] that are gonna come up pretty soon.

G: "Dean, Dean, Dean." "The season gets worse from this episode onwards." This is from December 6, 2021. "Season six is the worst season of the entire series." Oh, Crystal! [both laugh] "It starts with an awful opener that doesn't hold s candle to the excellent season finale of season 5. Plus the jerk Samuel returns which doesn't make any sense [C: Real.] and Dean playing happy families just feels wrong. [C: That's not true.] Season six was just an excuse to let the series drag on and they should have ended it at season five." I think maybe a lot of the people who are like, "Season 5 should have been the ending of Supernatural!" really are driven by Season 6 and 7. 'Cause when I say Supernatural should have continued, it's because I'm thinking of Season 10, Season 9, Season 14. You know, I love Season 14, honestly. You know, like I'm thinking of the later seasons. But this one, this two Sera Gamble- I'm so sorry. [C laughs] But these two Sera Gamble ones really do suck. And I mean, I'm still excited. Like, I still want to get into Season 6. Season 7, I don't think I can do it. Like, I don't think I can be excited. So sorry. We're gonna lose our minds that season. What if we do that like thing where like, two episode per episode in Season 7. You think that could work?

C: I mean, maybe.

G: Or maybe not. Well, that’s it for this episode of Busty Asian Beauties. Next week, we will be discussing Season 6 Episode 2, “Two and a Half Men.” Leave us a rating or a review wherever you get your podcasts.

C: Follow us on social media! We are on Tumblr at bustyasianbeautiespod.tumblr.com. Our official tag is #BABPod, B-A-B-POD. Thanks to everyone who's donated to our Ko-Fi at ko-fi.com/bustyasianbeautiespod, which is where our outtakes live, and check out our merch on RedBubble- what. And check out our merch at babpod.redbubble.com.

G: You can email us any feedback, comments, or inquiries at bustyasianbeautiespod@gmail.com. See you guys next time! [both] Bye!

[guitar music]

[yourflowersfirst]

day 1,431

okay, i'm gonna speak to you very candidly. i hope that's okay. i think conversation type writing is fun, and i'm in the mood for it. imagine this just two guys, getting dinner, chatting. well. i'm talking at you; you're half listening, half noticing the hot bartender in the corner, not noticing me so much. you steal a few of my fries. whatever. i'll take what i can get.

i've been a little sick all week. good enough to still do my assignments and go for runs and work, you know, manageable. today though, i woke up with a throat so agonizingly painful i could hardly swallow water (let alone those big ass dayquil pills). (but seriously, why are they so huge? it's hell for a sore throat.) something something big thing in my throat, there's a funny joke to be made there if you want. i don't care.

maybe i should stop going for runs when i'm feeling even a little sick. they probably don't help me, and my immune system is already ass as it stands. just to brag a bit though, i ran 6.5 miles earlier this week. i got my hair done the other day, but i've felt too sick to even wash it. do you know how heavenly washing your extensions is? i cum a little just thinking about the concept. but i can't, because i had to be a stupid fuck who got herself sick. washing all of my hair is not only a 2-3 hour long process, but wet hair like that makes illnesses worse for me. yeouch.

i'm sick of things, too. myself, mostly. i'm sick of feeling rotten and not good enough for anyone, anything, any man. my grades are still okay despite me being so bleh i can hardly focus on anything. it'll be a miracle if this post even makes sense. anyway, point is, no amount of male attention could fill the hatred i have for myself in my heart. i'm sick of that. if you know how to fix this carnal need i have to please everyone and give away all i am for someone else, hit me up. tell me what to do.

yesterday after my run (that definitely made my illness worse), i went to get chipotle, as i do. i'm addicted, seriously. as i was walking to the building, a guy driving past me in the parking lot and shouted "BALLS!" at me after rolling his window down. i shit myself laughing. much better than some male attention i've gotten, as you well know if you've read my other posts on this pretentious little blog.

i go back to ohio 8 days from now. if i still feel like garbage even then, i'm rioting, and then donating my organs to science. shit. my lips are chapped because drinking water, as i said, it really fucking hurts. it's 105 ish degrees here every day now, and i can't keep myself hydrated. i don't genuinely pray to god much anymore but i have been all day, reciting mantras to heal my body, mind, and soul.

i'm gonna get my period any day now too. just icing on top of the cake. here's how i know: the other day, before my sickness worsened, i went to hang with vincent (ex roommate) at his new place. i brought fuji so she and lupita could play; i also brought cane's for us to enjoy. jesus. cane's and chipotle in one post, no wonder i'm huge.

so, i went to hang with the fella. he put on dawn of the planet of the apes. i'd never seen any of those movies and there's a new one in theaters right now, so i figured, why the hell not? it'll be a silly time. the movie was shockingly serious. i was invested. (spoilers) when caesar got shot, i yelled, "no!"

"i know, very sad," vincent said while stuffing his face with crinkle cut fries.

i felt my eyes welling with tears. "he was a good leader, how could koba do that?"

"whoa, dude, are you good?"

"he's just... such a good dad... but he was shot! it isn't fair! he just wanted peace with the humans!"

vincent patted my shoulder, confused. "there, there."

i swatted him away, tears falling. i wiped them with a greasy hand. "don't make fun of me! it's so sad. oh god. i need napkins."

my hormones love to go batshit crazy the few days leading up to my period, rattling around my endocrine system like ping pong balls. today i was crying because i just hate being sick so much. go figure. i need to stock up on sanitary napkins (hardy har) and get my heated pad ready.

when i was on birth control, my PMS was manageable. i'd never get upset, never cried over stupid shit like dawn of the planet of the apes. now look at me. 2022 me would be horrified. in the end, though, i prefer this to the nasty side effects of tri-sprintec.

why am i rambling about my hormones and my period? sorry. i'm truly sorry. i just find it amusing in a certain light. i've been listening to "somebody else" by the 1975 a hell of a lot, and it's got me all nostalgic and weepy. really reiterates the fact that i'm a tiny bit unlovable, but hey, fuck that. get money.

i try not to dwell on "situationships" too much, but i can't help it. hot, late summer nights are the perfect time to wallow in your own self pity. i'd smoke a cigarette but i don't wanna make my throat worse. i say that, but cigarettes cause throat cancer. my priorities are truly in order, my friend.

i'm gonna try to go to bed and sleep this shit off. it feels like strep or a sinus infection. don't worry, i'm gonna see a doctor tomorrow, even though i'm cheap and hate paying people to tell me what's wrong with me. ironically enough, this is also why i can't keep a therapist, minus the one i had in high school for my eating disorder. i saw her a bunch last summer, which was cool, except i was seeing her for **** trauma and PTSD so bad i'd have panic attacks every day. good times. i've come a long way in a year. i can't really trust any other therapist except her. why, oh why, must she only do in person sessions in ohio?!

okay, i don't know how to end this one. i'll just share a poem i like, hehehehe. i'm biased toward it, because i'm a redhead, but hopefully you like it too.

"Ash, ash—

You poke and stir.

Flesh, bone, there is nothing there——

A cake of soap,   

A wedding ring,   

A gold filling.

Herr God, Herr Lucifer   

Beware

Beware.

Out of the ash

I rise with my red hair   

And I eat men like air."

-Lady Lazarus, by Sylvia Plath

[mononoke--hime]

100-110 please and thank you

You're welcome

100. How are you feeling?

Okay but I just ate a lot of crisps so my stomach is feeling a bit weird

101. Do you type fast?

I think so. On my phone i usually swipe on the keyboard but i went to typing school when I was a kid

102. Do you regret anything from your past?

Oh man, so many things probably, but you learn from your past mistakes or whatever idk

103. Can you spell well?

W-e-l-l, but actually I think so, especially in Dutch. I used to write for a newspaper and so I needed to know all the intricate spelling and grammar rules and literally yesterday I had to tell my coworkers at my IT job that they made a spelling mistake in production (bc it was a drieledige samenstelling met Engelse woordgroep and they wrote all the words separately, which isn't how it's supposed to be)

104. Do you miss anyone from your past?

Maybe some of my old friends who I'm no longer in touch with and also maybe my grandparents bc they never met my gf or my cat

105. Ever been to a bonfire party?

I think so?? Long ago

106. Ever broken someone's heart?

I hope not. Not intentionally at least

107. Have you ever been on a horse?

I'm doing a big think but I don't think so. I've been on a camel a very long time ago.

108. What should you be doing?

Nothing at the moment. Gonna go shower and then go to bed in a bit.

109. Is something irritating you right now?

Yeah the couch we have is very small and unstable so I can't get comfy

110. Have you ever liked someone so much it hurt?

Most likely. I've been a single teenager. And also a single person in my twenties.

Thank you for asking my little friend

[fumblingmusings]

Oh oh oh oh! Actually, no, I've changed my mind. Stuff Arthur. I want a Florence Nightingale effect moment between Malta and Oz following Gallipoli like... well, not quite the English Patient level of damage, but you get the point. Atonement, maybe, where Briony is looking after the French soldier? It's a tried and tested trope, right? Like she just sits and listens to him talk the night away whilst occasionally pulling out a piece of shrapnel slowly being rejected from his body and whilst he's running a fever of like 105 for days on end.

The first time they kiss is her just giving nothing more than a peck on the forehead to say good morning, one that makes Australia smile for the first time in weeks. Each dawn, that kiss grows in number and migrates closer and closer to his lips. Don't tell the matron of the ward.

It remains a secret, and he is never able to pay her back. The second time around, he is not there for what feels like the fifth Great Siege of Malta, having been stationed thousands of miles away. He is unable to be of comfort to her as she was to him, and when he is stranded and abandoned with Singapore and left to rot, he takes some level of comfort knowing that, well, at least England is throwing literally all he has at this tiny nation, refusing to let her starve or fall. Arthur will save her, even though he can't do the same for Jack, and at least Jack knows that she has not been abandoned. That tiny nurse with the dark hair and pretty smile, with the red beads and cross hanging on her waist.

I wish Malta would get an appearance because I feel you could get a series of jokes revolving around them (ideally a her) and Arthur's relationship. Either for why don't you love me jokes or something a bit more nuanced. Reasonings are:

Malta has been host to several odd fanatical religious groups and switched ownership between multiple hands multiple times. One reason Britain won out in the end was because they would allow the people to speak Maltese, which went down a treat with the local population.

During the war, if England was America's unsinkable aircraft carrier, then Malta was Britain's unsinkable hospital ship. The assorted sieges of Malta, the legacy of nursing and hospitals, and the general protective nature of Britain to their independence gives way to the idea of a rather caring but almighty stubborn character.

Malta at one point very much wanted to become a part of the UK, not as a colony but on equal standing as England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland, or, at the very least, a Dominon like Canada, Oz and NZ. Despite being repeatedly refused home rule at various times in the 19th Century, they flip and then at some points it looked like Britain was trying to shake Malta off only for them to cling real stubborn, like no 😠 love me.

Of course, it's more complicated than that, and when integration to the UK failed, it kind of set the precedent that UK overseas territories would not end up like in the French or Dutch model and instead would not be fully integrated into the country...

Anyway. Malta. I think you could get quite a funny character out of them. Very devoted to God, nursing, and just a little bit too cosy with the UK bros in a way that they find really off-putting (what do you mean you want to stay? Nobody wants to stay. Who hurt you, Malta, to make you like that? Wait. Don't answer that question). They still give the UK points at Eurovision to this day. Like that is dedication and loyalty right there.

[meenatranslates]

[SSR] Taichi | A Hymn to Call for Snow (1/3)

Part 1 // Part 2 // Part 3

Translation under the cut

The Sound that Gathers People - Part 1

*Director's default name as Izumi

Taichi: I'm home!

Juza: I’m back.

Izumi: Oh, you guys came home together today.

Taichi: We saw each other at uni, so we decided to go home together!

Izumi: By the way... Taichi-kun, is the keyboard practice going well?

Taichi: There’s a lot of songs, so it's kinda hard...

Juza: Speakin' of keyboard, it’s for the Veludo Town Music Festival, right?

Taichi: Yup!

I never thought Rento-san would ask MANKAI Company to perform at a music festival!

Juza: Yeah.

Izumi: There might be some people who aren't interested in theater at the music festival.

It's a great opportunity for people like that to get to know the MANKAI Company!

Taichi: I’ll do my best at practicing the keyboard for the sake of advertising our theater!

Izumi: Taichi-kun, you can play keyboard in the first place, so you ran for it again this time, huh?

Taichi: Yeah, I was in charge of keyboard when Autumn Troupe did a band back then. I’ll definitely perform well at the music festival this time too!*

Juza: I won’t be playin' there but tell me if there's anythin' you’re troubled with. I’ll help you out.

Taichi: Juza-san... Thanks! That’s so reassuring!

Well, I think it's time to practice. I can’t let myself make mistakes at the festival later~!

Juza: Do your best.

Izumi: I'm looking forward to it!

Taichi: Alright!

——in Room 105——

Taichi: ♪~♪~

I did it! If it’s like this...

♪~♪~

...Agh!

Uuu... Even if I can do well at one part, another hard part will come out again...

(I wonder if I'll be able to play all these songs...)

(No, I just have to continue practicing!)

————

Taichi: ♪~♪~

Omi: I'm back.

Taichi: Welcome back! Wait, it’s already this late?!

Omi: No, I finished my work early today.

Taichi: Oh, okay.

Omi: Have you been practicing ever since you came back home?

Taichi: Yeah! It's kinda hard ‘cause there’s a lot of songs... But I'm gonna take a break now.

Omi: Oh right, Director said she made a dinner a while ago.

Taichi: Really?! Man, I'm so hungry right now~.

Omi: You sure are motivated to practice if you become this hungry.

Taichi: I want to perform without making a mistake in the actual performance later!

Omi: Then, you have to fill your stomach first before continuing your practice.

Taichi: Ok! I’ll head there and have dinner now!

————

Izumi: It's Butter Chicken Curry today.

Taichi: Thanks for the meal!

Omi: It's rich and delicious.

Muku: Umm, how was the practice...?

Tenma: Hm? Oh, come to think of it, everyone here is a performer at the music festival.

Taichi: Ah, I'm struggling a bit...

Tenma: Keyboard does seem difficult.

Taichi: I've been practicing in my room a while ago, but it didn't work out at all.

Muku: Maybe Taichi-kun will improve if you have someone listen to you while playing.

Taichi: Have someone listen to me...?

Muku: Various people listened to me when I played the accordion throughout the town... I think that’s how I improved.

Izumi: Oh, that might be good idea!

Tenma: You can also get some advice that way.

Taichi: I see!

Omi: I don't think I can give you any advice, but I'll always listen to you, so if you need to, please call me.

Taichi: Thank you so much!

*Referencing to the 2nd Anniversary Event Story (Autumn) Episode 5

Part 1 // Part 2 // Part 3

[motherofkrypton]

Little to No Appreciation to the SAHP

One thing that I have noticed, (not every household is like this but there are plenty that can relate) is the parent that stays home with the kids while the other works, is often underappreciated, undervalued, and not treated fairly. It is left to that person to worry about everything as well as be a servant to the household. Rarely do they hear a thank you or are given a break. If they don't have everything in perfect order then it is said they did nothing all day. These parents cannot even express how they feel without getting backlash from someone for saying how they are in that moment. People need to open their eyes and truly examine all that person IS doing because I assure you...there is no just sitting on your butt or sleeping. The SAHP is one of the most undervalues jobs in existence and before we start the argument of it is "not a job"...please continue to read because most want to associate working with payment when in a way they are "paid" too just not with money.

I personally have been a SAHP (stay-at-home parent...this is not just about mothers here because the reality is that the fathers get the same treatment if not slightly worse because a lot of society still holds the position that the female should stay home with the children while the male goes to work) for now about two years. In this time I have come to understand why a lot of these parents are frustrated and try to seek those that will not give them backlash for expressing how they feel. If I say that "I am worn out" or "I am tired", I have personally heard:

"Why should you be tired, I'm the one that works all day?"

"You don't need a break. You don't do anything but sit at home all day."

"How are you 'worn out' all you do is sit on your butt and sleep!"

While yes, I am at home all day I am constantly doing something while running on barely any sleep 7 days a week at least 15 hours a day (that is 105 hours a week! that is more than the hours that most employed people are allowed to work...anything over 40 hours is overtime pay. Just so you understand where that number came from, we wake around 6:30AM, and bedtime for the kids is 9:30PM...I'm not including the time I have to stay up for my husband to get home from work or doing other chores I need to do.)

When you express frustration by saying "I can't handle this" or "I miss working" it is often twisted into you are saying that you don't want to take care of your kids and people can comment very spiteful things in return. I've personally seen in MOM GROUPS on Facebook... another mother's commenting "you shouldn't have kids then", "I would never say that you're a horrible parent", "you know what makes them maybe you should have worn protection"...and sadly I have seen worse comments than that. There is absolutely nothing wrong with someone expressing how they feel nor the way in which they word it. Let the person be, everyone has their struggles and it is not an easy job to do though it may seem like it would be. We should be a listening ear, compare experiences if we have a similar one, and simply be kind. If you can't be polite then ignore their post, you don't need to comment or react to everything that you see.

It is a lonely position being the SAHP and many don't see that either. Day in and day out most are alone just them and their kid(s). Not everyone has people that regularly see them, talk to them or even message them. They don't get much people interaction (or as I like to say ADULT INTERACTION). Don't get me wrong...I absolutely love doing things with my kids but sometimes it would be nice to see a friend or just message with a friend. Going places is hard for many parents due to everything that leaving the house consists of and not everywhere is child friendly. We are on edge when we go places because of the fear of judgement from others if your child isn't a perfect little angel while out and about. There is the nervousness of the child(ren) getting into things, breaking something, being too loud, and the possibility of them throwing a fit. There is also no time to yourself especially with younger children because you are constantly needed. Try going poop with a breastfed two-year-old...it more than likely won't last long. Many will say "just lock the door" or "you need to teach them not to go in the bathroom when you are using it" but they are not even considering the child in those statements. Maybe the child is hungry, or they just don't want to be alone.

Just because that parent is not the one working outside of the home does not mean that they are not working because if you were to break up their daily task, they have to do...they would be one of the highest earning people in the world! It is so much more than simply sitting at home watching the kids...you're lucky if much sitting is going on too. There are a lot of responsibilities on that parent's shoulders on top of worrying about the bills being paid (just because you don't make money or only make a little like I do...does not mean it isn't something that parent isn't worried about) because of the fact they are staying home. Can't just let the kids not eat so you have to make food all day, then you have to do the dishes...can't leave the house a mess, so you clean up all day...laundry needs done...trash taken out...yard work done...entertaining because let's face it these little guys have a lot of energy...and some even make a little money to help with needs so you got that too.

Chef - $15.02/hour; can be a lot more depending on where you work

Daycare - $10-$16/hour; cost for kid(s) in daycare $4,000-$22,600+ a year

Maid - $9-$20/hour

Laundry services - $200-$800 a week as a full-time job

Lawn services - $13.61/hour (some make more some can make less)

Self-employment - this can be different amounts depending on the person's household circumstances, I personally don't have home internet service so I'm on the low end making roughly $100/month but that's money I wouldn't have if I didn't put in some effort.

We need to stop making it sound like these parents don't do anything they truly do a lot and yes they sometimes need a break too. You get breaks at your job...get days off...right? Well, the stay-at-home parent's job doesn't not get those benefits...and a little appreciation and maybe a break to shower alone or watch a movie would be nice. Maybe let them sleep in on a day you have off even if the only thing you do is entertain the kids for a while and make them some breakfast...the simple things we are grateful for.

[magicalbuffalotransformerman]

some time off in the distant future

[it's the year whogivesashit AD. somehow, antarctica hasn't melted into a few hundred extra feet of ocean depth, and the bone gang are all still alive.* for simplicity's sake, there aren't any new characters in the base yet.]

[in this story, we join a particularly boring day. airstrike is on the couch, barely awake, with nebula draped over his legs. she's tended to do this quite often now. bunkerbuster is in the kitchen, searching for things to eat in the fridge. maybe he'll eat the entire fridge. who knows? on another hand, bonecrusher's just woken up with a cube of energon. god knows where he gets them, because he certainly hasn't been getting them from the energon cupboard.]

BB: g'mornin', mister low energy all the time. how goes the dreaming?

BC: just as pleasant as can be. [he swigs some energon.]

AS: yeah, m... [yawn.] morning, bonecrusher.

BC: how are you doing this morning, airstrike?

AS: i just woke up, can't think too fast. i love how soft nebula is without her armor, i gotta say.

BC: good to hear. good to hear indeed. [he takes a seat on the couch, alongside airstrike and nebula.] of course, rockie's just as heavy of a sleeper as she's always been.

BB: she can never manage to bring herself up on time, hmm? i wonder why that is.

[a knowing chuckle from the couch potatoes.]

BC: heh. y'know, i've been thinking about my nightmares, past & present. remember the one i told you about rocketjumper being brainwashed?

AS: oh primus, that one's a real rollercoaster. what the hell got into your processor back then, boney?

BC: if i had to take a crack at it, i'd probably guess war trauma and instigations from then-recent events. god am i glad those nightmares don't exist anymore.

BB: hmm... hey, whatever happened to ground control and his human friends?

BC: well, they're humans. they died a long time ago. the only ones left are TYRANT, his gang and the spacesuit dudes in the vents.

AS: huh. i've been thinking about mafia soldier, specifically. y'think he's still alive somewhere?

BC: ah, mafia soldier. i haven't seen him in a while, but rumors have spread that he's still out there somewhere, lurking in the blindspots, as it were. maybe he's become immortal by marrying ms. reaper. god knows his fate. [a slurp of energon.]

AS: mm. i've also been thinking about the humans and why they think that there's distinctive 'good and bad' sides to us cybertronians.

BB: i think it's something out of necessity, to be honest. they need to have the autobots be the good guys so that they can be happy every time we, the bad guys, lose, or something to that effect.

BC: isn't there a reason it's called 'fiction', though? like, they can't just keep winning forever. besides, we're the most feared decepticon group still on earth. they'll probably just run out of morale eventually.

AS: hmm. how many autobot outposts have you destroyed?

BB: haven't had the time to find any, but of the ones i did, i busted 6 outposts.

BC: there was a fuckton of them in the amazon rainforest, dude. i think i crushed... ~27 outposts in there alone?

AS: 'was' is right, sheesh. have you seen any autobots in antarctica?

BC: no, and i'm guessing you're the reason why.

AS: eyup. 106 autobots found, 105 of them killed and 1 mortally injured.

BB: what happened to the last one?

AS: fortslammer stole the kill.

BB: of course he did. [chuckle.] he's always stealing kills these days, isn't he?

BC: [another sip of energon.] what was my life expectancy again?

AS: huh... rather out of the blue question. are you feeling alright?

BC: probably.

PW: [he leans out of his office.] hey, out of the blue doctor here! not sure what your life expectancy was, but i can tell you that you're not at risk of any surprise system failures. you're good.

BC: he-hey, wonderful.

PW: just call me if you need anything, i'm here forever. [he pops back into his office.]

BB: hmm. i can't think of anything to eat. has megatron (ambiguous) told any one of you guys about his plans for antarctica?

BC: don't know, don't care. megatron's plans are terrible and always end in failure anyway. oh, and try some oatmeal. that usually helps.

BB: sick. [he sifts through the cupboards for a bowl and some oatmeal packets.]

AS: [yawn] what if you just... had a spark attack? like the one moment you're alive, and the next, [he snaps his fingers.], gone like the matrix of leadership?

BC: i hope that doesn't happen soon. or at all. i'd rather die to my wife's blades than die of a spark attack.

BB: quite extreme, but i can see where you're coming from. mercy kill or otherwise?

BC: i honestly don't care. i just want her to kill me once i've lived long enough.

AS: is it because she's a milf?

BC: it's because she's a milf.

AS: knew it. hah.

BB: good ol' boney and wanting to die to his milfwife.

BC: mind if i lose consciousness?

AS: go for it.

BC: cool. i should be back within the hour. if i'm not, get one of the E-ESBs.

BB: g'night, sweet prince.

[bonecrusher's eyes empty themselves of any red, and his frame goes limp. his energon cube remains intact.]

BB: what a guy.

AS: damn right. [chuckle.]

-

[bang, new story from way far off in the future! they's just chillin :). seeya!]

[acecavenger]

Hi :3 Don't think I've picked on you yet, or at least not recently. Let's fix that >:3 Questions 1-150

Aerllette you monster

1. Who was the last person you held hands with? @cenizacaer (dont tell her gf)2. Are you outgoing or shy? depends on the situation, but mostly shy3. Who are you looking forward to seeing? My friends, again. But if i do go to RTX London then my friends in the EU!!!4. Are you easy to get along with? I guess so5. If you were drunk would the person you like take care of you? Ceni and @gh0stmach1ne helped me when i got drunk on the 4th...6. What kind of people are you attracted to? Honestly red heads 7. Do you think you’ll be in a relationship two months from now? Dunno8. Who from the opposite gender is on your mind? my female friends?9. Does talking about sex make you uncomfortable? A little yea...10. Who was the last person you had a deep conversation with? Ceni11. What does the most recent text that you sent say? my mom asking if i want lunch or not 12. What are your 5 favorite songs right now? Peace Sign, Armed and Ready, I May Fall remix, Deadend in Tokyo, Somebody to Love13. Do you like it when people play with your hair? YES14. Do you believe in luck and miracles? eh15. What good thing happened this summer? RTX201716. Would you kiss the last person you kissed again? Sure17. Do you think there is life on other planets? probably18. Do you still talk to your first crush? nope19. Do you like bubble baths? havent had one in YEARS20. Do you like your neighbors? nope21. What are you bad habits? stay up late and sleeping til 3pm22. Where would you like to travel? BACK TO AUSTIN 23. Do you have trust issues? kinda24. Favorite part of your daily routine? going back to sleep25. What part of your body are you most uncomfortable with? my chest/torso 26. What do you do when you wake up? do back to sleep27. Do you wish your skin was lighter or darker? i jsut wish i wasnt so fucking pale28. Who are you most comfortable around? my friends29. Have any of your ex’s told you they regret breaking up? no30. Do you ever want to get married? im not i not position to answer that rn31. If your hair long enough for a pony tail? ive tried32. Which celebrities would you have a threesome with? uhh gal gadot and scarjo33. Spell your name with your chin. Z,mdsx34. Do you play sports? What sports? i swam(i know the irony)35. Would you rather live without TV or music? TV, i need music36. Have you ever liked someone and never told them? yep37. What do you say during awkward silences? “SOOOOOO how bout that sports team?”38. Describe your dream girl/guy? someone i can see a future with would would also like to cosplays otps at cons with 39. What are your favorite stores to shop in? Best Buy40. What do you want to do after high school? forget about highschool41. Do you believe everyone deserves a second chance? sure42. If your being extremely quiet what does it mean? im thinking of what to say 43. Do you smile at strangers? from time to time 44. Trip to outer space or bottom of the ocean? SPAAAAACE45. What makes you get out of bed in the morning? food 46. What are you paranoid about? my future47. Have you ever been high? nope48. Have you ever been drunk? oh yeah49. Have you done anything recently that you hope nobody finds out about? not  really 50. What was the colour of the last hoodie you wore? black51. Ever wished you were someone else? occasionally 52. One thing you wish you could change about yourself? i wish i was just a bit more motivated to do things 53. Favourite makeup brand? dont wear any54. Favourite store? Amazon55. Favourite blog? mine :P56. Favourite colour? blue 57. Favourite food? shrimp58. Last thing you ate? a sandwich59. First thing you ate this morning? ..a sandwich 60. Ever won a competition? For what? uh, swimming 61. Been suspended/expelled? For what? ...fighting...62. Been arrested? For what? nope63. Ever been in love? yep64. Tell us the story of your first kiss? welp, we were interrupted by a homeless man asking change for the bus...65. Are you hungry right now? nope66. Do you like your tumblr friends more than your real friends? yes67. Facebook or Twitter? twitter68. Twitter or Tumblr? tumblr 69. Are you watching tv right now? kinda70. Names of your bestfriends? sami, keira, sakura, kelso, kit, 71. Craving something? What? LIBERATION 72. What colour are your towels? blue 72. How many pillows do you sleep with? two73. Do you sleep with stuffed animals? no74. How many stuffed animals do you think you have? the one yang plush75. Favourite animal? shark76. What colour is your underwear? red77. Chocolate or Vanilla? chocolate 78. Favourite ice cream flavour? mint chocolate chip79. What colour shirt are you wearing? navy blue 80. What colour pants? black81. Favourite tv show? mythbusters 82. Favourite movie? guardians of the galaxy vol 283. Mean Girls or Mean Girls 2? neither 84. Mean Girls or 21 Jump Street? jump street85. Favourite character from Mean Girls? never saw it86. Favourite character from Finding Nemo? nemo87. First person you talked to today? mom88. Last person you talked to today? mom89. Name a person you hate? Isaac 90. Name a person you love? Sami91. Is there anyone you want to punch in the face right now? yes92. In a fight with someone? yes93. How many sweatpants do you have? 394. How many sweaters/hoodies do you have? 4-595. Last movie you watched? Wonder Woamn96. Favourite actress? Gal Gadot 97. Favourite actor? Chris Prat 98. Do you tan a lot? no99. Have any pets? yes 100. How are you feeling? exhausted 101. Do you type fast? nope102. Do you regret anything from your past? yes 103. Can you spell well? noep104. Do you miss anyone from your past? yes105. Ever been to a bonfire party? once 106. Ever broken someone’s heart? i hope not107. Have you ever been on a horse? yes108. What should you be doing? showering 109. Is something irritating you right now? yes 110. Have you ever liked someone so much it hurt? yea111. Do you have trust issues? kinda 112. Who was the last person you cried in front of? ... my friends bc im not gonna see most of them for awhile 113. What was your childhood nickname? my uncle called me Ally Cat, idk why114. Have you ever been out of your province/state? yes115. Do you play the Wii? not anymore 116. Are you listening to music right now? nope117. Do you like chicken noodle soup? yes118. Do you like Chinese food? yes 119. Favourite book? Son of Neptune120. Are you afraid of the dark? a little121. Are you mean? i try not to be 122. Is cheating ever okay? never 123. Can you keep white shoes clean? no124. Do you believe in love at first sight? maybe, ive never experienced it..125. Do you believe in true love? maybe126. Are you currently bored? yes127. What makes you happy? anime128. Would you change your name? maybe129. What your zodiac sign? aquarius 130. Do you like subway? ye131. Your bestfriend of the opposite sex likes you, what do you do? tell them i acknowledge their feels, but dont want to ruin the friendship that we have if something go wrong if we date 132. Who’s the last person you had a deep conversation with? didnt i answer this?133. Favourite lyrics right now? “OUT OF MY WAY CAUSE IM ARMED AND REAAAAADY”134. Can you count to one million? nah135. Dumbest lie you ever told? “its for a friend”136. Do you sleep with your doors open or closed? closed137. How tall are you? 6′3″138. Curly or Straight hair? uh139. Brunette or Blonde? blonde(bc yang)140. Summer or Winter? winter141. Night or Day? night 142. Favourite month? July bc RTX143. Are you a vegetarian? nope144. Dark, milk or white chocolate? dark145. Tea or Coffee? neither 146. Was today a good day? its ok 147. Mars or Snickers? snickers 148. What’s your favourite quote? “Keep Moving Forward”149. Do you believe in ghosts? kinda 150. Get the closest book next to you, open it to page 42, what’s the first line on that page? “PLUS........ULTRAAAAAAA”