#yes yes i'm playing disco elysium at the same time and it shows
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Starting another playthrough to make screens and gifs of my Durge (also because mods broke my saves lol) I still can't make up my mind about their skintone!
This is Eirlys! Here, have a little offering of their pretty bloody face :)
My headcanon is that they start not only with all their memories wiped out, but much like in Disco Elysium, they can't remember basic concepts either (such as family). They even struggle to speak at first, and they're very feral. Very slowly flashes of memory return and they have to make sense of them with the little information they have about the world. And some things, they like to pretend they don't recall...
I like to think that they were also non-binary pre-tadpole, but now they again identify outside the binary because re-learning gender made no sense to them.
No one can clearly tell if they're a weird moon elf or a half-drow because Bhaal created them in a Frankenstein fashion; taking bits and pieces of everything and putting them together to birth the perfect killer... and the perfect breeder. They'd rather not talk about that.
But oh, they would very much like to ravage you.
#durge: Eirlys#bg3#baldur's gate 3#the dark urge#durge#durge oc#yes yes i'm playing disco elysium at the same time and it shows#but there are so many nice parallels between Harry and Durge ya know?#having selective retrograde memory based on one's personal trauma is so fun to write about
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So in a previous ask they just asked if you were a big video game guy and your response was that you sadly didn’t have enough time. Well my question is just asking why you think video games are frivolous, yet reading and consuming the arts aren’t?
Some video games are made for purely entertainment or profit yes. There are many books, films, and paintings like that too. There are just as many video games that are made as statements for political, social, and ethical issues. As well as games made to try to capture the feelings of grief, joy, or anything else. Just as other art forms.
This isn’t a judgement nor an attack on you I just want to know. Why are video games lesser?
no this is a really thought provoking question! it made me reconsider how i think about this a little. it's probably wrong to paint games as "pure leisure" without cultural enrichment, because it's simply not true for a lot of games.
i guess in my mind on the hierarchy of art/media that can enrich me, video games just sit pretty low. this is for a few reasons -- the time investment is a BIG factor. i can watch a movie in 1-2 hours, read an average novel in 3-5 sittings, watch a tv show for 30-50 minutes at a time at my discretion, but completing a game can take dozens of hours, especially games that are probably the most through-provoking and would benefit you culturally the same way a book or a film might (see metal gear or disco elysium versus a game like pokemon or animal crossing)
there's also accounting for HOW invested i have to be relative to time. a movie needs my full focus for me to fully digest it, but that also only takes a couple hours. a book i can read while i'm traveling/doing another task, and same for television shows, music and podcasts. when i was a gamer, it was predominantly handheld partly bc i could more easily integrate it into my life. sadly, catering to handheld gaming has dissipated a lot and the steam deck is VERY expensive. i have a switch, but i used to pay 30 dollars for a DS game versus 60 for a new switch title of the same playtime, and my switch often struggles to let me play without wifi for some reason, which isnt readily available in most places, and especially not on the subway.
plus while i do think games can really open your mind in the same way other art forms do, i do feel like for a lot of them it is mostly a leisure activity. if i spend two hours playing mario sunshine and two hours watching a hitchcock movie, i'll probably feel like the latter benefitted my cultural diet more, even if i have more fun doing the former. and honestly at the root of all this is NOT the fact that i'm "right" about this -- in fact, i think this is a deeply capitalist brainwashed mindset that makes me feel like everything i do has to be productive within the capitalist framework.
but i think this is partially bc i spent a LOT of early adulthood not doing much, including playing a lot of video games. so i think i'm in a phase right now where i'm trying to compensate by acting like this. probably the only "pure leisure" activity i don't feel a lot of guilt for is hanging with my friends, bc my personal connections are most important to me. it's frustrating! but it's something i'll need to work on with time.
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Episode 74 Transcript: Goodbye... for now
[intro guitar music]
G: Hello! My name is Grey.
C: And my name is Crystal.
G: And this is Busty Asian Beauties, a Supernatural commentary podcast where I, someone who has seen the show several times...
C: And I, someone who only knows the show through social media, discuss every single episode of Supernatural from start to finish. Also, we are both Asian.
G: Both Asian! For this episode, we will be discussing Season 4, Episode 14: "Sex and Violence," written by Cathryn Humphris, directed by Charles Beeson.
C: I know this isn't that bad of an episode, but I just had the most horrific time forcing myself to watch it. [G laughs]
G: Okay, that is a very, very nice segway to a very big announcement for us. [both laughing]
C: [laughing] Yeah, so, um-
G: Crystal had a rough time watching this episode, and now we're going to do a completely different podcast and we're taking a break from BABPod-
C: [laughing] - For 3 months.
G: [laughing] - for 3 weeks- oh, no, sorry, it's 3 months.
C: [laughing] Bye everyone! Sayonara, you weeaboo shits! But- [both laughing] No, okay, we are taking a 12 week break on BABPod because I'm insane and I begged Grey to do a Good Omens podcast with me because I can think of nothing else in my waking days; it haunts me forever and ever. [both laugh] And we can't run two podcasts at once because this is like, a 10 hour a week commitment for like, each of us separately, so we're leaving in the middle of Season 4. Maybe if Cas was in this episode, this wouldn't have happened. But you know what? He wasn't. [laughs] So.
G: Yeah. And we'll see Cas in 12 weeks. Bye, Cas! [both laugh]
C: Okay, so the name of our our new podcast is "Rubbish and Probably a Podcast." We have substituted the f-slur in the original book for the word "podcast." It will not be on this podcast feed; it'll be on another podcast feed, so if you just like, look up "rubbish and probably a podcast," hopefully, it'll show up for you on the Spotifies and the Google Podcasts and the whatever. But we're sticking to our same Tumblr and email account and Ko-Fi for anyone who wants to chat with us about Good Omens.
G: Yes.
C: Oh, also, we're finally doing the switcheroo, which I've always, always desired, which is where I've seen the show multiple times and Grey only knows about it from social media. So, hell yeah.
G: I don't know about it from social media. I know about it from you exclusively-
C: From me, screaming and crying.
G: Yes. So it'll be a really fun experience for me. And for you, hopefully. If it's not, this is gonna be so miserable. [laughs]
C: And for me, it will be. Yeah, because it is fully an act of charity you're doing for me. [G laughing] You should put this on your tax returns.
G: Exactly. And also, this is a wonderful opportunity for you to show some leadership skills because you're gonna be like, doing the like, hosting of the podcast [C laughs], which I'm very excited about. God.
C: So true. So very true.
G: When we do our intro, you're gonna be the first to speak. Are you excited about that in any way, shape, or form?
C: Oh, yeah, of course. It's all I've ever dreamed of ever since I was a little girl.
G: Exactly. Yeah. I am now the co-host and you are the host of this podcast.
C: Yeah. Yeah. So true. Well, there will be a trailer where we state more things, I suppose. So look out for that.
Back to this fucking show. [laughs] It's not that bad. But I just- to really get you into the mindset of how horrible it was to watch, I started watching at 9PM, and I couldn't get myself to finish until 2AM. And the things that I did in order to avoid finishing watching this episode, like, got a lot of water and snack refills, talked to my mutual Jeb on Tumblr about Good Omens, watched a 13-minunite Mitski video explaining how she wrote the song "Bug Like an Angel." I opened Pocket Frogs for the first time in 3 weeks to play it. [G laughs] I opened Disco Elysium for the first time in 2 months to play it. I also downloaded a game from itch.io that Danica's friend made, and then played all of that, and I watched an 18-minute Good Omens line reads compilation, and only after that 18-minute video of Good Omens did I have the energy to finish the last 6 minutes of "Sex and Violence."
G: I mean, this episode is not that bad, but it is one of those episodes that-
C: Hates women so much it's unreal?
G: Hates women so much it's unreal. And also, like, I think we do a good job in this podcast not talking about Wincest and the Wincest shippers of the world-
C: Yeah. But like, this, episode was like, a huge win for them, I have to say.
G: I would say, though, that every episode is probably a huge win for those people, [C laughs] because like, to them, everything is like- you know what I mean? You know what I mean? C: Yeah.
G: Like, if you're that level of- [both laughing] I'm not going to complete that sentence. It's way too mean. But-
C: This is just because Richard Siken is like- people think that Wincest is okay because he's out here doing good PR work for the evils.
G: Is he? I blocked him.
C: [laughs] Anyway.
G: I blocked him.
C: For real. [laughs]
G: I am of the opinion of Richard Siken's Twitter account is- I need to apply the same philosophy to it which I apply to-
C: As to any other- yeah?
G: - TikTok, which is that if it's good enough to be seen by me, there will be a person who shows it to me in some way. If the Tweet is not good enough to be seen by me, the middleman or the middlemen and women and non-binary people of the world [C laughs] will not show it to me. They will feel no need.
C: Yeah, yeah.
G: And my middlemen, I mean my mutuals.
C: Anyway, we're not mad at Richard Siken because we all knew it already [G laughs], but yeah, it was nicer when it was easier to forget. [laughs]
G: I don't give a shit. I really don't give a shit. Like, people were @-ing me!! Like, people were fucking messaging me! Like, "Grey, don't you love Supernatural and Richard Siken? [C laughs] Have you heard about this thing?" And I'm like, "Look. Look at me! I have heard about it. You are also the same person who messaged me about Misha Collins coming out as straight asking me if I've heard about it. I've heard about it all! [both laughing] So don't fucking go to my house and tell me- and ask me if I've heard about these things." You know what I mean?
C: Yeah. Yeah, yeah. So true. I mean, at least he said, "I can guess the t-boy part, but what is swag?" That was at least a good sentence.
G: Anyway! This episode-
C: Yeah.
G: What is going on in Cathryn Humphris's head?
C: I really think it was just like- "Well, we need there to be a twist. Like, it can't just be like, a hot woman." But like, why is he talking like that?
G: No, here's the thing. Here's the thing. Well, first of all, you know the person who I don't like the character's characterization the most in this episode? It's Sam Winchester. Like, I cannot believe that he would-
C: No, he would not do this unless he was poisoned! Like, you're telling me in this glass office with the blinds open? [G laughs]
G: Like, they are working a case where guys fuck women and then they kill the people around them. And he's out here like, "I'm just gonna fuck this woman." [both laugh] And he doesn't even have the "because I was poisoned" because he wasn't.
C: Yeah, no, he just fully chose this with full consciousness of everything he was doing.
G: And then he was like, "I'm so upset at you Dean because you don't trust me because I slept with a woman in the 'man sleeps with a woman and then kills other people' case. [C laughing] What's wrong with you, Dean?" And it's like, "Sam! What is wrong with you?" What the hell? Why's he acting like this?
C: I truly have no clue like. Like, the last time Cathryn Humphris wrote Sam, like, was in "Metamorphosis," right? Like, she seemed to understand things then. Why doesn't she understand things now?
G: Yeah. Well, anyway, let us start the episode. So-
C: What did I know about it?
G: Oh, yeah, we need to do that. What'd you know about it? [laughs]
C: Well, I knew that Nick, the siren, was going to be a man, and that he and Dean would have- would get along very well, but that like, he would be like, wanting to be Dean's replacement, little brother rather than like, a sexual or romantic person in his life, but that it's still like, weirdly homoerotic 'cause, you know, Tumblr is obsessed with this episode.
G: Ye.
C: And I also thought I knew things about this episode, but I think that they were actually for the other siren episode, in like, Season 5 or whatever where there's like the room with like, like, pink sheets and stuff, and then at some point like, Dean goes in, and he like, flips open the blanket where there's like, a naked guy in there like, to check if there's anything underneath. Do you know the the clip I'm talking about?
G: It's not from here.
C: Yeah. Is that from the other siren episode, though, like, in Season 5?
G: Not sure. Not sure. But he does look at the guy's dick once.
C: Yeah, I mean, I remember when Danica watched whatever episode involved looking at the guy's dick, I feel like she told me that Dean also has a conversation with the guy where they like, share a moment of like, bro solidarity, where, like, Dean's like, "Oh, you like, Asian chicks too?" [G laughs] And like, I'm looking forward to whenever that happens. [laughs]
G: Ugh.
C: But you know what? It'll be more than 3 months before we have to see it! [both laughing]
G: That is true.
C: Not that Good Omens isn't racist, but it is a different brand.
G: One of the only few things I know about that show is that once you told me that there was a Supernatural fan on Tumblr who said they don't want to watch Good Omens due to racism, and you were like, "You are a Supernatural fan. You do know that, right?" [C laughs]
C: Yeah. I'd say if I if I had to like, rank them, I'd say Good Omens the book is the most racist, followed by Supernatural, followed by Good Omens the show, but maybe refreshing my memory will change how I feel about it.
G: Well. Let us start the episode!
-
G: We begin at a suburban household where a guy comes home to his wife.
C: Does the "Then" sequence not matter?
G: Well, what is it?
C: Well, okay. It like, starts with like, Ruby telling Sam like, "Oh, like, you need to tell Dean what we're doing, because, like, if it doesn't come from you, he'll be pissed." And then it's like, Dean going like, "Oh, so you're BFFs with a demon? Like, something major must have happened." And that's a voiceover over the clip of the Samruby sex in 4.09, which is like, strange. Like, the implication- 'cause like, in the episode, it's like, "I'm friends with Ruby now because she saved my life when I was like, at my most suicidal." But like, the way that this "Then" sequence is putting it is just like, "It's 'cause [overlapping] we fucked."
G: Yeah.
C: Yeah, and then it goes like, Sam goes like, "Oh, then like, why don't you be more forthcoming? Like, tell me what happened in Hell." And then Dean doesn't answer, and then the sequence ends, which makes it seem like he's hiding something about it, even though, like, he's not. Like, we already got the answer to that. So like, it's just a very odd reframing of Season 4 thus far, which I thought was interesting. And I don't really know what a lot of it has to do with - I guess, like, the Samruby stuff is just like, "Oh, we're gonna make Sam seem extra untrustworthy and unsympathetic in this so that you understand why Dean, like, is looking at his phone and things like that." And then the Hell thing, I guess- like, I don't know. Like, Sam has his line later where he's like, poisoned, and he's like, "Oh, you just keep going, 'Blah blah blah! I'm so sad about the torture.'" which is so like, why didn't you show Dean being sad about the torture in the "Then" sequence? Why did you just end it on him not answering.
I don't know. Strange and odd.
Whatever. It's no pizza man montage. That is the strangest and the oddest thing they've come up with.
-
G: The beginning of the episode is a man shows up at his house, and, like, his wife, is like, asking him like, about work and all that crap, and he's just- every response he gives is one that reeks of like, anger and frustration, right? Like, at some point, she says, "Oh, a friend of ours invited us to a party, so we're going to a party on Saturday!" And the guy got really upset by this because he doesn't want to do that. And the woman just says, "We'll just cancel it. I don't know why you want to pick a fight with me." Then he bashes her head in with a meat tenderizer.
C: We now turn to a motel room, and Dean's like, asleep. But then he wakes up, and he hears Sam whispering on the phone. He's in the bathroom doing his secret phone call, but he's left his bathroom door completely open! Like, man. Growing up gay when your dad isn't around must be so easy. [G laughing] Like, [laughing] do you know what I mean? Like, he didn't learn any basic life skills like, at all. He probably like, never had to like, be on his laptop with like, one finger like, poised over the homework tab as he took "Am I Gay" quizzes. Like, not a single time, you know?
So he's talking about how there's like, no demonic omens nearby, but he'll keep looking, blah blah blah. And then he hangs up, comes back to the bedroom, and wakes Dean up. Dean is pretending that he was asleep the whole time. And Sam's like, "Oh, yeah, I wasn't doing anything. I was like, pissing and shitting. With the door open, you know."
He introduces Dean to a case. the one that we saw in the opening. And this is the third man like, in the last two months in Bedford, Iowa who has killed his wife. So yeah. RIP.
Sam references "The Shining" here. Sam does way more pop culture references than usual this episode. Did you notice that?
G: Yes. He even says like, some stuff that like, I have absolutely no idea what he's talking about, which is new for him.
C: I feel like it's possible that, like, maybe, like, Sam and Dean's roles were like, somewhat switched in this episode originally. And then like, it didn't work out because they wanted Nick as the little brother figure, so then, Cathryn Humphris just like, moved around some lines and things? 'Cause yeah, Sam feels really out of character here.
G: Yeah, that line is pretty much the - like, the whole, like, "You want me to be your little brother" - is pretty much the only thing that is character-specific about any of their interactions with other people this episode.
C: Yeah.
G: 'Cause, like, everything else is like, "That could be Sam" or "That could be Dean," and it wouldn't matter. Like, even in their big final fight, the siren poisons Sam, too. It's not essential that Dean gets poisoned and then says all this shit to Sam, you know? Because Sam gets poisoned too and says all this shit to Dean. So it's equal footing.
C: Yeah. And we'll get to it when we get to it, but like, it's weird that like, during the fight, I feel like Dean was saying things he meant, but I don't know- like, everything Sam said, I was like, "Is that something he actually like, thinks or cares about?" I don't know. Whatever. Maybe it is.
So we go to the prison where the man from the opening is being held, and Sam and Dean are pretending to be public defenders, asking him questions about what exactly happened. And the guy, Mr. Benson, is like, "I am pleading guilty because, like, I fully killed her just because I was angy about nothing at all, and I was completely in my right mind when I did it even though I loved her and we were happy." And then Dean pulls out some bank statements he has for Mr. Benson, and apparently he's recently spent $9,000 at a strip club. So Benson says, like, "Okay, yeah, fine. Her name was Jasmine." At no point in this episode do they like, actually mention that all the names that the siren is using are for like, Disney Princesses.
G: Yeah.
C: Was that just supposed to be like, "a fun little Easter egg 'cause like, not that many people are gonna get it!" Like, I know that men don't know about fairy tales, but-
G: I think it's more of like, "This is just what stripper names are."
C: Like, Disney princesses?
G: I mean, that's the implication, yes.
C: Okay, but like, later, Dean was like, "One of them was a redhead, and one of them was Asian," and he's talking about when the stripper was going by Ariel, and then Jasmine. Like, that's like, not just about the name. Like, they're like, taking on Disney princess appearances, supposedly.
G: I don't think it's enough of like, an obscure thing to be an Easter egg, though. It's just something that they- C: Yeah, I agree that it's not enough of an obscure thing to be an Easter egg, which is why I'm surprised that it wasn't pointed out. Or like, that Nick didn't have the name of a Disney prince or another Disney character to continue the thing to be like, one of the hints that it was him? You know what I mean? Like, this seems like, something that was going to be pointed out as part of solving the case, and it wasn't.
G: [laughs] That is such a goofy thing to happen, something that happened this episode. Like, imagine this entire episode, and then at the middle of it, they're like, "And this guy's named-" I don't even know the names of-
C: Sebastian!
G: [laughing] The guy's named Sebastian! [laughs]
C: Yeah. But then, like why do the like, specifically like, the siren takes on the name Ariel when choosing to be a redhead, etc. thing. Whatever. It's not a big deal. Who cares?
G: I mean, okay, put yourself in the mind of a stripper. You have red hair or you have a red wig, right?` And you think to yourself, "What will make me, like, a recognizable figure in this establishment?" You would want to draw onto your features that differentiate you from the other people there, right? So if you have red hair, you would be like, "Okay, I'm named Ariel now because I have red hair and Ariel has red hair, and I'm trying to stand out."
C: Okay. Alright. Fine. I'll allow it.
G: It's just what people do. Yeah.
C: Anyway, so yeah, Ben says her name was Jasmine, and Sam goes, "She was a stripper?" and Dean goes, "Dude. Her name was Jasmine." Which- I don't think-
G: First of all, many people are named Jasmine.
C: People are named Jasmine. Come on.
But anyway, so he met her when his friend was having a bachelor party, and apparently she was "Perfect. Everything that I wanted." I think he just has a thing for Asians. And then he says, "It wasn't about the money. It wasn't even about the sex. It was- I don't know what it was. It's hard to explain. [G laughs]
G: This literally-
C: We see the siren interact with someone later, and like, it literally is about the sex, because, like, the character that they're putting on has no fucking personality. [laughs]
G: Well, also, this is me in every single two-week fling that I have ever. [C laughing] "It's not about the anything! It's about the connection." God, hearing it from somebody else has made me realize how I annoying I am no matter what.
C: You were fine...ish [G laughs] during the last one. [C laughs]
Anyway, so, but his wife never found out. That's not why he did it. It was just because Jasmine said that they could be together forever if only Vicky was dead. And after the murder, he was supposed to meet up with her, but she never showed up. And he doesn't know anything about where she lives or her name, so he's got nothin'.
G: Here's my question.
C: Yeah?
G: In most like, monsters that Supernatural does, there's always some kind of motivation, right?
C: Yeah, right. Usually they have to kill to eat, or like, with ghosts, they're just so angry about something that happened that they just have to act on it.
G: There's absolutely no motivation for the siren at all for anything ever.
C: Yeah.
G: Like, is it the money? Is it because they're giving the siren money? And now the siren has money? Because, if so, why like, disappear immediately after you have established that this person will do anything for you, no matter what, you know?
C: Yeah, I mean, the confrontation with Nick later, doesn't he say something about how like, "It just feels so good like, knowing someone would kill for you. Like, that's it. I'm just evil." But like, I guess the implication is that there are like, perfectly nice sirens around.
G: Yeah, exactly.
C: 'Cause they don't have to kill to eat or anything. We just like, ran into a real dickbag.
G: But like, I don't even think it's about the "It's so nice that someone is willing to kill for you."
C: You poisoned them!
G: Because as a fan of toxic media, if somebody kills for you, you stay with that person.
C: So true.
G: Because then, you have like, something over them, you know?
C: Yeah.
G: "You killed for me already, so why not-" blah blah blah blah blah.
C: Yeah.
G: So this power play doesn't even work because you're gone before it has any effect. So boo! If you're a siren and you have the power to make people kill for you-
C: Commit to them.
G: Commit to the bit. Exactly.
C: Yeah. Also, I don't know. It's not even a "I like practising my skills of manipulation" thing because it's like, as long as you get the poison in them-
G: They are poisoned, yeah.
C: Right. You don't actually have to interact with that person in any way, like, you don't actually have to fuck them or do anything. But like, is it just about-
G: He didn't even kiss Sam. He just spit on his mouth.
C: Yeah, exactly. So I don't get- is it just about reveling in the power you have with the poison? I yeah, I don't know. I don't get it. They did not really flesh this out.
G: This is a poorly-written episode.
C: Yeah. Sam says, "You didn't think to tell this to the cops?" which, I mean, why would he? This just makes him look worse, doesn't it? Would this actually help his case at all?
And Benson's like, "No, I didn't, because it was me who was in the wrong, and if I don't get the death sentence, I will just kill myself." So yup.
Also, did you notice the just awful zoom-ins on this guy's face while he was talking?
G: There's a lot of it this episode.
C: Right. And like, has Charles Beeson done that before? I thought it was a Robert Singer, but no, this is like, new.
G: This is just like, because of the topic of the episode, I feel. Because the episode is supposed to be like, sexual or intimate or whatever.
C: No, but it was like, while this guy was just talking about how upset he was that he killed his wife. [G laughs] It's like, there's a bunch of weird cuts and like, zoom-ins on his face.
G: Yeah. I don't know.
-
G: We go to a hospital and it's kind of like, a pathology office where the only person there is this doctor who is holding, like, her head in her hands, and she feels a bit sick because of a hangover.
C: Dr. Cara Roberts.
G: Sam goes in, goes like, "Oh, you had a rough night?" and Dr. Cara goes, "No, I had a fun night, but I'm having a rough morning." And, like, you know, immediately you get the vibe of the character that they're gunning for, which is like, snarky, and- It's the type of character that they always pair up with Sam.
C: Yeah, yeah, she does have like, Sarah Blake vibes.
G: She has Sarah vibes. Madison vibes, even.
C: Yeah.
G: Why? Why do they always do this specifically for Sam?
C: I don't know. I mean, what's the vibe of the characters that they pair up with Dean?
G: Anyone? I don't know. [C laughs]
C: Yeah. Anyone. I don't know.
G: The thing is, I feel like a lot of the time with Dean, the characters they pair up with him are more of like, "I'm hitting on you."
C: Mm.
G: And with Sam, it's more of "They are hitting on Sam," you know.
C: Yeah.
G: So it is more like, the concept of, like, a type of woman that likes Sam is more conceivable than like, type of woman who likes Dean. [C laughs] 'Cause honestly, I don't think women like Dean that much. Like, think of one woman that, like, liked Dean instantly or before he was there, before he was like, flirting it up with her. You know what I mean?
C: Yeah. Huh. Good question. Yeah. I can't think of one.
So right, I guess, in order for them to hit on Sam, they have to have some kind of an assertive personality, and they've decided the way to make it hot in a woman is if she's like, snarky.
G: Yeah. Also, like, they always do like, the career woman for Sam. Which I think is their thinking where it's like, "Oh, because Sam was like, in college or whatever [C laughs], so like, he likes women who are career women."
C: Yeah, yeah, he requires a diploma before the smash.
Yeah, and you know, she's pretty, so immediately, you're like, "Oh, here's the red herring of the episode."
G: This doctor is the one who works on all the autopsies from the sheriff's department, and all the like, blood tests, like, tox screens for the people who are arrested and all that. And she says, like, "Nothing's wrong with the autopsy aside from the way they were murdered, which is pretty straightforward." And there was this moment where Sam is like, pressing on about the blood, and she just goes, "Well, can I see your ID again?" And Sam shows it, and she looks at it for a while, and then and and then she gives the file. And like, I think they are trying to do something with this. And like, later on, with the FBI guy siren also, like, checking up on their credentials.
C: Oh, yeah. That makes sense.
G: So I think maybe there would, there would be a portion in the episode where you think they're both sirens or something.
C: Hmm!
G: But like, that's not what they do.
C: I don't think so, though. I feel like they've made it very firm that like, "Oh, the siren only takes the shape of a woman." So I feel like that's enough to throw them off.
G: Yeah, I guess so. I mean, I don't recall watching this episode for the first time at all, ever.
C: Mm-hm. And I already knew going in.
G: So I don't know what my reaction to this was. Yeah, I don't recall what my reaction to this was where, like, I didn't know who the siren was, you know?
C: Yeah.
G: Anyway, there was some stuff in the blood work 'cause there's high levels of oxytocin which the doctor describes as "the love hormone."
C: You know another reason I think this was written for Dean and not Sam? Sam would know what oxytocin is.
G: Exactly!
C: And he wouldn't later go, "So this chemical..." like he forgot the name?
G: It's a hormone!
C: Like, he would not forget the name of oxytocin.
G: And they do this like, little thing where Cara describes what love feels like, and they smile at each other. [C laughs]
C: Cornyass.
G: And then Dean comes in like, "Hey, what's up?" And like, you know, like, he's like, trying to put up the charm. But Cara don't give a shit, and just keeps on talking to Sam. Like, as they head out, Sam turns around and goes, "Hey, you know what cures hangover? A greasy breakfast."
C: Everyone knows that already! Like, how is he, dispensing it like, it's like, a line?
G: [laughing] I don't know!
C: "Hey. Sometimes you can breathe oxygen through your mouth if your nose is stuffy, girl." Like, that's what he sounds like right now.
G: It literally does. Yeah. Anyway, they have a little laugh about it. And then they go out and Dean tells Sam, "Dude, you totally cockblocked me!" But he doesn't say "cock," he says "C."
C: He can't say cock. Yeah.
G: I mean, I'm pretty sure they can say cock.
C: Can they?
G: Maybe not cockblocked, because that implies cock specifically being about the penis.
C: I mean, they can say cock for a chicken, sure.
G: Yeah. But like, technically, they can say "dick" even if it's like, "you're being a dick" because it's like, "You're being a Richard" [C laughs] instead of being a, you know.
C: Sure, yeah. I don't think they can say cock unless they're talking about a chicken.
G: Yeah, is cock worse than penis? Well, I mean, it's [laughs] it is, because penis is the medical term. It's cock than dick? Let's let's explore this.
C: I think so.
G: Really?
C: Yeah. I mean, cock is like, the go-to word in pornography. [G laughs]
G: Okay. Man. I mean, I'm pretty comfortable saying most words in English that refer to genitalia, but make me say it in any- like, in Filipino, and it's like, "Nooo! [both laugh] That's too much!" Like, I don't even know why. I think because, like, there's more of a modesty culture when it comes to like, speaking in Filipino.
C: Yeah, that makes sense.
G: But literally like- [laughs] I cannot- I cannot say it. Like, even right now, I'm thinking, like, "Oh, I should like, set an example and like, say it." And I'm like, "Don't say it in the podcast!" [laughs]
C: Yeah, hey, remember, when we started this podcast, you wouldn't say "bitch"-
G: I literally wouldn't.
C: - and like, you heard me quote it the first time and you were like, "Damn. I guess I have to now."
G: Yeah, I mean, you know. We live, we laugh, we learn, etc.
C: Indeed!
Dean has apparently interviewed the other two men who killed their wives, and both of them went to the same strip club called the Honey Wagon, but they did not hook up with someone named Jasmine, they each had a different person that they said they were seeing. But this person was described as "perfect, and everything that they wanted."
So Sam theorizes that they were under some kind of a love spell and notices that Dean is incredibly cheerful. And he asks him about this, and Dean goes, "Strippers, Sammy! Strippers! We're on an actual case involving strippers. Finally." Well. [sighs] I think we've already discussed how in like, every other episode of Season 4. Dean is like, "I'm in it just to look at naked women," but also in the other half of the episodes he's like, "I'm so guilty about Hell, and these cases are the only things that are like, redeeming me in the eyes of God." So, okay. Cool.
G: Yeah.
C: Leave people alone, Dean.
-
C: They go to the club and Dean's talking to the manager. So the three names used by the siren were Jasmine, Aurora, and Ariel. One is a redhead, about 5'9. The other one is Asian. And then, yeah, he gets cut off because the manager is just like, "I don't have any paperwork. I don't know anything because everyone here works for cash. and I don't keep track of this shit, and this is not my problem." Meanwhile, Sam has called Bobby. Is it always is Sam who calls Bobby? I feel like I haven't been keeping track. Yeah, it is weird that- like, I feel like most of the time when it's like, "I called Bobby and he has a theory," it's like, Sam who does it well, but like, Bobby still considers Sam his least favorite child.
G: Yeah. Sam is just work child-
C: Exactly.
G: - and Dean is his child child. Yeah.
C: Yeah. Their theory is that the monster of the week is a siren. And Dean goes, "Oh, like, in the Greek myth The Odyssey?" And Sam looks at Dean kind of weird and Dean goes, "Hey, I read!" which people like to quote
G: Which is such an odd thing- First of all, siren is just part of the cultural- it's just something that exists in the world as a concept. I don't think you have need to have read The Odyssey once in your life. I don't think you even need to know what the word "odyssey" means to know what a siren is. You know, and it's just this, like, super odd like, "Why is Sam so surprised? Why is Dean literate all of a sudden?" [both] No, I'm just kidding. Like, why is Sam so surprised, you know?
C: Yeah.
G: And it's just- It does- I don't know. The whole like, "Dean reads, and is actually smart!" I feel like there's a lot of other references that he makes that can be attributed to that that doesn't have to be this stupid of a like, "Oh, this thing that everybody knows about? I know about it too!"
C: Yeah.
G: You know. Like, the guy love Kurt Vonnegut. He's the reason why I started reading that shit. Like, there's- I don't know. He consistently references Lord of the Rings, like, other big fantasy stuff. And also just like, the the sheer amount of pop culture he knows, like, those things are already impressive. It just- I don't know. I don't know why I hate this line so much, but like, I'm not here to hit on the "Dean Winchester can read" truthers. [C laughs] But like, I don't know. It feels so stupid to me because of the context of it.
C: Yeah, and, I don't know, I feel like- like, he can be smart without reading. [laughs]
G: That's true.
C: Like, we can like, value different forms of intelligence equally, or whatever. Like, [laughs] do you remember that week everyone was- wait, is it okay to make fun of a fanfiction on our podcast? [G laughs]
G: Maybe. Maybe not. I'll decide in the editing room, which is also the room where I record 'cause it's the same room for everything.
C: The "Smart!Dean 'verse"- like, there was like, a series called like, "Smart Dean" or something like that.
G: [laughs] Okay.
C: And, like, it's- okay, okay, can I just read a passage?
G: The synopsis? Oh, okay, okay.
C: The synopsis is- the general plot of one fic in the series is that Dean shows up at Stanford and is hanging out with his college friends, and Sam keeps trying to change the subject to topics he thinks Dean can handle, but Dean is able to keep up with an academic debate and win it. And then the summary ends with "Sam is surprised. Dean's hurt that Sam thinks he's stupid." And at the end of a scene- okay.
Dean attempts a smile. It comes out as more of a grimace, though, so he lets it fall from his face. Finally he sighs, dragging a hand over his face.
“Dammit, Sammy. This is me. You want the real truth? I’ve hidden for as long as I can remember. I’ve hidden from you, Dad, Bobby, pretty much everyone we’ve ever come into contact with. And no, I’m not going to talk about why. No chick-flick moments, remember?”
“Dean—” Sam starts.
"No, Sammy. I get why maybe you thought I wasn’t a goddamn genius, but I don’t think I ever acted like that much of an idiot.”
“And are you?” Sam asks.
“Am I what?” Dean says harshly.
“Are you a genius?” Sam waits with bated breath. [G laughing]
“Yes. Yes, Sammy, I am.” With that, he turns and leaves. Sam watches him go, regretting his words, but most importantly his assumptions.
It has 817 kudos. [G laughing] Anyway. We can move on.
G: [still laughing] What is this? What is happening? What is happening? What is this? [both laughing] What is this?
C: It's like, one of Sam's friends asks him-
G: "I'm a genius." [C laughing]
C: "Sam"- [laughing]
G: "I'm coming out as a genius-"
C: [laughing] "- watches him go, regretting his words, but most importantly, his assumptions."
G: [laughing] "- and you can't ever shame me with who I am."
C: Oh my god. The next day, Sam texts him, and is like, "I'm sorry I never really knew you. Tell me about your favorite intellectual field." And Dean says, "Mathematics as a whole, if we're going to get particular, I'd say differential geometry and mathematical logic. And then there's philosophy. Well, individual philosophies that interest me personally would be a better way to put it." Like- [laughs] [G sighs] This is not- Like, a character can- You can respect people who know about cars and pop culture as their like, main interests! Like, you don't have to do this.
G: Yeah. Like, if you're if your like fucking PETA statement about how "we should treat stupid people niceys!" [C laughs] and your conclusion is "because stupid people are actually smart in the most traditional way that we think of intelligence." Like, dude! Come on!
C: Yeah. Yeah. It's- it's bad. [G laughs]
G: I'm so sorry, fic writer.
C: 817 kudos!
-
C: So Sam's like, "Well, the siren's not actually a myth." Like, that's hilarious. Everything you hunt is a myth that's not actually a myth. But anyway, so apparently, they specifically prey on men, which I guess is why the episode opens with three domestic abuse cases or whatever, and it entices them with their siren song. And okay, the two songs that Dean cites as being like, seductive, are "Welcome to the Jungle" and "Cherry Pie," which I don't know very well. I think I've seen an AMV of Dean set to "Cherry Pie," but I don't know "Welcome to the Jungle."
G: They're both like, songs that are loud and noisy.
C: Okay.
G: You know what? We need, Dean, to listen to Kali Uchis.
C: To what?
G: Am I pronouncing that incorrectly? You know Kali Uchis?
C: I think I may just not know the artist.
G: The first thing who sang "telepatía."
C: Oh. I never really listened to that. I know there's some good AMVs to the song, but like I just never finish them.
G: You've never listened to Kali Uchis? You need to. You and Dean Winchester.
C: Okay. I'll do it just to differentiate myself from Dean Winchester.
G: Yes, exactly.
C: So, you know, Sam says that they don't have an actual song. It's more about an allure. And sirens used to live on islands. but now, if in 2009, they are more likely to set shop in a strip club. Why would you go to like, the middle of nowhere, like, Bedford, Ohio, where it's a small town and like, there's like, one doctor. Couldn't- it's so obvious that something is up. Like, hunters are gonna come immediately, because 50% of the town's population murdered their wives, and the other 50% are the dead wives.
G: No, also, like, you don't have to be in a strip club. You can literally just-
C: You can spit in someone's mouth!
G: Yeah!
C: From 10 feet away!
G: Like, I don't know why anyone- I know like, it's because I'm a lazy fuck, but I cannot imagine wanting to work in any way, shape, or form [C laughs] if I have abilities that will allow me to just go, "Hey, do you want to give me money?" And a person just go, "Yeah." You know what I mean? [laughs]
C: Yeah. Yeah, I agree.
G: So like, I don't know. Why do all this? If you're in the middle of the ocean, and you're like, "Come to me in the middle of the ocean on this beautiful island," like, I completely understand that. The ocean is beautiful. But like, what would you do in whatever fucking place this is.
C: Bedford, Iowa?
G: Who give a shit about Iowa? Go into the ocean, you know.
C: Yeah, I mean, there are people in Iowa, and I care about them in general-
G: Sorry, people in Iowa.
C: - but yeah, I do think that there's nothing about the siren that makes me think that they wouldn't be better served like, just spitting in random people's mouths on the streets of NYC.
G: Yeah.
C: Yeah. So that is the situation. Also like, the mirror thing doesn't come up this episode at all?
G: It does.
C: I mean, does it that much? Sorry. During the fight is there a moment where, like, one of them sees the mirror, and it helps break them out of it? 'Cause I didn't see that happen. Maybe I missed it.
G: No, there's just like, the whole like-
C: It's just that like, I thought it'd be more relevant that, in a mirror, you can see the siren's true form.
G: Well, I mean, we can, 'cause we see it, but not the victims, you know.
C: Yeah, but like, one of the men that the siren, like, seduces has what? Like, a fucking mirrored ceiling. And he doesn't notice that, like, in the mirror, is a horrific creature? I don't know what the point is if it wasn't going to be relevant to solving the case or realizing something. Also like, I don't know. I feel like strip clubs are often like, full of mirrors, so like, wouldn't you want to go to a more matte establishment if you wanted to like, get away with shit like this? Whatever. Who cares? Bad episode.
G: Do they even mention the mirror in the episode?
C: They don't. It's just that- they don't at all. We just see it. You'd think that it's like, with like, shapeshifters, it's like, "Oh, let's check all the camera feeds because we know this thing about their eyes." But like, with sirens, it's just like- I guess they don't know that they show up weird in mirrors, but it also never comes up that they show off weird in mirrors. Whateber.
So they can read your mind and then disguise themselves as whatever you want best. So this, like, the Ariel, Jasmine, Aurora, were probably all the same person. And, you know, Bobby's working on figuring out the right way to kill him. But currently, it's gonna be very hard for them to figure out who it is.
As they talk, like, there's like, a woman who walks by them, and then like, in the next cut, she's changed appearances from like, a blonde person to a brunette person. And she approaches some youngish guy named Lenny, and he says, "Hey, Belle." And she leads him out to his apartment.
-
G: They do this thing where the guy that she has come home with is taking care of his mom, which we- I think we can assume that's like, old and like, sick in some way. Yeah. So, you know, like, the- Belle is like, "Oh, it's so amazing that you're still taking care of her. Most people would just put their moms in a nursing home." And the guy is very like, "Yeah, I mean, she's my mom, so it's fine." But like, Belle keeps on insisting that like, "No, this is like, a big deal, and you're so strong and you're so wonderful for this."
C: Yeah, and the whole time she's also taking off her clothes.
G: Yeah. And then they have sex. And then, like, after the sex, they're doing pillow talk, and she goes like, "Oh, but it sucks that your mom's here like. It would be so much better if she just wasn't here so you can just be with me forevermore." And then the guy's like, "Okay." And then she goes, "You should bash her brains in." And he goes, "Okay." And then he does!
C: Yeah. Wild shit.
There's no skill here, no personality. Like- whatever. It's just the same thing where I don't know what the siren gets out of it. This is the most generic woman ever that they're playing right now.
G: Also, okay. I have seen many a takes about this episode. People who are like, "This is proof that Dean is bisexual." People who are like, "If you think this is proof that Dean is bisexual, you're feeding into like, the whole incest jujuju that the show is peddling." And then, I have seen a take where it's like, "There's a character in the show where he's taking care of his mom, and then he ends up killing his mom, and like that relationship is very strictly familial, so like, we can assume that, like, [laughs] Sam and Dean's relationship is also familial."
C: I mean-
G: Which like, I would love to- No, I that's a very bad way to put it. I am going to point out that, like, in this one, he is taking care of his mother. and then he has sex with her-
C: Not his mother. He has sex with the siren.
G: Yeah. And she goes, "We could be in love if you kill your mom."
C: That's very different.
G: It's not like [overlapping] "I could be your mother." [both laugh] Yeah! Exactly. So this is not the evidence that you're looking for that this episode is not like, weird in the incest way, you know?
C: Yeah. I mean, I think it's just like, Hays Code era gay villain shit. Like, "There's always gonna be a level of queer sexuality to something that is evil because we're Supernatural."
G: Yeah.
C: So yeah, I don't think they're feeling into the incest shippers on purpose-
G: Yeah, I also do not think so.
C: I think they're just like, "You know what's evil? Being gay. Also, Dean's most important relationship is with his brother platonically. We'll combine these 2 things, and it won't be weird. Prommy."
G: Yeah.
C: Is Cathryn Humphris the one who did bedtime stories?
G: I forgor.
C: I will check. 'Cause I was like, one of the most blatantly homophobic episodes that we had, right? Yeah, that was her. The "dude, could you be any more gay?" I think she's just kind of a sicko. Anyway. [laughs]
G: I've also seen someone say that like, "For a repressed queer person, it is very natural to think of like, [laughing] someone that you desire sexually to be like a family," which is such a wild to say, I feel, personally.
C: Huh.
G: So, I don't know. I don't know. I mean, maybe it is. Maybe it is.
C: I mean, maybe- I guess if you're like, trying to like, rationalize being very attached to someone.
G: Loving someone a lot, yeah, you can be like, "I love them in a family way!"
C: You're like, "This doesn't feel like typical friendship," then, yeah, that is like, one way you could choose to rationalize it to yourself. But like, I don't think that's what is happening here.
G: Yeah, [laughs] I also don't think that's what like, Cathryn Humphris was trying to say. I don't think Cathryn Humphis was trying to say anything at all.
C: She just was like, "Well, I don't want to be too obvious, the end." [G laughs]
G: Exactly. Yeah.
C: Yeah. I mean, but like, she is still saying something even if she didn't intend to say- [G laughs] I don't know. It's so odd. Like, honestly, even- okay, there's like, a way that she could be like, trying to say something that like, could be executed alright, I think, which is like, "Oh, like, for a lot of people like, sex and romance are the things that they long for the most or that they prize the most in their lives. But for Dean, it's like, this relationship."
G: You know what I read the most about it in the queer sense? Dean is aromantic. Isn't that like, something? You know what I mean?
C: Yeah, no, yeah. I feel like that is honestly- right, like, the biggest takeaway. Right. I think that's sort of what I was getting at. The way that it's like, "You don't have to prize a romantic or sexual relationship above all else, like, that could be something you don't even want that much, that you're just doing for the sake of appearances."
G: Yeah. I think if we're going to do like, queer reading of "Sex and Violence," Season 4 Episode 14 of Supernatural, that is like, I think the direction, I mean, I would personally take. Like, all these other people want romance in their lives. Dean... doesn't. He just wants a guy to hang out with. [both laugh] You know?
C: Yeah, exactly. Yeah. Yeah. And I think that could be done well, except they just make the whole Nick thing so... like, it's still a seduction, and it still feels sexual, even as he keeps saying the words "little brother." [laughs]
G: [laughing] Yeah, I suppose.
C: Yeah. There are ways- like, maybe you're thinking like, "There's just not a way to do something like this without making it seem sexual." But, in fact, if you read "bad moon rising" and its sequel, "rising sun blues," like, the author has taken Meg's character and changed it a lot so that like, sort of what she's chasing Sam around for is that she wants, like, a brother replacement for the one that they killed in Season 1, and like, that's done in a very interesting way where there's like, not a single hint of sexual or romantic tension with the two of them at all, but like, it is still like, a trying to convince you and like, longing and all that shit. But like, it's actually done in a way that separates the two modes of like, affection and shit. So yeah, Cathryn Humphris, take notes.
-
C: Dean's alone in the motel room, and Sam has accidentally left his phone unguarded, unpassworded in the room. Again, growing up without your parents in the house truly makes you a different person, I have to say. So Dean spends a long time looking at it, being like, "Do I invade his privacy?" Okay, I don't know if it's like, a "do I invade his privacy?" or like, "do I want to confirm this suspicion that I think is true but that I wish wasn't?" sort of look, but he takes a while before he picks up the phone and then goes to the third most recently dialed number, which there's no contact name in it, it's just a number with a 219 area code, which is Chicago. So maybe that's where Ruby lives.
So he dials, and he hears Ruby's voice go, "Hey, Sam. Sam? You there?" And Dean hangs up immediately and is upset.
So Sam comes in from interviewing Lenny from earlier. Apparently, he brought home Belle, he killed his mom right after. And Dean was like, "Wait. He killed his mom?" And Sam was like, "Well, it was the woman he was closest to," which implies that- I don't even know what it implies. [G laughs] It's weird that it's like, women only, but I mean, I guess Cathryn Humphris was like, "equality is when you try to kill your brother later in the episode."
G: Yeah.
C: And then Dean returns Sam's phone to him and Bobby calls and says that the lore indicates that probably the best way to kill sirens is to nick them with a bronze dagger covered in the blood of someone who is under the siren's spell, and the spell is probably some kind of venom that gets in the victim's blood. And Sam goes, "Oh, and it makes them go all Manchurian Candidate," which is his next pop culture reference that I feel like he wouldn't know. But basically, The Manchurian Candidate- oh, no, I thought I took notes on the Wikipedia page that I read, but I think, instead, I read the Wikipedia page and was like, "I need to go on YouTube and watch Mitski talk for 13 minutes instead of thinking about Supernatural." But basically, the The Manchurian Candidate is a novel that was adapted into a movie, and it was like- there was some guy who was like, the son of a prominent US politician, and he was like, in the army or something, and then he got kidnapped by, like, the Soviet Union during the Korean War, and then taken to Manchuria, which is like, northeast China, where they're like, in a camp and brainwashed into being Communists, and then they become like, sleeper agents and like, go back to like, the US or something, and then he acts as like, a Communist assassin or whatever whatever whatever. And also, his like, handler is his mom, and in some of the movies or in the book, too, he has a sexual relationship with her. I don't know. It just- it seems like just a bunch of Red Scare shit. [laughs] But that is that is what Sam is referencing here. [G laughs]
C: People would just write anything back in the day.
So yeah. So that's what we know. And apparently getting the blood of one of the people who is currently in jail is useless because they're no longer under the spell, so Sam decides that he's gonna go visit Dr. Roberts, Cara Roberts, Dr. Roberts, to pick up the blood samples that she has.
-
G: Sam and Dean go to the hospital again, and Doctor Cara's there, and they're asking her for the blood when suddenly, a guy goes up to them, and Dean goes all, "Hey, we're working a case here, and we're FBI." And then he shows his badge. And the guy goes, "Well, I'm FBI, too." And then they start talking to him. And he is suspicious of them and asks them about where they're from, who assigned them, all that crap. And Dean gives them a calling card of their superior officer, and so the guy calls this, and what do you know? It's Bobby! And Bobby's putting on such a fucking show, he's like, "Ugh. Are you questioning my authority? I checked, and it's under our jurisdiction. Or are you saying I'm wrong?" [laughing] Like, he's putting on bad cop so good.
C: And he's barbecuing the whole time, wearing a "Kiss the Chef" apron.
G: Yeah, he's like, "Next time you want to waste my time, don't." [C laughs] And then he hangs up. And then, like, you see a row of fucking phones that's like, with different tapes over them that says different things. And it's like, "Marshall," "FBI," you know, "CIA," all that crap. And I remember the very first- actually, here's a thing that I remember about this episode. I remember this scene. Is this the first time that we see this phone setup?
C: I feel like we saw a different phone set up earlier with like, a bunch of like, cell phones on a table, but I feel like they were not as well-labeled.
G: I think that was Dean with the phones, like, in the glove compartment of the car. But, like, in the late- I may or may not be misremembering this, but in the later seasons, the bunker kind of becomes this. Like, Sam and Dean would have like, a bunch of phones out in the bunker, so it's just like-
C: Well, Bobby's dead, so.
G: Yeah, somebody's gotta do the job. And I don't know. I always thought that this whole situation of like, "different phones, they build different things, and they have their, like, aliases and their personas, and who is playing who and which jurisdiction is which," like, write down every single thing, like, every single thing is accounted for right down to like, the very specifics. I always thought that was cool.
C: It is.
G: Because I am so interested about the logistics of all this shit, you know? Like, do they have a checklist? Do they fill out a form? [laughs] You know?
C: Yeah.
G: I always thought it was so cool that they just know what to do in these situations and they have their fucking cosplay characters in check at all times.
C: Yeah. So funny that the siren had to like, drive 20 miles to the nearest like, Kinko's to like, print out a fake FBI badge.
G: The guy comes back to Sam and Dean, and he introduces- Well, he introduces himself a while ago. He's Nick Monroe. He apologizes, shares some of his insights, which is that he knows about the strip club and that all of them went there and all of them spent lots of money there, and all that. And at first. when he asks Sam and Dean whether they should go and check it out, Dean was opposed to this idea, but Sam pulls him aside and basically goes, "Well, you just stay with him, keep him out of there, and I will just be here and like, getting the blood," right? So Dean heads out, and they also have this conversation where, like, Sam is like, "Focus on the naked girls. Dean [C sighs]; you'll forget he's even there." And Dean is like, "Okay. I'm doing it for the girls." which, you know, once you know how the episode turns out, it's like, "Okay, well."
C: Well.
-
C: We cut to Dean and Nick heading to the car. And Nick is like, "Oh my god, no way! You drive an Impala? Is it a 67 with a 327 4-barrel? Oh my god!"
G: [laughing] I'm pretty sure that, like, they said, a different 4-barrel number when John was being introduced to this car or whatever.
C: Let me check.
G: I will believe that no matter what.
C: 327 4-barrel. No, it matches up. Same thing.
G: Sad. Devastating.
C: Sorry.
G: What's the other thing that John says?
C: 275 horses. [both laugh]
G: I love that.
C: Yeah. So, you know, Nick's like, "Oh my god! Like, how did you get the FBI to let you drive your own car? Wow, you're so cool, Dean." Meanwhile, Sam's trying to convince Dr. Roberts to give him the blood, and she's like, "Bro, like, do you not trust me? Like, I'm a doctor. I did the tests." But eventually, Sam's like, "There's a specialist. We wanna try out a theory," etc. So she goes over to her cabinet, but the blood is gone. Gasp.
Meanwhile, at the strip club, Dean is not looking at the naked girls at all because he's asexual and aromantic is sort of the vibe of this episode, which I enjoy as a reading. If only there was good writing attached to it. So he and Nick are talking. They're like, basically just like, quizzing each other on Zepp songs, like, what year they were recorded, and then like, who wrote them and things like that. And it's like, man. Is this how like, men have fun? [laughs] Like, okay, you know that, like, probably completely bullshit era of like, people thinking that fandom was like, equivalent to like, social justice or whatever-
G: [laughs] Yeah.
C: - where they were like, "The way that, like, men enjoy things is that they enjoy knowing trivia and like, gatekeeping like, who is a true fan, and women enjoy things by being transformative and writing fanfiction." [G laughing] And like, that's bullshit, but also, like, currently Dean, is not doing much to-
G: Elevate, yeah.
C: - go against this statement that was made. Yeah. So they're having fun- G: I mean, to be fair. I think, like, the last- like, my most vivid experience of being around guys talking about an interest is- I think I mentioned this in the podcast before because I think about it constantly. One time, I was just hanging out with guys in my class, and they were talking about guns in extreme detail, and I was so shocked that, like, they knew anything about this. And they knew like, I think real shit. I mean, I don't know. I don't know anything about guns. So like, they were talking about things that I couldn't even begin to understand what they're referring to. So I was like, "How do you guys know all this?" and they're like, "Oh, we play it in video games." [C laughs] And it literally is just them like, exchanging like, information about guns. [both laughing] And I support that. I love it so much.
C: Yeah, yeah. Whatever floats their boats.
Dean's like, "Oh my god, dude, you know, like, for a Fed, you're like, pretty alright." And they're discussing the case a little bit, and then Nick is like, "Hey. I found something kind of weird at every single crime scene. There was a flower left behind, like a calling card." And it's a hyacinth, and it's blue, and Dean's like, "Oh my god! I think I've seen a flower like this before." And we cut outside of Dr. Roberts's office, where that plant exists.
-
G: Sam is there. Dr. Roberts is there.
C: Can I make it any more obvious?
G: Yeah. [laughs] They're like, watching the tapes.
C: Yeah, security tapes.
G: They're trying to look out for who stole the blood, right? And they can't figure it out. RIP.
C: Can you believe Sam just ditches town and doesn't tell her anything? Like, she's just like, "Well. He left. No arrests were made. The blood is still missing. We have no clue why. Oh, well, I guess at least no one else has murdered his wife." Also, like, again, like, all the people in jail who are going to get the death sentence, like, this is because none of you are willing to tell the world that the supernatural is a real thing. Like, those men are going to be executed because none of you will tell the world that the supernatural is a real thing. I hope you think about that sometimes.
G: And I think this is why Sam needs to be a lawyer, no matter what.
C: Yeah. Yeah.
G: Yeah.
C: This show would be so much more fun if he was a supernatural lawyer.
G: Yeah.
Sam is trying to tell her that like, "Oh, I think there's something that happened to them. Like, maybe they were drugged or something." Cara is just saying that, "Yeah, no. Sometimes you just loving someone so much, but you still want to bash their head in." And Sam is like, "Are you speaking from experience?" And she goes, "Yeah," and then starts going to like, the... fridge?
C: Liquor cabinet in her doctor's office.
G: I guess there is a liquor cabinet.
C: She's a terrible doctor.
G: This may be true. Maybe she's the Dr. House of her generation.
C: Yeah. Good point. She's not mean enough.
She offers Sam the drink. Sam takes it after, like, some banter about like, "Oh, it's a doctor! I'm fine, it's medicine." And she starts talking about her ex-husband, who is Carl, and, you know, she talks about it like, "I loved him. I really did. But one day I just looked at him, and I couldn't recognize him anymore." And then, like, at some point, Sam goes, "So you guys split up?" and she goes, "I suppose it's a word for it." [both laugh] Then, like, later we find out that he died! [laughing] Crazy shit.
C: Yeah. Which, like, okay, sometimes people don't want to say that their spouses are dead because, like, people just like, go full sympathy mode and don't find you hot anymore. So like, I get it. But like, they really did so much to set her up as a red herring that like- it doesn't even work because of like, how obvious they're trying to make it.
G: I mean, it's quite funny to think that like, they didn't technically split up. He just died. [C laughs] And the thing that she focuses on in that event in her life is that one day, she doesn't recognize him anymore and not the fact that, like, I don't know, a week later he was dead on the floor. [C laughs] Like, that shit's crazy to me.
C: One day, I woke up and I couldn't recognize him anymore, because the decay had set in.
G: Exactly.
C: Seriously, yeah. What a funny funny woman.
G: Well, somebody needs to compensate for Sam's absolute lack of any humor whatsoever.
C: Yeah.
G: I didn't know when this running gag of "Sam is so unfunny" in our podcast started.
C: Yeah, me neither.
G: I don't stand by it. I don't stand by it, but I think it's funny to say that I think Sam is unfunny.
C: I agree.
G: So you know what? Sam is unfunny, no matter what. [C laughs]
C: Every week, you bring a new verbal tic that you decide to just sprinkle throughout the episode. And I appreciate that.
G: What, me saying "no matter what" at any given opportunity? Yeah.
Well, they have sex.
C: Well, okay, first of all, Sam's phone rings, and it's Dean, who he knows is out on a case at the strip club where the siren usually works. And he's like, "I don't have to get that." What if he died?
G: Is it even Dean? It's implied that it's Bobby. It's implied that it's Bobby.
C: Oh, really? Okay. Never mind, then. It's fine.
G: But also like, Bobby is only going to call because of the case.
C: Yeah.
G: And he was like, "I don't really give a shit about it right now. I'm going someone in the someone in the 'fuck someone and kill other people case.'" [C laughs] Jesus Christ, Sam.
C: In the glass office! Also, like, you said they have sex so that you could skip the horrible dialogue that comes before they have sex [G laughing]-
G: Yes!
C: - but I think we really need to give attention to every single line exchanged here.
G: I don't wanna think about it! I don't wanna think about it ever again!
C: Because you hauve Covid? Okay, I'll do it. I'll do it. [G laughs]
So Cara's like, "Oh, well, you know, we all have our sad backstories, so let's have fun, no regrets, and live life like there's no tomorrow." Which is like, okay, cool. Definitely a thing a real person would say. And then, like, she starts scooting closer to him. And she goes, "For instance, I have been thinking about you all night. Well... parts of you." And Sam goes, "Just parts?" And then, due to the fact that they can't say cock on Supernatural, she says, "Yeah, like, your [both] lips." Sure man, that's what you were thinking about. And then she says, "Oh, they're very distracting, and I can't stop thinking about kissing them." This is like, a 12-year-old's idea of what a sex scene is. [laughs] And then they do- Sam's like, "That so?" and like, she takes his tie off, but like, she doesn't even unknot it. She just like, moves it around, and it just somehow comes off. I don't get it. And then, yeah, they have sex against the glass window where the shutters are open. Because, yeah. Also, like, the whole time, like, just at the beginning of the scene, like, her shirt is unbuttoned, like, to the waist. I mean, maybe she planned this. But also I just think that- I don't know. Just, you know, we've talked about the Supernatural costume designers, but it's so crazy how the Supernatural costume designers- Really, what her whole outfit reminds me of is like, there's a scene in Elementary where they're like, interviewing a barista who, like, may have interacted with someone that they need to question. And he was like, "Oh, yeah, like, there was like, this super hot woman who came in and like, I know, she was a doctor, and like, I could like, see her cleavage, and it was great." And like, later, Joan is like, "Okay, that was not a doctor because, like, there's like, a dress code for like, hygiene in the hospital, and like, she would not be allowed to have her shirt unbuttoned that much." And that's what leads them to find the actual person, because she's like, "He probably thought he was a doctor because she was wearing a white lab coat, but she was probably like, one of the women who give you perfume samples at the nearest department store because a white coat is part of their uniform." So yeah. I don't know. Cara Roberts and the Supernatural costume design people sure are people who make choices.
G: They are.
C: Do you think that, like, Ruby comes into Sam's thoughts at all throughout this situation?
G: What, you think he experiences guilt about-
C: I don't think he's in a monogamous relationship with Ruby. But like, this is like, as far as we're aware, the only person that he's had sex with besides Ruby in like, a while. Like, does he consider this to be just like, a completely different part of his life, so like, he doesn't really consider the two things similar in any way?
G: I mean, that could be a possibility.
C: Yeah, yeah. It's just- I think it's just because Ruby was so present in the "Then" sequence, especially the part where it's like, "Oh, what really changed his mind was the sex." And I was like, it's weird that that's not part of this at all or that, like, they don't try to draw some cornyass parallel between Ruby and like, sirens 'cause like, it's not a Sam episode.
Also, when I say the shutters are open, I mean, like-
G: They are open, yeah.
C: They are 90 degrees perpendicular to the window. And they're having sex against the window, and she's the one against the window, so like, they are fucking jabbing into her back the whole time! That cannot be comfortable! Whatever. And Sam's not even poisoned at all. Which, I mean, I guess is good cause, like, he's been through enough sexual assault already this season and every season. But like, he would not do this. [laughs]
Okay, well, that was a scene
G: It truly was.
-
C: Okay, so Sam heads back to the motel, and- wait. Why did we think that the call was from Bobby if Dean calls him and goes, "Where the hell have you been?" Doesn't that imply that Dean tried to get in contact with him earlier?
G: Yeah, but also later, Bobby says-
C: Oh, Bobby's like, "Neither of you picked up your phone, so I knew something was weird." No, but but okay, Dean called Bobby after this about Cara. So that was not the phone pickup that Bobby thought was suspicious. He was probably calling them during the fight, and we didn't notice.
G: Yeah, okay.
C: Yeah. So yeah. Dean goes, "Where the hell have you been? And you're not picking up your phone?" So that was him. So Sam was like, "Oh, I was with Cara. Someone stole the blood samples." And Dean goes, "Yeah, I fucking bet. Nick found these flower petals, the hyacinths, at the crime scenes, and those flowers are Mediterranean, which is from the island where the siren myth started, and Cara had those in her office or outside her office. And also, she's only been in town for 2 months, and her ex-husband, Carl, died of a heart attack with no warning." And Sam was like, "Well, I mean, I just don't think it was her!"
G: Yeah. You know the Tweet that's like, "But she apologized and her dick is ten inches throbbing."
C: "And I want her in me," yeah, no, 100 percent. Like, remember in "Monster Movie" when he like, ran over to like, fucking kill Ed at the movie theater with less evidence than this? Whateber.
G: Whateber.
C: So Sam's like, "I just have like, a feeling that like, it wasn't her. And the feeling isn't how like, my ass is still sore from her 10-inch cock." Dean's like, "Bro, like, you're being fucking stupid. Did you sleep with her?" And Sam goes, "No?" And Dean goes, "You're so stupid. That was so stupid. I do not get it." And Sam goes what? And Dean says, "Nothing." And Sam says, "No, say it." just like Edward from Twilight. And Dean goes, "Well, okay, like, first Madison, then Ruby, now Cara? Like, what's with you and banging monsters?" Which, I mean, I support monsterfuckers, but this is not a pattern because this is this is only the- Cara doesn't count, we find out later. But, I mean, what is with Sam and banging monsters? Is this something that we've discussed?
G: You know what? I don't think it's true. You know why?
C: Sarah?
G: 'Cause Rowena and him didn't even have sex, even once!
C: Oh yeah. That's true. I'm so sorry.
G: They had metaphorical sex in terms of he stabbed her to death, and she was holding his hand when the blade impaled her. And you know what? That, too, is, yuri.
C: [laughs] I agree.
C: But yeah. I don't think Sam really has a thing. I think the issue is just that he like, fucks people on cases instead of after cases. I mean, it's bad to fuck people after cases, too. But at least when Dean fucks people after cases, he knows that they're not the monster. [G laughs]
C: And Sam keeps insisting, "Hey, it's not her. I feel fine." and "You don't trust me?" And Dean's like, "Well, yeah, 'cause it could be the siren talking," which is, in fact, a fully reasonable thing to say. And Sam's like, "Hey, no like, let's meet up, and I'll help you out with the case." Neither of them have really considered who the siren would want them to kill. Maybe Sam was like, "It's fine, 'cause there's no women in my life." [G laughs]
G: Yeah.
C: Right. In fact, this episode, in addition to making Dean aromantic and asexual, also makes both of them transfem.
Dean's like, "Nope, you are not helping me. Shut up." And Sam's like, "Are you fucking serious?" And he gets so angy and he throws his phone across the room! God. Men will literally.
G: Maybe this is like, what Bobby means. "You didn't answer the phone!"
C: Oh, yeah, "You weren't picking up your phone because you fucking broke it." Yeah. Yeah. Whatever. I guess they're cheap and they do credit card fraud, anyway.
G: That's true.
C: But like, does he even remember Ruby's number? How's he gonna transfer it to the new one?
G: Man. I don't remember my own number. You know your number?
C: Yeah. And I'll say it right here on the podcast [G laughs]for everyone to prove that I do. No, but yeah, what was your statement?
G: No, I have two phone numbers, and I don't know one of them. So you know what? I know half of my numbers. And that's okay. Just be yourself.
C: Okay, you know what? I also only know half of my numbers 'cause I don't know my work phone number.
-
G: So Sam is so angy, and Dean calls Bobby, just updating him. And he makes another phone call, this time to Nick. He is asking for his help. So now they're both in the impala and they're watching Cara, the doctor. Apparently, Dean has explained to Nick that like, "Oh, I think these people are getting drugged, but I think it's Cara who's drugging all them. And also, I think Cara is transforming into all the strippers who told them to kill people." All that crap. Dean is just saying like, "Oh, you gotta trust me," and the guy goes, "I do, I guess." He hands Dean a flask. The guy has drank from it, and now Dean drinks from it. And then he goes, "Okay, let's say she is drugging the victims. How do you think she's pulling it off?" And then Dean goes, "You know, like, a toxin passed through physical contact." And then Nick goes, "Or maybe saliva. You really should have wiped the lip off that thing before you drank from it, Dean." C: Real.
G: And Dean like, realizes what's happening, but he is poisoned, so he can't do anything about it. And then Nick goes, "I should be your little brother." [both laughing] Funniest thing anyone has ever said ever.
C: Yeah.
G: And he goes like, "You can't trust Sam. You can only trust me. You should kill him now so we could be brothers forever." [C laughs] And then Dean goes, "Hell yeah." Have we considered that maybe they're just looking for excuses to kill each other so bad it's unreal?
C: Yeah, it's possible. Because, it's like, the siren, like, really played the long game with those other guys. But like, this is just like, five minutes work.
-
C: Inside the motel, Sam comes in and Nick is right there, and Sam's like, "Huh?" And then Dean ambushes him and holds a knife to his throat. Sam says to Nick, "I gotta tell ya, you're one butt-ugly stripper," which like, I think he'd be fine at a gay bar. He would get tips.
Sam's telling Dean, like, "Hey, fight this, please." whereas Nick is like, "Hey, like, why don't you just give him a little nick on his neck right there?" And Dean does. And he keeps talking and he says that he "gave Dean what he needed." He says, "It wasn't some bitch in a G-string." [flatly] Love that. Great. And then he goes, "It was you. A little brother that looked up to him. That he could trust. And now he loves me. He'd do anything for me. And that kind of devotion? Watching someone kill for you? It's the best feeling in the world." We've discussed that this is a bad explanation. And then Sam goes, "Is that why you're slutting all over town?" Would he say this?
G: I mean, he did, so. [C laughs]
C: Yeah. And then Nick is like, "Well, I got bored. And I wanna fall in love again and again and again." which, you know, really starts undermining the brother thing, like, right away. And, you know, Sam calls him a "needy, pathetic loser." And then Nick squirts poison right into his mouth. And he's like, "Okay, you two go fight to the death and scream and whatever. And whoever survives can be with me forever." We don't really know what Sam wants from Nick, you know? Like, okay, like, Sam's fighting, but like, why does he want to be with Nick forever? Like, what kind of role is Nick playing for him?
G: Because he's been poisoned!
C: No, I know, but like, doesn't the poison also like, make you think that this is someone that you like- doesn't it at least draw on like, your own desires in some way? Or like, is it just truly nothing here?
G: I think it's just whatever.
C: Okay. it would be interesting to know what Sam wants the most from a person.
G: Apparently, what Sam wants the most from a person is a person who gives him permission to kill his brother. [C laughs] And you know what? Good for him.
C: Yeah. Yeah.
Dean's like, "The Sam I knew is gone, and it's not because of the demon blood or the psychic crap. It's because you've been lying and keeping secrets, like calling Ruby and shit. And you're hiding things from me. We used to be like, a team and have each other's backs, blah blah blah." And then Sam's like, "Oh, well, you know the real reason I didn't tell you about Ruby and our hunt for Lilith is because you're too weak to go after her, and you're holding me back, and I'm a better hunter than you are. I'm stronger, and I'm smarter, and I can take out demons you're too scared to go near." Which we haven't seen- we haven't seen any of that in Season 4, right? Have we?
G: Yeah. I mean, most of it is like, not important to Dean's journey, so they don't show it. Also, I'm so fascinated that the thesis state for Sam and for Dean is like, [fake-crying] "You don't trust me! You don't love me enough!" etc etc. And for Sam it's like-
C: "Skill issue."
G: "You're a loser, Dean. [C laughs] You have a skill issue, and I'm too tired to compensate for your lack of ability to be a good hunter."
C: I know! It's so devoid of any leadup or any evidence or any emotion. I don't know, I just- do they just decide "this episode is gonna be a Sam episode" or "this episode is gonna be a Dean episode," and then they just like, go like, "Whatever. I don't care about the other one's characterization"? Is that just how Supernatural is written?
G: I think it may well be.
C: This is the woman who wrote "Metamorphosis," like, 10 episodes ago. And, like, Sam, stopped the car and yelled at Dean, and it wasn't about him being a bad hunter. It was like, a genuine emotion of like, "You make me feel like shit by like, acting in certain ways." Like, why couldn't that have been here?
G: Yeah. I mean, it could have been like, both of them being like, "You don't trust me because, like, I don't trust you because you don't trust me!" and like, "You don't trust me to do the good thing and like, to know what's right," and etc etc.
C: Yeah. I mean, I don't know. Maybe- Okay, let's- Should we explore the world where we take this at face value and this is truly Sam's number one issue with Dean? 'Cause there is evidence for it. Like, I know, in the panic room, isn't there the scene where Mary comes to him, and she's like, "You're stronger and better than Dean, and you have to get out and go after like, Lilith." So like, this is something that they've been trying to develop this season. Not well, but they've been trying. Right?
G: "Sam thinks he's better than Dean."
C: Is, I think something that they've been going for? I still don't see it. Is he getting arrogant this season? Is that something that's- It's just so many of these episodes are just generic case episodes where they just give each of them a random role. I guess, okay, you know what? I think maybe the only moments I can point to are like, in 4.07 when he tells Dean to like, stay behind and help the kids while he goes and confronts Samhain. Like, that's different from their usual dynamic. And then in "Family Remains," when he tells Dean to remain with the family as he goes to check out the attic or whatever. But like, I don't know. The generic case episodes is just like, each of them give themselves random jobs, and it's like, not really a big deal who does what, and it's not really clear who is better or worse. Like, maybe if he like, rubbed it in more about how like, the uncle died while Dean was supposed to be protecting him or something like that, I could see it. But I just don't- Yeah. I don't know. Like, this is something that's being told to me, but I am not feeling it.
C: Sam's like, "You're too busy sitting around feeling sorry for yourself, whining about all the souls you tortured in Hell. Boo-hoo!" This is how I act and talk about Dean as well, unfortunately. And then they start beating each other up. I don't know. It's just a fight scene.
G: Do you recall why Sam was mad at Dean in "Asylum"? Because this is like, similar vibes, right?
C: Yeah. I think it was about being at John's beck and call.
G: I think it's like, "Dad used to boss me around, and now you boss me around."
C: "You're following Dad's orders like a good little soldier 'cause you always do what he says without question. Are you that desperate for his approval? The difference between you and me is that I have a mind of my own. I'm not pathetic, like you." So okay.
G: I think maybe Sam really has like, a [both] superiority complex thing. Yeah.
C: I, okay, I can see it sort of in "Asylum." But like, that's quite different from like, "I'm a better hunter than you." Like, I think, like, "I'm willing to question dad," that's something that he- I can believe that he feels superior about sometimes. But like, about being a better hunter? I don't see it. It's not happening.
G: I mean, he did bring up that like, in his stint in Hell-
C: Oh, yeah.
G: Sam was able to save more blah blah blah. So I guess-
C: Okay. The pieces are there, but I don't think they've provided us with glue. It's not something that's been emphasized and Supernatural's not very good at subtlety, so I just assume that things have to be emphasized before they matter.
Eventually, Dean gets the upper hand. Sam's like, on the floor, and Dean's like, getting an axe to kill him. And he's like, "Oh, now, who's the better hunter?" basically. And he swings at Sam, but is stopped by Bobby rushing in. He gets Dean in the shoulder with a knife to like, get some blood, and then Sam starts like, yelling, "Noo!" as Bobby throws the knife at Nick, and it kills him. Goodbye, Nick.
So like, Bobby thinks they're gay.
G: Bobby definitely thinks they're gay.
C: Because they did not explain like, "No, he wanted to be like, my little brother." [both laugh]
G: God. Good for them.
-
G: Well, the episode ends with Sam and Dean and Bobby yet under another bridge. Bobby, like, gives them soda, and he's like, "Oh, you can't drink. You're driving."
C: So true.
G: And it's like, "When has that ever stopped them before?" But you know what? I'm glad they're stopping now.
Bobby, like, berates them a little bit about like, "Oh, you should have picked up your phone." And then there's this really awkward like, pause. And then he goes, "Are you guys gonna be okay?" And Sam and Dean are like, "Yeah, we're good! We're good! Yeah, we're fine! Yeah! Nothing's ever wrong in our life!" [C laughs] And Bobby is just like, "Okay." and then turns around back at them before leaving and says, "Those sirens are nasty things. There's no reason to feel bad that they got into you." And as he leaves, Sam and Dean continue sipping their sodas. And Dean goes, "Are you gonna say goodbye to the doctor? To Cara?" And Sam's like, "Yeah, no. What's the point?"
C: To be fucking polite! To be polite, that's the point.
G: Yeah. Well. Sam goes, "Hey, Dean, I didn't mean the things I said." [C laughs] And Dean is like, "Yeah, me, too." [C laughs] And Sam's like, "So it's okay?" And Sam's like, "Yeah." And then that's how the episode ends. I love it.
C: Yeah. I mean, at least Dean will never bring up that Sam called Ruby again because it's all forgiven now, and he says he didn't mean it. So there. A win overall.
G: He didn't mean it! Yeah. Well, what is our overall thoughts in this episode? I think it's not that bad, but also definitely not good, oh my god.
C: Yeah, I think it's- I feel like my thoughts on this episode are encapsulated by three texts I got from Danica while I was complaining about it where she goes "can't believe this is literally the Dean is gay for that guy ep and it's still boring," followed by "I mean, I know it's also the Dean is a misogynist ep, but still," and then, a few minutes later, presumably after she re-read the summary, "god, kind of wincesty episode, huh?" [both laugh] And you know? Yeah.
G: Yeah. Best Line/Worst Line? [C groans]
C: I mean, I'm assuming your worst line is the "I read!" because you spent so long complaining about it.
G: Okay, sure, yeah, that could be my Best Line/Worst Line. [C laughs]
C: I think that Nick and Sam are both very mean to strippers in the last scene, and it just- it seems unkind. Don't like it. So I guess those are my worst lines.
G: You know what? I actually really like the line where it's revealed that the flask is like, he's getting poisoned through the flask. I like that. When he goes, "You really should have wiped the mouth of that thing, Dean." It was like, very effective in being like, "Oh, no!" you know, that feeling. And like, I knew full well what the twist was, and yet I still felt it. So, I don't know. I like that line.
C: Okay, cool. I'm scrolling through the entire transcript, desperately trying to find a single moment I thought was good. Yeah, no. I'll just go with yours 'cause- Oh, wait, no, Bobby was funny. Maybe when he was like, "The next time you want to waste my time with stupid questions, don't."
G: [laughs] "Don't."
C: While he's in the "Kiss the Chef" apron. What a fun look for him.
G: Yeah. Well, spread those sheets
C: Alright. Well, I think there is some misogyny.
G: Yeah.
C: How much misogyny?
G: The thing is okay, like, the misogyny is not that there are strippers in the episode.
C: Yeah.
G: Like, I just wanna make that clear.
C: Yeah, yeah.
G: 'Cause I feel like when when we were starting the podcast, we would like, explain every single thing, you know. But like now, we would do this thing where we just assume everyone has listened to every single episode of everything we've ever said and done.
C: Yeah, and that every time I stop and say, "Okay," they understand what I mean by it. [laughs]
G: Yeah. But like, that's not the issue. The issue is that Supernatural literally only has two types of women in their head.
C: Yup.
G: And like, every time they do a woman, it's like- [both laugh]
C: What if we just didn't?
G: I mean, I don't wanna be like, "the mere existence of women-" [both laughing] I don't wanna be like, "The mere existence of women in the Supernatural universe is misogynistic," but boy, do they do it for fucking real! [laughing]
C: Well, they're gonna have better women. We're gonna meet Claire.
G: Yeah! Claire is the best.
C: And like, Eileen.
G: Eileen, love ya girl.
C: And a lot of people. But currently-
G: Charlie! We're gonna meet Charlie. Can you believe it?
C: - the one-off women in Supernatural are truly, truly Logan Roy-dreamed-up.
G: This could have been an opportunity for them to, I don't know, talk to one of the strippers. And they don't. Like, all of the strippers in this episode are literally just for set dressing and decor.
C: Right. They hired like, ten women just to like, be part of montages as like, untz untz untz music plays and they twirl around.
G: Yeah. And it's like- I mean, the reason why we don't even explain anything anymore is like, the explanation is pretty much, "It's Supernatural!" [laughs]
C: Yeah.
G: Which- I mean, it still is the explanation in this episode.
C: Yeah, it is unfortunate that "It's Supernatural" is the explanation, but like, I don't know, it would just take too much time for us to like, be how we were in Season 1.
G: Yeah.
C: Like, everyone knows everything already. I mean, this is the great like, what like, normalization/desensitization project that shows like this undergo, and it sure does work a little bit.
G: Yeah. Okay, before we tackle the homophobia, let's get into the racism.
C: How much misogyny points did we want?
G: Uh... maybe...
C: 2? 1 or 2? 2? 1? 2?
G: 2, yeah.
C: Okay. Racism.
G: I don't think there's much of it. I don't think there's anything that warrants a point.
C: Yeah, like, there's the one-off thing about Jasmine, but I don't think it like, matters that much. It does bother me that Dean's like, "One of them is 5'9 and has red hair, and also the other one's Asian. These are equally descriptive descriptions." [laughs] But-
G: Also, like, okay, do white people name their kids Jasmine?
C: Uh, let's see. The one Jasmine that I knew in grade school, I think, was Latina.
G: Every jasmine I know is Filipino by virtue of every person I know is pretty much Filipino. [both laugh] Yeah.
C: Oh, wait. I know another Jasmine, and yeah, she's Asian. Yeah. So. I don't know any white Jasmines.
G: 'Cause in the full context of the episode, where all of the names of the strippers are of Disney Princess names, it's like, having one named Jasmine is okay. But like, when the episode was starting, and we just learned like, Jasmine, and-
C: - and Dean's like, "Oh, obviously, stripper name."
G: Yeah. That did put me out a little bit.
C: I also did feel a little uncomfortable about it.
G: But in the fuller context of the episode, I guess it makes more sense. But in that specific moment, before we got the full context, I was like, "Well, why? Many people are named that."
C: The idea of stripper names is just an odd thing to me because I feel like a lot of the names that are considered stripper names are like, more common amongst people of color. Like, I don't know. Like, my sister was possibly going to be named Cherry, and my mom has a Chinese friend named Candy, and like, I don't know like, that's like, language barrier and cultural things and like, whatever whatever. But also like, yeah, I don't know. It's just- yeah. The concept of stripper names feels classist and racist a lot of the times.
G: Yeah. But, you know what? I won't count it. I'm not gonna give it a point. I just wanted to point that out because I did, like, have a reaction to it while watching.
C: Yeah, same
G: 'Cause the content, especially, 'cause I understand that most white Americans do not name people after food, but that is like, quite common in other cultures, you know? C: Yeah.
G: Like, what you said about Cherry, I know multiple Cherrys in my life. I know multiple Candys. I know an Apple, you know. It's like, people are just named that. And I'm not- these are not like, nicknames, but they have a different legal- like, no, these are like, legal names. You know what I mean?
C: Yeah, yeah.
G: So yeah.
C: Homophobia.
G: That's the kicker! What is it?
C: Like, is it? Like, it is but it's not?
G: It can be, but it's not.
C: Yeah.
G: They make no acknowledgement of homosexuality in this episode, even though there is like, aspects of it in it. And also like, surprisingly, it's kind of like, gay positivity. [laughs] 'Cause Bobby being like, accepting. [both laughing] Because there's this like, context of like, "This guy tricked you into falling in love with you. And you know what? It's not your fault." [both laughing] It's like- [laughs] I don't know. I really don't know. [both laugh]
C: That is incredibly funny. You're right. Him being like, "Heym don't feel bad about falling for it" is literally like," Hey, it's okay, if you like, fucked a guy. Like, you weren't in your right mind!" [laughs]
G: Exactly. This is exactly the vibe.
C: Man. What an odd relationship these three must have after this episode.
G: I'll give it a 0, honestly.
C: Okay, if you say so. Alright, it's a 0.
G: Happy 0.
C: Alright. IMDb? I have no fucking clue.
G: This has got to be a low 8s. 8.3.
C: Alright. I feel like every time I've gone higher in the past I've been burned, so I'm gonna go with an 8.2- well, I don't- This is like, sort of a famous episode, though. Like, aren't some people gonna like, enjoy the twi- whatever. No, I'm just gonna stick to my guns. I'm gonna say 8.2.
G: And you've been burned yet again! It's an 8.4.
C: [laughing] Fuck! Alright. Great. Love to hear it.
G: What the hell is this review? I love it. It goes, "Another good episode. 'Sex and Violence' seems to be the staple of any show on TV today. I believe 'Sex and Violence' grabs the viewers primeval urges. I found 'Sex and Violence' [both laughing] interesting." I love it! This is how every reviews can be written.
C: Yeah. Truly trying to match a word count that no one else is maintaining.
G: This one points out that like, it's nice to see the boys crossing paths with another FBI agent, even if they were fake.
C: That's true.
G: And they use gender mutual pronouns for the siren. I love that
C: Love that, yeah. The one that says the words "Sex and Violence" again and again, yeah, mentions that they like the plot twist because- they said, "Dean is an alpha male that has no problem meeting women but real friendship with men is difficult." Which is something that we pointed out with like, "After School Special," right? So this is maybe a- this comes like, right after "After School Special," right? So maybe it is like, an emotional continuity thing.
Yeah, this person points out that Dr. Roberts reminds them of Madison.
G: I mean, they do make a direct comparison in the episode, so.
C: They do. This person has just a paragraph defending bi Dean.
G: Yeah. And like, how it's not a Wincest episode.
C: Oh, no, there's two different reviews about bi Dean. "I think the character could be bisexual, but never went there, because, as we can see, the guy has some toxic masculinity in him. All his digs at Sam are 'you're a girl or gay.'" So true! "It's entirely possible, but come on, not because of this episode of this episode. If this episode is to be taken that way, it doesn't mean Dean is bi," yeah, blah blah blah blah. Yeah. And they end it with, "That's it. No sick Wincest." [laughs]
G: No, exactly.
C: Real!
Yeah, no, it's an earlier- cubsandculture, who talked about the homoeroticism in "Criss Angel" is one who's saying again that Dean's- there's queerbaiting regarding Dean and that he has a lot of homoerotic relationships with men, which yeah, I suppose so.
You know what we'll be watching next week? Not Supernatural! [both laughing]
G: Yeah, we should say goodbye. Goodbye, everyone.
C: For three whole months.
G: I don't even know how- That's it for this episode of Busty Asian Beauties. Next week, we will be discussing Season 1, Episode 1 of Good Omens-
C: "In the Beginning!"
G: Subscribe to us. "In the Beginning." Also the name of a Supernatural episode!
C: Yeah, I mean, it's in the Bible. People really like those words.
G: There are many words in the Bible. [C laughs]
C: It's true.
G: Yeah. There's a famous Filipino song that like, directly quotes the Bible, and it is the only Bible verse I can recite in full.
C: Ooh, what is it?
G: Thank you, Yeng Constantino. It goes, "Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast. It is not proud, it is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no records of wrong. Love does not delight in evil, but rejoices in the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, and always perseveres."
C: Nice. Yeah. That's from Corinthians, right? It's pretty common in wedding vows.
G: Yep. It is!
C: And it's in Mary Lambert's "She Keeps Me Warm."
G: Oh my god. That's a lesbian song, right?
C: Yeah.
G: Good for the lesbians.
C: Good for the lesbians.
G: It was corny as hell, though. Sorry, lesbians! [C laughs]
C: It's from a different era. I feel like the things that like, I needed to see in middle school and like, cry over in my little room by myself are like, the things that I would find corny today.
G: I never cried over anything in middle school. [C laughs] Probably because we didn't really have middle school. But, you know, that's a story for another day.
C: Yeah. Sure is. And that story will be on the podcast feed of [G laughs] Rubbish and Probably a Podcast, not here! Goodbye!
G: Not here on BABPod.
C: Not here!
G: Okay, well. I don't know. You can subscribe to us and shit. Okay, if you subscribe to us on Tumblr, we'll be there, no matter what.
C: Oh, yeah, yeah, We're sticking- yeah, so follow us on social media. We are gonna still be on Twitter at twitter.com/BeautiesPodcast-
G: We're still not gonna be on Twitter, if I'm being honest. [laughs]
C: We're continue not being on Twitter at twitter.com/BeautiesPodcast, and we're gonna continue being on Tumblr at bustyasianbeautiespod.tumblr.com. Our tag is #BABPod. Do we need a new tag for Rubbish and Probably a- Our official new tag next week will be #RubbishPod. [G laughs] And yeah. Thanks to everyone who's donated to our Ko-Fi, which will still be at ko-fi.com/bustyasianbeautiespod, and check out our merch, which will still only be Supernatural merch at babpod.redbubble.com, though I don't know. Maybe I'll Venmo our artist some more money and have her draw things. Who knows?
G: Who knows? Leave us a rating, something something- but that's not the part. It's [both] email us, at [email protected]. Also, if you're gonna email us about the Gomens stuff, it's still there in there because I don't want to check the other email. Thank you! [both] Bye!
[guitar music]
[beep]
G: Man, hearing you read them reminded me of why I don't read fanfiction any more. [C laughing]
C: Yeah, yeah.
G: I can barely read books that have like, a third person. You know how like, people who read fanfiction are like, "If it's in the first person, I ain't reading it." Well, if a book is in the third person, I'm not reading it, [laughing] because it reminds me too much of fanfiction.
C: Noo.
I mean, didn't we- I had a fanfiction era where I only wrote in second person.
G: I did that also.
C: Is that something that happened? Yeah. I don't know why. It just felt the most natural to me at a certain point in my life. Anyway.
C: Also, like, I need everything I read to feel like a diary entry no matter what. You know? [C laughs]
C: Yeah. So I guess first person is necessary for such aesthetic.
G: Yeah.
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Is Ace Attorney a good series to play? Which entries do you recommend?
It depends on your definition of good. Also I am hardly an expert, because I've cleared only the first two games in the series.
Ace Attorney is humorous and absurd. It's also dated back to 2001, so expect the old games not to be keeping up with the times as far as the themes go; it can be casually cruel to you. It haphazardly mixes anime and video-game logic with impactful real life parallels. Just when you think you have figured it out and are prepared for the next gag joke about the power of police and how it controls everything without being able to find its own arse even when they have a detailed map and an anatomical atlas a guy literally named Dick Gumshoe punches you in the emotional gut by having a meltdown and crisis of what his own worth to the world is. And then he turns around and goes "But I'm the world's best chef, I can make instant ramen like no one!"
Be prepared to get frustrated over "that is in no way obvious or logical!" prepare to have a favourite character who is an ultimate idiot. (It doesn't matter who will be your favourite, everyone is an idiot.) Prepare for an interactive visual novel where you aren't given choices to actually influence the outcome. Prepare to shout "WHAT? HOW?" a lot. Really really a lot. There will be a point where you will ask yourself "Can this shit-show be any more of a circus?" and the game will turn around and show you that yes, yes it can. (Turnabout Big Top might not be the most amazing episode, but it has impeccable timing.)
It's not a bad game and it is, in my opinion, a highly enjoyable game. Alternatively if you don't want to take a part in the absurd clusterfuck of a roller coaster.
I personally can’t play it for long in one sitting; I get emotionally charged and need to walk the charge off. I’ve walked many many kilometres to get through Farewell My Turnabout and Turnabout Goodbyes. At least I stay fit. But with mindless hack-and-slashers or puzzle games or strategy games I don’t have this problem. For the same reason I’m also stuck on Disco Elysium (objectively a great game, also very depressing). On the plus side AA is mostly character driven, which is something I am very much into.
My suggestion is that you play/watch a let's play chronologically in order of release. At least the first three games (Ace Attorney: Phoenix Wright, Ace Attorney: Justice For All and Ace Attorney: Trials and Tribulations) rely on each other that you know what happened in the previous installments. It also doesn't make much sense to play Ace Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney when you don't know who is that depressed guy in a beanie and what he's been up to previously. Ace Attorney Investigations will land flat when you didn't want to strangle its protagonist Miles Edgeworth with your bare hands for that autopsy bullshit he's pulled, not to mention meeting young Franziska. The Great Ace Attorney, which are set in 19th century are going to have you so lost without knowing the main series.
Start with the original trilogy of AA:PW, AA:JFA and AA:T&T, see how it goes. On Steam there are several good walkthrougs that spoiler the minimum of the story. Hug Wendy Oldbag for me, girl has shit luck. Also hug Maya. Dear gods, hug Maya.
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i need to share some of the tags ppl have put on this post. bc they are poems and they made me cry and i think they need to be read
#i keep telling my friends when recommending the game#often stories abt hope are difficult for those that have despaired#bc they boild down to “just believe✨”#and its easy bc there's so clearly smth to believe in in them#but DE shows you the deepest abyss#kneels in it bathes in it#have the despaired go “see?? it gets it!!” as they lie down with it#and then it floats on its back in the abyss and looks up at the stars#a story brave enough to engage with the abyss that tears me up as well#and then even braver still says “there's smth here. you're still alive. as long as you are there is still a chance”#even if you're the most despicable deservedly downtrodden guy you can get a chance#there's beauty in this world. in this ugly cold abyss#thats true hope for me. that's bravery. strength#labern#things of substance#also with how understanding the game is with substance use. not forgiving but understanding.#and how failure is an integral part of the experience. smth u get more out of often#more touching or introspective.#and crucially#more chances to try again and experience smth new#more chances to feel and hope#cries#The simplest most profound aspects of the universe are religious to those recovering from anything-- be it substance grief trauma etc. (via @cockonfetti)
#Ohhhhhh.... Ahhh...#I want to replay in the spring. It's a perfect early spring game#The late winter blooming into hopeful spring... That is the exact time of the year the game takes place in#I think the game will resonate with me in a new way when I next play it as an alcoholic who is clean#The game is depressing in the way that feels like home to those who have BEEN THERE.. And the hope is presents#Might seem bleak but the simple love and joy of the world around you is. And I am not exaggerating.#An addict in recovery's greatest gift from existence.#I spoke mildly on thoreau yesterday and how grief works it's way through the fabrics of transcendentalism#This game presents such a stark commonality to this thought#The simplest most profound aspects of the universe are religious to those recovering from anything-- be it substance grief trauma etc.#To see the true simple beauty of the light one must also be well acquainted with the dark beauty of a bottomless pit#Disco Elysium lays out some of the lowest lows in such stark discomfort-- but it is familiar to us.#And it also lays out hope and sheer love for the world in one of the most cathartically actionable dirty ethos I've ever seen.#Tequila Sunset will in its horrifyingly neon pain see a free simple sunrise once more ❣️#The road is discomfortingly hard. The hardest thing you can do. But existence itself is worth it.#It should make you uncomfortable. It better. But for a lot of us: that discomfort has been a home in our chests for as long as we can#Remember our own selves-- whatever those selves are or was or is becoming#Disco Elysium#Anyways...... I'm listening to a York and tex do a mission together playlist and enjoying my evening. (via @whitmanic)
#when you've hit rock bottom and there is nothing left for you--and then you come out the other end of it alive#you often really do see the world as just#so deeply hopeful and beautiful even in the ugliest parts. sometimes because you have to.#but also because--where else are you supposed to find it? why not here?#how could it not be a gift to feel the bite of the wind? how could i not find joy and beauty in a sea of sodden dead grass?#i see the concept of the pale and yes sure it's disturbing as a concept if you're unfamiliar with it#but as someone who struggles deeply with memory loss and brain fog and psychosis it's deeply relatable and beautiful in a way#idk#i resonate with this post a lot (via @peachybutch)
#same here#i am an addict and i was previously suicidal#sometimes i used to imagine just forgetting everything that ever made me this way#if maybe that would fix me#i also live in a rust belt city whos heyday was about a hundred years ago and will never come back#there are probably like ten harry du bois in my neighborhood at least and i have to hope i never become onw of them (@rot-grrl)
#disco elysium#genuinely disco elysium comforted me in ways that nothing else has#i may not have been an alcoholic#but i can see my own self-hatred sorrows and pain in harry#I've been failed so many times#yet there's still hope (via @zscribez)
#TRUUUUUUTH#im not even an alcoholic (but i am suicidally depressed) but oh my godddd when you manage to heal most of harry and fix things and comfort#people and provide silliness and joy and a stronger community even though youre still broken and in a failing system (COPS !!!!!)#ouurgghhhh#disco elysium#i love de it gave me hope it made me feel so so happy and hopeful#every time i had a Shivers moment i would weep (via @ignorancesbliss)
#and yet i continue (via @planningisnotmystrength)
realtalk but when i see dudes on steam or ppl on tumblr talking about how disco elysium made them feel pathetic and uncomfortable i just. i don’t know. i cannot relate to that at all. disco elysium is about an alcoholic amnesiac poet in love with a dying city who loves him back. if i had never been an alcoholic, if i had never been suicidally depressed, maybe i would think the world of disco elysium is a bleak one. but when you know what it’s like to go through that darkness and come out of it again? to fall back in love with a world that almost destroyed you? disco elysium is the most hopeful story imaginable. it sees the world for what it is and holds nothing back, none of the horror, none of the wonder, none of the love…
something about art comforting the disturbed and disturbing the comfortable i dunno
#cw suicide mention#testimonials#text#my posts#do read thru the tags if you have the time. and especially if you are in recovery.#to everyone who shared their experiences: i love you#i'm glad we exist.
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He compartido 16.314 publicaciones este 2022
¡Son 13.298 más que en 2021!
116 publicaciones originales (1 %)
16.198 reblogueos (99 %)
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He etiquetado 4997 publicaciones en 2022
#kim: 668 publicaciones
#ref: 310 publicaciones
#them: 269 publicaciones
#disco elysium: 202 publicaciones
#yeah: 135 publicaciones
#me: 57 publicaciones
#shabby chic: 49 publicaciones
#eeaao: 39 publicaciones
#yes: 35 publicaciones
#love this: 35 publicaciones
Longest Tag: 139 characters
#you are being willfully ignorant of the process of academia to assume that they're even able to say “yeah they wer gay and fuqqed all the t
Mis publicaciones más populares este 2022:
5
I'm so glad that Heartstopper exists - it's so nice and cute and really is a great portrayal of young queer love and I just hope that we can have more stories about happy queer people. Stories about our struggle are great and important but so much queer media is focused on it that it's easy to just binge gay movies and shows and fall into a depressive hole.
But at the same time, for me personally as a gay millennial who grew up right on the cusp of this new wave of queer acceptance, it really hurts to watch something that could have been me if I were born like, five years later. I had teenage love stolen from me by a society that wanted me dead or at least miserable for being who I was and it really fucking sucks to be reminded that I'll never get that back. I'm nearly 30 and despite having had supportive parents and a great family I'm still playing catchup socially and romantically relative to my peers because I lost so much time as a teen and young adult. Even if I've been lucky enough to not be bashed or actively discriminated against, the fear of it has kept me from experiencing things that so many of my peers have and have helped isolate me in ways my cishet friends have never had to experience.
I hope that my generation is the last one that has to live with this kind of fear and isolation. Things like Heartstopper make me hopeful that that's the case. But I also hope that people like me, who had to live in this limbo, don't get forgotten either.
11 notas. Fecha de publicación: 25 de abril de 2022
4
Disco Elysium is a wonderful and beautiful game with amazing writing and a haunting world and soundtrack and I really want to create a TTRPG system based off its approach to gameplay AND ALSO I have projected ALL of my problems and insecurities onto it and it has GLOMED onto me like a Futurama brainslug and I am so in love with Kim Kitsuragi and I might die from it oh my god
12 notas. Fecha de publicación: 16 de julio de 2022
3
As of last night, I finished my Disco Elysium fic (or the first draft anyway). 180ish pages, 60kish words (accounting for the scripting stuff to the best of my ability). I’m taking a break from my first proper tip to tail readthrough to go through my dash, but I’m gonna finish it up and chunk it into chapters then try to find beta readers to help me clean it up and edit a bit. If any followers and/or mutuals want to help I would be very grateful!!!
For those curious, it’s a slowburn Harry X Kim casefic that looks to establish sort of a post-canon canon - I started it as a sort of self-indulgent attempt to establish a feasible way of them getting together but then it just kind of spiraled into a novella so.
13 notas. Fecha de publicación: 23 de septiembre de 2022
2
I watched Star Trek: The Motion Picture on the plane and while it was a bizarre film that did a weird amount with a strange premise, the biggest value it has to Star Trek canon may very well be the fact that it’s basically just a Sprik fic made into a movie
20 notas. Fecha de publicación: 4 de agosto de 2022
Mi publicación más popular de 2022
There’s something so fucking tragic about the fact that Disco Elysium is supposed to be the one little window we get into the entire Elysium project, intended as an introduction to the world and not the end-all-be-all, that ends up being just entirely consumed by capitalistic greed and a disregard for art for art’s sake. It is only a part of this passion project that spans a decade or more and has a rich background, world and system created by a group of people just looking for a way to relate and be together and imagine a world that is somehow both better and worse than ours. And the only thing the system could do when being presented with this art is kill it for profit.
I really genuinely hope that the ZA/UM folks find another way to continue the world of Elysium because it really doesn’t deserve to die an untimely death at the hands of the demon of capital.
68 notas. Fecha de publicación: 3 de octubre de 2022
Descubre tu resumen del 2022 en Tumblr →
#tumblr2022#resumen del año#mi resumen del 2022 en tumblr#tu resumen del año en tumblr#year in review#my 2022 tumblr year in review#your tumblr year in review#sorry this is in spanish lmao
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hiii i really really love the way you write and the themes you touch on in your posts id love to hear if theres any books/media that influenced your writing style + the things you focus on in your analyses !
omg hiiii thank you<3 this got annoying so lemme put it under cut lol
This is actually really hard for me to pin down I've been racking my brains over this one. I tend to be a little bit of everywhere, just whatever catches my interest at the time. Most of my personal reading is nonfiction within the realm of philosophy/theology + history + english criticism; whatever fiction I do get around to tends to be horror and/or satire. House of Leaves by MZD actually has just about everything that tickles my fancy. Finally read it beginning of 2021 and I truly haven't been the same since. That's definitely a big one.
But to give you an idea here's the pile of books I'm looking at on my desk as I type this is: an anthology of John Wesley's sermons (founder of Methodism), House of Leaves, an anthology of Percy Shelley's poetry + prose, "The Sphinx in the City" essays on urban living + feminism, the communist manifesto, a dissertation on the influence of Hermann Hesse in Japan, "Thank God for the Atom Bomb" essays by a "conservative cultural critic", and how could i forget the 70pgs of the unabomber's manifesto i printed out.
Currently been slowly making my way through "Romanticism and Consciousness" which are essays on the historical/political background influencing Romantic literature. More often than not I tend to look for essays and critical readings of works before I actually do read said work proper. I don't recommend this btw I just never listen to my own advice. But like, this book inspired me to buy the Shelley anthology. And some of the essays in the Shelley anthology analyzing him I actually found online weeks prior and added them to my digital library. I'd rather read them physically, as I tend to highlight my books. I find highlighting + margin notes really help me stay focused otherwise simply Sitting And Reading makes me go a lil nutz unless the book really is that good. I backed an artist's first comic book that had me ensnared recently. Independent comics tend to do a number on me. Yes I'm still a huge homestuck fan. Will be going 8 years strong.
I reread Brave New World late 2020 after, somehow, getting my hands on it in middle school. Comparing the way the protagonist kills himself at the end vs trying to read Huxley's theological pieces, he should've stuck to the racist satire. I'm still gonna try to finish the Perennial Philosophy, though. All this rambling has me realizing the childhood series I grew up on was A Series of Unfortunate Events, so I think I'm starting to notice a trend.
But actually the biggest media type I consume is games I fucking love video games. I think I cried playing Disco Elysium. I wish more games understood its medium as well as DE. I think that's really what you have to find is stuff that understands its medium. Ososan is a show that is really fucking good at being a tv show, and I think it helps because it doesn't necessarily draw from anything prior because it's such a different beast from osokun (the ososan manga actually came out like a few months after it aired I learned recently).
I don't watch many movies or shows, and the ones I do make me really wanna read the original source material just so I could compare (A Clockwork Orange, American Psycho). I just last watched the Belladonna of Sadness and I think that's an animated movie that understands it's an animated movie. Why go for realism when you've got watercolors?
My other main criteria for any piece of work is that it makes me want to pick up smoking. I don't think I could explain this further if you asked.
Aside from. Any of whatever I just said. My writing background is largely academic with some journalistic experience. It makes media analysis really easy. It also helps that there's technically no wrong answer when it comes to critical readings, just like any school essay you just have to be able to back up your claims with evidence and articulate the connections you see. Prose is a new beast that I am attempting to tame but I think 1. You need to have fun with the learning process and I do in fact enjoy learning. This includes a willingness to examine and reexamine your own words even after you're done working on a piece and analyzing what you can/need to improve on. 2. I really enjoy being able to construct a sentence in a million different ways and I will always have a tab open for the Merriam-Webster dictionary-thesaurus while writing ANYTHING. 3. Did I mention having fun? I really have fun writing I love writing as a hobbyist. 4. Consume and question everything in equal measure. This will eventually produce something.
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Dude okay so like. Okay so.
Forgotten Indigo is a series about figuring out some bullshit in the city of Indigo.
It's actual play livestreams and vods, using a hyper-flexible tabletop rpg system that the GM made called Windrose.
You can find the whole series and some spin-offs and add-ons on Stabbyness Twitch, as well as 13 episodes and a few spin-offs on the Stabbyness Youtube (it's still getting re-uploaded).
It's kinda hard to find a way to pitch this series, to be honest. So instead, I'll pitch the player characters (the ones that you know about right away, as well as one that I think is pretty important)
Cassius- Okay so this is a weird pull but uh. Disco Elysium? Fucked up amnesiac detective? Same concept but entirely different execution, far less fucked up, far more polite.
Martha Teach- G. Guess what her job is? Yeah I don't really have to tell you her deal, except that holy shit she's so poggers. She's my mom dude. (That's a joke a lot of the cast makes but she. Actually reminds my of my mom sbchahfya) She's such a stressed out workaholic woman.
Beretta Pietro- Yes she's named after a gun. This is intentional. In her spin-off series, Beretta's Endless Summer Time, she also gets called Glocktua which is really funny considering a later character. Anyways she's my favorite character by far, her family Invented The Gun and hasn't shut up about it ever since. She goes on lots of dates, meticulously schedules everything, and her character's Twist fucked me up so badly because I didn't watch her session zero. She's easily my favorite character.
Selyf (I forgot his last name :[ ) : good boy!!! Good owl boy!!! Holy shit dude. He just wants to go to school.
The Champion of Noctua (AKA Noctua AKA Nocti) : an NPC, technically, but she's listed as a player character on the reference sheet Discord server so. Yeah anyways she's a Slug and she has prosthetics on all four of her limbs and she wasn't even supposed to befriend the party but! Here we are! She won the popularity poll and has been non-canonically launched into space via gazebo. (If nothing else, please watch the popularity contest battle royale. It's so out of character (intentionally so) but it's so funny. Ooc Teach made my side hurt with laughter. It's not going where you think it's going at all.)
AAAAA but yeah I spent 15 minutes typing this. I actually watched the first official session of Forgotten Indigo live when it first happened. I didn't watch the session zeroes and was so confused (watch the session zeroes. The middle two if nothing else, please the context is so important)
Forgotten Indigo isn't going to be for everyone, but like. There are so many other shows across Stabbyness and SurpriseroundRPG. Want JJBA but cyberpunk? Boom, Carbon Interface on Stabbyness. Want JJBA but with a bunch of depressed people? Bang, Cheer Up on SurpriseroundRPG. Want TV show Epithet Erased if it was just. So fucking wild and also weirdly dark?? Red Stich Report on SurpriseroundRPG is new, only two episodes, and it's so good. It's actually a pretty good jumping-on point if you want to start watching a show live. (I've noticed that a lot of shows I liked are DMed by a Specific Person and that person is Lamp. She's so cool. She's a romance option in a dating sim called Pizza Game.)
Anyways I've been writing this for?? About 30 minutes?? And I feel like I've barely said anything which Sucks so uhhh I'm open to questions :]
Ooooo okay I am trying my absolute best to comprehend this but boy does it sound interesting
So far the characters you’ve mentioned sound soo coooool and like I want to know more about them and how they look and their favorite colors and kshsjshs
One question I have is like,,,, how exactly does it work? Is it like DnD or like,,,,,,, kinda how the dsmp was w streams and everything? Is there a main character pov or separate ones? And the like spin off series (if I may call them that) sounds really interesting I’m even just the fact that they exist!
I would love to hear anything else you have to say about this and (if I’m not overwhelming myself with catching up on hc episodes haha hehe) I’ll try to check it out on YouTube at the very least!
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