i just noticed, that when i compared kaikai kitan’s lyrics from those lyrics channel/ websites with eng translations & from jpnese websites, the kanjis aren’t the same, that’s why it seems um, “choppy” so i decided to try translate the ones from jpnese website (it seems more reliable LMAO, i’ll add the links for the comparison [if u want to] in the end) AND IM SO SORRY FOR THE LONG ASKS

(before i start, i still have a rly long way to go with this language so i’m so sry if there’s any mistranslations 🙇‍♀️)

[note: literal meaning = with → ; idiomatic/ my (shitty) personal take = with ⇒]

有象無象 人の成り(uzo-muzou, hito no nari) = small fry, what (or how) a man is composed of

虚勢 心象 人外 物の怪みたいだ (kyosei, shinshou, jingai, mononoke mitaida) = fictitious, an image, a monster, it's like a demon spirit/ ghost

→ small fry, a man is composed of fictitiousness & an imagination : it's like a monster or a demon spirit/ ghost.

⇒ humanity is just like a mixture of small fries. ppl are usually trying to show their goodness, but it's superficial (“humans are built from lies. there’s always an underside to the emotions and actions shown on the surface. but negative emotions...like hatred and murderous intent never lie.” - jogo). they’re not the human being, but like monsters/ the fake one. [cursed spirits’ pov?]

虚心坦懐 命宿し(kyoshin-tankai, inochi yadoshi) = feeling calm, new life springs

あとは ぱっぱらぱな 中身なき人間 (ato wa pappara pa na nakami-naki ningen) = at the last a foolish, empty man is left

→ calm spirits were gifted lives. what left is the foolish & empty (hu)man.

⇒ and now, the nature, which people fear, were gifted lives as the cursed spirits. they’re the genuine "humanity." except for them, the rest are just the assemblage of foolish & hollow people. [from the stand point of cursed spirits]

寄せる期待 不平等な人生 (yoseru kitai, fubyoudou na jinsei) = with an anticipation/ expectation, with an unfair life

才能もない, 大乗非日常が (saino mo nai, daijo hinichijo ga) = without talent, the days out-of-ordinary that i arrived in to save the people

→ my life was an unfair and inept one, and i just lived with some anticipation. now, i’ve arrived in the days out-of ordinary to save the people.

⇒ though he expected how his life would treats him, all he can see are the unfair deaths of the ppl. yuuji, a boy without any talent (no cursed technique/ a capacity for jujutsu), has gotten involved in the days out-of ordinary to save others.

⇒ geto told himself that protecting ppl is his job, & struggled for their peace. but, the constant unfair deaths of his allies even though the weak they’re trying to save are foolish is the truth. the days out-of ordinary suddenly comes to the ordinary, non-talented people (the village ig)

怨親平等に 没個性 (onshin-byodou, ni botsu-kosei) = treating equally both my foes and friends, and with no personality stands out

辿る記憶 僕に居場所などないから(tadoru kioku, boku ni ibasho nadonaikara) = pursuing my memory for my existence, nowhere is left

→ i rmbr that i treated ppl equally even the ppl who had no personality that stands out (might be a continuation of the prev line), but i have nowhere to go now.

⇒ once, geto treated ppl, both shamans & non-shamans equally, but the latter didn't have any personality stand out in themselves bc of their ignorance; besides, [sometimes] they show their hostility to them (how the twins are treated in the countryside). after eliminating them, he remembers the days with his friends, but there’s nowhere to go [stsg confrontation ig]

夢の狭間で 泣いてないで (yume no hazama de naitenaide) = don’t cry (like that) in the gap between the dreams

どんな顔すればいいか わかってる(don-na kaosureba iika, wakatteru) = how to express my feeling on my face is that, i know/ understand

だけど まだ応えてくれよ(dakedo mada, kotaete kureyo) = but answer me for a while longer

→ i know (/understand) how i should express my feeling, but answer me for a while longer.

闇を祓って, 闇を祓って(yami wo haratte (2x)) = purify the darkness (2x)

夜の帳が下りたら 合図だ (yoru no tobari ga oritara aizu da) = when the curtain of the night has been lowered, it's the signal

→ shamans exorcise cursed spirits within a curtain (tobari)

相対して 廻る環状戦 (aitai-shite, mawaru kanjo-sen) = in opposite (/on the other hand), unending/endless battles go around

戯言などは 吐き捨ていけと(zaregoto nado wa hakisute ike to) = for words like nonsense, i was told to spit out them and go

→ they (?) told me to spit out such nonsense like words, and just go ahead.

まだ止めないで まだ止めないで(mada tomenaide (2x)) = don't let it stop for now (2x)

→ don’t let me stop for now (2x)

誰よりも 聡く在る 街に生まれしこの正体を(dareyorimo satoku aru machi ni umareshi kono sho-tai wo) = the presense being the smartest for the identity born in this town/ this identity of the creature born in this town exists as the smartest one.

今は ただ呪い呪われた僕の未来を創造して(imawa tada, noroi-norowareta boku no mirai wo, sozou shite) = for now, just create my future that was cursed /it creates my cursed future

⇒ itadori’s life was flipped upside down after eating the finger and turned to a vessel, but he continues on anyways to see the cursed future

走って転んで 消えない痛み抱いては(hashitte koronde, kienai itami daite wa) = run and slip, and with embracing the pain that doesn't leave me

→ i’ll keep running though sometimes i slipped, along with embracing the pain that doesn't leave me.

⇒ on the way, yuuji’s been through some tragedies and he’ll encounter much more. even so, he’s going to embrace the pain that won’t ever fade away (maybe abt junpei..?) [1]

世界が待ってる この一瞬を(sekai ga matteru, kono isshun wo) = the world is waiting for this moment

抒情的感情が 揺らいでいくバグ(jojouteki-kanjou ga yuraideiku, bug) = emotions are changing their forms with a bug

→ the BUG causes my emotions to change gradually.

(tbh i’m still confused on how to translate this)

↳ 揺ら yura = waver/ unstable ; 抒情 jojou = description of one’s feeling

従順に従った欠陥の罰 (jyu-jyun ni shitagatta kekkan no batsu) = the punishment of the defective who followed obediently

⇒ it’s a punishment, geto, as a defective carried bc of following it (a person, ig??¿)

死守選択しかない 愛に 無常気 (shishu-sentaku shikanai ai ni, mujo-ki) = the choice left is to protect it at any cost, love and the heart that feels everything dies/ change easily

↳ or, impermance in love, there’s no choice but to protect it until the very end(/ at any cost) with a heart that feels everything change/ dies easily

声も出せないまま (koe mo dasenai mama) = my voice hasn't been able to be raised/ without being able to raise my voice

傀儡な誓いの無き 百鬼夜行 (kugutsu na, chikai no naki, hyakki-yako) = without any vow that were empty like a puppet, hyakki yako (the night parade of the 100 demons)

→without any vow, geto caused the hyakki yako. it’s like he’s just a marionette, being empty (maybe it’s implying that 🧠 is controlling it rn)

数珠繋ぎなこの果てまでも (juzu-tsunagi na kono hate mademo) = even to the end where everything (every event in this world) is linked together

⇒ even after gojo killed him

極楽往生 現実蹴って 凪いで(gokuraku oujo, genjitsu kette, naide) = rest in peace, kick the reality, and calm down

→ rest in peace? it doesn't exist in the reality, so i kicked it, and then calmed down

⇒ geto can’t even have a peaceful death, he wants to kick (read : strangle) the reality which has his body in a shaman’s control

命を投げ出さないで (inochi wo nagedasanaide) = don't throw your life away

内の脆さに浸って(uchino morosa ni hitatte) = bask in the fragility of one's heart

→ don’t throw your life away without basking in the fragility of your heart

どんな顔すればいいか　わかんないよ (don-na kao sureba iika wakan-naiyo) = i don’t know how i should express my feeling (with my face)

今はただ応えてくれよ(imawa tada kotaete kureyo) = but just answer me for now

→ i don't know how i should express my feeling, but answer me just now

五常を解いて 五常を解いて(gojo wo toite (2x)) = disentangle gojo [confucianism] (2x)

→ disentangle the thought of gojo (2x)

⇒rescue gojou (from the prison realm) [explanation at the end]

不確かな声を紡ぐイデア(futashika na koe wo tsumugu idea) = the idea deliberates the unclear voices (that’s hard to hear)

相殺して 廻る感情線 (sousai shite, mawaru kanjousen) = countervail something, and the continuous emotion going around (/ looping/ revolving)

→ my continuous emotion is going around in my mind with (sth ?¿) countervailing it [i actually wanna go w neutralize it but it seems off]

その先に今 立ち上がる手を(sonosaki ni ima, tachiagaru te wo) = on the road ahead, now give me the hand to raise myself up

→ give me ur hand to raise myself up to see my future (yuuji’s pov(?)?))

ただ追いかけて ただ追いかけて(tada oikakete (2x)) = just by following / u just kept following them (?) [2x]

⇒ yuuji following in gojo’s path (taking the line after this into acct)

誰よりも強く在りたいと願う 君の運命すら (dare yorimo tsuyoku aritai to negau kimi no unmei sura) = even the fate of yours despite of your desire that being stronger than anyone else

→ even the fate of yours despite of the desire that being stronger than anyone else,

⇒ most likey yuuji, and his line, “i want to become strong. please teach me to be ‘the strongest’”

今はただ ほの暗い夜の底に (ima wa tada, honogurai yoru no soko ni) = just only for now, at the bottom of the gloomy (/dim) night

深く深く落ちこんで(fukaku fukaku ochikonde) = deeply, much more deeply (it) falls

→ it has only fallen to the bottom of the gloomy night deeply, much more deeply for now.

⇒ (+ the continuation from the previous line) this may implied shibuya (?), only more than 4 hours passed for the whole arc after all and yuuji witnessing what happened to nanami and nobara in front of his eyes [2]

不格好に見えたかい (bukakko ni mietakai) = seems (seemed) uncool?

これが今の僕なんだ (korega imano bokunanda) = this is what i am, how my present being

→ this is what i am, what i can be now

何者にもなれないだけの屍だ 嗤えよ(nanimono nimo, narenai dakeno, shikabaneda waraeyo) = i'm just only a dead that can't be anything, anyone, you can ridicule me (for it)

→ you can ridicule me. i'm just only a dead that can't be anything, anyone.

⇒ geto (?) and his wild goose chase (?) but now he’s dead and someone is using his body

↳ 屍 = can also be corpse

目の前の全てから 逃げることさえやめた(menomae no subetekara, nigeru koto sae yameta) = everything in front of me, i’ve quit running away from/ i’ve quit running away from all the things surround (/in front of) me

イメージを繰り返し 想像の先をいけと (image wo kurikaeshi, so-zo no saki wo ike to) = keep drawing inspiration, and go over the (/ ur) imagination

⇒ (+ continuation from the last line) this one may refer to yuuji’s strong will or megumi in jjk 58 “with a firm base, skill, and imagination...a person can change to the slightest of events”

闇を祓って 闇を祓って (yami wo haratte (2x)) = purify the darkness (2x)

夜の帳が下りたら合図だ (yoruno tobari ga oritara aizu da) = when the curtain of the night has been lowered, it's the signal

相対して 廻る環状戦 (sou-sai shite, mawaru kan-jyo-sen) = in opposite (/on the other hand), unending/endless battles go around

戯言などは 吐き捨ていけと(zaregoto nado wa, hakisute ike to) = for words like nonsense, i was told to spit out them and go

→ they told me to spit out such nonsense like words, and just go ahead.

まだ止めないで まだ止めないで(mada tomenaide (2x)) = don't let it stop for now (2x)

→ don't let it (/me) stop for now (2x)

誰よりも 聡く在る 街に生まれしこの正体を(dareyorimo satoku aru machi ni umareshi kono sho-tai wo) = the presense being the smartest for the identity born in this town

→ this identity of the creature born in this town exists as the smartest one.

今は ただ呪い呪われた僕の未来を創造して(imawa tada, noroi-norowareta boku no mirai wo, sozou shite) = for now, just create my future that was cursed /it creates my cursed future

走って転んで 消えない痛み抱いては(hashitte koronde, kienai itami daite wa) = run and slip, with embracing the pain that doesn't leave me

→ i’ll keep running though sometimes i slipped, along with embracing the pain that doesn't leave me.

世界が待ってる この一瞬を(sekai ga matteru, kono isshun wo) = the world is waiting for this moment

a) a proverb :

虚心坦懐 (kyoshin-tankai) = literally : empty// void; heart// mind// spirit; level// wide; pocket; heart

↳ the feeling "calm" or "relaxed" / the generosity without any prejudice/ with an open and calm mind, with no preconceived notions, without reserve, frank, candid

↳ 虚心 = a lack of prejudice/ preconception; 坦懐 = inner peace

↳"虚心坦懐 (が) 命 (を) 宿す" = "the feeling calm was gifted a life/ a new life springs." would be the meaning. it may describe the origin of the cursed spirits that may come from humans’ defilements / klesas or fear of natural disaster

a) 6 buddhist terms :

1) 有象無象 (uzo-muzo)

↳ literally : exist-shape-nothing-shape

it can be the mob/ masses. it’s a combination of the buddhist phrase : all things; things with physical forms and things without physical forms; material/ immaterial , visible/ invisible to denote the entirety of existence. by extension, “a large number of unexceptional people; the unwashed masses”; a term used to belittle mob behavior or “the common folk.” it’s probs humans from the cursed spirits’ perspective/  jogo’s “true humans” talk

2) 大乗 (daijo) = "the great vehicle" this word came from, "大乗仏教 (daijo-bukkyo)" = mahayana sect/ doctrine. mahayana emphasizes altruistic practice—called the bodhisattva practice—as a means to attain enlightenment for oneself and help others attain it as well [aka gojo who attained “enlightment” but stays in the figurative endless cycle of life and death, the college]

3) 怨親平等 (onshin byo do) = the attitude to treat friend and foe equally/ one’s foe and friend is equal/ hate and affection is equal

↳ the word byodo is connected with (平等王 byodo-o) = king impartial judge/ 10 kings (judges) of the underworld [this one is based from chinese taoism] and one of them is yama (sukuna’s mudra) who judges the dead on the 35th day    [3]

4 無常気 (mujo ki) = the heart that feels everything is fragile/ impermanence of the world, usually changing easily (it came from a chinese translation of a buddist scripture)

↳ 無常 = impermanence (nature of life)

↳ 気 = mind

5 数珠 (jyuzu) = the item to count the times of chanting the sutras, which form is the same to the bracelet strung with beads. the number of beads of the bracelet is 108 which signifies klesas/ curses + 4 smaller beads signifying the great 4 bodhisattvas, and the usage is similar to a rosary.

6 極楽往生 (gokuraku oujo) : "極楽" & "往生," has its own meaning each:

↳ 極楽: perfect bliss; the pure land of amitabha’s buddha (in buddhism pure land sect/ doctrine)

↳ 往生: death; dying a happy death.

↳ it’d be easier if we make "極楽往生" ⇾ "being born in the pure land after life/ rebirth in paradise (the word is a reference to the pure land section doctrine of amitabha buddha’s paradise/ pure land)

personally, i’ll go with “a peaceful death/ getting a rest in peace” (bc of the promise of reciting amitabha’s name would be born in the pure land, free from the samsaric cycle so they can focuse on attaining nirvana thing). the word “極楽往生” sort of reminds me of yuuji’s & his wish to give ppl a “just death” even though that his “just death” isn’t properly defined in the manga (yet), maybe....it stemmed from his grandfather’s seemingly “peaceful death” even though he wasn’t surrounded by ppl? (hahaha 😃🔫)

c) 3 puns :

↳ kanjo-sen : (環状戦[loop line/ transportation belt line]& 感情線 [emotion])

but the kanjo-sen used in the lyrics is "環状線", the sound might be a metaphor of it which means "loop line"

↳ so-zo: 創造 (creation)/ 想像 (imagination)

↳ warau: 嗤う ([to be] ridicule(d)/ laugh at) /  笑う (laugh)

d) double meaning phrases

1)五常 (gojo) = i’ll quote the wiki definition ⇾ confucianism or ruism, which is "the 5 moralities/ virtues (benevolence [仁 jin], justice & truth [義 gi], courtesy [礼 rei] , wisdom [智 chi], and trust/ faith [信 shin])” of what the mankind should keep," taught by confucius who is one of the philosophers of china.

"五常" also relates to buddhism : it’s the 5 precepts/ commandments ⇾ not to kill, not to steal, not to engage in sexual misconduct (the earliest scripts only said abt adultery), not to lie (including gossip), not to consume intoxicants (actually this one is still up for debate, whether u can drink or sth else but not till u lose ur inhibitions bc u have to keep ur mind clear and all or just completely abstain from it)

2)解く (toku) ⇾ a verb which means solve/ liberate (break free)/ disentangle

↳usually, in jpnese, ppl use "説く (teach with speech)" as a verb rather than "解く" for thoughts including "五常." the kanji must have been changed intentionally

↳ hence : rescue/ free gojo

btw, in this song there’s 3 variation of kanjis for the word loop/ circle, which might be the theme all along = 廻, 環, 数珠. and the lines incorporated in the song seem to be written to make them matched for the story continues + the song itself is a perfect loop if u take the beginning and ending of the mv where yuuji woke up from his sleep and fell asleep at the end

extra = if u noticed this sentence : どんな顔すればいいか わかってる

(don-na kaosureba iika, wakatteru) = how to express my feeling on my face is that, i know/ understand

だけど まだ応えてくれよ(dakedo mada, kotaete kureyo) = but answer me for a while longer

change into this :

どんな顔すればいいか わかんないよ (donna kao sureba iika wakan-naiyo) = how to express my feeling on my face? i don’t know/ understand

今はただ応えてくれよ(imawa tada kotaete kureyo) = but just answer me for now

→ I don't know how I should express my feeling, but answer me just now.

the transition of hope to despair/ hopeless?

and "凪いで" (naide) might just rhyming with "投げ出さないで" (nagedasanaide.)

i was genuinely surprised that those anime songs (op-ed) lyric channel translated this 1-3 weeks after when usually they get others out within 3-5 days, but when i see the kanjis.....understandable 😁 (bc if u give me this without any romaji i’ll probably just try until eventually i give up)

PSA AGAIN : i’m not gonna say this is the “right” translation bc i still have a long way to go with the language and this “translation” came from someone who learned jpnese just bc i got tired of switching back and forth between google translate and fanart/ fics, i have no idea what it said and it just looked interesting 😭 - 🐱

i forgot to give the links 🧍

the jpnese websites : a, b, c

eng : a

and the others are from utube just search “kaikai kitan lyrics” - 🐱

ok after you sent me this last night i totally didn’t cry myself to sleep listening to the song

what is the POINT in alluding to the suffering of the shibuya arc when anime only watchers are not going to have any idea of pain that awaits them i....they’re sadists....😭😁😭

{My Boyfriend Does My Makeup with Trevante}

{The YouTube Series}

Warnings: none , fluff

Trevante  finally had some time off after his latest film had wrapped and although you were both private about your relationship. You decided to give your boos (your viewers) something special for 307k. 

"Welcome to or back to my channel my boos. I have a special guest today. Everybody say hello to my boo bear. Who agreed to do the My Boyfriend Does My Makeup Challenge with me. Say hey baby." You say to him as he flashes his pearly whites at the camera and you can already tell you're going to have to filter the thirst comments. 

"Hey , I'm uh Trevante y'all probably have seen me in a few things. If I seem like that familiar face that you can't put a name to. That's why. Also looking forward to playing some characters that don't die halfways through." He says jokingly at the end before giving a shy awkward little nod to the camera. 

You take his hand in yours and nuzzle closer into his side to get him to relax a little. 

"What I think a lot of people don't know is that even though he's always in front of the camera. He's also kinda shy and doesn't like a lot of attention on him, but unfortunately for you baby is that BOI WE FINNA BE ON YOUR ASS IF YOU MESS IT UP." You say jokingly as you set out all of the makeup and a little cheat sheet to tell him where everything goes. 

You watch him break into a smile and throw his hands up.

"Ye of little faith. That hurts bae." He says pretending to be hurt with his hand over his heart dramatically. 

"I'm only joking. I believe in you. Gimme kiss?" you ask before he pokes his lips out for you to press a soft kiss to his lips. 

"Alright , I'm ready. Today we're gonna use the Fenty foundation? We're just gonna take Miss Riri's stuff and rub it in, all over the face. You don't really need a sponge or brush or any of that. That's all to get you to spend more money." He says to the camera as if he knows what he's doing. 

You try to hold in your laughter while looking at the camera and shaking your head.

"You're doing good Tre. I feel prettier already. What's the next step?" You ask him as you watch him work. His tongue slightly poking out as he's concentrated on getting your face to look "right". 

Sometimes you just get caught up in how beautiful and kind he is. He always takes care of you and tries his hardest to be involved in anything you're interested in.

"I feel you eyeing me while I work and lemme just say it's highly distracting ma'am. I'm a professional." He says jokingly before giving you a quick kiss. You tug at his bottom lip before kissing him again.

"SHE GETTING DEMONETIZED Y'ALL. We gotta keep it pg." He says before working his way down the little cheat sheet you've left him. 

"If you poke me in my eye. I'm swinging." You say to Trevante as he grips your chin gently while trying to apply eyeliner.

"Y'all see how she be treating me? Gon beat my ass in front of all of y'all like that.  Lemme stop before that's all over Twitter. Shhh, stop fidgeting let me get it right. " He says and you can feel the felt tip going past where the little flick needed to stop. 

"How do I look baby?" You ask as you batting your eyelashes at him and watch his face scrunch slightly at messing it up.

"Hollup it's whopped on that side. Give me a wipe from over there please. . . You said earlier that you wanted to ask me some questions." Tre says to you not bopping along to the soft music playing in the background.

"If you could not love me in this way anymore. Do you think you could love me in a different way? Because you know how when some people break-up. It's so traumatic for them that they can't bare being around the person that they were with because the love there is different." You ask the heavy hitting question that came from an insta sticker. This man was actually a giant teddy bear and pouting at your question.

"For the record I ain't going nowhere. This man put a ring on it." You say giggling and waiting for his response.

"I love you in all ways , always. You know that. But, I'm tryna think about what you're asking. You're saying if weren't together no more. Could I still love you? Absolutely, we were friends before even getting together. When we met in the makeup trailer. I knew that you were going to be important in my life. And that I was gonna love you in some way. But I am grateful that I get to love you this way. I get to love you romantically , emotionally, spiritually, and (cover your ears kids) physically. I'm in love with you." He says before giving the camera a wink and blowing a kiss at them. 

Your jaw drops slightly at his response. You could not be more in love with this man if you tried. You thought to yourself before leaning in to kiss his nose and then all over his face and finally his lips. 

"Damn, I mean I think I like you or whatever." You say to his as he smacks his teeth and shakes his head while laughing at your response. 

"I'm in love with you too Nemour. I only had 3 questions picked out. So here's my second one. When is the wedding? Someone on Instagram asked." You say to him as he nods 

"We have a date and it's in my fiancee's favorite season and that's about all I can tell you on that. But I'm sure when it's all said and done she'll put a cute little video package together for y'all." He says as he applies highlighter to your nose and you look at him before bursting into laughter.

"Of course. I promise my boos will be included into the wedding somehow, but Y'ALL lemme bring the camera in please look at how this man got my nose looking like a Christmas ornament. We're going on a lil date right after this. I'm finna be looking shhmmooking hot." You say sarcastically and he couldn't even stay pressed as he breaks out into laughter with you. 

"Okay so you're on the last part of my routine which is lips. So before you start I'll ask one last question from Twitter. It says what was our first impression of each other." You smile at the question remembering exactly what he was wearing and everything.

"Well I met you while working on the set of Predator. I was like damn okay lil chocolate drop. Can I get your number? No, but really I thought you were beautiful and funny and just like full of light. There were some early morning call times where I was just grumpy as hell and had to wake up at like 4am and have to hang off fake plane for who knows how long. But there you were in the trailer already dancing around to this one throwback song and giving everybody positive morning affirmations.

Just getting shit done too. I was just standing there watching you in your element. Your lil fro bouncing side to side as you swayed around getting all of your supplies together. And I remembered you ordered everybody breakfast with like Uber Eats or something. Your energy had me hooked from the start. I think I'm more of a morning person now because of you." He says as he picks out the lipstick color.

"You never told me that! That's so sweet boo bear. I was just trying to make everybody feel better 'cause those were some long ass hours. Trying to add all the lil scars and makeup and everything so early in the morning was a lot. But I got to spend more time with you so I wasn't complaining. My first impression of you hmmm. I think I was shocked at how beautiful you are! Wait , wait lemme explain. I've seen you before on that one Tyler Perry show as Ramsey before you got killed off. And just like when I found out you were going to be in that film. I was nervous as hell. And when you walked into the trailer with your beanie almost over your eyes and your headphones on like you were too cool for school. I knew I had to play it cool. I just like sauntered over to you and offered you a breakfast plate. It worked though. Cause you was grooving to Brandy too. After that I realized how you have the driest humor, and yet you are the funniest person I know. I mean like dad joke central with him. He be slapping his knee and everything y'all. But he could've been a whole comedian." You say to the camera and he waits for you to finish before he starts applying the deep plum shade of lipstick.

"My humor may be dry but you still be doing the scatter run when I do the Norbit voice." He says laugh softly at you already about to start wheezing. 

"Done?" You ask him as he sits back admiring his work. 

"I don't think I did too bad. Look" he says handing you the mirror as you look closely

"My lashes barely hanging on and my eyeliner doing the Cha Cha Slide but other than that I think it looks good. You did a good job baby." You say giving him a kiss as he smirks into it. Already getting the big head.

"I'm coming for your brand baby. Multi-talented." He says to the camera.

"Alright and with that I'mma end this video before his head gets even more inflated. I seen some juicer questions earlier but y'all there ain't no tea. We sexy but our own type of sexy. I gotta show y'all the photos from Halloween when we dressed as Marcus Burnett and Mike Lowry from Bad Boys... We're that couple."  You say chuckling softly.

"Alright my boos, y'all know what to do. Like , comment , and subscribe if you want. Turn on the notification bell so you can know when your faves fave post again. Who knows I might get him to do the No Hands Kissing Challenge for 400k. And an OnlyFans video for 1 million." You say half jokingly as it flies over his head for a moment before the lightbulb goes off. 

"I don't know about all that maybe 5 milli. Alright y'all , be kinder to yourselves and stay blessed. Byyyeeeee" He says in your voice as he does your outro and you couldn't wait to just wrap your arms around him and love on him. 

MY THOUGHTS ON iDKHOW'S ALBUM DEBUT: RAZZMATAZZ

So I DON'T KNOW HOW BUT THEY FOUND ME have just released RAZZMATAZZ today and heres what I think...

[SIDE A]

¹LEAVE ME ALONE:

A bombastic opening track. Was released in the beginning of August...? Probably? This song just SCREAMS at you with retro futuristic funkiness. It has 8-bity flourishes in the instrumentation and seems to be maybe talking to the same person as Choke (from 1981 E.P.) and the title track Razzmatazz have been (or maybe a separate entity as suggested by the vinyl booklet and Indoctoration?).

Anyway, fantastic track, great opener, and nice mood-setter.

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²INDOCTORATION:

It's... eerie. It's not a song in the same sense as Leave Me Alone, despite having a wobbly backing track. It's a spoken interlude that seems to be initiating you into Tellex maybe? It yet again mentions the White Shadows that will be overseeing your progress with Tellex. It seems oddly nostalgic for some reason. That's strange. Overall, solid little piece of lore building that really reinforces the concept aspects.

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³MAD IQs:

It's the first song from this album that wasn't released as a single and it made my jaw literally drop. It has a similar lyrical and vocal structure to the opener and New Invention, but what I like is how much they were able to do with it, though it makes you wonder about how far apart these songs were written; but In the context of the albums concept and the Tellex stuff however, it could be interpreted as a corporate decision, this repetition. The minimal instrumentation in the verses with Ryan's sturdy drumming and Dallon's bassline makes me go fucking bananas. It's so fucking great and full of this punchy energy. And the HARMONIES. YES. "Voluntary victim~" "I'm burning~ in your mad IQs" SIR STOP BEING SO VOCALLY TALENTED. Also I think i heard him shriek right before the bridge which? Snazzy. So Mad IQs, energetic track, filled with more of iDKHOWs signature darkness.

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⁴NOBODY LIKE THE OPENING BAND:

Ah yes, Opening Band. Ironic considering how often iDKHOW are the opening band, but I'm sure that's obvious, seeing how they usually sing this one at the start of their gigs. It was actually (I think) the first or second song I didn't know how but found through youtube so I might be pretty biased here. It's a sweet sounding change of pace with the instrumentation being made up of only the piano and tambourine that tells of a typical opening band, that no ones ever heard before and likely will never hear again, via a sympathetic narrator with a hint of the typical iDKHOW teasing. In all honesty, it would've worked better as the album opener, which then could've been followed by Leave Me Alone, but it's a nice change of pace overall.

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⁵NEW INVENTION:

I already reviewed this song on my other blog right here so imma keep this brief. It shares similar aspects to Leave Me Alone, with the music video concept and song structure, but It manages to darken the narrative, and the choir-esq harmonies sound like ultra bright neon lights that only push this mood further. It still is a magnificent song and by far one of my favourites in the album.

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⁶IN THE GALLOWS:

MASSIVE SHIFT IN STYLE HOLY FUCKOLY-. The track opens with a very cutesy old timey little piano intro and starts the verse with a little funny beat. If you don't listen to the lyrics, it sounds like a silly little oldie song. But as we all know, iDKHOW doesn't do silly. The lines "For you, I'd die▪︎Or kill myself▪︎which ever makes you smile," From just the first verse are a prime example of this. The narrators murderous and suicidal intentions have clouded the romantic attraction into obsession- And I kinda like that, in a poetic way. The chorus is a standout, with the calm start to the explosion in the line "I'd swing from the gallows and wave" that just swings at you with a baseball bat to the chest. Oh, and the sax solo? Magnificent. This whole song is a chefs kiss from me.

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⁷CLUSTERHUG:

I love the lyrics of this song the most of it all. It sounds like a rebellious teenager wrote it after thinking about how shit their hometown is and wanting to get out. It also incorporates how much the narrator would want to do all this with their crush, adding that slightly goofy and pretend-aloof chorus of "only if you'd like me to I could fall in love with you" as if they weren't already in love or at least that's how I see it. The vibe of this song is more pop-y than the rest of the album, but that's more likely because it was repurposed for Razzmatazz after being originally written for The Brobecks, their older band. It's a nice little tune :).

[SIDE B]

⁸SUGAR PILLS:

This. Will. Get. Stuck. In. Your. Head- and. You. Will. Like. It. Basically, just seems like a song about drugs that, for some reason, reminds me of Gorillaz (who I dont even listen to). But the BASSLINE AGAIN- Jesus help me live. It has more of that energy we saw with the first few tracks and adds even more electronic elements. It's probably my second favourite song from this album that's not a single because of how fun the chorus sounds. What else can I say? I can just imagine myself bopping to this in the car screaming 'SUGAR SUGAR SUGAR PILLS' On a hot day.

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⁹KISS GOODNIGHT:

It's so sweet 🥺. It's one of those songs I could imagine a character in a movie singing to someone from a stage. If you want pretty song vibes just listen to it. Because it is a pretty song. And that's all I have to say on it. Now allow me to take a moment and shove it into my pretty song playlist that acts like my personal lullaby machine.

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¹⁰LIGHTS GO DOWN:

Yes. F u n k y. Give me that sweet sweet disco energy, thank you. It's just filled with all these *☆~blingy and sparkly~☆* effects, and, combined with the drumming, the result is just glorious. The best part of this song is in my opinion the bridge where it goes darker lyrically and in sound that just naturally slides into another funky-ass sax solo. I can definitely see myself dancing to this at a party and then in later years growing nostalgic for those days.

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¹¹NEED YOU HERE:

It's supposed to be happy in tone and hopeful slightly but it just makes me sad. It's a song about how, because Dallon has to tour because it's his job, he has to be away from his family often. And he had nO RIGHT ADDING HIS DAUGHTERS VOCALS AND RECORDINGS INTO THE MIX ITS LIKE HE WANTS US TO CRY. It's not my favourite of the album, not going to lie here, but it's also such a sweet song with nice instrumentals and vibe 🥺 so that's all I'll say.

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¹²DOOR:

It seems like this one was written around the time sad ukulele music was really at its peak but am I complaining? Fuck no because this song is great. It just gives it to you straight, that if the narrator ever does anything that the recipient doesn't like, they can always cut them out of their life. It's nice in that regard- you don't usually get songs that don't try to deflect the pain or gain pity. We need more of these kinds of songs. The shortness of it really adds to the effect of this being more like a regularly said thing, even though I'm always a bit sad that it ends so fast. It does, however, nicely close the near end of the album before Razzmatazz.

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¹³TOMORROW PEOPLE:

Creepy Tellex thank-you note. You're welcome..? I want no part in your conspiracy tho. Go away weird American corporate man voice.

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¹³RAZZMATAZZ:

And there it is. The title track. Like new inventions, I have already reviewed it here on that same blog so this will be brief also and more just thoughts. It's a great closer and is more old timey than most of the songs here as well. And with the last instrumental and sax solo, we come to the albums inevitable end... until next time.

[GENERAL THOUGHTS]

Overall, this was a fantastic little debut for iDKHOW and I loved it. So worth the pre-order. The songs were great and the lyrics were just excellent. My only real criticism is that the song order on Side A was a bit strange. I feel a way to fix this would be to throw Nobody Likes The Opening Band into the beginning, then have Leave Me Alone as a second track, and maybe even switch one of the songs on this side with one from Side B (either Mad IQs or New Invention with something else but then that would be kind of stretching it). Or maybe even switching Clusterhug with Mad IQs or New Invention could work. So in general? Razzmatazz good album. Next question.

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Thank you for reading, anyone who happens to see this and have read this. Hope you've enjoyed some of my thoughts on the debut and agreed with at least 2 points I made. See y'all on another review (or shitpost)!

-L.J

Recap/review 14.06: “Optimism”

THEN: Starts out pretty ominous, with clock-ticky music, Jack's grace getting sucked out, "this is the end of everything," and Jack considering himself useless. We're reminded that New Charlie exists (aw, Dean looked so pretty in AU Land) and Jack has "the mind of a hunter." Michael hurting people and Dean feels guilty (aw, Sam's Beard of Despair, how I miss you). Sounds like we're in for a real downer of an episode, friends.

NOW: Nebraska. Happy music. A cheerful librarian opens up shop, and she's cute as can be but I wore that blouse in the 80s and it needs to stay there (JUST SAY NO TO THE RUFFLED YOKE, LADIES). Her name is Harper, and she has a kind-of-date with a guy named Winston tonight, though she is clearly Not Into You, Winston. An (apparent) coworker named Miles hears her "scream" and comes to her aid, brandishing a stapler, and is reminded that he needs to mind his own business. Winston leaves, clearly walking on air, and then STAYIN' ALIVE STARTS PLAYING and we focus on Winston's feet just like the iconic opening scene of Saturday Night Fever (if you're too young to remember, watch this, IT'S IMPORTANT CULTURAL KNOWLEDGE and there WILL BE A QUIZ LATER) and y'all don't even know how much I love this song. YOU DON'T KNOW. I can't help it. My mom was a huge Bee Gees fan, partially because she was very into Barry Gibb.

Coincidence?

What can I say? I am my mother's child.

Now, where were we?

(Pretty much where we always are, so could you please just move this along?)

Sorry for the digression. Anyway. Now I suspect this isn't going to be a downer episode after all. (Turns out it was directed by Richard Speight, which would have been a clue if I'd known that earlier, bless him.) While I've been digressing, Winston has happily bopped down the street, only to have a hand cover his mouth and drag him off-screen. There's a record scratch and a squirt of dark goo and a scream, so I guess it did turn out to be a downer for Winston, but not for me.

Title card!

{Sidebar: I didn't realize Saturday Night Fever was directed by John Badham, who went on to direct several episodes of Supernatural.}

Jack's drinking coffee in the bunker. He takes a sip and then pours a huge amount of sugar into it, which immediately makes me think of this scene from The Fly when Jeff Goldblum, who does not yet realize that he is turning into a fly, does the same thing.

(Spoiler alert: Ahem.)

Dean walks in and asks what he's doing, and Jack explains that everything tastes different without his powers, and he can't get the coffee to taste the way he likes it. That's because coffee is nasty, Jack. (And also, thanks to the Continuity Fairy for remembering that food tasted different to Cas when he didn't have grace.) Dean asks if Jack has seen Sam, because that's what Dean does; he probably walked in the door and felt a disturbance in the Force and realized he didn't know where Sam was. From Jack, we learn that (1) Dean went on an overnight run to Mobby's love shack cabin and (b) Sam went on a hunt with Charlie without telling Dean. Is Dean okay with this? Are we gonna okay with this? Couldn't he have at least sent a text message? He's supposed to be setting an example!

"Explain to me again how you just let Sam LEAVE."

I guess Sam had to go himself, rather than send someone else, because this is one of those times when there's no random hunters in the bunker. (And where's Rowena? Did Charlie abandon her in the Southwest? Did they have a fight?) Jack imagines Sam and Charlie are doing something "really exciting."

Cut to Sam and Charlie sitting quietly in a truck outside Memphis, bored out of their minds. Hee! It's the kind of crappy old truck I always want Sam to drive, so I love it. They're staring at a bus stop with an ad for Pete the Pestinator, who seems to be an insect exterminator. (Spoiler alert: ahem again.) Sam confirms that "this is where all those people went missing," although if he's been sitting in that truck long enough to be bored, he really should have nailed that down by now. Charlie says "yep." More silent sitting.

Back to the bunker. Dean seems surprised that Sam left Jack there alone (where's Cas?) and Jack says "Sam wanted someone around when you came back. He's worried about you."

"Yeah, that sounds like him," Dean grumbles, and hello, kettle, the pot just called, and said you're black. Jack offers some encouragement, telling him no one blames him for Michael, and Dean says "Cool. Well, I blame me, so." His self-flagellation is interrupted by Jack's Cough of Great Concern. "Maybe I'm allergic to sitting around doing nothing," Jack snarks.

Dean sits down for a heart-to-heart, and Jack says he's been hunting with Cas and wants to do more. Dean says "No offense, Cas is an insurance policy on those hunts." Jack looks hurt. I don't understand this at all. Why wouldn't Jack already know that Cas is there to protect him? And why would this hurt his feelings? I'm so confused. But I immediately forget it, because Dean says "Sam's just trying to keep you safe, okay? He's a smart guy." AND THEN WE CUT TO THIS.

Bless you, Richard Speight, writer Steve Yockey, bless you both.

I literally did burst out laughing at Sam and his fidget spinner. Charlie is not amused, and Sam puts his toy away with some embarrassment.

Bunker. Jack's found a report on our dead friend Winston, who seemed to have human bitemarks taken out of his corpse. And others have gone missing in the area. We skip part of a conversation, but whatever it was, Dean says Sam won't like it. "Sam's not here," says Jack. Oh, no you don't, Jack. Don't you go ignoring the Chief's directives just because he's not here. Dean says he'll go check it out alone, but Jack suddenly remembers Sam's Law and reminds Dean about the Buddy System.

We can be hunting buddies!

Okay, uh, (a), don't call it that, and (b), YOU'RE gonna back ME up?

Oh, Dean. You didn't do the (1) and (b) thing that I love so much. Jack gets to be the one to bare a little bit of his soul now, telling Dean that he also feels guilty about Michael, because he could have killed him but he was "distracted and stupid." He doesn't want to sit around feeling guilty all day, he wants to hunt.

Looks like that was the right button to push, because we cut to Sam on the phone, clearly not a fan of the plan and telling Dean to be careful. I assume his reluctance is because he doesn't trust Jack to watch Dean's back. But Sam, if you can trust Maggie to hunt alone, you can trust Dean with a novice backup. (I know, I know, Dean is more important than Maggie.)

Sam asks again if Charlie is sure this is the right place, and she says it's where four people disappeared. And while she was scouting around, she found a mason jar full of goo. Is this the same goo we saw when Winston was killed? (Spoiler alert: no.) And now she's trying to figure out what they're hunting, so she's reading. I'd have done my reading before the stakeout, but that's just me. (I'd also have done some reading instead of sitting there glaring at Sam while he enjoyed his fidget spinner, but that's also just me.)

(I also might have thought of more interesting things to do while I was stuck in a car with Sam, but they would have interfered with the stakeout. And they aren't anything Charlie would have been interested in anyway.)

Cut to Dick's Red Rooster Diner (ha ha, I see you, Speight). According to Winston's obituary, he had breakfast here every morning. Jack agrees with me that it's an odd thing to put in an obituary, but Dean says that when someone dies young, you don't know what to put in those things. (Oh, think of 20-something Dean's obituary.) He introduces them to the waitress as Agents Berry and Charles, and the only thing I can think of is Chuck Berry, so if someone has a better idea, let me know. He asks for details about Winston, and the only detail she can provide is that he's dead. Jack dutifully writes that detail in his little notebook. (BLESS.)

This waitress is wonderfully snippy, knows her rights, and isn't the least bit interested in talking to these FBI agents, but when Dean hands her some cash she changes her mind. She says they should should be more interested in Harper, who Winston just started "courting," and Jack is confused.

What's courting?

It's what you do before you start dating.

Ah, and that's the thing you do before the sex.

Sometimes you just have the sex.

Okay, Dean's wrong, courting is what you do instead of dating, but this is still a wonderful exchange. And the next part is wonderful too, cutting between the waitress and some customers explaining that Harper was popular in high school, but her boyfriend ran off, and now all these men connected to her have died, and she's really into romance books, and ending on I've heard too much Dean and I'm confused Jack.

Love this.

Back at the stakeout, Sam's biting his nails, which I also love for some reason, and of course the only time we've ever seen him bite his nails was when he was worried about Dean. New Charlie picks right up on it. She tells him Dean will be fine, and comments that he's got other friends, right? Which I don't understand, because it doesn't matter what other friends he has, he's not hunting with them. He's hunting with Jack. "He used to have a pretty damn good wingman," Sam says, and I think no, Sam, what are you saying, he still has you. She says he should call "that guy" to check on him, and Sam says "that guy was you." Charlie gives him a look. "No, it wasn't." And she's right, Sam. SHE IS NOT YOUR CHARLIE. And also, was Charlie ever really Dean's wingman? I don't think so. Sam, of course. Cas, literal wingman. But not Charlie. Charlie was the little sister.

Sam apologizes, and then says "I'm just saying, I'm not surprised you survived the apocalypse." Which isn't what you were saying at all, Sam. Charlie is surprised she survived, because she was just a programmer at Richard Roman Enterprises (Dick Roman! I wonder what happened to your AU version), living with the love of her life, Cara. My heart skipped a beat because I was so ready, guys, for the love of Charlie's life to be Dr. Cara Roberts from Sex and Violence, but apparently not. {Sidebar fic prompt: Sam. Charlie. Dr. Cara. Three-way.) Charlie's Cara was a baker. Charlie tells a sad story about waiting for help that never came, and Cara eventually being killed by people, not angels. Society falls apart. (Or, as Dean once said, demons I get; people are crazy.) Sam insists society isn't falling apart here, and Charlie says "not yet."

Just like last week, we're getting some needed differentiation between the characters we lost and their AU counterparts, which I appreciate.

I also appreciate pretty, attentive, sympathetic Sam.

Diner. Dean calls Jack "Mighty Mouse," for some reason, and congratulations him on finding a case. He tries to teach him about the importance of pie, but Jack's more interested in courting. He's never been exposed to off-screen romance, unless Gabriel and Rowena counts (Dean assures him it doesn't, but how would Jack have been exposed to Gabriel/Rowena anyway, since it happened while he was in AU Land and Gabriel didn't make it back?) Dean promises he'll give him The Talk when they get back, but right now they need to concentrate on finding Harper. {Sidebar fic prompt: Dean's and Sam's versions of The Talk. Would Dean's be like Dean's speech from Rock and a Hard Place?} Jack speculates she might not be human, and Dean says they're going to find out, and it's going to work like a romance novel. Hmm!

Cut to the library, where Harper is working. Dean enters and identifies himself as FBI, with questions about Winston. She doesn't want to talk, and he pushes. Then Jack shows up, asking for a book about the area's history, and defends her against the big mean FBI guy. Dean says "why don't you back off, kid" and Jack responds "No, you back off, old man" and DEAN'S FACE. This was clearly NOT IN THE SCRIPT. I love it. Dean slinks off, dejected, to examine his gracefully-aging face in the rear-view mirror. {Sidebar: I honestly think Jensen is aging a lot better than Dean is. Dean looks tired a lot of the time, and I'd like to believe Show is doing that on purpose, but I don't think it's the case. Jensen always looks awesome.} Harper is delighted, and apparently smitten, judging by the music. Jack introduces himself as "Jack Smith" and she invites him to her apartment, where she has the perfect book.

Why does this library have those convenience store perp measurements at the door? Does it get robbed a lot? Also, how many episodes have signs in the background with the title of a different episode? Not very many, I'm guessing.

As they leave, Miles the Stapler Guy follows and asks where she's going. It must be close to closing time, because Harper says she'll come back and lock up. Miles, who's carrying a bag of trash, refuses to shake Jack's hand. As Jack and Harper go one way, he stomps off in the other direction. I'm suspicious, and so is Dean, who gets out of the car to follow him. As Miles puts the library's trash in an inappropriately small residential bin, he hears a noise. We then cut to Dean, who hears Miles scream but just keeps walking? But then a trash can is knocked over and that gets his attention. He finds Miles dead, and we get a monster POV shot watching him.

Stakeout. Charlie's still reading. Apparently she brought all the books. She says she hates hunting, which surprises Sam, because she's so good at it. She points out that she's good at it because the alternative was death. "I mean, no offense, but who wants to be a hunter? This job, just a lot of tears and death."

Sam says "you said something like that to me once, long ago, about hunting." He quickly apologizes for once again conflating her with Our Charlie. At first I was annoyed at him, but then I started thinking about how awful Our Charlie's death was for him, with the MoC, and the fear, and the worry, and the guilt, and his brother saying he should be the one on the funeral pyre instead, and you know what? I'm gonna cut him some slack for trying to forget all of that ever happened. A lot of slack, in fact.

Charlie casually drops that she's glad this is her last hunt. Did you give the Chief your two week's notice, Charlie? I DON'T THINK SO. She plans to get away from monsters and people, and "live on a mountaintop or something... as long as there's good wifi." I'm sure Sam can get you set up with his magical wifi, Charlie, if you stay on his good side.

Harper's apartment. She seems to be all about love, with a decorative "amore" sign in the kitchen and a big red heart hanging on the wall. She suddenly realizes it's weird that she brought him to her apartment, though she's thinking "putting the moves on you" weird and I'm thinking "inviting a potential serial killer into your home" weird. But maybe I listen to too much My Favorite Murder.

She leaves the room to get the book (odd that it's not on the stuffed bookshelves in her living room, but they're all full of romance novels). Jack asks why the FBI was "hassling" her, and she tells him about Winston's death as he surreptitiously puts a silver coin on the floor and splashes holy water all over his hands. A call comes from Dean, but he ignores it. When she comes back with the book, she notices the coin on the floor and picks it up. She touches his hand when she gives him the coin and notices that it's wet. I would have put the holy water on the coin, although a wet coin on the floor might be as weird as wet hands. He just laughs weirdly and then does a fake cough AND SAYS CHRISTO. SOMEONE FINALLY REMEMBERED CHRISTO. Oh, my heart. I've been waiting 13 years for this moment. She doesn't react to it, so she seems pretty human. He says he's nervous, so she sits on the couch and pats the seat next to her.

Stakeout. Charlie has found something in the books called a Musca. Sam already knows it's a man-fly hybrid (IT'S THE FLY; OUR MONSTER IS JEFF GOLDBLUM) and that no one's seen them, so if they do exist, they keep to themselves. She's impressed with his Sammy smarts. He says he's read all the books, but if he'd read this one, he'd know that every few hundred years a male Musca can't find a mate and he "abandons his community and starts using people's bodies to nest, binding them together with a viscous goo." Ew.

As they walk, in the background we see a figure approaching the two women who are sitting on the bus stop bench. It's clothed in black, carrying a black briefcase, and it has a giant head. At first I think it's literally a giant fly's head. But when Charlie notices it, we get a closer look, and it's a large black hood, like a beekeeper's outfit. It sits down and then casually scoots closer to the women, who scoot away, and it's hilarious.

Harper's apartment. She asks Jack where he's from, and he tells her he lives in Lebanon, Kansas. NO, JACK. DON'T TELL ANYONE WHERE YOU LIVE. Jack coughs some more and then notices a picture of Harper with her boyfriend, Vance. She says he left town after high school because he wanted to see the world, and Jack seems astonished that anyone would leave her. And that was when her bad luck started, but she tries to stay optimistic. "Me too," Jack says. "I had some not-so-great stuff happen in my past. Trying to be positive... it can be hard." Oh, Jack, sweetie. They gaze into each other's eyes and it looks like they're going to kiss. Jack's phone buzzes with a text from Dean that says CALL ME NOW.

Jack? Do you believe in love at first sight?

Do you... (music swells)... mind if I use the bathroom?

Ha!

Jack hides in the bathroom to call Dean. He tells him Harper isn't a monster, and he thinks she's in love with him. Although Dean's sure that's not the case, Jack says "but if she is, I need to know everything about sex. Go." Ha again! Dean tells him about Miles's death, which makes Jack wonder if she's cursed. Dean says it's more like all the guys around her are cursed. "Like me," Jack ponders, just before we get another monster POV shot and a strangled shout from Dean. The phone goes dead.

Jack comes back into the living room and Harper asks if he's okay and if he wants to go for coffee. Then the door bursts open and Dean comes in, and I wonder why she's freaking out until I remember that Dean is Bad FBI Guy to her. He quickly blocks the door and tell her they're here to save her from... whatever it is that's suddenly growling and banging on her door. "At first I thought it was a ghost," he says, "but then it punched me in the face." She's freaked out about a ghost, but Jack reassuringly (NOT!) tells her that he's saying it's NOT a ghost. Dean recognizes a photo and it turns out the monster is her old boyfriend Vance, who she didn't even realize was dead.

For some reason Dean isn't carrying a lot of weapons, but he has a silver knife and finds a silver letter opener on Harper's desk. Silver will slow it down, he tells them, but there's only one way to kill the undead boyfriend. Vance breaks the door down before we learn what that is. Dean starts fighting with the silver knife and tells Jack to get Harper out of there.

Stakeout. It's nighttime now. A lone man sits at the bus stop as Sam tries to convince Charlie that she can't drop out of society. She needs people, and also, it's hard to walk away from being a hunter. "I tried. Our Charlie tried." You know, for someone who did want out of hunting, and did try to get out of it, Sam spends a lot of time convincing others to do it, or at least enabling them. I mean, Dean was all "Patience, if you can live a normal life, do it," and Sam was all "well, Claire, if you're gonna hunt, I guess I should show you how to hack." Although that (and teaching Ghoul!Adam to shoot) was more about protecting someone determined/forced to be a hunter than recruiting. So maybe I don't know what I'm talking about. Anyway, if anyone recognized the futility of getting out of the life, it would be him.

Jeff Goldblum shows up again and sits by his next victim. Charlie wants to go for the kill, but Sam thinks they should wait for him to make his move, in case he's just into weird fashion. Look, Sam, if a guy likes wearing a black beekeeper's bonnet and sidling up to random strangers at bus stops, he deserves to be hunted, whether or not he's actually part bee. When the bus shows up, it blocks their view of the duo. When it leaves, the bench is empty. Which could mean they just got on the bus, but we see something disappearing behind the stop. Sam decides it's a go after all.

Let's stick with this story, rather than cutting back and forth between them like the show did.

Sam and Charlie find a door with a bunch of goo on the handle. Sam says Charlie found something in the books that theorized a brass nail dripped in sugar water would kill a musca. Because yes, of course sugar water, WHICH FLIES EAT, would kill a fly man. (Rolls my eyes at this otherwise delightful episode.) Charlie reminds him they have neither of those things. "So we get creative," Sam says. I'm expecting some kind of MacGuyvering involving a can of Coke, or Sam's sugary coffee. (Spoiler alert: I'm wrong.)

{Sidebar: Why are all the methods of killing monsters so weirdly specific? Chopping off the head should kill ANYTHING.}

They go through the door, which surprisingly leads them into an abandoned warehouse. It's full of flies (normal ones, not half-man flies) and smells like pine cleaner and rotting meat. Yum. Eventually Sam finds the briefcase, which is full of what looks like candy wrappers and also has a white cloth, which he sniffs to discover chloroform. Dude. Don't sniff the chloroform rag. Charlie finds the most recent victim, still alive, by a pile of bodies. Something grabs Charlie's hand. She pulls loose, but falls off a low platform (seriously, it's like two feet high) and... loses consciousness? Okay. Maybe he chloroformed her and I missed it. I'm old and decrepit and this would have barely bruised me. He must have chloroformed her.

Sam tries to wake her up, but is interrupted by the WORST MONSTER COSTUME EVER. Oh god, you guys, this fly man head is so bad. SO BAD.

{Sidebar: Did you know that you don't see much of the shark in Jaws because the model was so bad, Steven Spielberg decided he wanted to shoot it as little as possible? And it actually made the movie better because the unseen monster was so much scarier? Just saying, Speight.}

(Um, have you watched any movies that were made before 1980?)

Well, that was uncalled for.

Jeff Goldblum attacks Sam and gets goo on him, and if this were really a fly, wouldn't that goo be digesting him? Isn't that how flies eat? (Why yes, it is.) Charlie regains consciousness and stabs it with something, which gets it off Sam long enough for him to shoot it in the head. Creativity in action! So, I guess I got my wish. Interesting that, just like last week, the guys figured out that there are actions that will kill anything.

Aftermath! Charlie and Sam are driving, and Sam says he feels bad for the Musca, which could have been happy if it had stayed home with its people. Subtle, Sam. Charlie's all, yeah, okay, I'm like the bug, except not so much. As we see the Musca family coming to retrieve their brother's body, Sam asks Charlie not to leave. "If we help people, then maybe they'll help people, and all that, and that's worth it. Even with all the tears and death, it's worth it." Oh, Sammy. {sniff} She says she'll think about it.

Back to Jack and Harper. It was broad daylight when they got to her apartment, so I don't know why it's nighttime now. How long did he spend in the bathroom? No wonder she asked if he was okay. Cut to Dean gleefully fighting the zombie, who suddenly stops fighting and runs off.

Jack and Harper run to the library, where she struggles with the keys until Jack remembers she left without locking the door. They scurry inside and he locks it. As they hide behind the counter, they see Zombie Vance run by. Jack tells her not to worry, because he locked the door, and she asks if he flipped the switch under the lock? Obviously he didn't, and she goes to do it herself. As she stands, looking out the door, Vance shows up. She unlocks the door, which Jack obviously DID lock, and opens it. He hands her the history book - I guess Jack dropped it - and they kiss.

Um. whoops. Vance is actually still Harper's boyfriend. And he has to eat human flesh. Like, Jack's, for example. Vance lunges for Jack, who hides in the stacks as Harper gives him the villain dialogue over the library's PA system. She likes Jack, but he's obviously a hunter, and she comes from a long line of necromancers, so it would never work out between them. She killed Vance to keep him from leaving after high school, and killing every other guy in her sights is just a fun little romantic roleplay for them. We get a little scare when a hand appears on Jack's shoulder (been a lot of that going around lately), but it's Dean. He tells Jack they have to get Vance back into his grave and then drive a stake into his heart to keep him there. And they're going to convince him using another romance novel method.

Jack tells her he wants to do things Vance can't do - walk her down the aisle, raise a family. This draws Vance out, who lunges at him but finds himself facing Dean. Vance gets Dean against a wall, and Harper calls out to him. Dean thinks she's going to call him off, but she says "Baby, kill him!" and Dean's "huh" look is precious to me. Instead, Dean slaps a handcuff on his arm and cuffs him to a pole or something. Jack cuffs his other arm to a library cart, I think, which is mobile and therefore defeats the purpose of cuffing, but good try, Jack. The cuffs burn Vance, so they're silver or enchanted or something. Seems like a successful hunt, but when the guys look up, the door is open and Harper is gone.

Later we see Harper and her suitcase at a cafe, writing a letter to Jack. So she had time to go home and pack a suitcase, and Dean and Jack didn't go to her apartment and look for her? Guys. Come on. She's sorry she's going to have to kill Jack, but it means she can bring him back to life and they'll be together forever. See you soon, she writes, sealing the envelope addressed to Jack Smith, c/o the Lebanon, Kansas post office. I TOLD YOU NOT TO LET HER KNOW WHERE YOU LIVE, JACK. Is Harper going to be a Big Bad this season? Or maybe a Little Bad? I wouldn't mind seeing her again. She's a charming little villain.

Finally, Jack's drinking coffee again, probably with a lot of sugar, in the bunker. This scene, with them facing each other, is a nice callback to the beginning of the episode. Dean tells Jack he did good, and Jack pushes for more hunts, because he was right. It's not about being right, Dean tells him, it's about what you do after you're wrong, after you've made a mistake. And about not beating yourself up, Jack points out. Dean tells him he's pretty smart, and Jack smiles and coughs and Dean promises to talk about getting him on more hunts when Sam gets back (BECAUSE SAM IS THE ONE TO ASK, YOU BETTER BELIEVE IT) and Jack lies about being fine and then coughs some more and shows Dean his bloody palm and collapses on the floor with blood oozing from his mouth and nose and WELL. THAT ESCALATED QUICKLY.

And the episode ends, without Sam and Dean sharing a single scene. Has that happened before? It's unsettling. I like the ep, though. I liked the relationship focus - Sam bonding with New Charlie, Dean bonding with Jack. I liked the humor. I liked that Sam wasn't ignored, even though the brothers had separate storylines. I liked the continuation of things that have been happening this season, the gentle reminder (but not constant siren) of Dean's guilty feelings and Sam's leadership and Jack's issues. And, of course, CHRISTO!

And there was one weird thing I noticed on first watch, but it didn't jump out at me on rewatch so I don't remember when it happened... Dean said "Son of a B." This is the second episode where they said something weird instead of bitch. What's going on there? Is Dean never going to say "son of a bitch" again? Because that's not good.

What did you guys think? And please help me stay unspoiled; thanks!

Immunity Results #3

Meet Your Judges!

DAN

Hi sisters, it’s Dan, king of half faced selfies, here to roast your lip syncs

NEHE

Hi sisters, it's Nehemiah, king of not winning a game he deserves to win, here to judge you guys like you never been judged before, p.s Tim stop stealing my role as the one straight black guy in the org community

CHARLOTTE

hi sisters, i’m back from the dead and ready to roast some bitches. i honestly don’t remember if i’ve played more than one main season but i was in kuang si and really that’s the only one that matters. not sorry!

CONNOR

hey sisters, hope you missed me because im still not coming back.

DENNIS

Hi sisters, I was forced to write this start. But entertain me

JESS

About three things I was absolutely positive. First, Edward was a vampire. Second, there was a part of him-and I didn't know how potent that part might be-that thirsted for my blood. And third, I was unconditionally and irrevocably in love with him.

HOSORORO

Dan: 31/50

Theme: 5 - No real theme tbh, I guess the editing incorporated some nice colors and stuff. I wish y'all could have been more in sync with a theme tho. Maybe I'm just being critical.

Creativity: 5 - The editing was creative, I liked the effects and the added little bits that went along with the lyrics. I think the difference between this video and the others tho was that the others tried something new and exciting to spice up their videos. Was it more creative? Maybe? There's nothing wrong with picking a bop and lip syncing, but it's 2019 ladies, spice it up.

Effort: 7 - She may have bought that hair, but y’all yanked it right off. I think some of you really tried harder than others, but I stan when people just do their best and record where and when they can. It shows dedication and I like that shit. I think that the effort into learning the lyrics without reading them off the screen and dedication to filming in the car kind of showed y'all want this.

Composition: 7 - BITCHHHHH I’M GAGGGGGT. It’s 240p, but honestly Ariana Grande who? Whoever edited this made it seemless, but honestly the low quality needs to get clocked a few points.

Entertainment Value: 7 - The dancing, the outfits, the lip sync skills? A bitch was entertained. While the other videos tried to make things new and exciting, y'all delivered what I think of as more of a successful project.

Jess: 34/50

Theme 8/10. If I had to say the theme, I'd guess that it's "bad bitches" which you all are.

Creativity 5/10. If a 0 is 1 person playing basketball instead of lip syncing at all, and a 10 is a full out choreographed dance number done by your entire tribe, I think this falls solidly in the middle. I don't think there is a lot about this that sets it apart from past music videos I've seen, but I don't think it is bad.

Effort 8/10. It seems like most of your tribe members were at least majorly involved and tried to make this good! And you all put effort into the dancing/attitude you had, it felt like everyone tried to match their actions to the song.

Composition 6/10. I think the editing is good and it matches the timing of the music which is nice, the cuts are usually on the beats! But it did get a little repetitive after a while, like I felt as though the same thing was happening throughout the whole video and there wasn't a variety in the images/cutting style/etc. I also think it was hard to tell if the video was in sync because for some reason y'all are in 2007 and only uploaded this at 240p???? Are you guys all over the age of 45 why did you do that. Finally, the flickering glitter filter was cool at the start, but I wish you'd spiced it up and not just used that throughout the entire video, also at points it was a little distracting due to the bright colours that would pop up.

Entertainment Value 7/10. Six of these points are for the girl who was in the car because she was killing it and I loved her. I took points off for a similar reason I had above -- it felt like the video was one note and I wish you guys had a little more variety throughout.

Dennis: 38/50

Theme: 6/10 Creativity: 8/10 Effort: 8/10 Composition: 8/10 Entertainment: 8/10

I know I will get alot of hate comments for this, but this in general is not really a song to lipsync too. EITHER WAY I think you did a good pretty good job with it. All of you seemed to enjoy yourself and the editing was enough to keep my attention throughout the whole video. I didn't really get the theme, but overall it was a very entertaining Lipsync!

Connor: 35/50

Ok this is good. You clearly all worked together artistically so that your individual shots were coherent. Im not crazy about the pink strobe kinda thing going on through the entire video but you were all performing and this is well done. Theme: 7 Creativity: 6 Effort: 8 Composition: 7 Entertainment Value: 7

Charlotte: 42/50

Theme:  IF THE THEME WAS FABULOUSNESS YOU ACHIEVED IT. ARIANA WOULD BE PROUD.  8/10

Creativity:  I feel like you could have done a little bit more with some of the lyrics but all in all I loved this video and now I'm just being picky. 7/10

Effort:  See above. I think you could have done a little but more but keeping the pink aesthetic through your editing and ALL THAT DANCING werk werk werk.   8/10

Composition:  Love. That. Aesthetic. 10/10  PLUS YOU'RE ALL IN THE SAME CAMERA ORIENTATION I LOVE THAT. LOVE THAT FOR YOU.

Entertainment Value:  FUN, ENJOYABLE, FLAWLESS, NEVER BEEN DONE BEFORE. 9/10

Nehe: 44/50

7 8 9 10 10

Now this is a fucking music video work bitches work

TOTAL: 224

ARAKAKA

Dan: 29/50

Theme: 7 - Annoying advertisements? Trying to show the effects of product placement on our every day life? I loved it haha I was shook.

Creativity: 6 - V creative, but was it really a music video? I guess parts were but I also was like so lost after a while. I think song choice is always important and I was so bored during the song parts. I wish you had made the song part as creative as the ad parts.

Effort: 4 - Honestly the effort was misfocused on the ads and less on the music video, was I mad about it? only like 50%. the song was boring and just kinda blah so it was interesting

Composition: 5 - Choppy, but I can’t edit so rip

Entertainment Value: 7 - Honestly this how to video taught me so much and I’m shook. THE POPCORN I LITERALLY SCREAMED. While I nodded off during the music video portion, I stanned the ads

Jess: 32/50

Theme 6/10. I think your theme was ads? I didn't really understand it but it was fun and unique.

Creativity 8/10. I have never seen anything like this that's for sure.

Effort 4/10. It seemed like everyone in your tribe was in the video I think? But most of the stuff you guys submitted was 1 take/shot and wouldn't have required a lot of editing, which is the most time consuming/effort requiring portion of the challenge so...

Composition 5/10 The editing of the commercials was pretty good, but it didn't flow as well as it should have because the audio levels were a bit all over the place. Also at one point it was in colour and out of focus but I wasn't sure why? Also a+ for doing your video in 1080p (@ other tribes take note). Since the actual music video portion was just one shot, I feel like I can't really give you a higher rating than the other tribes in this category.

Entertainment Value 9/10 First frame: a guy in a Stitch onesie with a bottle of tequila and a mug that says "ray of fucking sunshine"?? I laughed immediately. Then I was shook when later I realized it was actually a shot glass and was close to the camera and it got even better. This whole video was wild and I had no idea what was going to happen so I was pretty entertained.

Dennis: 45/50

Theme: 8/10 Creativity: 10/10 Effort: 8/10 Composition: 9/10 Entertainment: 10/10

This is probably the last kind of video which I expected in a challenge like this. I think it was really creative and connected entertainment with comedy and a nice little theme. I am very impressed good job!

Connor: 20/50

“””””Acting””””””” “””””””Edgy”””””””” Eggs?? Im vegan. What was the point of this? Was there a point? Pop corn girl gets you an extra point but this is not a music video. To quote bandersnatch, you chose the wrong path.

Theme: 3 Creativity: 6 Effort: 4 Composition: 4 Entertainment Value: 3

Charlotte: 34/50

Theme:  I've been out of the ORG world for awhile but is this what music videos are now??? I feel like the music video of your video was sorely lacking. YouTube loves ads but not that many!!!!! I did think the ads were pretty creative though so I marked up points for that below. 6/10

Creativity: See above. 9/10

Effort:  It wasn't just straight up lip syncing so I gotta reward you guys for that. 8/10

Composition: That black and white switching to color towards the end got me fucked up. 6/10

Entertainment Value:  To quote the person sitting beside me: "OMG another ad?"Cute concept, not sure it works as a music video but you tried.  5/10

Nehe: 35/50

6

6

6

7

10

Honestly this was something i never seen before and i enjoyed it hahaha

TOTAL: 195

TAKAMA

Dan: 26/50

Theme: 6 - Cats? Bikes? Awkward White People Dancing? Are these the themes you went for? If so, y’all killed it haha, but it wasn't cohesive and I don't get what y'all were going for really.

Creativity: 5 - honestly, I stan an original song choice bc I haven’t seen this before, but also, a song like this needs to be sold and I don't know if y'all pulled out all the stops. I would have liked to see more passion from some of you in the props and theatrics department.

Effort: 5 - Some of you seemed to try a little harder than others, but overall y’all were feelin it

Composition: 5 - A little choppy, but I can’t edit for shit so like good job?

Entertainment Value: 5 - Okay Miss Tim with that bike balance, idk your name sis (maybe Jones) but striped sweater, pm me on skype – dan.disbrow so I can buy it ty. Other than that I don't really remember much besides a lot of cringey dancing.

Jess: 29/50

Theme 1/10. Tbh I don't really know what the theme was here, did you guys forget this category??

Creativity 4/10. Pretty much the same reason that I gave Hororo's tribe a 5, I'm giving you a 4. I am taking one point off because they at least did some stuff to make their video more unique/specific to their song whereas I think you guys could have used this editing style/dancing/etc to any song and it would have also worked, so it wasn't super unique.

Effort 9/10. Everyone who was in the video seemed really into it and did a good job having fun! But this is a 6 person tribe... one person wasn't in it and they weren't the editor?? You should vote them out if you lose.

Composition 9/10. The editing flowed well, you showed everyone on the tribe a pretty decent amount, and everyone's individual videos were pretty on point for lip sync? Usually when people film on their webcams it's not in sync, but these were all really good! You lose one point because the video quality was low and wasn't 1080p which it really should be.

Entertainment Value 6/10. I liked everyone's attitude and dancing and I loved the cats. I originally had 5 but then I remembered the cats and went back and added another point. But I wish you guys had done something unique for each mini song, like maybe divided them up amongst your tribe, or had people change outfits or something? If you had done that, I'd have given you way more points for theme and entertainment value. But because it was kind of repetitive/one note, it's hard to say I was REALLY entertained the whole time.

Dennis: 37/50

Theme: 9/10 Creativity: 7/10 Effort: 8/10 Composition: 7/10 Entertainment: 6/10

Comment: What stood out for me in your video was the theme. I assume that you wanted to mimic the fans v faves theme with a riff off and I thought that was actually quite smart. Everything else seemed to be for me what I would expect from a lipsync, but besides the theme nothing that stood out to me especially.

Connor: 27/50

The lip sinking is a little off at times (im coming back to this part, in the middle / two ish minute point-on it is not good) and I think the transitions from song to songs could have been smoother, but I think this is creative in terms of it being a mashup. I think there could have been more “music video” aspects to it. In addition to y’all singing. EXTRA POINT FOR THE CATS ( stripped sweater??? who is this??? Queen????)

Theme: 5 Creativity: 6 Effort: 6 Composition: 4 Entertainment Value: 6

Charlotte: 28/50

Theme: Was your theme Pitch Perfect? Like, I'm not sure whether or not there was anything you guys planned out but it really just seemed kind of randomly thrown together.  5/10

Creativity: I liked the cats? 6/10

Effort: See above. I feel like y'all just kind of threw this together? It was missing something for me. The person in the stripes pulled it together for you though so 7/10

Composition: Y'all really out here in 2019 not filming in the same orientation? I'm deducting 50% for that. It's a travesty. Also, if one person does a filter and no one else does, does it really make sense? IDK.  3/10

Entertainment Value: ... again, I liked the cats. Plus the stuff with the bicycle was weirdly entertaining.  7/10

Nehe: 31/50

TOTAL: 178

Thank you judges!

That means, Takama, I will be seeing you that tribal council on January 28 at 10 pm est.

Clubhouse Is Making Their Way Through Life, Curveballs and All [Q&A]

Photo: Dillon Matthew

Feel-good indie-pop outfit Clubhouse continue to entrance listeners with their happy-go-lucky arrangements and introspective lyrics with their latest single, “No Way.” Following the success of their previous release, “Flipside,” the track, which frontman Max Reichert expressed was about a toxic relationship, is yet another example of the band's ability to sonically and visually create emotional and provocative storytelling that makes listeners want to dance.

The band is comprised of five best friends forged from a middle school garage band in Columbus, Ohio, made up of Max Reichert, twin brothers Ari and Zak Blumer, and Michael Berthold and Forrest Taylor, who they met in college. The five-piece have gone through the ups and downs of life together, especially while their frontman dealt with cancer. Now, with an EP and a national tour on the way, the band is eager to tell their story with the hope that they'll be able to help someone else who is dealing with a similar bump in the road.

We had the chance to talk with the band about "No Way," their upcoming tour, and the curveballs of life.

Ones to Watch: Can you walk me through the creative process behind "No Way?”

Max: We wrote it with this producer named Cooper, and this songwriter/pop star named Claire, who goes by spill tab. We wrote it with them at their house. It was our first session writing with them, our first time meeting them, and we wrote pretty much the whole song with them in a few hours. So it just came together really, really quickly. In terms of juxtaposing the lyrical content, which talks about a toxic relationship and how two people just don't fit for each other, I think we just love juxtaposing more profound lyrics or lyrics that are not necessarily crazy deep but aren't about having a good time with dancy beats. I think it kind of goes along with our mantra for what this EP is about.

Zak: Which is about not taking ourselves too seriously.

Max: Yeah, like rolling with the punches and going through hard things in life but not getting too bogged down on matters and still being able to have fun even when you're going through hard things. I think that's kind of a common theme throughout the EP. We talk about heavy things but try not to put too much weight on them.

How has your songwriting process evolved?

Max: I think it's certainly changed. I went through cancer a few years ago in 2018. I had bone cancer in my left leg, which was honestly a turning point for us as a band. We took a step back when I was going through all that, and we refined our craft from a songwriting standpoint and just our general outlook. We've always taken music really seriously, but when we went into writing, I think we took the pressure off ourselves. I think we used to be like, “okay, this next song has to sound like this and has to sound like our favorite band, and we have to be like the next biggest band ever.” I think for years, we did that, and it would confine us in this box. As soon as we just went to the session and were like, “Hey, let's just enjoy each other's company and let's just have fun together and be friends and write music that feels good to us and not think anything more about it,” I think that was when we had this significant turning point. The songs started sounding better, and the storytelling got better because it was just more honest. We weren't trying to emulate. We were just writing from our gut.

What are some of your inspirations on a larger scale outside of music?

Zak: I think one we can sort of all agree on is, we all sort of shared partially in Max's struggle while he went through this crazy shit. People our age, or at least us, and we think our friends as well, have been going through a quarter-life crisis. So you start to ask yourself, “Am I achieving my goals? What are my goals? Am I getting there fast enough?” So skipping ahead to the title of our EP, these are questions we have and still always ask ourselves. But through partially having gone through what Max went through and being there alongside him, I feel we can now see the question as what it is and accept that we may not always know the answer, but we can try to remind ourselves to enjoy every day. I think many people relate to that over the past couple of years, and I think the meaning of life has shifted for a lot of people and we just kind of wanted to share our two cents.

The music video for this single is overall lowkey and seemed super fun to shoot. How did you come up with this concept and execute it? Did y'all originally have other ideas?

Zak: We had tossed around a couple of other ideas. Some were more narrative-driven and focused more on the actual lyrical content. We could have taken it more of an expected route, like maybe following an argument between two people and becoming more intense that way. But we were thinking about this sort of single frame, elevator-style, elevator shot video kind of thing where the frame doesn't really change much, but everything inside of it's changing all the time. So we were pulling references from the opening credit scene of That ‘70s Show where they're all singing in the car and the Wayne's World scene where they're singing “Bohemian Rhapsody,” and the guy in the middle is hammered drunk. Once we kind of were thinking along those lines, it came together really fast. I think we shot everything for this video in like one afternoon evening.

That's super-efficient.

Zak: I mean the team that we had, our manager Cole together with Justin [Kaminuma], the director, and Carlos [Ramos], the DP. Those guys killed it. Kind of like creating the song; once we got that idea, there wasn't much like back and forth. It was kind of like, “Okay, what if we just kind of have a good time with this track?” The track is fun and energetic, so we thought to just give them that in the video. So we just goofed off and had a good time and jammed, and I think it turned out pretty well.

Max: Yeah, and it kind of matches with the lyrical content because, as I said before, the song is really about a toxic, chaotic relationship, and I think in chaotic relationships, there's good and bad. There's craziness, and there are good times, so I think we kind of wanted to lay that out and in front of the video where there are shots where we're all just like sitting around, and there are shots of us going crazy in the car having fun. So I think we wanted to match those moods together with the visuals.

Michael: From start to finish, everything happened so easily and quickly. After the first writing session, I remember we played the track in the car, and we were bumping it, and it was pretty much like the video. We were all just like damn.

Max: I think we actually drove that car to the session too. I remember after the session, all five of us drove back in that car, and we were all like bumping the demo. It was hard. It's my dad's car. He got it back in 2008, but he had it in Ohio forever. The thing is, in Ohio, with how the seasons are, you can't really drive that car that much because it just won't run in the winter. So when I moved out here, it had just been sitting in his garage forever, so eventually, he said I should take it out there.

Michael: I just want one thing to be known about the whole video. All of that hype and headbanging and everything is the most authentic thing in the world because we were doing it for so long. At one point, we had been just head bopping for like two hours straight we had to sit back.

Forrest: Yeah, it was as much fun to do it as it looks. We were having a blast.

What makes for an excellent creative collaborator when it comes to crossing over mediums?

Zak: One of the biggest things I noticed was that there was a moment when the plans we originally made weren't working out. So a lot of us were just not really seeing them and just trying to keep pushing forward and try to make it work. So one night, basically, Cole, our manager, Justin, and Carlos, the three of them had a meeting, and they were like, “Look, we got to make a hard pivot, and we need you guys to trust us right now.” So we were just like, alright, you know you guys are the bosses here. We trust you. Let's make this work, and it ended up turning out beautifully, so I think one of the one things that we really, or I really admired from this team, was how quickly they were just able to just shift.

Yeah, you for sure got to have that trust there.

Zak: I'll add one thing to that, which is that both Justin and Carlos are really young guys in the scene, and part of that is—we also view ourselves as up-and-coming, young people in the scene, and we kind of want to bring in people that sort of are not necessarily—I mean obviously sometimes when you work with like more established people, it comes with an ego, but it's not so much that we wanted to avoid that as much as it was to bring in the eagerness and the excitement. I mean, they were so stoked as soon as they landed to just get working on things and to start brainstorming ideas and that kind of energy we just feed off of. So for “No Way,” it was literally all of us just feeding off of each other's energy. I remember in the scene where we were in the car, parked, Carlos and Justin were outside filming and just jumping up and down with us. So, yeah, they were as excited as we were. It was fun.

So now walk me through the day you found out that you were going on tour with The Wombats? How are you feeling about the upcoming tour?

Max: It felt very surreal. We've been fans of them for so long. I grew up listening to them and still listen to them. I guess it was just this crazy full-circle moment of, I don't know, I think I might have teared up. Growing up and being such a massive fan of them and wanting to do music, not really knowing how to play an instrument in high school, learning how to play an instrument in high school, going through college, into the cancer thing, and then to come out on the other side of it and to get to tour with a band that I'm a genuine giant fan of. I mean, it's just like a real-life childhood dream coming true. So it's like, it's... I don't know. I can't really describe it other than that. Our dream realization moment, and we're so excited.

Zak: Yeah, we're grateful to them for giving us the opportunity, and we're gonna work our asses off to make it the best shows we've ever played.

Be sure to catch Clubhouse on tour with The Wombats, starting January 2022.

Aug 8 Blurr’s Horror Stream - Cargo

«The good news: boss brought a bunch of loot for us to go through, so I got a nice pile of mixed currency. I’ll have to find out what planets they’re from later.

«The bad news: “Froid” wasn’t actually Froid at all. He was a Soundwave. Lying to me.

«So. So much for that.»

_Whirl here he be, and straight to the Whirl hammock 9:09 pm recuerdaxme 9:09 pm /here he is, arriving in no fashion what so ever. With crates under each arm / _Whirl 9:12 pm Whatcha got there, Teach? recuerdaxme 9:12 pm Bunch of stuff we don't need. We over stocked on some stolen goods. _Whirl 9:13 pm Pfft. A little too into it, eh? So what IS it all? recuerdaxme 9:13 pm Assorted goods. Some weaponry, small weapon accessories. Different types of currency. Some energon. Uh... limbs, bolts, screws... NoodlesAtNight 9:14 pm *Soundwave peers into the room with a feeler before deciding the coast is clear and trudging in to take his seat. Rumble jogs in shortly after and heads right over to where Whirl is with a nod to both him and Blurr.* recuerdaxme 9:14 pm / wiggles claws with the biggest smirk on ever / _Whirl 9:15 pm Hmm. I MIGHT have use for some of that if you need it taken off your hands... *perks up and bobs his head to both Soundwave and Rumble, gesturing grandly to the hammock as he regards the latter* Need a lift up? recuerdaxme 9:16 pm Well, if you want some of it, feel free to look through it. I've got some things here that my new recruit might need /hums and rummages/ found some old texts, too. NoodlesAtNight 9:16 pm //If ya don't mind. Climbin' up my own self ain't awful, but I don't wanna go tippin' out today, heh.// NoodlesAtNight 9:16 pm *Perk.* [[New texts?]] recuerdaxme 9:17 pm Mmhm. Some new texts- or old. They look fairly old to me. New to me. You can have some, if you want. _Whirl 9:18 pm Anytime, mech. *the claw is offered, and Rumble is summarily ferried up* And don't worry about tipping. I've got this hammock thing on lockdown. *tilts his head back at Blurr* I'll go through some of it after the movie, if you don't mind. And as for new recruit, you mean that Getaway that rolled up last week? Getaway 9:19 pm *he's coming in more hesitantly this week than he did last week. he pauses in the doorway a moment.* recuerdaxme 9:19 pm Mmhm. That's the one. Getaway 9:19 pm *and when he hears his name he ducks back outside, whoops.* NoodlesAtNight 9:20 pm *Rumble snorts and gets himself settled in. He might've tried to figure hammocks out while Whirl was gone. It didn't go so well. Of course, it probably would've gone better if he wasn't squabbling with Frenzy over who got to get in it at the time...* *Either way, Soundwave banned them from doing it again.* _Whirl 9:21 pm Well, good luck. Poor fella seems clueless. But if anyone can handle a crash course, you can, Teach. recuerdaxme 9:21 pm ... Thanks /smirks/ I'll take that as a compliment I taught NOS manners. THAT is a challenge. _Whirl 9:23 pm *Whirl streeetches one last time before also settling in, getting comfortably cozy* Now if only you could teach them to Piston... Getaway 9:23 pm ((hearing this in japanese is a trip)) recuerdaxme 9:23 pm ( lemme know when y'all are good. ) Getaway 9:23 pm ((im good)) _Whirl 9:23 pm ((I am! AND ALSO YEAH IT IS)) recuerdaxme 9:23 pm ( i love this song in all languages ;A; ) ( but spanish is still a fAV ) Piston HAS manners. He's been very decent lately. NoodlesAtNight 9:24 pm //Getaway? Y'mean that gold-faced fragger Prowl likes? He ain't comin' /here,/ is he? Last time we met he was thinkin' how to kill me 'n the others, 'n who to knock off first.// *Rumble scowls.* recuerdaxme 9:25 pm Not the same one, I don't think. Could be, but I don't know. ( I gonna start then if we all good. I have to be up at 4am again tomorrow 8( ) NoodlesAtNight 9:25 pm ((i'm good whenever)) Getaway 9:25 pm ((the soonoer the better)) ((soonoer)) _Whirl 9:25 pm ((soonoer)) recuerdaxme 9:25 pm soonerer) Getaway 9:26 pm ((soonoonerer)) NoodlesAtNight 9:26 pm ((soonoerest)) recuerdaxme 9:26 pm omg bgskdfsd ) _Whirl 9:27 pm Nah. This one's from Blurr's neck of the woods, so he's pretty different from our Getaway. *a pause, and Whirl's antenna flattens* And if that other one comes back then I'm going to reach down his throat and turn him inside-out. recuerdaxme 9:27 pm (( is it streaming okay for y'all? )) Getaway 9:28 pm ((there are little static sounds, idk whether it's on my end)) _Whirl 9:28 pm ((ye it's got the little static noises here too)) Getaway 9:28 pm ((oh it's that dude)) recuerdaxme 9:28 pm (( *SIGH* It wasn't there before and now it there )) (( go away mystery sound )) NoodlesAtNight 9:29 pm //Huh. That mean he's real sweetlike, or nastier? Never been good figurin' out how they're gonna bend.// *Shakes his head. And gives Whirl a light punch in thanks for what he perceives as support.* NoodlesAtNight 9:29 pm *A gentle bop, really, with a grin.* recuerdaxme 9:30 pm You can never really guess what they're gonna be like, honestly. It's either they're Autobots or Decepticons, but most Decepticons are too touchy, feely, sweet. _Whirl 9:31 pm *nudges him back. Yes, threatening enemies with grotesque bodily harm is how he shows affection* NoodlesAtNight 9:31 pm *Soundwave perks. The movie doesn't waste any time, does i-- is that the sound of a human larva? Is it that young? Don't they need to eat more often? Oh dear.* Getaway 9:32 pm ((that rock TV is the saddest thing ive ever seen)) _Whirl 9:32 pm As far as he goes, he was really bubbly, but I dunno. My Getaway was kinda like that too. recuerdaxme 9:32 pm /flops on the couch/ Well, you're all free to pick through the spoils we've gathered too much of. recuerdaxme 9:32 pm We didn't have a Getaway where I'm from. _Whirl 9:32 pm Well, now ya do. recuerdaxme 9:33 pm yes i suppose so Getaway 9:34 pm *okay, he's camped out here now. back on the wall, right outside the doorway.* _Whirl 9:34 pm And I'll go through the stuff when we're all wrapped up. If nobody else wants the limbs, I can take 'em home to Killer. recuerdaxme 9:34 pm Sure you can. _Whirl 9:35 pm Ohh, boy. ...wait, never mind. I was sure it was going to be a zombie on the other end of the line. Chaoit 9:35 pm ....? feck, rabbit you ass let me change my muse)) Getaway 9:36 pm ((rabbit's bein rude about that lately)) ((tonight, apparently, i'm a suspiciously prowl-shaped getaway)) Chaoit 9:37 pm ((trying to make it Sides, but nooooo)) NoodlesAtNight 9:37 pm @G: [[He can sense you out there.]] *And it is driving him up the wall. He can't tell why Getaway is hiding. Anxiety-inducing. What if he's up to something? What if he's trying to plan to kill Rumble too?* Chaoit 9:37 pm ((and wow, getaway, your skills at disguise are great _Whirl 9:37 pm ((he's the new Makeshift)) NoodlesAtNight 9:37 pm [[Oh, now this is too much. One of them wandering in alone was unsafe. Now another is.]] recuerdaxme 9:38 pm / leaning over his couch to see where Getaway is at. He can sense the lingering, though not as great as Soundwave. / NoodlesAtNight 9:38 pm [[She isn't even armed.]] recuerdaxme 9:38 pm / But oh the movie is interesting now / NoodlesAtNight 9:38 pm [[Run, human.]] _Whirl 9:38 pm Yeah. Honestly, tying down right by the boat was a bad idea. Getaway 9:38 pm *Getaway starts, then freezes.* NoodlesAtNight 9:38 pm *Shakes his head. Too late.* Chaoit 9:39 pm ((okay, is THIS any better? _Whirl 9:39 pm ((still Chaoit with a Blaster face)) Chaoit 9:40 pm ((MOTHER FUCKER _Whirl 9:40 pm Okay, if they haven't moved away from that wreck by NOW... Chaoit 9:40 pm ((can I give up? Just...go with that I be Sides because I may just put rabbit into a stew soon _Whirl 9:41 pm ((ye dude! Sideswipe, then?)) Getaway 9:42 pm *After a moment, he leans in the doorway.* ... Sorry about that. I heard my name, and... well. And then I heard— *gestures vaguely at Whirl.* The, the whole. inside-out. thing. _Whirl 9:42 pm Well. Don't plot on killing my friends and I won't do that. Getaway 9:42 pm Didn't—want to interrupt. _Whirl 9:42 pm You should have nothing to worry about. recuerdaxme 9:42 pm Hnh? Oh, pits. He won't do anything to you. Not now anyway. You're part of my crew. TEchnically, /I/ would do it. Chaoit 9:42 pm ((yeah, cuz Blaster got into trouble with a demigod Chaoit 9:43 pm -and Sides is here, just curiously looking at the screen- What'd I miss? _Whirl 9:44 pm Point. The honor goes to the Captain. @B: I get dibs on anyone who messes with Rumble, though. Deal?

...not that I expect it, or anything, I mean. Just saying. Getaway 9:44 pm No, n-no, no, not—not threatening anyone's friends. recuerdaxme 9:44 pm @W: I mean, I guess. Chaoit 9:44 pm Like, what'er we watchin'? NoodlesAtNight 9:46 pm ((food came right after she put the watch thing on what did i miss) Getaway 9:46 pm ((zombie symptoms don't show up for 3 hours but she's gonna bleed out in 2 hours so they're taking their chances and going to the hospital.)) ((as long as they don't know whether she's infected yet.)) _Whirl 9:46 pm One of them should REALLY be standing lookout now. Getaway 9:47 pm ((so they got an abandoned car. a zombie almost got them.)) Chaoit 9:47 pm Oh NoodlesAtNight 9:47 pm [[...He hopes she did not bite the bitlet.]] _Whirl 9:47 pm *shudders, despite himself* Getaway too. NoodlesAtNight 9:47 pm [[Greetings, Getaway.]] *Bobs his head. At least the mech's making himself known now.* Chaoit 9:47 pm That...a symptom, ain't it? recuerdaxme 9:47 pm Hello, my new little recruit. _Whirl 9:47 pm Yeah, I'm guessing so. Chaoit 9:48 pm Getaway, huh? Getaway 9:48 pm ... Hey, boss. NoodlesAtNight 9:48 pm //They oughta have somethin' over her mouth. Then she can't bite nobody if she goes all sudden.// Chaoit 9:48 pm She's got a point dude _Whirl 9:49 pm Yeah. If there's a chance to cure her then, yeah, but if not... I mean. He knows what he's gotta do. She knows it, too. recuerdaxme 9:49 pm Well, don't be so... whatever you are! Come in. Look at all this scrap we over collected. See if you want anything. Chaoit 9:49 pm Yeah. Sucks, but... -has plopped himself in a seat- Getaway 9:50 pm ... Yeah, sure. Chaoit 9:50 pm -raises servo- _Whirl 9:50 pm *adopts his Teacher Voice* Yes, Sideswipe? recuerdaxme 9:51 pm ...Wow. Chaoit 9:51 pm Can I say that I think the guy's being stupid fraggin' bit-brain right now? _Whirl 9:51 pm Yes, you may. Proceed. *waves aclaw magnanimously. NoodlesAtNight 9:51 pm //Run, buddy. She's done.// _Whirl 9:52 pm At least put her out of her misery so she can die as HERSELF. Chaoit 9:52 pm Kay. The guy's bein' a stupid fraggin' bit-brain Getaway 9:52 pm *gives Whirl a nervous look; but, moves to the crates.* NoodlesAtNight 9:52 pm [[Oh dear. She'll have gone while he was out, won't she.]] Chaoit 9:52 pm She's turning into a monster......... NoodlesAtNight 9:53 pm [[Did she get to him?]] Chaoit 9:53 pm .......... _Whirl 9:53 pm Looked like it to me. recuerdaxme 9:53 pm Don't worry so much, Getaway. He's not gonna do anything to you. Chaoit 9:53 pm Let's hope not Getaway 9:53 pm ((don't leave the baby behind jfc)) _Whirl 9:53 pm Yeah. I'm a triple sweetie, remember? Should have DONE THAT WHILE SHE WAS ALIVE, IDIOT. Chaoit 9:53 pm Or that sparkling is going to be a snack Getaway 9:54 pm ... Yeah. Triple sweetie. *doesn't sound convinced.* Chaoit 9:55 pm ....oh boy Getaway 9:55 pm *starts hesitantly digging through one of the crates.* Chaoit 9:55 pm He's not a bright one, is he? Uh.... NoodlesAtNight 9:56 pm @G: [[If anyone attempts to harm you, he will intervene as much as he can.]] *Probably to handle it himself, if it's because of the minicons.* [[We still have a meeting to complete.]] recuerdaxme 9:56 pm Getaway . /wiggles claws/ I've got my optic on you. You're fine. Chaoit 9:56 pm What....the.... _Whirl 9:57 pm *is not really terribly concerned. Being feared is a-ok by him* Chaoit 9:57 pm Well THAT can't be good _Whirl 9:58 pm Also, hey. That kid had the same idea. *nudges Rumble* A bit-and-harness, to keep him from biting. Getaway 9:58 pm *glances up between the two of them; after a moment, gives them half-optic smiles.* Thanks, guys. Means a lot to me. NoodlesAtNight 9:58 pm //Kid knows what's up.// _Whirl 9:58 pm *nods* Chaoit 10:00 pm Hmmmm You don't have time dude recuerdaxme 10:01 pm /smirks/ Don't worry. Captains take care of their crew. _Whirl 10:01 pm Am I missing something, there? *peers* Chaoit 10:01 pm The hell was that? NoodlesAtNight 10:01 pm *He nods. Of course.* _Whirl 10:02 pm Why's that scar something he's scared of? Getaway 10:02 pm *back to digging through the crate. He's rummaging straight past all the bigger objects.* Getaway 10:04 pm *once he gets to the bottom, he starts pulling coins out. he makes a pile of them, just outside the crate.* NoodlesAtNight 10:04 pm [[So he is infected.]] //...Whatcha doin' with all them?// *Points at the coins.* Chaoit 10:05 pm Oh...and now he's becoming one too recuerdaxme 10:05 pm Well, he was bit, wasn't he? _Whirl 10:05 pm *also looks over, curiously* recuerdaxme 10:06 pm / is also watching / Getaway 10:06 pm Saving up. Chaoit 10:06 pm -turns to watch the coin-stacking too- recuerdaxme 10:06 pm Are you planning on buying something? Chaoit 10:07 pm -turns back to the movie after a moment- Getaway 10:07 pm Nah. Just preparing for when I've got to move on. Costs a lot to cross the multiverse when you've got no ship of your own and no friends. recuerdaxme 10:07 pm ... /ugly loud laughter / _Whirl 10:07 pm Huh. Second one we've seen doing that. NoodlesAtNight 10:07 pm [[...No friends?]] Chaoit 10:08 pm Hmn.... recuerdaxme 10:08 pm Just because you're leaving doesn't mean you can't call me for assistance. We can remain allies. _Whirl 10:08 pm Take my advice--stick with Teach. He's tough. He's been around a while. Chaoit 10:08 pm Heh, nice shot guy recuerdaxme 10:08 pm Long while. They say I'm a roach. _Whirl 10:09 pm *gravely* It's true. recuerdaxme 10:09 pm Very hard to kill. _Whirl 10:09 pm Looks like that's how they rest. Sticking their heads in the ground. recuerdaxme 10:09 pm Weird way to sleep. Getaway 10:10 pm *a half-optic smile for Froid.* Present company excluded. But you're not MY Froid. Probably. Chaoit 10:10 pm -snickering- Wait, diggers? Oh, like they go digging and bury their head? _Whirl 10:11 pm *at long last, relents just a little bit. His good influences have had SOME impact on him* Hey, Getaway. It's... you're gonna have to get used to that. You might be the only one around from your timeline. Same with me. Just stop thinking about everything as being "not yours." Just roll with it. recuerdaxme 10:12 pm You get used to it after a while. All I've run into are the Decepticons and they irritate my entire core. NoodlesAtNight 10:12 pm [[Perhaps. Perhaps not. He does not know. Though he is curious as to how you would.]] Getaway 10:12 pm ... Yeah. Yeah, I know. I'm—far from home. On purpose. Chaoit 10:13 pm On purpose, hmn? recuerdaxme 10:13 pm Getaway too. NoodlesAtNight 10:13 pm //Maybe they like the taste of dirt or somethin'.// _Whirl 10:13 pm You'll get used to it, mech. You'll probably come to prefer it this way. I did. recuerdaxme 10:13 pm But, so long as you stay on track, you'll outrun them. If it's Rodimus after you, then I can easily kill him. _Whirl 10:13 pm PFFT. recuerdaxme 10:13 pm Oh, shut up. I could. _Whirl 10:14 pm That was for Rumble, not you. recuerdaxme 10:14 pm Oh, good. _Whirl 10:14 pm I've seen you in action--I believe it. recuerdaxme 10:14 pm Then I retract. _Whirl 10:15 pm *nods gravely* Thank you, Teach. NoodlesAtNight 10:15 pm //...Hold up, he's usin' live bait!// recuerdaxme 10:16 pm Huh. I've done that before... _Whirl 10:16 pm Yeah, he... must be some kind of nutcase. Chaoit 10:16 pm Well frack recuerdaxme 10:16 pm Of course, I dropped the bait in the smelting pit. NoodlesAtNight 10:16 pm //I didn't know humans did that.// _Whirl 10:16 pm No wonder that girl back at camp was so nervous all the time. One wrong move and he tosses her in the cage. Getaway 10:16 pm *glances at Froid.* Oh, just—you know. Considering the odds. I ran far and fast on purpose. The odds my Froid had the same thought, and went the same way... Chaoit 10:17 pm Practical...but...messed up Oh. Oh no. DID the kid get bit? _Whirl 10:17 pm I got no respect for that. You should fight 'em head on. recuerdaxme 10:18 pm I mean, either commit or don't hunt them. Honestly. NoodlesAtNight 10:18 pm *He taps a finger to his chin, thinking. That is very good reasoning.* [[He supposes that does make sense. It is a vast multiverse.]] Getaway 10:18 pm *to Blurr* I appreciate that. The—protecting me. From Rodimus. Really. recuerdaxme 10:19 pm Honestly, any chance to slaughter that mech would make me so... /pauses. Thinks/ What's the word? _Whirl 10:19 pm Out of your goddamned mind with glee? NoodlesAtNight 10:19 pm //Hope they didn't. Poor bitlet. 'N this fragger - I mean, he got the blood. How come he don't just leave a bucket in the cage?// recuerdaxme 10:19 pm / glances left and right/ What? That's not the word... which one? Ah, right. / to Getaway/ Content. recuerdaxme 10:19 pm And, what Whirl said. _Whirl 10:20 pm Because he's sadistic. There's always folks like that. You get someone on the other side of some bars and a set of keys and it's just a matter of time. Chaoit 10:20 pm Yeeeeep NoodlesAtNight 10:21 pm //He can't leave her with a fragger like that. He's gonna use the kid for bait too.// _Whirl 10:21 pm Yeah I--yeah. recuerdaxme 10:21 pm ... Huh. I like this one. This... woman. Chaoit 10:21 pm Better than himself, he's gonna be one of them soon. _Whirl 10:22 pm I mean obviously he SHOULD off himself, but not while she's with these people. So here's what you do: Kill that guy in his sleep. Chaoit 10:22 pm ...........or not recuerdaxme 10:22 pm ... Hnh. I knew something was odd. Chaoit 10:22 pm Yikes The man is nuts NoodlesAtNight 10:22 pm [[Indeed. She did not seem to be affectionate in return.]] [[Now we see why.]] _Whirl 10:23 pm Go get the folks in the cage, bring em in. Hopefully some of them won't hold it against you, and then you've got a little squad at the base. THEN you off yourself. Chaoit 10:23 pm Scratch that, he's an afthat NoodlesAtNight 10:23 pm //Aw, Pit. This ain't good.// _Whirl 10:23 pm Especially not for that kid. Chaoit 10:23 pm Nope NoodlesAtNight 10:24 pm [[The clever man?]] [[Does this refer to the older one in the cage?]] _Whirl 10:25 pm The old guy, with the beard. One who talked about the land getting sick. Yep. I'm guessing it's capitalized. Clever Man. A title. NoodlesAtNight 10:26 pm //Primus.// *Flops back on his portion of the hammock.* _Whirl 10:26 pm *looks down, amused* Suspenseful enough for you? Oh, come on, he's asleep, he's a sitting duck. Just SHOOT him. Getaway 10:27 pm *he's got a nice little pile of coins now.* Chaoit 10:27 pm They don't want to attract the things Loud noises do that _Whirl 10:27 pm Then cut his throat. Chaoit 10:27 pm Gunshots are loud noises NoodlesAtNight 10:28 pm //Listen, I did my share of suspensi-- aw, COME ON.// Chaoit 10:28 pm ............ recuerdaxme 10:28 pm /smirk/ do you want more coins? Chaoit 10:28 pm Well slag recuerdaxme 10:28 pm ... huh. that's ironic NoodlesAtNight 10:28 pm //RUN!// _Whirl 10:28 pm Damn. Getaway 10:28 pm If you've got them, yeah. Thanks. Chaoit 10:28 pm You shot her instead Serves you right, afthat _Whirl 10:29 pm Guess he really WAS a clever man. NoodlesAtNight 10:29 pm [[What else will you need? Besides money.]] [[And a ship, and transport.]] _Whirl 10:29 pm *looks over to Getaway* I can hook you up with a loving, beautiful pet. Okay, movie. All his yelling has GOT to have attracted them. Movie, please. You gotta have this guy get eaten. Getaway 10:31 pm *he shrugs.* A—a safe crew to join on the other side, I guess. Chaoit 10:31 pm Smart girl NoodlesAtNight 10:31 pm [[What kind?]] Chaoit 10:32 pm Whooops Getaway 10:33 pm ... The kind that can protect me if Rodimus comes after me. _Whirl 10:33 pm *points to Blurr* Getaway 10:34 pm Yeah—I know, but—boss here is on the wrong side. I've gotta make it to the other half of the multiverse. _Whirl 10:34 pm Well, that's why you kill him, instead of running from him. recuerdaxme 10:34 pm ... Wrong side? Chaoit 10:35 pm That's... recuerdaxme 10:35 pm Mech, you know my ship can travel space at the fastest speeds right? Chaoit 10:35 pm ...depressing. Getaway 10:36 pm Yeah, but you LIVE on this side. You're—FROM this side. recuerdaxme 10:36 pm ... Uhhh. I mean, more or less. I'm not allowed back on my Cybertron Ever. _Whirl 10:37 pm *can't hold back another shudder* NoodlesAtNight 10:37 pm //....WHERE'S THE--oh.// recuerdaxme 10:37 pm Rodimus claimed he pulled off the bounty for my helm, but I don't trust him at all. Huh... now she's gonna take him? Chaoit 10:38 pm -settles- Getaway 10:39 pm Heh. Yeah. I wouldn't trust him either. He's shifty. Chaoit 10:39 pm Roddy? Getaway 10:39 pm And dishonest and power-hungry. _Whirl 10:39 pm And terribly unfashionable. recuerdaxme 10:39 pm Yes, I would know. _Whirl 10:40 pm *holds his claw upside-down and holds it under his eye like it's a goatee* recuerdaxme 10:40 pm He used to be close to me. Ah, but... who needs him. /shrugs pauldrons and relaxes / Getaway 10:40 pm Yeah. I guess you would. recuerdaxme 10:40 pm Not sure how /your/ Blurr handled that mess, but I didn't let him take that ship. My Master trusted me. Not Rodimus. Chaoit 10:40 pm Things don't exactly always work like that Getaway 10:41 pm Your master? recuerdaxme 10:41 pm My Prime. Chaoit 10:41 pm ...someone got munched recuerdaxme 10:41 pm Trusted me with literally everything, down to keeping his armor clean. /flexes claws/ _Whirl 10:41 pm ((I'm liking freeman in this. I've only ever seen him do one type of role, but he's very convincing. Good jearb)) recuerdaxme 10:41 pm ( yeah same!! ) _Whirl 10:41 pm *nudges Rumble* You were saying something, earlier. About having your fair share of something? recuerdaxme 10:42 pm ... That's not foreboding. NoodlesAtNight 10:42 pm [[Oh, no.]] Chaoit 10:43 pm That's... Frag. _Whirl 10:43 pm If he actually cared about his OWN ones he'd end it. recuerdaxme 10:44 pm Nn... _Whirl 10:44 pm ...not what I meant. NoodlesAtNight 10:44 pm //Oh. Uh. Had my fair share of suspensin' from scrap like this. Ain't a good time. Aaaaaan' now they gotta move. Them diggin things is gonna come for 'em.// Chaoit 10:44 pm Hah...haha...holy frag _Whirl 10:45 pm Oh. Pfft. You and me both. recuerdaxme 10:45 pm Look mech, when the rust finally gets to me and I turn into some rusted Empty, I either want Whirl or Drift to off my aft. Or... just chain me up and use me as a quick Empty attack, I guess. That'd be cool. "Release the monster" Bam, there I go _Whirl 10:45 pm Well MAYBE the rust wouldn't GET to you if you'd go to the DOCTOR more often. recuerdaxme 10:46 pm / B( / Well, I DO. Kind of. _Whirl 10:46 pm I'd let you go out in style, Teach. Strap some high-end explosives to you, send you out in the face of someone we'd both enjoy killing. recuerdaxme 10:46 pm ... Good. And then tell Buster he's free from my clutches. _Whirl 10:46 pm ...@B: I'd break it to him gently. Chaoit 10:46 pm Uh... recuerdaxme 10:47 pm @W: ... Well, that's the best I could ask for. Chaoit 10:47 pm Huh.... Getaway 10:47 pm Oh. Yeah, the Prime didn't trust our Rodimus, either. Which makes sense, since he was trying to overthrow him and all. _Whirl 10:47 pm Luckily, I don't think I've got to worry about THIS anymore. Once you've gotten a virus once, you're immune, right? Chaoit 10:47 pm Ooooh That's why they do that recuerdaxme 10:48 pm Well, yes. I've never met a Rodimus that was loyal to anything but himself, really. _Whirl 10:48 pm Oh, this asshole, again. NoodlesAtNight 10:48 pm *Is learning all KINDS of things about the other side of the multiverse tonight* recuerdaxme 10:48 pm Mine is surprisingly still alive, though I've discovered that he's afraid of my denta. _Whirl 10:48 pm As most living things SHOULD be. recuerdaxme 10:48 pm ... Which virus do you mean, Whirl ? Getaway 10:48 pm *... peers at Blurr's mouth.* recuerdaxme 10:48 pm Well, most living things don't live to see them very long /cackle/ _Whirl 10:49 pm The sparkeater one. I went once, so... I mean. That's how viruses USUALLY work. NoodlesAtNight 10:49 pm //...Pit, I wasn't even thinkin' about - mech, I got stuff to tell ya some time. But yeah. Definitely that too.// _Whirl 10:49 pm Hell yeah, SHOOT HIM. recuerdaxme 10:49 pm / he has them nice sharp denta with them energon stains. The flexi-stitches holding his jaw together get nice and wide/ Wanna see? Chaoit 10:49 pm Well then Getaway 10:50 pm ... I can see them from here. recuerdaxme 10:50 pm I dunno. I don't even know if Empties carry a virus. I know drinking their energon is not good for your tanks. Had to cut mine out. Aww, you don't want a close up? I won't bite... much. _Whirl 10:50 pm *tilts his head* Hm? Whatcha mean? *he senses a story... but he can be patient and hear it later. If he has to. But he's nosy* Getaway 10:50 pm I'm good, thanks. Chaoit 10:50 pm Kinda hoping to see that guy eaten now recuerdaxme 10:50 pm / snickers / recuerdaxme 10:51 pm Wait til you see what they can do. You'll see if you work with us _Whirl 10:51 pm Dad goes full zombie and eats the guy to save his bitlet. Chaoit 10:51 pm He'd deserve it recuerdaxme 10:51 pm I'm down to see that. recuerdaxme 10:53 pm (( god i really love him in this )) (( it's a whole different side of him )) Chaoit 10:53 pm ((it's interesting to say the least NoodlesAtNight 10:54 pm //Ah, it's, uh... probably I shouldn't talk about it here. Ain't no prettier'n this scrap.// *Jerks his head at the screen.* _Whirl 10:54 pm *nods* Yeah, I get ya. Some other time. recuerdaxme 10:54 pm You know. If I ever got that sick... I don't think I'd want to get all the way sick. Chaoit 10:54 pm That's...that's not gooooooodon'teatthat recuerdaxme 10:54 pm I don't know. Depends. I mean, the crew would survive without me. _Whirl 10:55 pm Hell yeah, look at em go! Chaoit 10:56 pm Oh no recuerdaxme 10:56 pm (( me: already sobbing )) _Whirl 10:57 pm *just not gonna. Watch this part. Suddenly very interested in Getaway's coin pile* Getaway 10:57 pm *it's grown steadily* _Whirl 10:58 pm *how incredibly impressive* recuerdaxme 10:58 pm Hey, Getaway. Tell you what. You help us get the next few treasures we look for, and I'll give you a ship and some of the fleet members. Chaoit 10:59 pm Is she using him as transportation? recuerdaxme 10:59 pm I mean, I don't need the /entire/ fleet. _Whirl 10:59 pm *returns his attention to the screen* Chaoit 11:00 pm Huh. She is. Getaway 11:00 pm Oh, no—you don't need to give me that much. But—I could use a ship. Thank you. I won't let you down, boss. recuerdaxme 11:00 pm Sure thing. They're all stolen anyway. So, I'd give you one/ *. Chaoit 11:02 pm ((WEH recuerdaxme 11:02 pm (( mOOD )) (( Don't mind me cryin' alone in my home )) NoodlesAtNight 11:02 pm *...Soundwave has an odd urge to check on the protoforms.* Chaoit 11:03 pm ...... recuerdaxme 11:03 pm / internally worries about Oberyn. His best child. / Chaoit 11:03 pm -Sides is going to be squishing his brother later- ((ohmygod ((this ending hurts recuerdaxme 11:04 pm (( yEAH )) Chaoit 11:04 pm ...... _Whirl 11:05 pm Not bad. Chaoit 11:05 pm -raises servo again- recuerdaxme 11:05 pm Not bad at all. Hnh? What is it? Chaoit 11:05 pm Who else here kinda hated the ending because surprise feels recuerdaxme 11:05 pm I mean, if you're into that kind of scrap. / oh he knows what he'll do. / recuerdaxme 11:06 pm / he's gonna have a sleepover with his frames tonight / NoodlesAtNight 11:06 pm //Least the kid survived.// NoodlesAtNight 11:06 pm //'S better 'n most.// _Whirl 11:06 pm Yeah. That's the important bit. recuerdaxme 11:06 pm Yes, I suppose. She wasn't as problematic as I assumed. Very quiet. Chaoit 11:06 pm Family is family And yeah...at least the kids survived _Whirl 11:07 pm Well, you know how little ones are. Unruly. It's part of their charm. recuerdaxme 11:07 pm I suppose. We don't have kids where I'm from, so. Chaoit 11:08 pm ((they have a movie ((called anon _Whirl 11:08 pm I'm not exactly... what you'd call experienced, either. *A LIE* Getaway 11:08 pm ((it's about smokey's life)) ((truly a neverending horror story)) Chaoit 11:08 pm ((YEP recuerdaxme 11:09 pm (( LOL )) Getaway 11:09 pm *just sort of glances between speakers, listening to the conversation about the movie* _Whirl 11:09 pm ((omg)) Chaoit 11:09 pm -huffs, and settles down again- recuerdaxme 11:09 pm /shrugs pauldrons/ I honestly think if kids existed in my universe, they'd keep them away from me. _Whirl 11:10 pm Same. I'm pretty sure if we ever get the hang of propagating, I'm going to be barred from it. Which, honestly, is just as well. NoodlesAtNight 11:10 pm [[Hm. A strange thought, but he has seen plenty of others who have.]] Chaoit 11:11 pm Annnyway I gotta go _Whirl 11:11 pm Huh? recuerdaxme 11:11 pm Heading out? Chaoit 11:11 pm Yup _Whirl 11:11 pm ...to Soundwave, not you, Sideswipe. Seeya. Chaoit 11:11 pm Thanks for the stream, though recuerdaxme 11:11 pm Sure thing. /wiggles claws / NoodlesAtNight 11:11 pm *DAMN IT, WHIRL.* _Whirl 11:11 pm *LOOK HE'S NOT A SPY HE CAN'T BE COUNTED ON FOR THIS STUFF* recuerdaxme 11:12 pm / DID NOT RUIN THE DEAL / _Whirl 11:12 pm *ALSO IF YOU WANT SOMEONE TO PLAY ALONG MAYBE LET THEM IN ON YOUR GAME* recuerdaxme 11:12 pm K-Kyeheheh. Are you *sure* you're completely cleared of that virus there, Whirl? Sounds like you're a little confused. NoodlesAtNight 11:12 pm *Note to himself: never, ever ask Whirl to be a field agent.* Getaway 11:12 pm *... very slowly looks from Whirl to "Froid."* NoodlesAtNight 11:12 pm *Very slowly looks over to Getaway. Yes?* _Whirl 11:13 pm ...huh? Well. I mean, you don't see me waving around tentacles and trying to EAT people, do you? Chaoit 11:13 pm ....annnyway, 'night guys, thanks for the stream, but I'm out now. NoodlesAtNight 11:13 pm //Night, Blaster.// recuerdaxme 11:13 pm See you. No, but that sounds like fun. Can I do that? _Whirl 11:13 pm *i stand by my "tell him the plan if you want him to be a part of it" statement* Getaway 11:13 pm *and then from "Froid" to the small guy who's been cuddled up with Whirl all night.* NoodlesAtNight 11:13 pm *HE THOUGHT WHIRL HAD THE IDEA* _Whirl 11:13 pm *suddenly very serious* It's not, Blurr. Trust me. *no nicknames, so you know he means it* recuerdaxme 11:14 pm / shrugs pauldrons / I wouldn't know. My universe doesn't have oddities like that. recuerdaxme 11:14 pm We have Empties, Zombies and that's it. ... And Rodimus. All are absolute filth., _Whirl 11:14 pm Basically the same principle. ((Getaway right now:))

recuerdaxme 11:15 pm (( lmaooo )) Getaway 11:15 pm ((HAHAHA)) NoodlesAtNight 11:15 pm ((LOL)) _Whirl 11:16 pm ((I'm honestly not sorry this is hilarious)) NoodlesAtNight 11:17 pm *Well, he'll just fold his hands and continue to sit waiting on the couch for whatever hellstorm is about to come his way.* recuerdaxme 11:18 pm /is going to watch, but pretend he's not. This is surprisingly easier with one optic / Getaway 11:19 pm *after a moment glancing between the two of them, focuses on the small guy* Hey. Sorry, I came in kinda late, I never got your name. Let me guess, it's... it's gotta be either Rumble or Frenzy, right? You're both completely different colors where I'm from, I don't wanna guess and be wrong. recuerdaxme 11:19 pm They're both *alive* where you're from? NoodlesAtNight 11:20 pm *Rumble sits up* //Hold on. Y'mean we're dead?// Getaway 11:20 pm ... I... honestly don't know. I'm not a frontliner. I've only seen them in pictures. _Whirl 11:20 pm *still hasn't grasped the full implications of what's going on, but is staring at Getaway while he addresses Rumble. No expression whatsoeve* recuerdaxme 11:21 pm Not "we" Just one of you. At least where I'm from. NoodlesAtNight 11:22 pm *Rumble glances from Blurr to Whirl to the Boss to Getaway. Is he - is he in danger? Should he pop his piledrivers out? He's gonna fidget slightly, already feeling the urge to fight crawl up his spinal strut.* //I'm Rumble. What's it to ya?// NoodlesAtNight 11:23 pm *Don't mind Soundwave, just... watching like a hawk.* Getaway 11:24 pm Rumble! Nice to meet you properly. I'm Getaway. Not—not the one that was plotting to kill you, obviously. _Whirl 11:24 pm Obviously. NoodlesAtNight 11:24 pm *Rumble frowns.* //Heard that, huh?// Getaway 11:25 pm ... Yeah. Kinda. recuerdaxme 11:25 pm Master of surprises. Getaway 11:26 pm *drops his gaze down to his coins.* Everything I hear about my alternate is bad news. I'm kinda used to it, at this point. recuerdaxme 11:26 pm Pits, everything I hear is good news. It's annoying. Why don't you just kill your alternate? Getaway 11:26 pm ... Nah, that's a lie. I'll /get/ used to it. recuerdaxme 11:27 pm I have connections. ... / pauses / Wait a second... This got me in trouble last time. _Whirl 11:27 pm Don't have much experience with that myself, but, yeah. That's another multiverse thing. Getaway 11:27 pm *shocked look at Blurr* I can't do that! recuerdaxme 11:27 pm Well , why not? _Whirl 11:27 pm Shocking dearth of Whirls running around, but apparently not Starscreams, which is a damned crime. Getaway 11:28 pm Because he's— I don't even KNOW him! And he's ME! recuerdaxme 11:28 pm ...No. YOU are you. _Whirl 11:28 pm *dryly, to Getaway* You probably won't have to. recuerdaxme 11:28 pm HE is someone else. NoodlesAtNight 11:28 pm //Well, good. Ya don't hurt us 'n I ain't gotta hurt you.// *Probably. Rumble's breaking out in a smile, but it's not one he's sure he feels yet.* //Y'think that's weird, try bein' me. I got alternates turnin' into -cassettes.-// recuerdaxme 11:28 pm / points at Whirl/ A good point. Getaway 11:28 pm *slowly turns toward Whirl* ... Is he...? _Whirl 11:29 pm I have no clue what he's up to. Vanished. But I mean, obviously things are going to go bad if he shows his face around here, so... recuerdaxme 11:29 pm (( guys the fire in northern CA is now bigger than the city of LA )) (( I'm terrified ahaha )) NoodlesAtNight 11:29 pm ((JESUS)) _Whirl 11:29 pm SPEDDY.....(( recuerdaxme 11:29 pm (( It's out of control )) NoodlesAtNight 11:29 pm ((get packed in case and stay safe)) recuerdaxme 11:29 pm (( Well it's pretty far north but the smoke )) (( It's bad )) recuerdaxme 11:30 pm / leans forward/ Eh, yeah. And if he tries to come here? I'll send him to Whirl's. Getaway 11:32 pm Hm. From what I heard about him, maybe he deserves it. *... starts rummaging through one of the crates again.* _Whirl 11:32 pm *finally relaxes again* recuerdaxme 11:33 pm That's the spirit. Getaway 11:33 pm *doesn't sound very spirited.* NoodlesAtNight 11:33 pm //That's him, though.// *Kicks back again.* //You ain't that mech any more'n our Ravage's some blue 'n white nerd.// Getaway 11:33 pm *at the moment, he is a hollow shell of his previously chipper self.* ... What color nerd IS he? NoodlesAtNight 11:34 pm //PFFF.// recuerdaxme 11:34 pm Kyehehe. NoodlesAtNight 11:35 pm //Black 'n silver, mostly. Li'l bit of yellow 'n purple. 'N if he hears ya called him a nerd I ain't gettin' Frenzy to patch you up.// Getaway 11:35 pm I'll keep that in mind. _Whirl 11:35 pm Mixes a damn good drink, too. Highly recommended. recuerdaxme 11:36 pm /snort / recuerdaxme 11:37 pm I know you're new to the idea of various verses, but you should keep in mind that the only mech with your coding is you. Your experiences are yours. Your fights were and are yours. /shrugs pauldrons/ Same name, same face- doesn't make you them. Didn't do what he did. He doesn't do what you do. It's a complex situation, but you'll get the hang of it. Getaway 11:37 pm Thanks. I'll remember that. recuerdaxme 11:37 pm / this is the wisest thing he has said all year / recuerdaxme 11:37 pm / will give himself a sticker later / NoodlesAtNight 11:37 pm *Soundwave: still quietly observing. Getaway's been rather... off, tonight, compared to before. All the talk about slaughtering his alternate, and now this revelation. Perhaps it can be salvaged somehow? They really don't know who he is, aside from what he's been saying. Soundwave would /like/ to believe he's the protector he says he is. They could use more of them, albeit less focused on the humans.* _Whirl 11:37 pm *decides, again, to show that a little bit of that whole I Know Decent People has rubbed off, maybe* And, mech. As far as places for second chances go... you can't really do better than the multiverse. Take it from someone who knows. recuerdaxme 11:38 pm Look. Let's make this simple. You could be a tool like Rodimus, but you're not. You get to explore the multiverse and make a new... life? Existence ? Job? Getaway 11:39 pm Heh. I try to keep that as my guiding star. Not being like Rodimus. _Whirl 11:39 pm A good policy, honestly. recuerdaxme 11:39 pm That should be everyone's motivation Getaway 11:40 pm ... It's—tricky, though. Isn't it? *he's found a helmet! He pulls it out of the crate.* The first time you—you meet someone who looks like someone who hurt you, and find out they've got nothing in common. *he's using the helmet as a bucket to scoop his coins into. he's focusing very intently on it.* ... Or the first time you're hurt by someone who looks like a person you called a friend. _Whirl 11:41 pm Don't got to be in the multiverse to experience THAT, mech. NoodlesAtNight 11:41 pm [[....He apologizes for the deceit. You seemed so happy to see your companion, and he - well. He doesn't know as much about the ember timelines as he would like, and he enjoys a good story.]]

[[He thought you might manage to go on your way after a while, better than before. It seemed relatively harmless at the time.]] Getaway 11:41 pm No, I guess not. *glances up at Soundwave. then back down.* You really do look exactly like him. NoodlesAtNight 11:43 pm [[That is new to him. He's never seen /anyone/ who looks like him. Perhaps you'd still consider enlightening him some time.]] recuerdaxme 11:43 pm You'll learn to separate the mechs who look the same. I've run into mechs I know are gone, but I know it's not them. You just have to... get used to it, I guess. /flicks finials/ I suppose I'm numb to it because we recycle so much. I don't know if you recycle in your verse, like ours. NoodlesAtNight 11:43 pm [[He would make it something of an even exchange, of course.]] _Whirl 11:44 pm *tilts his head and looks to Soundwave, then to Getaway. ....ohhh.* NoodlesAtNight 11:44 pm *YEAH, WHIRL.* _Whirl 11:44 pm *honestly doesn't seem too bothered* I've never seen it anywhere but your home turf, Teach. recuerdaxme 11:45 pm Huh... wow. Look at us. The only recycling verse. Getaway 11:46 pm ... No offense, but—you've already messed with me once. You know what they say, once bitten... recuerdaxme 11:46 pm (( this fire won't be contained til September lmAO )) recuerdaxme 11:49 pm Mm... just learn to keep your guard up. /suddenly perks up/ I can teach you how to survive! Getaway 11:50 pm *starts when Blurr perks. his helmet-bucket jangles.* Oh—yeah? NoodlesAtNight 11:52 pm [[...Yes, of course.]] *And there goes a fountain of free data. Blast.* [[A pity he'll have to learn about that Rodimus some other way, but an understandable one.]] recuerdaxme 11:52 pm But of course! I'm an experienced lecturer and educator.

recuerdaxme 9:23 pm ( lemme know when y'all are good. ) Getaway 9:23 pm ((im good)) _Whirl 9:23 pm ((I am! AND ALSO YEAH IT IS)) recuerdaxme 9:23 pm ( i love this song in all languages ;A; ) ( but spanish is still a fAV ) Piston HAS manners. He's been very decent lately. NoodlesAtNight 9:24 pm //Getaway? Y'mean that gold-faced fragger Prowl likes? He ain't comin' /here,/ is he? Last time we met he was thinkin' how to kill me 'n the others, 'n who to knock off first.// *Rumble scowls.* recuerdaxme 9:25 pm Not the same one, I don't think. Could be, but I don't know. ( I gonna start then if we all good. I have to be up at 4am again tomorrow 8( ) NoodlesAtNight 9:25 pm ((i'm good whenever)) Getaway 9:25 pm ((the soonoer the better)) ((soonoer)) _Whirl 9:25 pm ((soonoer)) recuerdaxme 9:25 pm soonerer) Getaway 9:26 pm ((soonoonerer)) NoodlesAtNight 9:26 pm ((soonoerest)) recuerdaxme 9:26 pm omg bgskdfsd ) _Whirl 9:27 pm Nah. This one's from Blurr's neck of the woods, so he's pretty different from our Getaway. *a pause, and Whirl's antenna flattens* And if that other one comes back then I'm going to reach down his throat and turn him inside-out. recuerdaxme 9:27 pm (( is it streaming okay for y'all? )) Getaway 9:28 pm ((there are little static sounds, idk whether it's on my end)) _Whirl 9:28 pm ((ye it's got the little static noises here too)) Getaway 9:28 pm ((oh it's that dude)) recuerdaxme 9:28 pm (( *SIGH* It wasn't there before and now it there )) (( go away mystery sound )) NoodlesAtNight 9:29 pm //Huh. That mean he's real sweetlike, or nastier? Never been good figurin' out how they're gonna bend.// *Shakes his head. And gives Whirl a light punch in thanks for what he perceives as support.* NoodlesAtNight 9:29 pm *A gentle bop, really, with a grin.* recuerdaxme 9:30 pm You can never really guess what they're gonna be like, honestly. It's either they're Autobots or Decepticons, but most Decepticons are too touchy, feely, sweet. _Whirl 9:31 pm *nudges him back. Yes, threatening enemies with grotesque bodily harm is how he shows affection* NoodlesAtNight 9:31 pm *Soundwave perks. The movie doesn't waste any time, does i-- is that the sound of a human larva? Is it that young? Don't they need to eat more often? Oh dear.* Getaway 9:32 pm ((that rock TV is the saddest thing ive ever seen)) _Whirl 9:32 pm As far as he goes, he was really bubbly, but I dunno. My Getaway was kinda like that too. recuerdaxme 9:32 pm /flops on the couch/ Well, you're all free to pick through the spoils we've gathered too much of. recuerdaxme 9:32 pm We didn't have a Getaway where I'm from. _Whirl 9:32 pm Well, now ya do. recuerdaxme 9:33 pm yes i suppose so Getaway 9:34 pm *okay, he's camped out here now. back on the wall, right outside the doorway.* _Whirl 9:34 pm And I'll go through the stuff when we're all wrapped up. If nobody else wants the limbs, I can take 'em home to Killer. recuerdaxme 9:34 pm Sure you can. _Whirl 9:35 pm Ohh, boy. ...wait, never mind. I was sure it was going to be a zombie on the other end of the line. Chaoit 9:35 pm ....? feck, rabbit you ass let me change my muse)) Getaway 9:36 pm ((rabbit's bein rude about that lately)) ((tonight, apparently, i'm a suspiciously prowl-shaped getaway)) Chaoit 9:37 pm ((trying to make it Sides, but nooooo)) NoodlesAtNight 9:37 pm @G: [[He can sense you out there.]] *And it is driving him up the wall. He can't tell why Getaway is hiding. Anxiety-inducing. What if he's up to something? What if he's trying to plan to kill Rumble too?* Chaoit 9:37 pm ((and wow, getaway, your skills at disguise are great _Whirl 9:37 pm ((he's the new Makeshift)) NoodlesAtNight 9:37 pm [[Oh, now this is too much. One of them wandering in alone was unsafe. Now another is.]] recuerdaxme 9:38 pm / leaning over his couch to see where Getaway is at. He can sense the lingering, though not as great as Soundwave. / NoodlesAtNight 9:38 pm [[She isn't even armed.]] recuerdaxme 9:38 pm / But oh the movie is interesting now / NoodlesAtNight 9:38 pm [[Run, human.]] _Whirl 9:38 pm Yeah. Honestly, tying down right by the boat was a bad idea. Getaway 9:38 pm *Getaway starts, then freezes.* NoodlesAtNight 9:38 pm *Shakes his head. Too late.* Chaoit 9:39 pm ((okay, is THIS any better? _Whirl 9:39 pm ((still Chaoit with a Blaster face)) Chaoit 9:40 pm ((MOTHER FUCKER _Whirl 9:40 pm Okay, if they haven't moved away from that wreck by NOW... Chaoit 9:40 pm ((can I give up? Just...go with that I be Sides because I may just put rabbit into a stew soon _Whirl 9:41 pm ((ye dude! Sideswipe, then?)) Getaway 9:42 pm *After a moment, he leans in the doorway.* ... Sorry about that. I heard my name, and... well. And then I heard— *gestures vaguely at Whirl.* The, the whole. inside-out. thing. _Whirl 9:42 pm Well. Don't plot on killing my friends and I won't do that. Getaway 9:42 pm Didn't—want to interrupt. _Whirl 9:42 pm You should have nothing to worry about. recuerdaxme 9:42 pm Hnh? Oh, pits. He won't do anything to you. Not now anyway. You're part of my crew. TEchnically, /I/ would do it. Chaoit 9:42 pm ((yeah, cuz Blaster got into trouble with a demigod Chaoit 9:43 pm -and Sides is here, just curiously looking at the screen- What'd I miss? _Whirl 9:44 pm Point. The honor goes to the Captain. @B: I get dibs on anyone who messes with Rumble, though. Deal?

...not that I expect it, or anything, I mean. Just saying. Getaway 9:44 pm No, n-no, no, not—not threatening anyone's friends. recuerdaxme 9:44 pm @W: I mean, I guess. Chaoit 9:44 pm Like, what'er we watchin'? NoodlesAtNight 9:46 pm ((food came right after she put the watch thing on what did i miss) Getaway 9:46 pm ((zombie symptoms don't show up for 3 hours but she's gonna bleed out in 2 hours so they're taking their chances and going to the hospital.)) ((as long as they don't know whether she's infected yet.)) _Whirl 9:46 pm One of them should REALLY be standing lookout now. Getaway 9:47 pm ((so they got an abandoned car. a zombie almost got them.)) Chaoit 9:47 pm Oh NoodlesAtNight 9:47 pm [[...He hopes she did not bite the bitlet.]] _Whirl 9:47 pm *shudders, despite himself* Getaway too. NoodlesAtNight 9:47 pm [[Greetings, Getaway.]] *Bobs his head. At least the mech's making himself known now.* Chaoit 9:47 pm That...a symptom, ain't it? recuerdaxme 9:47 pm Hello, my new little recruit. _Whirl 9:47 pm Yeah, I'm guessing so. Chaoit 9:48 pm Getaway, huh? Getaway 9:48 pm ... Hey, boss. NoodlesAtNight 9:48 pm //They oughta have somethin' over her mouth. Then she can't bite nobody if she goes all sudden.// Chaoit 9:48 pm She's got a point dude _Whirl 9:49 pm Yeah. If there's a chance to cure her then, yeah, but if not... I mean. He knows what he's gotta do. She knows it, too. recuerdaxme 9:49 pm Well, don't be so... whatever you are! Come in. Look at all this scrap we over collected. See if you want anything. Chaoit 9:49 pm Yeah. Sucks, but... -has plopped himself in a seat- Getaway 9:50 pm ... Yeah, sure. Chaoit 9:50 pm -raises servo- _Whirl 9:50 pm *adopts his Teacher Voice* Yes, Sideswipe? recuerdaxme 9:51 pm ...Wow. Chaoit 9:51 pm Can I say that I think the guy's being stupid fraggin' bit-brain right now? _Whirl 9:51 pm Yes, you may. Proceed. *waves aclaw magnanimously. NoodlesAtNight 9:51 pm //Run, buddy. She's done.// _Whirl 9:52 pm At least put her out of her misery so she can die as HERSELF. Chaoit 9:52 pm Kay. The guy's bein' a stupid fraggin' bit-brain Getaway 9:52 pm *gives Whirl a nervous look; but, moves to the crates.* NoodlesAtNight 9:52 pm [[Oh dear. She'll have gone while he was out, won't she.]] Chaoit 9:52 pm She's turning into a monster......... NoodlesAtNight 9:53 pm [[Did she get to him?]] Chaoit 9:53 pm .......... _Whirl 9:53 pm Looked like it to me. recuerdaxme 9:53 pm Don't worry so much, Getaway. He's not gonna do anything to you. Chaoit 9:53 pm Let's hope not Getaway 9:53 pm ((don't leave the baby behind jfc)) _Whirl 9:53 pm Yeah. I'm a triple sweetie, remember? Should have DONE THAT WHILE SHE WAS ALIVE, IDIOT. Chaoit 9:53 pm Or that sparkling is going to be a snack Getaway 9:54 pm ... Yeah. Triple sweetie. *doesn't sound convinced.* Chaoit 9:55 pm ....oh boy Getaway 9:55 pm *starts hesitantly digging through one of the crates.* Chaoit 9:55 pm He's not a bright one, is he? Uh.... NoodlesAtNight 9:56 pm @G: [[If anyone attempts to harm you, he will intervene as much as he can.]] *Probably to handle it himself, if it's because of the minicons.* [[We still have a meeting to complete.]] recuerdaxme 9:56 pm Getaway . /wiggles claws/ I've got my optic on you. You're fine. Chaoit 9:56 pm What....the.... _Whirl 9:57 pm *is not really terribly concerned. Being feared is a-ok by him* Chaoit 9:57 pm Well THAT can't be good _Whirl 9:58 pm Also, hey. That kid had the same idea. *nudges Rumble* A bit-and-harness, to keep him from biting. Getaway 9:58 pm *glances up between the two of them; after a moment, gives them half-optic smiles.* Thanks, guys. Means a lot to me. NoodlesAtNight 9:58 pm //Kid knows what's up.// _Whirl 9:58 pm *nods* Chaoit 10:00 pm Hmmmm You don't have time dude recuerdaxme 10:01 pm /smirks/ Don't worry. Captains take care of their crew. _Whirl 10:01 pm Am I missing something, there? *peers* Chaoit 10:01 pm The hell was that? NoodlesAtNight 10:01 pm *He nods. Of course.* _Whirl 10:02 pm Why's that scar something he's scared of? Getaway 10:02 pm *back to digging through the crate. He's rummaging straight past all the bigger objects.* Getaway 10:04 pm *once he gets to the bottom, he starts pulling coins out. he makes a pile of them, just outside the crate.* NoodlesAtNight 10:04 pm [[So he is infected.]] //...Whatcha doin' with all them?// *Points at the coins.* Chaoit 10:05 pm Oh...and now he's becoming one too recuerdaxme 10:05 pm Well, he was bit, wasn't he? _Whirl 10:05 pm *also looks over, curiously* recuerdaxme 10:06 pm / is also watching / Getaway 10:06 pm Saving up. Chaoit 10:06 pm -turns to watch the coin-stacking too- recuerdaxme 10:06 pm Are you planning on buying something? Chaoit 10:07 pm -turns back to the movie after a moment- Getaway 10:07 pm Nah. Just preparing for when I've got to move on. Costs a lot to cross the multiverse when you've got no ship of your own and no friends. recuerdaxme 10:07 pm ... /ugly loud laughter / _Whirl 10:07 pm Huh. Second one we've seen doing that. NoodlesAtNight 10:07 pm [[...No friends?]] Chaoit 10:08 pm Hmn.... recuerdaxme 10:08 pm Just because you're leaving doesn't mean you can't call me for assistance. We can remain allies. _Whirl 10:08 pm Take my advice--stick with Teach. He's tough. He's been around a while. Chaoit 10:08 pm Heh, nice shot guy recuerdaxme 10:08 pm Long while. They say I'm a roach. _Whirl 10:09 pm *gravely* It's true. recuerdaxme 10:09 pm Very hard to kill. _Whirl 10:09 pm Looks like that's how they rest. Sticking their heads in the ground. recuerdaxme 10:09 pm Weird way to sleep. Getaway 10:10 pm *a half-optic smile for Froid.* Present company excluded. But you're not MY Froid. Probably. Chaoit 10:10 pm -snickering- Wait, diggers? Oh, like they go digging and bury their head? _Whirl 10:11 pm *at long last, relents just a little bit. His good influences have had SOME impact on him* Hey, Getaway. It's... you're gonna have to get used to that. You might be the only one around from your timeline. Same with me. Just stop thinking about everything as being "not yours." Just roll with it. recuerdaxme 10:12 pm You get used to it after a while. All I've run into are the Decepticons and they irritate my entire core. NoodlesAtNight 10:12 pm [[Perhaps. Perhaps not. He does not know. Though he is curious as to how you would.]] Getaway 10:12 pm ... Yeah. Yeah, I know. I'm—far from home. On purpose. Chaoit 10:13 pm On purpose, hmn? recuerdaxme 10:13 pm Getaway too. NoodlesAtNight 10:13 pm //Maybe they like the taste of dirt or somethin'.// _Whirl 10:13 pm You'll get used to it, mech. You'll probably come to prefer it this way. I did. recuerdaxme 10:13 pm But, so long as you stay on track, you'll outrun them. If it's Rodimus after you, then I can easily kill him. _Whirl 10:13 pm PFFT. recuerdaxme 10:13 pm Oh, shut up. I could. _Whirl 10:14 pm That was for Rumble, not you. recuerdaxme 10:14 pm Oh, good. _Whirl 10:14 pm I've seen you in action--I believe it. recuerdaxme 10:14 pm Then I retract. _Whirl 10:15 pm *nods gravely* Thank you, Teach. NoodlesAtNight 10:15 pm //...Hold up, he's usin' live bait!// recuerdaxme 10:16 pm Huh. I've done that before... _Whirl 10:16 pm Yeah, he... must be some kind of nutcase. Chaoit 10:16 pm Well frack recuerdaxme 10:16 pm Of course, I dropped the bait in the smelting pit. NoodlesAtNight 10:16 pm //I didn't know humans did that.// _Whirl 10:16 pm No wonder that girl back at camp was so nervous all the time. One wrong move and he tosses her in the cage. Getaway 10:16 pm *glances at Froid.* Oh, just—you know. Considering the odds. I ran far and fast on purpose. The odds my Froid had the same thought, and went the same way... Chaoit 10:17 pm Practical...but...messed up Oh. Oh no. DID the kid get bit? _Whirl 10:17 pm I got no respect for that. You should fight 'em head on. recuerdaxme 10:18 pm I mean, either commit or don't hunt them. Honestly. NoodlesAtNight 10:18 pm *He taps a finger to his chin, thinking. That is very good reasoning.* [[He supposes that does make sense. It is a vast multiverse.]] Getaway 10:18 pm *to Blurr* I appreciate that. The—protecting me. From Rodimus. Really. recuerdaxme 10:19 pm Honestly, any chance to slaughter that mech would make me so... /pauses. Thinks/ What's the word? _Whirl 10:19 pm Out of your goddamned mind with glee? NoodlesAtNight 10:19 pm //Hope they didn't. Poor bitlet. 'N this fragger - I mean, he got the blood. How come he don't just leave a bucket in the cage?// recuerdaxme 10:19 pm / glances left and right/ What? That's not the word... which one? Ah, right. / to Getaway/ Content. recuerdaxme 10:19 pm And, what Whirl said. _Whirl 10:20 pm Because he's sadistic. There's always folks like that. You get someone on the other side of some bars and a set of keys and it's just a matter of time. Chaoit 10:20 pm Yeeeeep NoodlesAtNight 10:21 pm //He can't leave her with a fragger like that. He's gonna use the kid for bait too.// _Whirl 10:21 pm Yeah I--yeah. recuerdaxme 10:21 pm ... Huh. I like this one. This... woman. Chaoit 10:21 pm Better than himself, he's gonna be one of them soon. _Whirl 10:22 pm I mean obviously he SHOULD off himself, but not while she's with these people. So here's what you do: Kill that guy in his sleep. Chaoit 10:22 pm ...........or not recuerdaxme 10:22 pm ... Hnh. I knew something was odd. Chaoit 10:22 pm Yikes The man is nuts NoodlesAtNight 10:22 pm [[Indeed. She did not seem to be affectionate in return.]] [[Now we see why.]] _Whirl 10:23 pm Go get the folks in the cage, bring em in. Hopefully some of them won't hold it against you, and then you've got a little squad at the base. THEN you off yourself. Chaoit 10:23 pm Scratch that, he's an afthat NoodlesAtNight 10:23 pm //Aw, Pit. This ain't good.// _Whirl 10:23 pm Especially not for that kid. Chaoit 10:23 pm Nope NoodlesAtNight 10:24 pm [[The clever man?]] [[Does this refer to the older one in the cage?]] _Whirl 10:25 pm The old guy, with the beard. One who talked about the land getting sick. Yep. I'm guessing it's capitalized. Clever Man. A title. NoodlesAtNight 10:26 pm //Primus.// *Flops back on his portion of the hammock.* _Whirl 10:26 pm *looks down, amused* Suspenseful enough for you? Oh, come on, he's asleep, he's a sitting duck. Just SHOOT him. Getaway 10:27 pm *he's got a nice little pile of coins now.* Chaoit 10:27 pm They don't want to attract the things Loud noises do that _Whirl 10:27 pm Then cut his throat. Chaoit 10:27 pm Gunshots are loud noises NoodlesAtNight 10:28 pm //Listen, I did my share of suspensi-- aw, COME ON.// Chaoit 10:28 pm ............ recuerdaxme 10:28 pm /smirk/ do you want more coins? Chaoit 10:28 pm Well slag recuerdaxme 10:28 pm ... huh. that's ironic NoodlesAtNight 10:28 pm //RUN!// _Whirl 10:28 pm Damn. Getaway 10:28 pm If you've got them, yeah. Thanks. Chaoit 10:28 pm You shot her instead Serves you right, afthat _Whirl 10:29 pm Guess he really WAS a clever man. NoodlesAtNight 10:29 pm [[What else will you need? Besides money.]] [[And a ship, and transport.]] _Whirl 10:29 pm *looks over to Getaway* I can hook you up with a loving, beautiful pet. Okay, movie. All his yelling has GOT to have attracted them. Movie, please. You gotta have this guy get eaten. Getaway 10:31 pm *he shrugs.* A—a safe crew to join on the other side, I guess. Chaoit 10:31 pm Smart girl NoodlesAtNight 10:31 pm [[What kind?]] Chaoit 10:32 pm Whooops Getaway 10:33 pm ... The kind that can protect me if Rodimus comes after me. _Whirl 10:33 pm *points to Blurr* Getaway 10:34 pm Yeah—I know, but—boss here is on the wrong side. I've gotta make it to the other half of the multiverse. _Whirl 10:34 pm Well, that's why you kill him, instead of running from him. recuerdaxme 10:34 pm ... Wrong side? Chaoit 10:35 pm That's... recuerdaxme 10:35 pm Mech, you know my ship can travel space at the fastest speeds right? Chaoit 10:35 pm ...depressing. Getaway 10:36 pm Yeah, but you LIVE on this side. You're—FROM this side. recuerdaxme 10:36 pm ... Uhhh. I mean, more or less. I'm not allowed back on my Cybertron Ever. _Whirl 10:37 pm *can't hold back another shudder* NoodlesAtNight 10:37 pm //....WHERE'S THE--oh.// recuerdaxme 10:37 pm Rodimus claimed he pulled off the bounty for my helm, but I don't trust him at all. Huh... now she's gonna take him? Chaoit 10:38 pm -settles- Getaway 10:39 pm Heh. Yeah. I wouldn't trust him either. He's shifty. Chaoit 10:39 pm Roddy? Getaway 10:39 pm And dishonest and power-hungry. _Whirl 10:39 pm And terribly unfashionable. recuerdaxme 10:39 pm Yes, I would know. _Whirl 10:40 pm *holds his claw upside-down and holds it under his eye like it's a goatee* recuerdaxme 10:40 pm He used to be close to me. Ah, but... who needs him. /shrugs pauldrons and relaxes / Getaway 10:40 pm Yeah. I guess you would. recuerdaxme 10:40 pm Not sure how /your/ Blurr handled that mess, but I didn't let him take that ship. My Master trusted me. Not Rodimus. Chaoit 10:40 pm Things don't exactly always work like that Getaway 10:41 pm Your master? recuerdaxme 10:41 pm My Prime. Chaoit 10:41 pm ...someone got munched recuerdaxme 10:41 pm Trusted me with literally everything, down to keeping his armor clean. /flexes claws/ _Whirl 10:41 pm ((I'm liking freeman in this. I've only ever seen him do one type of role, but he's very convincing. Good jearb)) recuerdaxme 10:41 pm ( yeah same!! ) _Whirl 10:41 pm *nudges Rumble* You were saying something, earlier. About having your fair share of something? recuerdaxme 10:42 pm ... That's not foreboding. NoodlesAtNight 10:42 pm [[Oh, no.]] Chaoit 10:43 pm That's... Frag. _Whirl 10:43 pm If he actually cared about his OWN ones he'd end it. recuerdaxme 10:44 pm Nn... _Whirl 10:44 pm ...not what I meant. NoodlesAtNight 10:44 pm //Oh. Uh. Had my fair share of suspensin' from scrap like this. Ain't a good time. Aaaaaan' now they gotta move. Them diggin things is gonna come for 'em.// Chaoit 10:44 pm Hah...haha...holy frag _Whirl 10:45 pm Oh. Pfft. You and me both. recuerdaxme 10:45 pm Look mech, when the rust finally gets to me and I turn into some rusted Empty, I either want Whirl or Drift to off my aft. Or... just chain me up and use me as a quick Empty attack, I guess. That'd be cool. "Release the monster" Bam, there I go _Whirl 10:45 pm Well MAYBE the rust wouldn't GET to you if you'd go to the DOCTOR more often. recuerdaxme 10:46 pm / B( / Well, I DO. Kind of. _Whirl 10:46 pm I'd let you go out in style, Teach. Strap some high-end explosives to you, send you out in the face of someone we'd both enjoy killing. recuerdaxme 10:46 pm ... Good. And then tell Buster he's free from my clutches. _Whirl 10:46 pm ...@B: I'd break it to him gently. Chaoit 10:46 pm Uh... recuerdaxme 10:47 pm @W: ... Well, that's the best I could ask for. Chaoit 10:47 pm Huh.... Getaway 10:47 pm Oh. Yeah, the Prime didn't trust our Rodimus, either. Which makes sense, since he was trying to overthrow him and all. _Whirl 10:47 pm Luckily, I don't think I've got to worry about THIS anymore. Once you've gotten a virus once, you're immune, right? Chaoit 10:47 pm Ooooh That's why they do that recuerdaxme 10:48 pm Well, yes. I've never met a Rodimus that was loyal to anything but himself, really. _Whirl 10:48 pm Oh, this asshole, again. NoodlesAtNight 10:48 pm *Is learning all KINDS of things about the other side of the multiverse tonight* recuerdaxme 10:48 pm Mine is surprisingly still alive, though I've discovered that he's afraid of my denta. _Whirl 10:48 pm As most living things SHOULD be. recuerdaxme 10:48 pm ... Which virus do you mean, Whirl ? Getaway 10:48 pm *... peers at Blurr's mouth.* recuerdaxme 10:48 pm Well, most living things don't live to see them very long /cackle/ _Whirl 10:49 pm The sparkeater one. I went once, so... I mean. That's how viruses USUALLY work. NoodlesAtNight 10:49 pm //...Pit, I wasn't even thinkin' about - mech, I got stuff to tell ya some time. But yeah. Definitely that too.// _Whirl 10:49 pm Hell yeah, SHOOT HIM. recuerdaxme 10:49 pm / he has them nice sharp denta with them energon stains. The flexi-stitches holding his jaw together get nice and wide/ Wanna see? Chaoit 10:49 pm Well then Getaway 10:50 pm ... I can see them from here. recuerdaxme 10:50 pm I dunno. I don't even know if Empties carry a virus. I know drinking their energon is not good for your tanks. Had to cut mine out. Aww, you don't want a close up? I won't bite... much. _Whirl 10:50 pm *tilts his head* Hm? Whatcha mean? *he senses a story... but he can be patient and hear it later. If he has to. But he's nosy* Getaway 10:50 pm I'm good, thanks. Chaoit 10:50 pm Kinda hoping to see that guy eaten now recuerdaxme 10:50 pm / snickers / recuerdaxme 10:51 pm Wait til you see what they can do. You'll see if you work with us _Whirl 10:51 pm Dad goes full zombie and eats the guy to save his bitlet. Chaoit 10:51 pm He'd deserve it recuerdaxme 10:51 pm I'm down to see that. recuerdaxme 10:53 pm (( god i really love him in this )) (( it's a whole different side of him )) Chaoit 10:53 pm ((it's interesting to say the least NoodlesAtNight 10:54 pm //Ah, it's, uh... probably I shouldn't talk about it here. Ain't no prettier'n this scrap.// *Jerks his head at the screen.* _Whirl 10:54 pm *nods* Yeah, I get ya. Some other time. recuerdaxme 10:54 pm You know. If I ever got that sick... I don't think I'd want to get all the way sick. Chaoit 10:54 pm That's...that's not gooooooodon'teatthat recuerdaxme 10:54 pm I don't know. Depends. I mean, the crew would survive without me. _Whirl 10:55 pm Hell yeah, look at em go! Chaoit 10:56 pm Oh no recuerdaxme 10:56 pm (( me: already sobbing )) _Whirl 10:57 pm *just not gonna. Watch this part. Suddenly very interested in Getaway's coin pile* Getaway 10:57 pm *it's grown steadily* _Whirl 10:58 pm *how incredibly impressive* recuerdaxme 10:58 pm Hey, Getaway. Tell you what. You help us get the next few treasures we look for, and I'll give you a ship and some of the fleet members. Chaoit 10:59 pm Is she using him as transportation? recuerdaxme 10:59 pm I mean, I don't need the /entire/ fleet. _Whirl 10:59 pm *returns his attention to the screen* Chaoit 11:00 pm Huh. She is. Getaway 11:00 pm Oh, no—you don't need to give me that much. But—I could use a ship. Thank you. I won't let you down, boss. recuerdaxme 11:00 pm Sure thing. They're all stolen anyway. So, I'd give you one/ *. Chaoit 11:02 pm ((WEH recuerdaxme 11:02 pm (( mOOD )) (( Don't mind me cryin' alone in my home )) NoodlesAtNight 11:02 pm *...Soundwave has an odd urge to check on the protoforms.* Chaoit 11:03 pm ...... recuerdaxme 11:03 pm / internally worries about Oberyn. His best child. / Chaoit 11:03 pm -Sides is going to be squishing his brother later- ((ohmygod ((this ending hurts recuerdaxme 11:04 pm (( yEAH )) Chaoit 11:04 pm ...... _Whirl 11:05 pm Not bad. Chaoit 11:05 pm -raises servo again- recuerdaxme 11:05 pm Not bad at all. Hnh? What is it? Chaoit 11:05 pm Who else here kinda hated the ending because surprise feels recuerdaxme 11:05 pm I mean, if you're into that kind of scrap. / oh he knows what he'll do. / recuerdaxme 11:06 pm / he's gonna have a sleepover with his frames tonight / NoodlesAtNight 11:06 pm //Least the kid survived.// NoodlesAtNight 11:06 pm //'S better 'n most.// _Whirl 11:06 pm Yeah. That's the important bit. recuerdaxme 11:06 pm Yes, I suppose. She wasn't as problematic as I assumed. Very quiet. Chaoit 11:06 pm Family is family And yeah...at least the kids survived _Whirl 11:07 pm Well, you know how little ones are. Unruly. It's part of their charm. recuerdaxme 11:07 pm I suppose. We don't have kids where I'm from, so. Chaoit 11:08 pm ((they have a movie ((called anon _Whirl 11:08 pm I'm not exactly... what you'd call experienced, either. *A LIE* Getaway 11:08 pm ((it's about smokey's life)) ((truly a neverending horror story)) Chaoit 11:08 pm ((YEP recuerdaxme 11:09 pm (( LOL )) Getaway 11:09 pm *just sort of glances between speakers, listening to the conversation about the movie* _Whirl 11:09 pm ((omg)) Chaoit 11:09 pm -huffs, and settles down again- recuerdaxme 11:09 pm /shrugs pauldrons/ I honestly think if kids existed in my universe, they'd keep them away from me. _Whirl 11:10 pm Same. I'm pretty sure if we ever get the hang of propagating, I'm going to be barred from it. Which, honestly, is just as well. NoodlesAtNight 11:10 pm [[Hm. A strange thought, but he has seen plenty of others who have.]] Chaoit 11:11 pm Annnyway I gotta go _Whirl 11:11 pm Huh? recuerdaxme 11:11 pm Heading out? Chaoit 11:11 pm Yup _Whirl 11:11 pm ...to Soundwave, not you, Sideswipe. Seeya. Chaoit 11:11 pm Thanks for the stream, though recuerdaxme 11:11 pm Sure thing. /wiggles claws / NoodlesAtNight 11:11 pm *DAMN IT, WHIRL.* _Whirl 11:11 pm *LOOK HE'S NOT A SPY HE CAN'T BE COUNTED ON FOR THIS STUFF* recuerdaxme 11:12 pm / DID NOT RUIN THE DEAL / _Whirl 11:12 pm *ALSO IF YOU WANT SOMEONE TO PLAY ALONG MAYBE LET THEM IN ON YOUR GAME* recuerdaxme 11:12 pm K-Kyeheheh. Are you *sure* you're completely cleared of that virus there, Whirl? Sounds like you're a little confused. NoodlesAtNight 11:12 pm *Note to himself: never, ever ask Whirl to be a field agent.* Getaway 11:12 pm *... very slowly looks from Whirl to "Froid."* NoodlesAtNight 11:12 pm *Very slowly looks over to Getaway. Yes?* _Whirl 11:13 pm ...huh? Well. I mean, you don't see me waving around tentacles and trying to EAT people, do you? Chaoit 11:13 pm ....annnyway, 'night guys, thanks for the stream, but I'm out now. NoodlesAtNight 11:13 pm //Night, Blaster.// recuerdaxme 11:13 pm See you. No, but that sounds like fun. Can I do that? _Whirl 11:13 pm *i stand by my "tell him the plan if you want him to be a part of it" statement* Getaway 11:13 pm *and then from "Froid" to the small guy who's been cuddled up with Whirl all night.* NoodlesAtNight 11:13 pm *HE THOUGHT WHIRL HAD THE IDEA* _Whirl 11:13 pm *suddenly very serious* It's not, Blurr. Trust me. *no nicknames, so you know he means it* recuerdaxme 11:14 pm / shrugs pauldrons / I wouldn't know. My universe doesn't have oddities like that. recuerdaxme 11:14 pm We have Empties, Zombies and that's it. ... And Rodimus. All are absolute filth., _Whirl 11:14 pm Basically the same principle. ((Getaway right now:))

recuerdaxme 11:15 pm (( lmaooo )) Getaway 11:15 pm ((HAHAHA)) NoodlesAtNight 11:15 pm ((LOL)) _Whirl 11:16 pm ((I'm honestly not sorry this is hilarious)) NoodlesAtNight 11:17 pm *Well, he'll just fold his hands and continue to sit waiting on the couch for whatever hellstorm is about to come his way.* recuerdaxme 11:18 pm /is going to watch, but pretend he's not. This is surprisingly easier with one optic / Getaway 11:19 pm *after a moment glancing between the two of them, focuses on the small guy* Hey. Sorry, I came in kinda late, I never got your name. Let me guess, it's... it's gotta be either Rumble or Frenzy, right? You're both completely different colors where I'm from, I don't wanna guess and be wrong. recuerdaxme 11:19 pm They're both *alive* where you're from? NoodlesAtNight 11:20 pm *Rumble sits up* //Hold on. Y'mean we're dead?// Getaway 11:20 pm ... I... honestly don't know. I'm not a frontliner. I've only seen them in pictures. _Whirl 11:20 pm *still hasn't grasped the full implications of what's going on, but is staring at Getaway while he addresses Rumble. No expression whatsoeve* recuerdaxme 11:21 pm Not "we" Just one of you. At least where I'm from. NoodlesAtNight 11:22 pm *Rumble glances from Blurr to Whirl to the Boss to Getaway. Is he - is he in danger? Should he pop his piledrivers out? He's gonna fidget slightly, already feeling the urge to fight crawl up his spinal strut.* //I'm Rumble. What's it to ya?// NoodlesAtNight 11:23 pm *Don't mind Soundwave, just... watching like a hawk.* Getaway 11:24 pm Rumble! Nice to meet you properly. I'm Getaway. Not—not the one that was plotting to kill you, obviously. _Whirl 11:24 pm Obviously. NoodlesAtNight 11:24 pm *Rumble frowns.* //Heard that, huh?// Getaway 11:25 pm ... Yeah. Kinda. recuerdaxme 11:25 pm Master of surprises. Getaway 11:26 pm *drops his gaze down to his coins.* Everything I hear about my alternate is bad news. I'm kinda used to it, at this point. recuerdaxme 11:26 pm Pits, everything I hear is good news. It's annoying. Why don't you just kill your alternate? Getaway 11:26 pm ... Nah, that's a lie. I'll /get/ used to it. recuerdaxme 11:27 pm I have connections. ... / pauses / Wait a second... This got me in trouble last time. _Whirl 11:27 pm Don't have much experience with that myself, but, yeah. That's another multiverse thing. Getaway 11:27 pm *shocked look at Blurr* I can't do that! recuerdaxme 11:27 pm Well , why not? _Whirl 11:27 pm Shocking dearth of Whirls running around, but apparently not Starscreams, which is a damned crime. Getaway 11:28 pm Because he's— I don't even KNOW him! And he's ME! recuerdaxme 11:28 pm ...No. YOU are you. _Whirl 11:28 pm *dryly, to Getaway* You probably won't have to. recuerdaxme 11:28 pm HE is someone else. NoodlesAtNight 11:28 pm //Well, good. Ya don't hurt us 'n I ain't gotta hurt you.// *Probably. Rumble's breaking out in a smile, but it's not one he's sure he feels yet.* //Y'think that's weird, try bein' me. I got alternates turnin' into -cassettes.-// recuerdaxme 11:28 pm / points at Whirl/ A good point. Getaway 11:28 pm *slowly turns toward Whirl* ... Is he...? _Whirl 11:29 pm I have no clue what he's up to. Vanished. But I mean, obviously things are going to go bad if he shows his face around here, so... recuerdaxme 11:29 pm (( guys the fire in northern CA is now bigger than the city of LA )) (( I'm terrified ahaha )) NoodlesAtNight 11:29 pm ((JESUS)) _Whirl 11:29 pm SPEDDY.....(( recuerdaxme 11:29 pm (( It's out of control )) NoodlesAtNight 11:29 pm ((get packed in case and stay safe)) recuerdaxme 11:29 pm (( Well it's pretty far north but the smoke )) (( It's bad )) recuerdaxme 11:30 pm / leans forward/ Eh, yeah. And if he tries to come here? I'll send him to Whirl's. Getaway 11:32 pm Hm. From what I heard about him, maybe he deserves it. *... starts rummaging through one of the crates again.* _Whirl 11:32 pm *finally relaxes again* recuerdaxme 11:33 pm That's the spirit. Getaway 11:33 pm *doesn't sound very spirited.* NoodlesAtNight 11:33 pm //That's him, though.// *Kicks back again.* //You ain't that mech any more'n our Ravage's some blue 'n white nerd.// Getaway 11:33 pm *at the moment, he is a hollow shell of his previously chipper self.* ... What color nerd IS he? NoodlesAtNight 11:34 pm //PFFF.// recuerdaxme 11:34 pm Kyehehe. NoodlesAtNight 11:35 pm //Black 'n silver, mostly. Li'l bit of yellow 'n purple. 'N if he hears ya called him a nerd I ain't gettin' Frenzy to patch you up.// Getaway 11:35 pm I'll keep that in mind. _Whirl 11:35 pm Mixes a damn good drink, too. Highly recommended. recuerdaxme 11:36 pm /snort / recuerdaxme 11:37 pm I know you're new to the idea of various verses, but you should keep in mind that the only mech with your coding is you. Your experiences are yours. Your fights were and are yours. /shrugs pauldrons/ Same name, same face- doesn't make you them. Didn't do what he did. He doesn't do what you do. It's a complex situation, but you'll get the hang of it. Getaway 11:37 pm Thanks. I'll remember that. recuerdaxme 11:37 pm / this is the wisest thing he has said all year / recuerdaxme 11:37 pm / will give himself a sticker later / NoodlesAtNight 11:37 pm *Soundwave: still quietly observing. Getaway's been rather... off, tonight, compared to before. All the talk about slaughtering his alternate, and now this revelation. Perhaps it can be salvaged somehow? They really don't know who he is, aside from what he's been saying. Soundwave would /like/ to believe he's the protector he says he is. They could use more of them, albeit less focused on the humans.* _Whirl 11:37 pm *decides, again, to show that a little bit of that whole I Know Decent People has rubbed off, maybe* And, mech. As far as places for second chances go... you can't really do better than the multiverse. Take it from someone who knows. recuerdaxme 11:38 pm Look. Let's make this simple. You could be a tool like Rodimus, but you're not. You get to explore the multiverse and make a new... life? Existence ? Job? Getaway 11:39 pm Heh. I try to keep that as my guiding star. Not being like Rodimus. _Whirl 11:39 pm A good policy, honestly. recuerdaxme 11:39 pm That should be everyone's motivation Getaway 11:40 pm ... It's—tricky, though. Isn't it? *he's found a helmet! He pulls it out of the crate.* The first time you—you meet someone who looks like someone who hurt you, and find out they've got nothing in common. *he's using the helmet as a bucket to scoop his coins into. he's focusing very intently on it.* ... Or the first time you're hurt by someone who looks like a person you called a friend. _Whirl 11:41 pm Don't got to be in the multiverse to experience THAT, mech. NoodlesAtNight 11:41 pm [[....He apologizes for the deceit. You seemed so happy to see your companion, and he - well. He doesn't know as much about the ember timelines as he would like, and he enjoys a good story.]]

[[He thought you might manage to go on your way after a while, better than before. It seemed relatively harmless at the time.]] Getaway 11:41 pm No, I guess not. *glances up at Soundwave. then back down.* You really do look exactly like him. NoodlesAtNight 11:43 pm [[That is new to him. He's never seen /anyone/ who looks like him. Perhaps you'd still consider enlightening him some time.]] recuerdaxme 11:43 pm You'll learn to separate the mechs who look the same. I've run into mechs I know are gone, but I know it's not them. You just have to... get used to it, I guess. /flicks finials/ I suppose I'm numb to it because we recycle so much. I don't know if you recycle in your verse, like ours. NoodlesAtNight 11:43 pm [[He would make it something of an even exchange, of course.]] _Whirl 11:44 pm *tilts his head and looks to Soundwave, then to Getaway. ....ohhh.* NoodlesAtNight 11:44 pm *YEAH, WHIRL.* _Whirl 11:44 pm *honestly doesn't seem too bothered* I've never seen it anywhere but your home turf, Teach. recuerdaxme 11:45 pm Huh... wow. Look at us. The only recycling verse. Getaway 11:46 pm ... No offense, but—you've already messed with me once. You know what they say, once bitten... recuerdaxme 11:46 pm (( this fire won't be contained til September lmAO )) recuerdaxme 11:49 pm Mm... just learn to keep your guard up. /suddenly perks up/ I can teach you how to survive! Getaway 11:50 pm *starts when Blurr perks. his helmet-bucket jangles.* Oh—yeah? NoodlesAtNight 11:52 pm [[...Yes, of course.]] *And there goes a fountain of free data. Blast.* [[A pity he'll have to learn about that Rodimus some other way, but an understandable one.]] recuerdaxme 11:52 pm But of course! I'm an experienced lecturer and educator. Getaway 11:53 pm Just assume the worst, and you're probably right. *another optic smile for Soundwave; but it's not as bright as his earlier ones.* NoodlesAtNight 11:53 pm *As such, he doesn't believe it for a second.* *Yeah, he lost this one. Not his best work.* _Whirl 11:54 pm *streeetches* Well, I'm headin out, folks. Seeya, losers. *Rumble gets a separate nudge* And you, too. Getaway 11:54 pm See you, Other Whirl. ... Probably Other Whirl. NoodlesAtNight 11:54 pm *Rumble nudges back and grins.* //Seeya soon.// _Whirl 11:55 pm I'm Some Kinda Whirl. That's the best any of us can do. recuerdaxme 11:55 pm The best Whirl, honestly. Getaway 11:55 pm Ha! Yeah. Guess so. _Whirl 11:55 pm Yeah! Soon. *and he will carefully extricate himself--see? He's good at this. No tipping* Aww, Teach. You sap. recuerdaxme 11:55 pm / waves claw / recuerdaxme 11:55 pm Just like I'm the best Blurr, I know. NoodlesAtNight 11:56 pm [[Well. We should be going, Rumble. Our own timeline will not wait forever, and you still have a game table to repair.]] _Whirl 11:56 pm Damn straight! I'll come back later to rummage through the stuff. recuerdaxme 11:56 pm / wiggles claws/ You mechs have fun. Yes, of course, Whirl. K-Kyeheheh. recuerdaxme 11:56 pm We might have more when you do. NoodlesAtNight 11:56 pm //Aw, c'mon. Can't I do it tomorrow? I been cleanin' up games for so long I can't even remember playin' none of 'em no more.// _Whirl 11:57 pm Oh, yeah, uh... if you want my help, with that. Y'know. Repair stuff... just ring me up. NoodlesAtNight 11:57 pm [[Tonight. He'll extend your free shift tomorrow.]] NoodlesAtNight 11:58 pm //Nah. Nah, you focus on doin' you some good. We got this. Probably got, what... a day 'n a half left? Small stuff.// *He grins.* //But ya wanna help me turn Elita One's lunch sour, lemme know.// NoodlesAtNight 11:59 pm [[He didn't hear that. Come.]] _Whirl 11:59 pm Hmm. Sounds intriguing. I'll keep my comm line open. *with that, he salutes one last time, and trots off* Yesterday recuerdaxme 11:59 pm / waves claw / NoodlesAtNight 12:00 am *Rumble waves to Blurr, sort of half-asses a wave to Getaway - he can tell when the Boss messed up just as well as the Boss can - and hops out the hammock to head toward Soundwave. Up on the arm he gets.* *Soundwave flexes the hand to get one of the fiddly joints on his ring finger aligned, nods, and bows.* [[Goodnight, and thank you for hosting us.]] *Off they'll go as well.* Getaway 12:01 am *he waves back at Rumble. It's about 3/4ths-assed.* recuerdaxme 12:02 am / shifts and moves to stand, stretching his limbs out/ ... Hanging in there, mech? Getaway 12:03 am Yeah. I'll be— I'm fine. recuerdaxme 12:03 am / smirks/ Yeah, that's what I always say. Getaway 12:03 am Anyway, I should— *hefts his helmet.* Better get this to my storage room. recuerdaxme 12:04 am / shifts./ Yes, I suppose. /taps chinplate/ Hey, listen. I'm your Captain, but... I don't get to meet many mechs from a verse like mine. recuerdaxme 12:04 am Contrary to what people think, I'm not too damaged in the processor to comprehend things. /shrugs/ If you ever want to just... I don't know. /grumbles/ I AM saying it- talk. We- I... can talk. Getaway 12:05 am ... Are we that rare out here? Thanks, boss. I might just take you up on that sometime. recuerdaxme 12:05 am / smirk/ Yeah, we're rare. recuerdaxme 12:05 am Mechs usually kill us off. But, I've got strong allies and I don't intend on letting my crew go. Anyway, you know where I am. So... you know. / how do make friends ???? Awkward offer of help /

_Whirl 11:57 pm Oh, yeah, uh... if you want my help, with that. Y'know. Repair stuff... just ring me up. NoodlesAtNight 11:57 pm [[Tonight. He'll extend your free shift tomorrow.]] NoodlesAtNight 11:58 pm //Nah. Nah, you focus on doin' you some good. We got this. Probably got, what... a day 'n a half left? Small stuff.// *He grins.* //But ya wanna help me turn Elita One's lunch sour, lemme know.// NoodlesAtNight 11:59 pm [[He didn't hear that. Come.]] _Whirl 11:59 pm Hmm. Sounds intriguing. I'll keep my comm line open. *with that, he salutes one last time, and trots off* Yesterday recuerdaxme 11:59 pm / waves claw / NoodlesAtNight 12:00 am *Rumble waves to Blurr, sort of half-asses a wave to Getaway - he can tell when the Boss messed up just as well as the Boss can - and hops out the hammock to head toward Soundwave. Up on the arm he gets.* *Soundwave flexes the hand to get one of the fiddly joints on his ring finger aligned, nods, and bows.* [[Goodnight, and thank you for hosting us.]] *Off they'll go as well.* Getaway 12:01 am *he waves back at Rumble. It's about 3/4ths-assed.* recuerdaxme 12:02 am / shifts and moves to stand, stretching his limbs out/ ... Hanging in there, mech? Getaway 12:03 am Yeah. I'll be— I'm fine. recuerdaxme 12:03 am / smirks/ Yeah, that's what I always say. Getaway 12:03 am Anyway, I should— *hefts his helmet.* Better get this to my storage room. recuerdaxme 12:04 am / shifts./ Yes, I suppose. /taps chinplate/ Hey, listen. I'm your Captain, but... I don't get to meet many mechs from a verse like mine. recuerdaxme 12:04 am Contrary to what people think, I'm not too damaged in the processor to comprehend things. /shrugs/ If you ever want to just... I don't know. /grumbles/ I AM saying it- talk. We- I... can talk. Getaway 12:05 am ... Are we that rare out here? Thanks, boss. I might just take you up on that sometime. recuerdaxme 12:05 am / smirk/ Yeah, we're rare. recuerdaxme 12:05 am Mechs usually kill us off. But, I've got strong allies and I don't intend on letting my crew go. Anyway, you know where I am. So... you know. / how do make friends ???? Awkward offer of help / Getaway 12:06 am Yeah. And you know where I am—heh, obviously. You put me there. recuerdaxme 12:06 am Kyeheheheh. Now you're getting it. Ah, Dodge is starting to like you. /snort / Well, go on. Before NOS tries to punch you for the coins. He doesn't need them. He's just a bully. Getaway 12:07 am I don't think I've met Dodge yet. Introduce me sometime soon. *waves as he heads out the door* See you later, boss. recuerdaxme 12:08 am /sweats loudly/ Yeah, sure. See you.

‘90s 5HINee - Feature Spotlight

Hello, babies!! It's Jace (aka Felicity B), and it's our first SHINee Feature Spotlight!! I am so excited to be doing this, because SHINee was literally the second group that I got super attached to (EXO being the first). And, believe it or not, but Jonghyun was my first bias before I fell into Jinki hell. I'm a sucker for the soft leaders, sis...

Era Spotlight

So!! Today's era that we will be pulling songs from is '90s 5HINee!! I wanted to do this era first, because I absolutely love everything about '90s music. I love Funk, I love RnB, I love New Jack Swing, I love Deep House, I love it all!! And SHINee me something of everything from that era. Once again, these Feature Spotlights are not a Best Of™ list or even my favorites from the albums, necessarily, they're songs I think would fit well together. So no getting mad if your fave isn't here!!

Odd Eye (Odd)

Oh, Odd Eye...

I really wanted to avoid the Fan Favorites™ to the best of my ability (which is kind of impossible, considering how beloved this album is), but I simply couldn't do that with Odd Eye. Yes, everyone and their mother fucking loves Odd Eye, but this song represents the best parts of Odd, to me.

Odd Eye is smoky. She's smouldering, sis. She's SHINee at their sexiest. Odd Eye's beat doesn't really do much, but that's exactly what the doctor ordered. The beat is basic, but it gives SHINee the chance to just... SHINE!! I absolutely had to start this list off with Odd Eye, because a) this is a modern interpretation of a '90s RnB midtempo if I'd ever heard one and b) this song just really shows that SHINee are That Group™, sis. Don't get me wrong, I love when SHINee flame broil my wig with all the bells and whistles, but they are just as arresting and breathtaking as a group without them. When will your faves ever be this iconic?!?!?!?

SHIFT (1of1)

See... I really set myself up for failure here, because I said I was trying to avoid the Fan Favorites™, but two songs in and I've already got two in a row, so... WHAT'S THE TRUTH,SIS?!?!?!!

SHIFT is a banger, baby. SHIFT is Deep House at its finest, baby. Play this song around A N Y O N E, and they'd jam/bop. EVEN JUST A LIL!! SHIFT is that powerful, babe.

The instrumentation in this song is just so lush, sis. I wouldn't call the texture of this song sweet (because we associate sweet textures in music with warmth), but it's similar. Everything about this song is just so easy on ears. The intro is, easily, my favorite part of SHIFT. That arpeggio with the e.piano and harmonies on top?!?!?!

It's fucking magical.

The harmonies in this song are unreal. SHINee showed up to the studio with their A-game the day they recorded this. No other group harmonizes like SHINee does in their music (most groups treat harmonizing like a cute trick for concerts), but they really outdid themselves this time around.

So Amazing (1of1)

So Amazing (the special track that isn't really that special) is a New Jack Swing song with lots of funky elements, which is right up SHINee's ally. Idk why it took SM so long to throw a NJS song at SHINee with 1of1 because they fuckin' killed that shit (I will have nothing of you losers saying it sounds too much like a typical NJS track, that's the fucking point of a throwback), but better late than never, sis.

So Amazing is really nice. It's got a really bright texture, but it's also really warm and easy on the ears. These types of uptempos are usually cheesy af, but a) that's the '90s babe and b) that makes So Amazing a great mood lifter. I can play this on those days that aren't "cry in bed all day", but aren't all that good, either. Plus, I love imagining all the silly dances the SHINee members did to the dance break, cause that horn section is so fun and playful.

Savior (Married to the Music)

It's another Deep House song!! But not quite. She's more Funk n RnB than Deep House, but shh... She's still Deep House in my heart.

The first time I heard Savior, I was little thrown off by the chorus. They sound like they're shouting in unison over the beat, but it's not as grating as you'd think it'd be. It's actually a whole lotta fun, if you ask me. And this would be such a great song to perform in concert, because it's high energy af. I wouldn't say this chorus is euphoric (Euphoric EDM usually has a note of sadness in the brightness of it all), but I wanna jump around to it like it is. And that's really all that matters, sis.

Romance (Odd)

Part of me feels like someone is going to be mad at this, but their wig is dusty. So I don't care

Romance is a song that I was hugely let down by on first listen. It, obviously, grew on me (this bitch grew on me like a fucking rash), but Ms Romance sounded way cooler in teaser form. The chorus was annoyingly bright and chipper, Minho's rapping was so off putting (which, to be fair, syncopated rapping is hard for most rappers to pull off, so that was just me being a dick), and the whole thing just felt far too long for how flat sounding it was.

I was not a fan, kids.

But Romance, like the album it was pulled from, grows on you. It seems like too much at first, but the more you listen to it, the more you start to Get It™. This isn't one of my favorite songs from the album, but it's one that I look forward to listening to.

Love Sick (Odd)

Oh my God, Love Sick!! Odd Eye and Love Sick are my top two favorite tracks from Odd, and 90% of the reason I held onto Odd for as long as I did. Odd was not an album I liked on first impact. But it kind of hit that this album couldn't be as bad as I made it out to be, because it has quite a few of my top tier SHINee faves. So me and Odd?!?! We cool now. We fucks with each other.

And yes, I do realize Ms Love Sick is another Fan Favorite™, but she's a damn good song. Y'all got me fucked up if you thought I wasn't adding this.

How does one describe Love Sick?!?!! Firstly, let's discuss these harmonies, baby. Love Sick was always gonna be a favorite of mine (that Groove™, sis), but these fucking harmonies take it to the next level. Y'all, SHINee did not have to snap the way they did on the refrain of this song, but they snatched every single follicle of hair from my wig and used it as kindling for the SM Annual Bonfire. I felt like I was floating the first time I heard this song. Love Sick would have been amazing without these over the top harmonies, but once again, SHINee are not content to do just the bare minimum.

As a whole, Love Sick is bouncy, fun, and there's a bit of melancholy there (the song is about unrequited love, after all), but it's just so Good!!

Don't Stop (1of1)

SHINee decided to get Grown n Sexy™ for the kids, y'all!! Got a bitch outchea trynna find a mans just to slow grind on.

But y'all not trynna hear alladat.

Don't Stop is Love Motion's spiritual cousin. They're more alike in vibes than actual sound (BEG being the Grown n Sexy™ idol group), but I mean... if you ever needed a part two to seduce your mans, baby.

Don't Stop, like Odd Eye, is a '90s RnB midtempo if I'd ever heard one. SHINee's vocal here is far more restrained than it was on Odd Eye (they actually let the beat do some of the work), but I like that. This song is a lot more subtle than Odd Eye is. And how does one even describe the beat?!?! I'm not sure that syncopated really does it justice, but it's not something you hear a lot in K-Pop. One complaint I have about this song is that I wished Key's rap break was just an instrumental section. I don't dislike it to the point where it turns me off from the song, I just think it would've been cool to do a dance break there.

Feel Good (1of1)

Feel Good is appropriately named, because she makes a bitch feel real good. Don't let her trick you with the soft intro and first verse, because the bulk of the song is Groovy™ af, baby. You could dance to this, but I'd prefer to just bop to the beat and make stank faces at the appropriate times.

The rap bits in Feel Good, unlike Don't Stop, are Just Right™. I have very much enjoy Minho's evolution as a vocalist *and* a rapper. Rapping in K-Pop is a concept I've just had to get used to cause so many of these idol rappers are not good by any stretch of the imagination. But if you can give me something that's fun, I've learned to roll with it. I liked Jongin as a rapper (before he became Vocalist Kai™), because he was very aware of the fact that that was not his calling in life, but he made it fun. And Minho gives me a fun verse here. Issa highlight.

Rescue (1and1)

If ballads are not your thing, then I wouldn't be surprised if you skipped the entirety of the 1and1 repackage (and therefore, Rescue). Which is a shame, because SHINee have some of the best ballads in K-Pop, but quite understandable.

But Ms Rescue is not much of a ballad, fam. The intro/first verse might trick one into thinking this isn't gonna be much of a song, but just like Feel Good, the song *really* starts with the chorus. And lemme tell you something - the chorus is F I R E!! You've got a nice little beat going with the prechorus, yes, but the chorus takes it to the Next Level™, sis. You've got thumping 808s, a badass chord progression, and the SHINee Boys™ givin' us That Good Good™. The chord progression is a particular favorite of mine, because it's got this gritty, almost anxious feeling to it. It's perfect for this song.

The first time I listened to Rescue, I made the stankest of faces. This song is just *so* fucking '90s, and it's one of my favorites from the repackage.

Alive (Odd)

So on top of giving us Grown n Sexy™ tracks for seducing bae into our lairs (or den of iniquity, if that's what you prefer), SHINee has also provided us with Alive. A song for... Well, do I really have to say it?!?!?!

Doing the frickle frackle!!

Alive is aggressive, kids. Like, EXO's MAMA aggressive. I was kind of thrown off by it on first listen, which is funny considering how I was very much into Everybody (or more specifically, Jinki with blonde hair and eyeliner singing Everybody). This is the type of song I picture boy bands practicing the stomp routines they receive from the National Boy Band Assembly® upon completion of their lineup.

Because boy bands sho' do love they over the top stomp routines, baby.

Alive starts out with a very loud, very in your face drum pattern that almost sounds like a giant making his way through the hills at night. Then, the verse comes crashing in with equally as loud and frenetic synths and The SHINee Boys™ matching the aggressiveness laid out by beat with a whole lotta attitude. And then, my favorite part of the song, the chorus. Out goes the Kill Bill Sirens frenetic synths and in come the RnB chords and harmonies. Cause God Knows™ these boys can't make a song without some killer harmonies. Bless the Lord almighty.

Wish Upon a Star (1and1)

This song always makes me wanna cry. I still love it, tho. Top 10 favorite ballads.

Wish Upon a Star is a soft classical ballad, if I've ever heard one. But The SHINee Boys™ sure know how to dress these up Just Right™ to make them worth your while. Wish Upon a Star sounds like it belongs in a Disney movie. It's soft and wistful, but sweet in texture, at the same time. I'm not exactly stoked for the SHINee World V concerts that are happening in February, but I hope they sing this song for Jonghyun. It'd be perfect for him.

This song always makes me so happy when I listen to it (despite always making me wanna cry my eyes out), because it really just shows how far SHINee have come as individuals and a band. They've always worked so hard to improve and comeback stronger, and this song is the perfect representation of that. 1and1 was the perfect time to release this song, because that era represents SHINee at their best, to me. Listening to this song makes me really happy, despite how sad I am.

Chocolate (Married to the Music)

Because no SHINee playlist (or album, really) is comeplete without a gay up straight up Funk track. Because SHINee are the K-Pop Kings of Funk. I will accept no other opinions about this.

Chocolate is Funk for the kids. The Actual Kids™, that is. Chocolate gives us those Funky elements we all know and love, but with a modern twist. The verses have an almost dissonant quality to them with how syncopated and off kilter the rhythm track is. I'm not gonna lie, it's definitely something you gotta get used to. But when that chorus/refrain rolls up on you, you're definitely gonna be happy you stuck with Chocolate. As typical with any SHINee song, there's lots and lots of harmonies. SHINee sees these groups only doing 5ths, and is like, "Oh no ma'am, not our gay extra asses".

Chocolate is, to be quite honest, SHINee on auto-pilot. It's SHINee doing what SHINee does best, and that's why we fucks with ha. I've never disliked a Funk song from SHINee, and I never will. These SHINee Boys™ have an understanding about Funk, and know how to make Funk songs Just Right™. It's always a pleasure to hear them make songs like these, especially when they give us a modern twist to go along with it.

Alright guys, that's it for today's list!! Tune in next week for my next Feature Spotlight, featuring songs from SHINee's experimental era. And don't forget to tune in on Wednesday to my Review Roundup of this week's releases!!

Love you guys.

11 questions tag!

Tagged by @wonpillily Rules are that you must answer the 11 questions and then create your own and tag people! 1. You either have to forget Day6 ever existed and can never re-discover them, or you know they exist but you can no longer listen to any of their music or watch their videos or anything. Which is it? I wish I could say it's better to have the memories, but it would hurt so so much if I could never see them again, I might go insane. So.. forget, I guess. Lily, you're grounded for asking me this. 
2. What’s your favorite song that isn’t by Day6? My all time favorite song is Hey There Delilah by Plain White T's, but I've been bopping to any and all VIXX songs recently (especially Hot Enough, Someday, and Milky Way!) 
3. How tall are you? Do you like your height? I am 172cm or roughly 5'8". I wish I was 1cm taller. Just 1cm. Pls. 
4. What’s your Myers-Briggs type? INFP! 
5. Do you wear socks to sleep? nO I don't like. I like the feel of my bare feet on the sheets. 
6. You can have a hug from Wonpil or a kiss from Brian. Choose one. A kiss from young k. Fight me. 
7. What is your least favorite season? SPRING. IM ALLERGIC TO EVERYTHING 
8. If you had to get married right now, who would it be? PJH, I would hope. 
9. What are your thoughts on yogurt? You asked me this the other day. What is your obsession with people's opinions on yogurt. I am lactose intolerant, but yogurt is delicious. I would eat it every day if it wouldn't kill me. 
10. What’s your favorite thing about me (@wonpillily) 😏? Fish fillets 
11. Describe yourself in a color. Y'all already know. It's blue. Royal blue. MY QUESTIONS: 1. Try to guess the job I wanted to be when I grew up? It doesn't have to be accurate, just based on my personality! 2. POOF, you've turned into a mythical creature. Which is it and why? 3. Favorite animal? 4. Your favorite thing about me? (BOOST MY CONFIDENCE HUEHUEHUE) 5. Would you rather have a private dance lesson with Cha Hakyeon (N), or a private vocal lesson with Jung Taekwoon (Leo)? 6. You can spend a day with ANY PERSON, dead or alive. Who is it and what do you do? 7. Red or blue? 8. Favorite food? 9. What's your favorite thing about yourself? 10. Do you believe in anything (karma, luck, fate, etc.)? 11. Are you taking care of yourself, emotionally and physically? I tag @kwonshinji @kangswang @seoulhite @hojeongs :")

ok Lover has me shook

So yes, in the last couple of hours since the release of Taylor’s seventh, wonderfully written, and fully OWNED album I’ve scattered and listened for my favorite parts of each song and decide to share because it is necessary ok????cool here we go. 

ps. the songs are not in order because I am a mess and it shows LLOOOOOLLL

False God. (13)

religion’s in your lips, even if it’s a false God, we’d still worship. We might get away with it. The altar is my hips.

I know heaven is a thing. I go there when you touch me honey, hell is when I’m fighting with you.

first of all I need an ambulance because when Taylor references anything sexual it does things to me cause OMG YES MAAM. The altar part had me ON THE FLOOR and the heaven and hell made me a new person.

Paper Rings. (8)

I want to drive away with you, I want your complications too, I want your dreary Mondays, wrap your arms around me baby boy

When I got home I tried to stalk you on the internet, now I’ve read all the books beside your bed.

Now I wake up at night and watch you breath.

You’re the one I want; in paper rings, in picture frames, in dirty dream (in all my dreams)

this songs makes me SOFT ok ???? the little insights we get about her relationship make feel I don't know lucky?? like I know she is sharing this with the whole world but still?? like how sweet is this ??? like she went from wanting to know everything about him after they met to now knowing all of the books he reads in his spare time. I can't handle this my poor HEARTTTTT

Cornelia Street. (9)

We were a fresh page on the desk, filling in the blanks as we go.As if the streetlights pointed in an arrowhead, leading as home.

And I hope I never lose you, hope it never ends. I’d never walk Cornelia street again. That’s thinking of heartbreak time could never mend. 

Barefoot in the kitchen, sacred new beginnings that became my religion, listen.

So barefoot in the kitchen ???? Im sorry but after the master piece that is All Too Well I’ve realized that to Tay Tay kitchens are internet places she shares sweet moments with people she loves and the fact that they're barefoot?? just shows how at home and intimate that moment is. Excuse me while I go cry in the corner thx. 

London Boy. (11)

But something happened, I heard him laughing. I saw the dimples first and then I heard the accent. They say home is where the heart is but thats not where mine lives (but god I love the English)

Like a child when our eyes meet. Darling I fancy you.

So I guess the rumors are true. You know I love a London boy.

first of all. IS THAT HIM AT THE BEGINING ???? cause maam i know understand the accent thing good lord. Second. I know she loves him but the fact that she plainly says it in a song??? im crying and so so happy for her. LASTLY how does one stay calm after taylor swit writes a song about you like that?? like i need to know hoe Joe reacted cause holy shit. ALSO THIS SONG IS SUCH A BOP.

Death by a Thousand Cuts. (10)

Cause the morning comes and you’re not my baby.

But if the story is over why I’m I still writing pages?

My heart, my hips, my body, my love. I’m still trying to find a part of me you didn't touch.

Quiet my fears with the touch of your hand, paper cut stings from my paper thins plans. 

Gave you so much, but it wasn’t enough. But I’ll be alright, It’s juts death by a thousand cuts.

her mind y'all. her lyrics??? even more so. like the way taylor writes just amazes me, the way she puts words together that hurt ?? that make you smile?? and cry?? that woman has a gift and is A gift. also guys. the writing pages part touched my little heart. cause i felt that. 

Afterglow. (15)

Fighting with a true love is boxing with no gloves.

Why’d I have to break what I love so much?

I’m the one who burned this down. But it’s not what I meant. Sorry that I hurt you, I don't wanna do this to you, I don't want to lose this with you. 

It’s so excruciating to see you low, just want to lift you up and never let you go.

Tell me I am all you want, even when I break your heart.

this song broke my heart a little. so much damn vulnerability in these lyrics give me chills. she's so open and i HURTTTT. like he's in pain and she's in pain because of that and now im in pain because of them and once again crying and omg what’s new. nothings new. Im crying over one of taylor’s songs again.

Daylight. (18)

I’ll tell you the truth, but never goodbye.

I wounded the good, but trust the wicked. Clearing the air, I breathed in the smoke.

I can still see it all in my mind. All of you, all of me intertwined. I once believed love would be black and white. But it’s golden

I can still see it all in my head. Back-and-Forth from New York, sneaking in your bed. I once believed that love would be burning red like its golden.

I want to be defined by the things I love not the things I hate. Not the things that I’m afraid of. I’m afraid of the things that haunt me in the middle of the night.

I just think that You Are What You Love.

the fact that this song is what closes the album makes me emo. its such a wonderful conclusion and such and explanation of the last couple of years and the reference to RED??? I was NOT prepared. Also the last line tugged at my heart strings because I believe that with every little fiber of my being.

Miss Americana & The Heartbreak Prince. (7)

American Glory faded before me, Now I’m feeling hopeless.

My team is losing, battered and bruising. I see the high fives between the bad guys.

Boys will be boys then. Where are the wise men? Darling, I’m scared.

Cause I know this is a fight, that some day we’re gonna win.

y'all. I am so so so proud of the fact that Taylor now uses her platform to speak about what she believes is right and wrong. she no longer story quiet. she backs up her people and advocates and that is so so so important in todays world. because people listen, and people watch and sometimes they need that someone to speak up so they can know whats happening out there. and the political message of this song got me. America is a mess, and as a person that lives in one its states im scared. but this song gives me hope. cause eventually we will win. we will see the light. and i can't wait for that day. also the boy will be boys?? shit that got me. screw that excuse.

Soon You’ll get Better. (12)

In doctor’s office lighting I didn't tell you I was scared.

Desperate people find faith, so now I pray to Jesus too.

And I say to you, ohh soon you’ll get better, ohh you get better soon, cause you have to.

I know delusion when I see in in the mirror.

You make the best of a bad deal, I just pretend it isn't real.

I hate that I make this all about me. But who I’m I supposed to talk to? What I’m I supposed to do? If there is no you.

Im sorry. But as someone that has lost her dad thanks to an illness this made me sob. I don't think I’ve cried this hard since the last time I listen to Ronan. holy damn. I am so glad Andrea is better because the pain of losing a parent beats every hear break. But with every lyric I related a little more, and maybe not the part where she got better but wow. It got me and it broke me na made me a little happy. Taylor this was beautiful. thank you.

It’s Nice to have a Friend. (17)

20 questions, we the the truth.

Something gave you the nerve to touch my hand.

Call my bluff, call you babe. Have my back, yeah, everyday.

this song was so sweet and simple with so much of that child innocence that it  makes me wish I had simple teenage years and not the mess they were looooll, This song is truly so sweet guys, like cotton candy sweet. 

You Need to Calm Down. (14)

Say it in the street thats a knock out, but you say it in a tweet thats a cop out.

But I’ve learned the lesson that stressing and obsessing about somebody else is no fun.

You need to calm down, you're being too loud.

And control your urges to scream about all the people you hate. Because shade never made anybody less gay.

this song is savagery and I LOVE IT. yeah you call people out Taylor, cause holy damn this was great. I took me a minute to get the fast parts but guys i got it downnnn and the song makes me JAMMMM. You go queen Taylor, you’ve won your crown, ily.

Me! (16)

Baby doll, when It comes to a lover I promise that you’ll never find another like me.

I know I tend to make it about me. I know you never get just what you see, but I will never bore you baby. 

And when we had that fight out in the rain, you ran after me and called my name. I never want to see you walk away.

Living in Winter, I am your Summer.

This song gave me such a laugh when it first came out, its freaking awesome (get it ????) but guys did the ran after me and called my name gave me such Mine vibes that I had to go and watch the video after cause damn. I love when lyrics bring me back to old albums, specially when the songs have two completely different tones in the story telling side.

I Forgot that You Existed. (1)

Lived in the shade you were throwing till all of my sunshine was gone.

Your name on my lips. tongue tied. Free rent living in my mind.

I forgot that you existed. And I though that it would kill me but it didn't. 

I forgot that you existed. It isn't love, it isn’t hate its just indifference. 

Sent me  a clear message, taught me some hard lessons. I just forgot what they were.

THIS SONG IS SUCH A MOOD yallllll, like byeee you hurt me? were my friend once??? tried to play me ???? CHAUUUU ADIOOSS like wow this not only a bomb but can easily be an anthem. Also I love shady taylor.

Cruel Summer. (2)

What doesn't kill me, makes me want you more.

And it’s new, the shape of your body, its blue. The feeling I got and it’s ooh.

No rules in a breakable heaven but, ooh. It’s a cruel summer with you.

I’m always waiting for you just to cut to the bone.

And I don't want to keep secrets just to keep you.

And I scream “For what it’s worth” “I love you, ain’t that the worst thing you’ve ever heard?” He looks up grinning like a devil.

A MF BOP OK???? the ohhhs had be screaming and the lyrics had me grinning. Also i need background .... secrets ??? what was he lying about??? and was her first i love you this dramatic ??? who knows, but I am so enthralled. Also its been decided that breakable heaven equals new scared oasis and OMG. Also the color blue has been mentioned so many times in this album anyone know what kind of easter egg that is ??? cause I’m lost.  like is it about Joe’s eyes?? cause honey honestly same. 

Lover. (3)

Have I known you 20 seconds or 20 years.

Can we always be this close? forever and ever?

I’ve love you 3 summers now honey, but I want them all.

With every guitar string scar on my hand I take this magnetic force of a man to be my lover.

My heart has been borrowed and your has been blue. All’s well that ends well to end up with you.

And you’ll say all of your dirtiest jokes for me, and at every table I’ll save you a seat.

mark my words. the day i get married this will be what i dance to on my first dance. if my spouse doesn't like it we are just gonna have to settle and do it anyway. this song is so timeless and the lyrics so soft, like i feel like i’m in love and so single. like c’mon lets dance around in the kitchen in the refrigerator light to this song because i am in my FEEELSSSSSS. (also y'all the reference to her scars from writing all those heart breaking songs??? i need to hug her.)

The Man. (4)

They’d say I played the field before I found someone to comment to, and that would be okay for me to do. Every conquest I had made made would make me more of a boss to you.

I’s be a fearless leader, I’s be an alpha type.

Wondering if I’s get here quicker If I was man.

I’m so sick of them coming at me again, cause if I was a man I’s be The Man

If I was flashing my dollars I’s be a bitch not a baller. They paint me out to be bad, so it’s okay that I’m mad.

BIG DICK ENERGY TAYLOR. y'all she’s so not wrong, 75% of the shot she has gotten about what she does she would have gotten praises for if she was a dude. i love love love how she is calling sexism out in this song.as much as it is progressive times and what not she is explaining the kind work we live in to those that don’t understand and YESSSS BAD BITCH TAY. WE STAN. (we have for 13 years but ya know who is counting)

The Archer. (5)

I’ve got a hundred thrown out speeches I almost said to you.

I never grew up, it’s getting so old. 

All of my heroes die all alone, help me hold on to you.

Cause all of my enemies started out friends, help me hold on to you. 

Who could ever leave me darling? But who could stay? you could stay.

This song omg.... the music makes me melt first of all, and then the lyrics break me. like she is so clearly explain that she's doing all she can not lose him. explains how her best friends have betrayed her and how the people she had high regard for also hurt her and omg so open and honest my heart bleedddss. The heroes part also makes me feel like she's telling him that she sees him as one of her heroes which is why she asking for help to not lose him (i could be reaching buuttt) and I don't know how to deal with my emotions right now. 

I Think He Knows. (6)

I think he knows that his hands around a cold glass, make me wanna know that body like it’s mine.

want to see what’s under that attitude. I want you, bless my soul.

I think he knows he better lock it down or I won't stick around ‘cause good ones never wait.

He is so obsessed with me, and boy I understand. 

yallllll this songgggg. the innuendo ??? i love ittttttt. also I love the fact that she knows her worth. That she finally understand who she is in a relationship and is able to realize that she is a good one, that if she is not happy she can leave. AND THAT AMKES ME SO PROUD CAUSE TAYLOR YOU ARE SO AMAZING.

And thats the end of it folks. I waited so long for this album... had so many count downs and bless me for living in Hawaii were I go the album on the 22 at 6pm thanks to time differences. 

CONCLUSION: LOVER IS A MASTER PIECE AND EVERY SINGLE SONG IS SO AMAZING AND THERES NOT A SINGLE SONG BEING SKIPPED WHEN LISTENING.