#holy fuck i started to absolutely LOVE kuma more than before

[kyros-tha-soldier]

Oda creates the most evil looking, badass, hardened, tough and strong men, and then gives you their backstories where he shows them to be absolute sweeties and cutie pies and expects me not to do this to them

i am all over those goofsters do you hear me Oda? i am obsessed and it's YOUR fault!!

[untapanimedraw]

Fall 2020, What I watched

Hot damn, this season was fucking packed. And next season is will only be more packed. Since there’re so many lets get started. 

Completed

Jujutsu Kaisen (9) - Rating this now may be a bit premature since it’s a 2 cour show that’s actually airing back to back! So this season won’t finish until March, but damn this first half is absolutely fantastic. 

DanMachi S3 (9) - Holy shit this season was amazing. Please watch it if you like the series. 

Tonikawa (9) - Best romance anime I’ve ever seen. Married in the first episode. Fuck yeah. Absolutely adorable and now I really want an adorable wife of my own. I mean I’ve wanted that for a while, but this showed me how lonely I am... I mean this showed that there is hope out there in the world. 

Irregular at Magic High School S2 (7) - I love this series but rating objectively, the pacing was a bit off this season despite the animation and action being quite good. Not quite as good as the first season for me, but I still loved it. Also you can now watch the movie with proper context after this season. 

Haikyuu!! To the Top 2nd Cour (9) - This show just gets better and better. 

Wandering Witch (6) - For some reason this show is generally rated higher than this, but no it’s not that good. It’s fine, but not spectacular by any means. 

Our Last Crusade or the Rise of a New World (6) - I’m conflicted about this one. I read the manga before the show aired so I was pretty hyped for it, but the show just never seemed to live up to what I imagined it would be. Then it started changing some details and I realized it was basing the source material on the LN and not the manga. And then the show went past where the translated manga was up to date and it was good? So all in all, I think it was pretty good. 

I’m Standing on a Million Lives (7) - This one was quite a surprise. It started out a bit generic but then it built into something quite interesting by the end. Then there was the surprise announcement that it’s getting a season 2 in Summer 2021 so actually I’m quite looking forward to that. 

Noblesse (5) - Is this good? I honestly don’t know. I think it’s actually been an ok show so far, but I’ve heard that there’s been a lot of chapters skipped and the story is fractured. 

By The Grace of the Gods (10) - This is an Iyashikei anime, a healing anime. It’s just supposed to be chill and good things happen and you just feel good about things. I read the manga first and then watched the show and it legitimately put my soul at ease. 

The Day I Became a God (5) - Damn, Jun Maeda letting us down in the last episode again...

Akudama Drive (9) - Holy shit. So this is going up against Deca-Dence for best original of the year and it will be a tough fight.  

Talentless Nana (8) - MHA meets Assassination Classroom meets Death Note. I did not expect this at all and it ended up being much more interesting than the synopsis lead you to believe. 

Kuma Kuma Kuma Bear (6) - Reminds me of Bofuri except there’s very little struggles and difficulties. That doesn’t make it bad or completely boring, but it was definitely low-stakes. 

Higurashi GOU (6) - I never saw the original so I’m watching this one on its own and so far that seem to be fine you don’t need to know anything about the original for this to make sense. 

Sleepy Princess in the Demon Castle (7) - Absolute surprise of the season. This was hilarious and cute and adorable and just absolutely fantastic. 

Adachi and Shimamura (8) - This is the building of emotions and relationship to Tonikawa’s already married gotta go from here. It’s two girls struggling to figure out where they fit into life and what their own feelings mean. Yuri and adorable. 

Golden Kamuy S3 (8) - Fantastic season. You know what you’re getting. 

Iwakakeru Sport Climbing Girls (6) - Girls do rock climbing. Pretty decent. 

Assault Lily: Bouquet (5) - Had lots of promise, but kinda failed to live up to the promise. Loads of cute girls and thigh close-ups with good action animation. 

Warlords of Sigrdrifa (7) - Tags: Norse Mythology, Ragnarok, Cute Girls, planes, sadness, cute girls. 

Dogeza (4) - 3 minute episodes of a guy kowtowing and begging to see boobs and panties. It’s fantastic. 

The Gymnastics Samurai (8) - Just watch this. 

Love Live! Nijigasaki High School Idol Club (7) - An actually good Idol anime! A Love Live that isn’t completely drama with some singing and dancing, but singing and dancing with girls who learn about their own personal struggles and no unnecessary drama. 

Hypnosismic (5) - Bishi boys rapping against the Matriarchy. It’s quite the show, check it out. 

Dropout Idol Fruit Tart (7) - This show is way more horny and yuri focused than it presented itself and it is amazing for it. 

Completed 26

Favorite show of the season: Jujutsu Kaisen. 

[lucatorahaven]

vampire au post

4 skype convos haphazardly mixed in from very different times

[29/11/2014 4:27:51 AM] Probably Not Assorted Cheeses: Vampire au

Lucas the incompetent vampire who eats mostly animals

Duster was the one who bit him, only bc duster was literally starving n lucas came at a bad time

idk if duster should be born a vampire or not but Wes is one too and together they taught lucas how to survive.

however eventually they had to leave, they offered for lucas to join them but lucas can’t leave his family behind, the kid’s too sentimental :’(

so together they staged his death (which im too lazy to try n think of)

claus knew bout the vampire thing tho, lucas couldn’t live alone like that. He also ended up biting Boney in an accident so hey vampire dog.

claus grew up and eventually had his own family. Lucas could only really watch from afar but then the kids got his age and it was hard to see him and keep the gig up. He visited his parents funeral anonymously and afterwards him and claus stood there just

“sup” “how’re the kids” “twice your age and with kids of their own” “heh, i always thought you would be the one with kids yano?” 

it was very bittersweet, it felt like they’ve never been apart 

“it never stops feeling strange without you” "I know” 

lucas thinks of that conversation a lot

he started off the "younger uncle" then the "weird neighbourhood kid that visits grandpa claus" and inevitably the "weird kid from nowhere who goes to the cemetary every other month to put flowers on graves older than appears to be"

SO without attachments lucas traveled with boney, hoping that they find duster along the way.

eventually lucas comes back to tazmilly but it’s been a couple hundred years now and it’s completely different so he doesn’t recognize it

n lucas one day is caught outside with no shelter, it’s almost morning so he runs into osohe (which is way outta town so he assumed it was abandoned)

vampires can’t enter homes without being invited in because apparently homes are holy land but osohe is fuckn haunted so that doesn’t apply (adding on to the abandoned theory)

that’s how kumatora and him meet, she finds him exploring osohe all “wtf the fuck who are YOU...this me house”

So she gets an awkward lie explanation from lucas 

n she eventually catches on lucas is a vampire n is just DUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUDE I NEVER MET A VAMPIRE BEFORE FUCKN SWEET

lucas is just UM.;;; IS IT OK IF I STAY

"oh dude it's cool!! but u gotta tell me bout yourself bc i never met a vampire before ok?? i live iN THE PERFECT GOTHIC HOME BUT THERE’S NONE!! but here you are and i’m JACKED i gotta go to work tho so brb but afterwards u gotta tell me about yourself ok CYA"

lucas is still processing everything by the time she leaves, but he’s grateful and figures a conversation is the least he can do to repay her

in this au kumatora’s into cryptology bc her house is FULL of books and it’s a common subject (also the fact her castle is filled with ghosts and there are zombies just across the moat, it’s a p convenient hobby)

when she comes back she’s super excited because he’s still there 

lucas is kinda reserved but he still answers questions bc it’s POLITE

she asks bout p much everything?? “HEY do you need that” “y-yes” “is this true?” “not that i know of” “ok experiment time” “uH;;” “wait am i keeping you up?? it’s still daytime” “no it’s okay” 

after exhausting lucas of all his Vampire Facts kuma invites lucas to live at osohe castle, it’s big enough anyways

lucas is wary af bc he doesn't wanna accidentally get close to someone who 1. has a life span and 2. is technically food

but lucas ends up sticking around anyways, boney really likes it and he lowkey enjoys her company

so they keep chillin n lucas tells her how he hunts animals n how he only takes a bit of blood so they don't die and 

IDK I GO BY THE THEORY THAT VAMPIRES HAVE VENOM bc otherwise their entire food source becomes COMPETITION n they can bite but not?? TURN THEM INTO ANYTHIng so controlled blood flow for feeding purposes

also vampires only need to eat once or twice a month? they die around 6+ months without eating from starvation. It all depends on how quickly the blood cells in their body die basically.

ALSO when they bite you it doesn’t hurt bc their saliva numbs it so (sneaky bites) but it still feels weird as shit

bUT YA SO LUCAS N KUMATORA CHAt a whole bunch...you know that “accidentally get close” thing i mentioned? it happened

(it was kinda hard to avoid when the first companion you have that’s not your dog is informed on vampires and vampire goods, that was convenient)

so they keep hangin out and kumatora unlocks his Tragic Backstory

n sometimes kumatora helps him feed? like they go out together finding animals n storing blood

n lucas is fascinated with how technology has advanced bc he doesn't really?? go into towns anymore but he fuckn LOVES it

n they play video games n general COOL FUNTIMES

kumatora let’s lucas borrow her labtop to occupy himself and he looks for other vampires or hints of them

(this is under the assumption that osohe can get electricity in a modern au while still being ignored / abandoned)

n when kumatora goes to work he cleans up the castle n tries to show how much hE REALLY APPRECIATES HEr

n lIKE i also go by the logic that vampires do not do the stereotypical “turn into ashes at sunlight” it is a slow progression that takes up to 12 hours until absolutely turned to a crisp 

so basically if he covers himself and wears a shit ton of sunscreen he can chill in the middle of the day for like...a hour or two

and bc kumatora's WORTH IT he visits her at work n she's all LucAS WHAT ARe yO U DoING??   

lookin like a modern goth kid......has a huge red burn on his cheek..

he blames it on how pale/blonde he is “my brother is ginger you know”

kuma gets super worried n he's all bruh it cool i have like..2 more hours until i need to go to a hospital   

n kumas jsuT I GET OFF IN 4 HOURS GO HOME

kumatora invites him to movie nights with her friends n shit

people start calling lucas kumatora's goth boyfriend “never call him that when he's around or i'll murder you”

theyre all rather cool with lucas and find his speech kinda funny?

"wow look at those teeny boppers" "GET A LOAD OF THIS GUY GOD I LOVE IT" “???????????????" kumas friends ask for lucas more all WHAT SCHOOL DOES HE GO TO WHERE DOES HE LIVE "oh he's......foreign B)"

eventually it comes up how lucas doesn’t really want to be a vampire anymore and kumatoras just “dude i can help you find a cure” bc maybe her hobby is a bit Excessive but live your dreams

but ya lucas is just?? constantly wants to visit kumatora n loves her night shifts!! visits all the time they go on hikes a lot n jusT? GETS SO FUCKIGN ATTACHED IT SCARES HIM CONSTANTLY

they sometimes fall asleep on the couch together n when he's all "wow shes so cute.." he realizes how fucking Deep he’s in this and he’s FUCKED

he tries to distance himself but he Can’t Fucking Do It (just like w/ his fam)

whenever he tries to push her away she looks so upset it kills him 

N HE'S IN SUCH A STRUGGLE BC HE'S JUST

SO HAPPY TO BE AROUND HER??????

N LIKE WHEN THEY CUDDLE N STUFF HE'S JUST SO OVERWHELMED BC oh my god heartbeats!! oh my god she's gonna die before me

n lucas really fucking feels the severity of how FUCKED he is when its her birthday n hes just

yes she's gonna age and he's gonna outlive her n they could never realistically be happy even if by some offhand chance she even RETURNS the feelings

N HE HAS TO HIDE HIS CRYING N STUFF BUT KUMATORA HAS  A 6TH FUCKN SENSE FOR DISTRESSED LUCAS SO SHE'S ALL bruh :( whats up

so he opens up to her about his feelings and anxiety and she hugs him through it, it’s kind of a shitty way to confess 

“idk if i can forgive you for deciding that i’m gonna die before you” “are you threatening murder” “that and no way death’s gonna get me, i’m pretty stubborn”

a lil while passes

“you know... i’m okay with becoming a vampire” lucas refuses bc dude.. you can’t even comprehend the weight of immortality.. what if she regrets it 

“to hell if i make my closest friend suffer because of a life span” “hah i guess that’s the same for me”

they drop the vampire topic for the time being and move on to other ones such as... mutual feelings :^)

they’re both romantically inclined i mean... lucas spent 300+ years being a hermit and kumatora had other things to do

so they take it slow, it’s p much the same as before except.. hey...now when i think “man i wanna hold their hand” i CAN

it'd also be really sad and/or cute if the ghosts in the castle some of them were lucas's family which might be why boney likes it so much but also imagine them kissin on the couch "kuma ghosts r there" "EH THEYRE JUst ghosts" ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°) claus looks into the camera "after so long... finally my little brother gets some action :')"

but idk if that’s a thing bc it feels kinda weird i feel like kissin n shit wouldn't b very often bc as much as they both loVE IT 

IT'S NOT THAT GREAT FOR A VAMPIRE

YANO.... HEARTS R BEATING... NECK IS RIGHT THERE (lucas still adores it tho)

so back to the topic of Mortality

kuma gets attacked in an alley on the way home from work

n lucas finds her bc they were gonna meet up but he smelt the blood and when he does find her he just goes FUCKFUCKFUCKFUCK n didn't know how to save her 

also thinking rationally is hard when OH LOOK AT ALL THAT BLOOD AHhaHA

SO HE BITES HER

he carries her body home n he spends the whole waiting process between DEAD and VAMPIRE crying just "hoyl shti please work please work" “what did i fucking dooooo” “what if i was earlier” “what if i was too late” so many anxieties

kuma wakes up and lucas transistions from panic to HAPPY PANIC OH THANK GOD

she’s really out of it bc of the process and he’s crying apologies “it’s okay you saved me” but he’s still crying, they cuddle for comfort

"hey atleast we did it NOW when i'm a hot sexy 19 yr old and not a wrinkly old lady” “kuma” “i’m tryna make light of the conversation”

so now that kumatora’s a vampire she only works night shifts until she eventually quits. They moved to a new town / whatever so it was easy to avoid having to meet someone in the daytime. facebook helped keep in touch with her friends while still letting the friendship die out.

it took kumatora a bit to get used to being a vampire. she threw up a lot at first and she didn’t like having to drink blood but she did eventually get used to it

idk if they find a cure bc idk what the cure would BE but they eventually find other vampires :^) they continued lucas’s search for duster and probably found him tbh

[elizabethrobertajones]

12x11 watching notes

For once I think it's kind of obvious what my expectations are if you've been reading my blog... I also was spoiled last night after it aired that my favourite reoccurring guest star is in it, but on the other hand there's a ton of second hand embarrassment... I've just got back from yoga so let's try and be zen and enjoy it :P

-

Also it's not a plot episode so I can be a bit more chill and enjoy the MotW nonsense without writing 100 miles of meta. I hope

-

Witches! (we already knew that, I'm just putting another note into "the only actual monster we've seen so far has been the one werewolf and one vampire Mary killed and everyone else has been a human, angel or demon this season" jar

I need a better label for that jar

Anyway from the looks of things this episode is all about a very human fear that just happens to be tripped by witchcraft and it would be a fucking waste not to milk it for 99% of the episode)

-

Holy shit they used the "poor little guy" from 3x09 that always breaks my heart. Are they really churning up old Edlund stuff so much that the recap was 90% 3x09 and they decided to give Dean a bunny BECAUSE of his broken heart at the sight of the dead bunny in 3x09?

I really hope Edlund is watching this season and laughing like crazy

Anyway before the promo is even over, we have an interesting point of thought for the episode, and a comparison back to Dean revealing a weird vulnerability for no reason in the middle of a case. And more Edlund parallels than you can shake a stick at.

-

Oh good the cold open is the witch who curses Dean... Definitely going to milk this for all it's worth. This is like fan fics where the first like 3 paragraphs are "and then they met a witch and it cursed them and then ran off or got killed" and all the rest is just whatever they actually wanted to write.

More Dean running around in woods (Purgatory callbacks), and mirroring a few episodes which started with the traditional cold open victim actually being the monster pursued by hunters.

-

Dean waking up lying in the forest on the ground... He's done that a few times, in more dire circumstances I've seen paralleled together - 11x01 and 5x04. Interestingly I guess knocked out both times by a dark mirror to himself but who would never actually harm him. There's something peaceful about the way he has the bunny hanging out with him.

It makes him seem harmless too.

...

You know I could stop watching this show right here... I've seen 12x10 and now I've seen Dean Winchester calmly pick up a rabbit and call it "buddy" I mean... is there even anywhere to go from here?

But I've heard Kuma is in the episode so I shall press on

-

Like, emotionally though, I think the show might be over for me :P

-

The town is called "Eureka Springs" which is kind of funny, because of the double water association and of course the association to revelation and learning. We gonna get a  big scientific discovery about Dean outside of the now doubly confirmed fact that rabbits are his favourite animal?

-

KUMA

Oh dang he's got a big part here... Do I gif all of it?

-

I should probably backtrack because I was just reading myself writing about 2x20 for some reason this morning (I think I was looking for something else completely unrelated) and I stumbled on a little discussion about subverting it or, well, its obvious relevance now Mary is around. The woman with the stroller assumes Dean is homeless and tells him not to buy a drink when she gives him some cash, which I guess was a thing in that episode that everyone assumed Dean was a drunk. It's a tiny detail (I mean, he IS an alcoholic, although functioning better than usual and his drinking has got a lot better since he lost the Mark) but if we're peeling back Dean, I think an interesting little one to start with.

I mean, we've started with Purgatory!Dean, and Actual Fluffy Bunny Lover Dean, so... it's a bit wild.

-

Dean remembers Sam's number.

Not where he is though.

Waffles! I'm with Dean here.

I too drop everything in a crisis when waffles are an option and someone's just paid me to leave them alone.

(Okay that's never happened - I'm delightful)

"What psycho doesn't love waffles" I mean come on even METATRON loved waffles, although they did not love him. Which is perhaps a more important sign of how dreadful he was :P

-

Ah jeeze I really want waffles.

-

Promo scene!

We have NO idea what Dean did the night before, so the thing with the girl is even more out of context... I wonder what it will end up being about? He looked like he was pretty busy hunting that witch last night. Events do not add up.

-

Sam has been convinced by Dean asking for painkillers that it's a hangover, and I think *Dean*, knowing himself, might think he just got blackout drunk somehow. The woman telling him not to buy a drink remains vaguely important, thematically...

-

Sam also is getting concerned, and makes a general life advice warning to Dean to stop drinking so much.

-

Okay the girl who slapped Dean comes in, looks at him and goes "oh my god" and is ushered away by her friend - did THAT happen in the promo?

No, no it did not. Her response is given way more attention here - that was definitely edited out for the promo. Crafting the scene to look like something different. Huh. (I mean I know they've used different takes in promos, like in 10x01 using one which completely changed how much of a jerk Demon!Dean looked from the finished product... They do really manipulate these things.)

-

I really like how we're dumped on this case like Dean is - we only have one advantage, that we're already aware he's cursed while he isn't. Aside from that, we seem to be discovering it like Dean is, like how Sam springs the idea we're going to the morgue next on us.

-

Also did Dean lick his knife more intently in the promo asking for a friend

-

Huh I don't think her interaction with him has changed very much - I'm pretty sure she did just say hi then slap him in the promo too. The way she stopped when she saw him though is very suspicious because she sounded so horrified to see him.

-

Oh no Sam and Dean are wearing nice coats with their suits. I guess there's gonna be a lot of gifs :P

-

Really pretty morgue technician with no lines. Honestly if she doesn't get killed off that will mean finally after a lousy streak, we make it through an episode without a black woman being killed.

-

Well the first thing to go is Dean's ability not to be squeamish and weird. There's definitely a text post out there making fun of Dean for spending a year in Purgatory covered in guts, but getting weird about using a public telephone. Well, whatever barrier Dean has up about guts is aaall gone.

Please don't puke, we've made it over a season without you puking on screen and we're doing so well.

-

Oh no is this where Dean crashes the car. He's disappearing fast :< I thought that might be later in the episode.

I suppose Sam has to realise eventually that something is wrong with Dean.

I can't believe Sam lets Dean drive when he's "plastered"... I mean he must drive over the legal limit basically all the time and Sam's used to it, but can we just... make this a "wear seatbelts" road safety episode? Please take that car away from him, Sam.

-

OH NO Sam takes this moment for honesty hour - "Makes me want to crawl into a bottle too" - when Sam is drinking we KNOW it because he so rarely does it as a coping mechanism. I am indescribably sad about him saying that he feels this way :(

I mean I just take it for granted that Dean feels like shit so it's easier to deal with that :P I've been worried about Sam all season and he gives so few clues it's basically a pictures on a board linked with red string scenario to deduce if he's happy or not >.>

-

FINDING DORY REFERENCE

"Not going to apologise for loving that fish. Not to you, not to anyone." Dean has his barriers down and he does not care who knows he likes watching Disney movies. And the fact that it's probably Sam he's most prickly around when it comes to protecting that facade... Sam is, well, gonna learn a lot about Dean he feels like he probably didn't want to know :P

-

Honestly, Dean is me trying to remember the names of common household appliances.

There's something really bitchy about the way Sam labels the light stick and then covers the rest of the room in post it notes, even though Dean hasn't forgotten what they all are yet.

-

Rowena! :D Mostly because Dean doesn't want to bother Mom or Cas... I notice something there - Cas is someone who a few years ago they'd have absolutely bothered for some weird magical problem. Now Dean wants to keep EMOTIONALLY distant from them because they're his family and he doesn't want to worry them/them to see him like this/him to blurt anything he doesn't remember he isn't supposed to say... In this case the fact that Dean DOESN'T want to call Cas for help sure says a lot more about how much he likes him.

Anyway Rowena is a badass and I love how she gets into these weird scenarios. This one is much better than all the finding a rich husband and killing him malarky - fleecing rich dudes over rigged poker games is definitely more empowering :P

-

Okay yeah one of those post it notes says "Wall" - there is definitely a montage we missed of Sam being a hilarious bitch about it to Dean, and they're only phoning for help once it got kind of really not funny any more.

-

I wish we saw that

-

Dean and his "ICE BUCKET" what a tragedy

-

"All these dumps look the same" Dude, don't be rude to Wanek. I'll assume this is because you can't REMEMBER them.

-

Also the whole, living in a billion motels and until recently never having a place to call home thing - I was joking ages ago about Dean keeping a scrapbook about all the weird motels they went to or stealing mementos from them to remember the truly tacky ones... But the idea that almost all of them completely blur in his mind and he just doesn't notice or appreciate the differences...

-

I love using Dean's "the last thing I kinda sorta remember" to take us to the office. They mentioned Memento but honestly I'm still thinking "Dude where's my car" although I know Dabb hasn't watched that because he's deathly afraid of Emus, so it's possible Glynn had to sell the Memento angle despite having other things in mind.

Like Finding Dory

-

Dean steals a cigar (or two) - more implications that he smokes. I suppose when an angel heals you regularly or you were immortal for like a year and a half you kind of don't think of the consequences. I know some people don't really *smoke* smoke, but would have a good cigar if it came their way like this... I think Dean kind of has smoked in phases through the show, especially when he was younger, never mind all the implications he smokes weed, so... him stealing a few cigars is just more sneaky referencing this.

-

To the bar! Hey, waitress Dean got slapped by!

We have more stuff with the names and badges - Dean messing up getting his badge out in time because he forgets to do it, forgetting what their cover is... Basically, a little demonstration that he's forgetting their covers in general - HIS covers in general. The FBI identity is something I've written reams on so I won't go into it but yeah it's his Performing!Dean next layer up, and what he does with it can often tell us stuff about how he's acting with his more sturdy and thorough Performing!Dean layer underneath, before we get to fluffy bunny lover Dean who watches Finding Dory.

Anyway she calls him out for using ANOTHER name the night before, and he's like "sometimes we have to lie to protect our cover" which is the most Dean saying ever.

-

Oh hey and then as usual with the badge thing, a moment later we're slammed with something RIDICULOUS like, for example:

"And then you hit the bull." "What??" < both Winchesters "Oh yeah, you had the hots for Larry as soon as you walked in." "He - you... rode Larry?" *Dean shrugs like whatever* "Was I good?"

yeah so that's not a coded conversation that sounds SUPER FUCKING GAY out of context and considering the "hots for Larry" comment, doesn't do so badly IN context, especially as it's such a, uh, suggestive thing :P There's a girl riding it in the background and yeah, the whole movement to keep on the bull? I know it seems like a manly sport, but it involves a lot of writhing and pelvic movement and that bull is like as masculine an icon as you can get.

And Dean had the hots for it

oh god :P

-

Worked to win the waitress over anyway :P

And she apologises for taking advantage of him. Wow. I don't think Sam and Dean even know what all those words mean put together in that order. :P

-

"First action in I don't know how long, and it's like it never even happened. Figures." "See now that's comedy"

When WAS the last time Dean hooked up? Back in season 11 some time... 11x13 it was suggested. (I have a lot of Snymelo vibes from this episode)

-

Honestly Cas is living right at the Bunker just man up and go talk to him and I guarantee that I could get you some action in about 2 lines of dialogue if you let me...

-

(Sadly last episode actually convinced me that there's really good reasons Cas hasn't made a move and Dean is pining unsuccessfully after him so I can't even be mad :P)

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"It's like watching myself on netflix" Aw

-

"I know how to shoot a gun!??"

:D Oh sweetie

-

Sam giving Dean the Talk.

No that sort of talk. the "monsters are real" talk.

You know who does that? CRAZY PEOPLE.

Nope, "Awesome. That's awesome."

He's feeling a bit better about the job I guess than back in Yellow Fever where he had the equivalent moment.

-

Aw he found a torch! He's so happy! "I'll man the flashlight" Yeah this is Yellow Fever again :P

-

Oh god we're only 18 minutes what can possibly-

Jesus Christ Siren Episode reference You've not talked about that for EIGHT YEARS.

See, last night I compared these 2 episodes before this one ever aired with the assumption that the Yellow Fever parallels might be obvious but the Siren Episode would only be a sort of leech onto that because of its own parallels to Yellow Fever so we would have to walk through YF as an intro to the Siren Episode and how it could be applied to this one

(Sue me I was already planning the meta and this episode is following the exact same pattern as Yellow Fever and the Siren Episode so I'm feeling really vindicated, right about now :P)

The point I made LAST night was that Sam had been reading Dean wrong all this time and messing up his chance to understand him in the previous episodes. This time, Sam doesn't really have any reason why he'd get Dean wrong? The enemy of the season is miscommunication and not understanding Dean is Sam's biggest miscommunication.

Whether he's taking advantage of Dean's cheerful no-memory state, and the suspicion Dean won't remember him bringing it up again or what, Sam feels secure telling Dean about the Siren, at least I assume not telling Dean HE was attracted to it, but that this is a thing that happens. Dean can't lash out, Dean doesn't feel defensive... He just takes this information as Sam tells it to him without being weird about it.

The fact Sam remembered and wanted to tell Dean though... Well, like I said, Yellow Fever and the Siren Episode are basically the same thing ESPECIALLY from Sam's perspective. Here he is for the 3rd time and Dean's all fucked up again, and no wonder Sam remembers.

He also mentioned Djinn "not granting wishes" which means my reference to 2x20 earlier was super legit. *more smugness*

(sorry :P This episode is fun. I like that the new writers have watched the show)

Anyway, I'll be thriving off that reminder for a while :D Better carry on watching before I get sucked into a vortex of comparing episodes before I even know how this one goes.

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Aw Sam calls it "the Talk"

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"Best job ever!"

Dean thinks they sound like heroes, Sam, who has the lived experience, voices some actual goddamn complaints about the job. GO SAM. I guess he's thinking Dean won't remember this conversation and so he can voice some things.

So HE does the "you know who does that? CRAZY PEOPLE" speech that Dean didn't make.

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AAAAAAAAAAAAH Bloody handprint. "Our best friend's an angel! WHaaaaaat!!!" I worry :P

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Cas will be fine, I don't think Jared's even had his 3rd kid yet. Misha needs to give them all paternity leave by having more Cas-centric episodes.

What a beautiful set up. Smol babies and more Cas.

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But yeah something horrid might happen to Cas briefly.

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Also Sam told Dean that he was "our best friend" and so Dean is totally failing to grasp exactly what Cas means to him.

He probably only remembers Sam as well as he does because he's right in front of him - if Dean had been with Mary or Cas he'd have forgotten the other 2

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"Is that a dead guy?"

Dean looks grossed out but also "Cool!" because dead monster.

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Witches! These guys seem like fun people.

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"I want my family back" she says while having Mary's hair and looking at the dead guy.

Oh dear.

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"Is that a dead guy?"

Sam needs to get a post it note for the dead guy.

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ROWENA

"your hair is so bouncy" I think Dean is full of cute observations like this he's just never allowed to say and I think that's so sweet I might barf.

(You should hear how he talks about Cas ANYWAY)

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Dean remembers porn but not quality TV oh dear >.> Sam puts Scooby Doo on for him, which I guess is sort of Dean's role in this episode :P More dogs on TV - reminder of the second "dog that thinks it's people" line with the person who said it the first time in the room...

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"Dean Winchester is going to die." "Sucks for that guy!" Well at least he's happy :P

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Sam drags him away for a toilet conversation

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Dean briefly regains a sense of self and is miserable

Sam why did you do that

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"You know, I've seen my brother die, but watching him become... not him. This might actually be worse" Please, you watched him descend into the Mark of Cain and then babysat demon!Dean for an episode, this isn't new :P

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OH SHIT here's the "my name is Dean Winchester" speech and it's delivered directly into a mirror I am not going to make it

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That was terrible also can I have a new heart something happened to this one *shows a box of shards to the cashier*

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Sam don't be bitchy to Rowena when she's the only one who can help.

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And Dean is struggling to remember anything

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Oh nooooo

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Poor Dean :( :( :(

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or whoever he is

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Sam is putting Dean's life on the line to be weird about Rowena helping them.

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OH NO Dean's still struggling with it

"I don't know"

*wails*

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"Stop touching everything!"

I kind of love poor Dean when he's like this :( He's so sweet and... I don't know. Living in the moment because that's all he's got.

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Also who is that voodoo doll of because they're having a terrible day too.

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Aww Rowena already hates the British Men of Letters, so I guess she'll be helping later.

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"These witches sound like dicks. I think you have plenty of snuff."

Dean interpreted that she was talking about herself despite not knowing anything. Dean is good at subtext.

Also that has real echoes of "Doug's a dick, you deserve better" which made me squeee over Dean x Donna although obviously as the waitress said, it would be completely taking advantage of Dean so Rowena better not butter him up too much while his barriers are down. Especially as Dean has a "ugh witches!" gag reflex while himself.

It's also interesting that this is a barriers down thing for him to say. He was still getting over ACTUALLY being roofied when they talked to Donna that time, and I didn't think Dean was totally out of it there because he was engaged quite well in the conversation, but heh, it's an interesting comparison.

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"What a gift not to remember the things you've done!"

Oh no don't TELL him, Rowena.

"You're a killer" "scores of people" *gagging* "the greater good" (hey we had a "the greater good" earlier this season, right? I was laughing about the parallels to Hot Fuzz... Was it something the BMoL said? I see to recall paralleling their control of England to the baddies' control of the village)

I like that Dean and Rowena both have a gag reflex about each other's professions. But really loving this dynamic.

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He might forget in a minute that Rowena told him he was a killer, at least.

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Rowena having honesty hour because like Sam she's assuming Dean won't remember this (as you might have guessed I am fascinated about what Dean DOES remember about this)

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"Power's what matters" Oh my god she's had actual character growth about this because of having to watch God and Amara suck at being the most powerful beings in the universe. Haaa.

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Rowena does love nose-booping Dean

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Sam is being pretty dangerous and scary in that way he gets when Dean is dying. Why do I get the feeling he's about to get a lesson in  being reckless.

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I wonder what the butterflies symbolise. We've seen them on the show before, but in very different contexts. Hope someone else is on that because I have no immediate ideas. Like that they re-animate to cause harm. Not sure how much symbolism here for what though :P

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Aw Rowena does care :D in her own way. No respect for the car. Pfft.

(I feel like someone's gonna be all "Dean remembered Sam when he was in danger!"  but the phone is right there with his name on so I'm not sure)

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Having Gideon laid out like that is pretty ominous...

"We can bring him back!"

Yeah, okay, that was fairly obvious since he was still in the room the whole time :P

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Wow guess they're swapping Sam for him or something.

- Aw Rowena wearing a long black coat and being badass.

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Eeeeee more Rowena backstory.

I love her so much.

I mean everything we learn about her is so sad but it makes her motivations to be badass and not take any shit and obtain wealth and have nice hair really sympathetic :P

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I am really loving how they're making Rowena more sympathetic.

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Grenade launcher: DENIED

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I swear to god this had better be building to Dean shooting it in 12x23 as the crowning moment of awesome for the season or what is even the point

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Are these all Rowena's notes or did Sam leave the ones in the trunk

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Whoever did it (I shall have to look at your handwriting again) you did good.

BUT

It was using Dean as a weapon. He had no idea who he was, no purpose, just these orders/suggestions and he went on instinct, couldn't even talk, COULD fire a gun, and had enough instinct to load the gun, walk into the house, and fight the witches.

I'm reminded of 9x21 (which I will be watching up next! Aaaah the dang rewatch! And GAVIN coming back...... Although maybe the new and improved Rowena might make that more interesting)... Whoops I... forgot... What I was saying. Uh. 9x21. Dean in the middle of the dark decent. Goes to kill Abaddon (mirrored in the fight with Lily and Ishim last episode), and for the entire scene from the moment he comes in the door, I think until they leave the building, Dean does not speak a word. He just goes in there on instinct, charges Abaddon, and pushes through he wall-shoving to get her, all on this brutal killer instinct that Rowena has reminded Dean he had.

Dean with no sense of self was very cute and goofy, but he retained his moral code (killing monsters bad, person who kills monsters hero) and he retained his killer instinct, so stripping him right down like that, I think this was the message of what has been programmed deepest into Dean, the things that would go last when everything else about him was disappearing. And considering I've been working through the last few episodes of season 9 lately, I'm chilled. :S Especially that the back up plan was to throw Dean at them as a weapon (I wonder if Rowena did it then, because Sam didn't have the thought Dean would do it, unless he labelled it all when they knew it was witches, but earlier in the episode when he was going on  his labelling spree)

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Dean takes Sam on total trust as well about who is the witch and who is his brother. We don't know if that was his instinct or being obedient to what he was told... I'm guessing this is going to be something with 2 readings.

I'm assuming the cheap answer is the love of his brother runs that deep and instinctively he would know.

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Why was Sam NOT at the restoration... Aside from for setting up "who's this hippy"

I mean they even used the sad family music! What jerks :P

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Probably best to piss Sam off immediately so to avoid soppy hugs.

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"Can't believe you called Rowena" "Can't believe you rode Larry" "Hey, I was awesome on that bull."

THAT'S your take away from this, Sam? I mean I'm thrilled but that's just... hilarious.

Especially as they don't mention the waitress again so the reminder is all about Larry and not about Dean's other conquest of the night :P I’m laughing.

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Does this episode end with Sam leaving the super powerful book of spells on top of the impala and Dean drives off and it falls in the street

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I say this because I'm feeling emotional about Rowena implying Dean should talk to her if he remembers their conversation, and Sam is now talking about how he's jealous of Dean's no-memories buzz

Dean is like “our life sucks but if I was happy I wouldn’t have a shot at hooking up with an angel”

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Okay no Sam took the book of witchcraft.

That doesn't bode well at all.

*she says vibrating with pent up frustration about how witch!Sam is being teased roughly twice a week with no pay off since like... ever*

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Yay I knew we'd get to see Dean riding Larry at the end.

because this is Yellow Fever.

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I like Yellow Fever.

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This is sort of embarassing having all of the other Dean stuff in there... You should have just stuck with him and Larry

Let them have a moment.

This is their song.

[kylewritesaboutthings]

Riot Fest 2016 - Day 1

It is 12:30pm and it feels like a jellyfish is hugging my balls. “Does it look I’m hiding anything in my crotch?” I ask my girlfriend Rachel. My hangover tells me that I’m being more paranoid than I should be…this isn’t my first rodeo. As a Polish punk there are few things I love more than combining my passion for subverting authority with my love of saving money. Which brings us to this point: waddling through the security line at Douglas Park for the first day of Riot Fest Chicago with a half a liter of Jameson saddled between my thighs.  We’ll go ahead and skip past the other illicit substances safely concealed between my size 11 boot and right foot. Like my literary icon Hunter S. Thompson, I feel it is best to experience a story when seeing it from an array of angles, even if those angles are all within your own head.

Like every time before this, my shitty acts of smuggling go off without a hitch and we are now inside the park with the (surprisingly) rarest of Riot Fest beverages: the elusive brown liquor. Unfortunately the time spent waiting for the rest of our party to shuffle through the GA entry line has caused us to miss ska heavy favorites, Big D and the Kids Table, but we take solace in the fact that like checkered vans and skanking, they will be around until the end of time. With a shrug of ‘oh well, next time’ we cut our losses and head to the nearest beer tent to get the day started off right. As we’re nursing the poor decisions of the previous evening (hence the reason why we didn’t have a full fifth of Jameson), I take the time to appreciate the fine work of the folks at All Rise Brewery who once again came to the park to vend their quality, local, higher alcohol percentage beers before we settle into a weekend of $8 Tacate tallboys. Driven by the fresh breath of alcohol into my system and an inability to read a schedule like a normal human being, we split up and I head for the Rise stage because I am not missing a god damn minute of the manmade hurricane that is the Dillinger Escape Plan. As soon as I arrive at the stage I realize two things: this is where all the #summergoths are hanging out trying not to get any color to their skin and that Dillinger Escape plan isn’t going on for another hour. Oops. I take the inaugural sip of my whiskey pouch and head back to the heard, congratulating myself on my skills of shitty espionage and the money I will save because I’ll have Jameson with me alllllll day. What is the old saying about counting chickens? 

I find my friends watching Diarrhea Planet kicking off the Rock Stage, a large pop up stage that only a band with four guitarists can make look like the midsized club in whatever the hell town you’re from. Think the Subterranean in Chicago. Think the Triple Rock in Minneapolis. Think the White Rabbit in San Antonio. But that’s the price that DP pay to layer 4 guitars over one another, and they do it well. Ripping through song after song in their short 30 minute set, singer Jordan Smith takes a very brief moment to apologize “for being so terse”. This will become a theme over the weekend, as everyone but the headlining acts receive a smaller set than usual. Such is with festivals. But unlike most festivals, the bands at Riot Fest put the pedal to the metal and wasted no time with banter and pleasantries. Except for The Hives, but more on that in the next installment. 

After a little while we start to wander over to the Story Heart stage, tucked in the back corner of the grounds behind the Ferris wheel. This is where all those bands in small type that come at the end of a lineup announcement “who you haven’t heard but have totally heard of them” spend the weekend. This time it is the bad ass girls of Bad Cop/Bad Cop who, by the looks of the crowd upon arrival, have had a lot of people take the plunge to actually listen to them.  It’s a great thing to see, as they are lovely people who make ripping, catchy, harmonized pop punk. Their energy is contagious and the tides turned pretty quickly from ‘recovering from last night’ to ‘in it to win it’. While they rolled through favorites like ‘Nightmare’, ‘Rodeo’, and ‘Anti Love Song’, we rolled through whiskey and beer and high fives. 

Luckily the Rise stage, where Dillinger Escape Plan were set to melt faces in an ever setting changing of time signatures that would make a symphonic composer shit themselves, was a hop, skip, and a jump away. More beer, more whiskey, some air guitaring, and some 7/5 timed headbanging ensued. Have you ever wanted to give yourself whiplash? Try headbanging on time with DEP. Ben Weinman is an absolute madman and musically/theatrically they are one of the most interesting bands in metal. A little bummed that we missed the usual destruction that comes with a Dillinger set (it is RIOT fest after all), we meandered back towards the Rock stage to see GWAR do their murderous space alien thing. With a fresh set of politicians to eviscerate, we knew we’d be in for a treat. I can’t tell you what they played, but I can tell you that when you start a set with a decapitation of a president that soaks the first 30 feet of the audience in fake blood…you’ll be in for a good time. Hillary and Trump boxed, with the former ripping the intestines out of the later. 

We now reached the point in any good afternoon of day drinking where you realize that if you don’t eat, you will be in serious trouble. Luckily some holy deity created tacos and soon I had crammed three of them into my facehole while I caught at least one side eyed look of horror from the carne asada vacuum that I had become. Whatever. If you wanted to see someone eat gracefully, you should have come to a festival of thousands of drunk punk kids. Take that, whoever you were. It was not the time for napkins, it was the time for drunken nostalgia. Set Your Goals, the only acceptable twin vocalist band, was back and they were playing just a beer stand away from where we were currently located. It was about this time that my ‘stockpile’ of whiskey had completely run out and we were running on full cylinders…each cylinder being a 16oz can of Mexican PBR. 

Luckily I had been tipped off ahead of time that they would not be doing the ‘Mutiny’ album in full, so I was able to enjoy their career spanning setlist for what it was. They did hit a number of jams from that album, making me even more excited for their fall run in which they would go cover to cover on what is one of my favorite pop punk albums of all time. A great band for group vocals (see: two vocalists), the whole front of the crowd was a giant sing-a-long of big ole dorks like myself who were excited for the Bay Area favorites to be back in action.

The next few hours were pretty hazy, but this is what I remember of them: • Never get a gyro at a festival, it does not come off a spit and no matter how drunk you are you will be disappointed. • Jimmy Eat World still puts on a great live show and everyone ever still remembers all the words to ‘Sweetness’. • Refused is fucking dead and they should have stayed dead. • I still don’t get Ween. • The Flaming Lips play the same god damn setlist every time they play Riot Fest. Or at least that’s what it sounds like. Just play that song about the robot, already.

After giving up on seeing music for the day, I decided that the press tent was the place to be and snuck Rachel in with me, brushing past the security guard vigilantly checking wristbands with a mutter of ‘it’s cool, I’m with For the Love of Punk and she’s helping me interview Andrew WK’ or something of the nature. HST would be proud. After a short potty break, I then learned the three greatest words I would hear all weekend. Press. Happy. Hour. Less than 10 minutes into entering the press area we were posted up at a table with 5 beers each, or roughly $80 of #preferedsponsor tallboys. Somewhere, HST and my extremely Polish grandma were smiling down on us…proud in their own way. 

Taking those to go, we found the rest of our group and spent some time chatting with our good friends Max and Emily, who help make Riot Fest happen. I will take this time to apologize to Max if I drunkenly said something shitty about the lack of portapotties instead of congratulating them on their excellent layout, somehow reuniting the Misfits, and graciously helping our winter fundraiser for the Bernie Sanders campaign by providing two 3 day passes to raffle off. Sorry Max! More to come on the very large number of things Riot Fest did right this year. 

By the time we finished chatting them up, we missed our mark of leaving before the bands finished up, hearing Fat Mike yell something inaudible to a crowd already starting to head for the gates behind us. Like a boozy salmon in a stream of cheap beers, we flowed out of the park and into the evening…everyone fairly confused but optimistic that we were all going to get rides to wherever we were going. Luckily the fine folks at Five Star Bar had that taken care of, as we hopped about the shuttle service they ran all weekend from the grounds to their Pop Punk DJ night hosted by super-secret special guest DJs, who were not so secret after Set Your Goals announced mid-set that they would be there spinning tunes later that evening. 

As always, an absolute blast was had at Five Star Bar as everyone mingled, met out of towners, and subsequently talked them into shots of everyone’s favorite dumpster liquor…Malort. The gentlemen of Set Your Goals were very nice to oblige my request of ‘Detroit’ by Fireworks, to which I sang embarrassingly loud level. They also had the rap airhorn cued up next to Spotify and every so often (or all the fucking time) we caught a blast of BWOW BWOW BWOW that truly was the cherry on top of the evening. A 3am drunk uber later, we were in bed eating Kumas mac and cheese. And if that isn’t a great way to end an evening, I don’t know what is.