Fire Escape Cast #125

Summary

Fire Escape Cast #125 – Episode Summary (Feb 2, 2026)

Episode Overview

In this lively episode, Dan Ryckert, Mary Kish, and Mike Mahardy gather for Fire Escape Cast #125, bringing their signature blend of irreverent humor and deep dives into games, pop culture, and personal anecdotes. The trio discusses everything from wild weather and climate worries to film and TV discourse, tackles new and classic video games, debates fast food “bridges too far,” and navigates ridiculous anime fan service. The episode is full of strong opinions, sly banter, and genuine recommendations.

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Table of Contents

• Weather & Small Talk (01:08–04:44)
• Movie & TV Deep Dive (04:44–22:08)
• Song Misheard Lyrics (22:08–25:01)
• Anime (Fan Service & Viewing Habits) (28:07–38:44)
• The Bear & Medical Shows (38:29–40:29)
• Dan’s Sekiro Journey (40:40–47:07)
• Resident Evil 9 Anticipation & Game Open Worlds (47:54–52:09)
• Mary Recommends ‘MIO’ (52:10–61:37)
• High Guard, Multiplayer Complexity & Board Game Rants (62:38–74:07)
• Shadow Gambit, Platformers, & Quarantine Zone (76:13–87:58)
• Listener Emails (88:03–128:43)

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Weather & Small Talk (01:08–04:44)

• The hosts open with banter about weather in their respective regions, with Mary lamenting the too-warm, rainy West Coast, and Dan enduring the brutal cold Midwest.
• Conversation swerves into climate anxiety—Mary: “Our ice pack is really low…If it doesn’t get cold enough and we don’t get snow, it’ll affect our rivers and streams in the spring. And I think that has downstream impacts.” (02:24)
• Dan brings up a bizarre conspiracy theory he’s seen online: “Are you guys aware of, like, there’s some conspiracy theory now about snow being plastic?” (03:00)
• Group debunks social media griping about “fake” snow, with much mockery of the faulty logic.

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Movie & TV Deep Dive (04:44–22:08)

The Master, Begonia, and Paul Thomas Anderson

• The hosts discuss recent movies watched, notably Begonia and The Master.
• Jesse Plemons and Joaquin Phoenix’s acting are dissected. Dan: “Joaquin Phoenix is just, he’s a guy that…Every time I’ve seen him, I bet that guy’s actually fucking nuts.” (05:31)
• Discussion turns to the ambiguous themes of The Master, cult psychology, and the “actor’s movie” vibe.
• Mike offers a nuanced breakdown: “The big thing that movie doesn’t touch on after the first 10 minutes is this is a generation of people suffering from PTSD…Freddy’s dealing with that, not knowing how to handle it.” (08:16)
• Mary admits: “Nothing that you guys have said is functionally able for me to put together and understand what this movie is about.” (09:57)
• Joaquin Phoenix’s infamous “method” Letterman appearance is recounted, with Dan explaining the context and Letterman’s dry retort: “Well, Joaquin, I’m sorry you couldn’t be here tonight.” (14:26)

Horror Movie Binge & Amanda’s Movie Tastes

• Mike’s partner Amanda is finally enjoying horror movies, so the group discusses Get Out, Weapons, and genre comfort levels, especially relating to audience identity and catharsis: “I think it’s not gonna be truly scary because you’re white. But, like, that’s kind of the point of the movie.” (17:45)
• The Rashomon-esque structure of Weapons is praised.

The Sopranos, Mad Men & Prestige TV

• Dan is finally watching The Sopranos (“Did you know The Sopranos is a good TV show?” – 19:34), and Mike gives an impassioned sell (“It’s like The Godfather…When you finally watch it, you’re like, oh, I get it.” – 20:11).
• Mary confesses to always dropping off after season one, despite intentions to finish.
• Dan talks about misheard lyrics in the theme song “Shave my body,” later clarified as “shame about it.” (22:45)
• Mad Men’s glacial pace and the challenges of rewatching big TV are mentioned.

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Song Misheard Lyrics (22:08–25:01)

• The hosts share favorite misheard lyrics and mondegreens:
  • Sopranos theme: “Shave my body” vs. “Shame about it.”
  • Lit’s “My Own Worst Enemy”: “shit happy” instead of “the living shit out of me.”

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Anime (Fan Service & Viewing Habits) (28:07–38:44)

• Mary dives into High School of the Dead, lovingly roasting its egregious fan service: “There’s this iconic scene…where they’re shooting a really high caliber rifle … and the recoil is making these boobies ripple.” (30:53)
• Tangent on anime “fan service”—Mary explains, “In anime, fan service means paying tribute to the horny boys.” (30:09)
• She shares a GIF of an infamous “boob matrix” bullet-dodging scene mid-laugh. Mike, Dan, and Mary dissect the intentionally over-the-top nature of it all.
• Anime-watching habits are discussed: background “Steam Deck” play for filler episodes, but pausing the game for action or fan service scenes.
• Dan prepares for “All Systems Goku” podcast and asks about watching filler vs. condensed “Kai” versions of Dragon Ball.
• Mary recommends skipping anime filler or using it as productivity/gaming time.

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The Bear & Medical Shows (38:29–40:29)

• The group pivots to “The Bear” (season 2), and their ambivalent feelings about watching stressful hospital shows after a tough day, praising the intensity and realism of the medical portrayals.

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Dan’s Sekiro Journey (40:40–47:07)

• Dan is deep into Sekiro, says he can't only play weekly on stream due to the game’s intensity: “I’ve streamed a bunch of sessions, several times a week…since I started.” (40:51)
• Sekiro’s infamous “Genichiro skill check” gave Dan “the same feeling as beating Mike Tyson for the first time.” (41:28)
• Mike and Mary recall their own Sekiro experiences—Mary relates both the beauty and the stress: “It’s stunningly gorgeous…the fall and the leaves…but I found it so stressful.” (43:52)
• They praise the game’s elegant stealth and stealth vs. all-out combat balance.
• Discuss favorite boss fights, late-game challenges, and compare From Soft game runbacks and design quality.

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Resident Evil 9 Anticipation & Game Open Worlds (47:54–52:09)

• Upcoming Resident Evil 9 is discussed:
  • Big news: It’s reportedly moving toward an open-world sandbox structure, with dynamic enemy behaviors.
  • Excitement is high; Mike says, “This is the most excited I’ve been for RE since maybe four.” (49:19)
  • Appreciations for previous titles’ maps, their approach to multiple playable characters, and skepticism about retreading the Raccoon City setting.
  • Seven and Village’s strengths compared; delight at the “Texas Chainsaw Massacre” and “Dracula” atmospheres.

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Mary Recommends ‘MIO’ (52:10–61:37)

• Mary’s #1 current game is the indie Metroidvania Mio. She calls it “between Hollow Knight and Ori...the difficulty curve of a Hollow Knight but kinder…more beautiful, too.” (52:10)
• She details its highlights:
  • No contact damage during boss fights.
  • Currency you lose on death, but can “harden” to save between runs.
  • Badge-based upgrade system, reminiscent of Hollow Knight’s charms.
  • Striking hand-drawn backgrounds and creative mechanical/robot themes.
  • Flexible progression—a friend and Mary had totally different experiences five hours in.
• Addresses complaints about a slow start: “I found a boss almost immediately. This game is chock full of secrets, hidden hidey-holes…” (57:39)
• Highly recommends for platformer/metroidvania fans, especially as a Steam Deck game.

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High Guard, Multiplayer Complexity & Board Game Rants (62:38–74:07)

• Dan tests new multiplayer shooter “High Guard”:
  • Finds it typical of modern multiplayer—“Spend the first few minutes doing boring chores, something changes, then you die.” (63:19)
  • He and Mike reminisce about simpler shooter objective design: “I like simpler objectives. Dota or League…seems like the most miserable thing I’ve ever heard.”
• Tangent: Modern board games are “all complicated.” Mike tells a story: “They bring out three options, each with like ten subsystems. ‘Sorry, we said we wanted simple!’ And he says, ‘Oh, these ARE the simple ones.’” (68:48)
• Group aligns in preferring party games or quick-to-grasp mechanics (e.g., Wavelength, Codenames) over the modern glut of rules and tokens.

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Shadow Gambit, Platformers, & Quarantine Zone (76:13–87:58)

• Mike continues playing (and loving) Shadow Gambit, commending its isometric stealth-puzzle design and multiple character unlocks. “If you like first-person immersive sims…it’s essentially kind of an immersive sim…but top-down stealth.” (77:43)
• Mary offers “mini Blight Club” recommendations:
  • Deepest Sword: Humorous, slightly horny, “game jam” style platformer where the goal is to penetrate deeper into a dragon’s lair as your sword gets increasingly unmanageable. Features sex jokes and physics gags. “It’s a cute little gimmick but…absolutely outrageously well done for a short game.” (81:12)
  • Big Hops: Colorful, janky platformer with unique unlocking/puzzle mechanics (e.g., ropes, goo balls).
  • Quarantine Zone: Papers, Please-style simulation about letting (or not) people into a zone depending on their infection status. Highly janky but scratches Mary’s “zombie apocalypse fantasy” itch.

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Listener Emails (88:03–128:43)

1. Unique Habits Hard to Explain

- Thomas from Minneapolis does “kava” instead of booze; asks the gang for hard-to-explain habits.
    - Mary: Szechuan peppercorn obsession — “mess with your tongue’s flavor profiles and make beer taste like apple juice.”
    - Dan: Meditation — “the thing that’s helped me so much for so long with anxiety…there are so many misconceptions…that’s the practice.” (92:12)
    - Mike: The horror genre — “People who don’t get it ask, ‘Why do you like being scared?’ … There’s a way of processing emotions in a very powerful way.”

2. Fast Food Bridges Too Far

- Lucas from Australia: “What fast food is a bridge too far?”
    - Mike: Not morally opposed, but won’t choose chains over local places. Admits Arby’s roast beef “just looks like a stack of labia.”
    - Dan: “Never liked Burger King…if it’s the only option, I’ll eat it.” Excited to celebrate Valentine’s Day at White Castle.
    - Mary: Skyline Chili and Subway seafood sub—hard no— “a vat of mayonnaise and a baggie of seafood.”
    - Group shares McDonald’s orders, with back-and-forth on the quality of Chicken McNuggets and the dollar menu.

3. Best Nickname

- Simon from Perth: “Best nickname you’ve encountered?”
    - Dan: College friend named Brian stuck with “Linus”—to the point where his father calls him that, from a drunken rhyme.
    - Mike: Childhood friend “Pooch.”
    - Mary: Shares her dad called her “Maybe.”
    - Tangent on Goonies, Gremlins, and fun night movie marathons.

4. Movie Recommendations

- Mike and Mary exchange horror movie recs (The Monkey, Annette), with Mary suffering through the “experimental musical horror” Annette upon Dan’s urging: “I can’t get through this. Torture. It was 20 minutes of torture.” (122:10)

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Notable Quotes & Moments

• On The Master:
  • Mike: "I think it’s actually my favorite PTA movie. I love The Master. It hit me hard the first time I watched it." (06:47)
  • Dan: “I watched that whole movie and didn’t realize there were allegories ... am I totally missing something?" (07:40)
• On Anime Fan Service:
  • Mary (describing High School of the Dead): "…the bullet goes in between the boobies as they flop, and it misses both boobies and then hits a zombie in the head." (31:19)
  • Dan (reacting): “That’s stupid. That’s very stupid. That’s so dumb.” (33:26)
• On Fast Food:
  • Mike: "I don’t know how Arby’s got so big…just looks like a stack of labia on a sandwich." (101:45)
  • Mary: “Skyline Chili…that is my bridge too far. I won’t eat that. I think it’s disgusting.” (109:06)
• On Meditation:
  • Dan: “Thoughts and feelings aren’t reality … as soon as you realize, ‘Oh, this is just a thought, this is in my head,’ you can let it go.”
• On Watching Annette:
  • Mary: "They keep singing how they’re feeling. I hate it." (125:31)

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Episode Tone

The discussion is loose, playful, and packed with inside jokes and banter. There are moments of genuine appreciation for art, games, food, and self-improvement, cut through with self-deprecating humor and occasional sharp, affectionate digs among friends. Long, tangent-filled exchanges make the episode feel like hanging out with a group of hilarious, equally game-obsessed friends.

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• 03:00 – Dan’s “plastic snow” conspiracy theory
• 05:01 – Dan’s first viewing of The Master
• 19:34 – Dan discovers The Sopranos
• 22:45 – Sopranos theme: misheard lyrics riff
• 30:09 – Fan service in anime explained
• 43:52 – Mary on Sekiro’s stressful difficulty
• 52:10 – Mary sells everyone on Mio
• 62:38 – High Guard and multiplayer shooter fatigue
• 68:48 – Board game complexity rant
• 77:43 – Shadow Gambit recommendations
• 88:03 – Listener email: unique hobbies
• 101:45 – Fast food “bridge too far” debate
• 122:06 – Mary’s revolt against Annette

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Final Thoughts

Whether you’re here for game recommendations, in-depth movie discussion, meme-worthy anime fan service, or just to enjoy the group’s friendship and mockery, this episode delivers laughs and thoughtful takes from start to finish. The strong personalities and opinions shine through on every topic—so much so that even a debate about Chicken McNuggets is fiercely entertaining.

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For ad-free episodes, bonus content, and video versions, visit Patreon or fireescapecast.com. Listener emails can be sent to firescapecastmail.com.

Transcript

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[A]

What's happening, Billy?

[B]

That's the thing in the past.

[C]

What's the word, you friggin nerds? We're back with the fire escape cast 100. Oh my God, Dan.

[B]

What?

[C]

One of these days I'm gonna do an intro where you don't interrupt me and make it about you.

[B]

Mary is interrupting too. We're both interrupting you.

[C]

She gets to interrupt.

[A]

I've earned it.

[B]

We didn't set rules.

[C]

Mary didn't get the cardigan memo.

[A]

You guys are comfy.

[B]

January or February.

[C]

Yeah, fancy men.

[A]

Fancy look older.

[C]

Episode125 it is 34, 34 degrees in Frankfurt. How have you guys been? Is it snowy? No, Mary, probably not where you are.

[A]

Our weather's weird. It's. It's been kind of warm, so it's been 40s and maybe sometimes the 50s. Sometimes it rains, but it's too warm and it's weird. We don't like it. It's supposed to be cold and rainy and cloudy. This is not our vibe. Like our rainy season is all off. I don't think it's good. I mean, obviously I do like not rain, but I, I, I think there's something wrong. It should be raining right now.

[C]

It's like Ireland weather. Pac Northwest Ireland, west coast. It felt like the pac Pacific northwest when I was in Galway.

[A]

And I love that they said that our ice pack is really low. So my worry is if it doesn't get cold enough and we don't get snow, it'll affect our rivers and streams in the spring. And I think that has downstream impacts.

[C]

If the Willamette Dries up. You can get your phone back, though.

[B]

Damn it.

[A]

I don't know. It's not worth it. Global warming is not worth it to retrieve my 2016 iPhone.

[C]

Dan, how's. How's. How's the weather with you? I'm sure it's cold up there.

[B]

Brutally cold. Not getting a lot of snow right now, but definitely cold enough to where it's just. You're not really going outside. But on that note, are you guys aware of, like, there's, like, some conspiracy theory now about snow being plastic?

[C]

No. Fill me in.

[B]

Okay, well, you know, I follow, you know, wrestlers, so I get. I get clued in on a lot of dumb.

[C]

Oh, their brains are in good shape. Right.

[B]

This one in particular I'm thinking of is just the worst. But this one guy was posting stuff about, like, I'm looking out here. It's like, this is the weirdest thing. Like, I'm holding a lighter up to my snow. It's not melting. There's something up with this. There's something like. I don't even know what the conspiracy is. I don't know if they're saying, like, oh, Democrats are raining plastic snow down or something, but, yeah, then I just googled, like, snow, and it's. Everyone. A certain type of person is saying a lot about snow being plastic, and it must mean something interesting.

[C]

Like, if they're. You would think that the people who are also trying to fake global warming would refrain from dropping fake snow from the sky.

[B]

Yeah, I don't know if logic's great here. They're saying, okay, I'm looking at the video now. Yeah, they're trying to burn with the lighter, and they're like, oh, my God, it turned black instead of melting. Like, this is government snow. This is like. What is this? Like, the. Does that mean? It's like. Okay, it's residue from the lighter. Yeah. The snow doesn't turn black. Okay. I'm reading about it now on Yahoo. Creators. Your. Your best source for news. I don't know. I just googled and this is what popped up, but that seems stupid.

[C]

Yeah, stupid was the word I was dancing around.

[A]

Yeah. Maybe he has like a. He lives near a. A mountain and they have to have fake snow so that people can ski.

[B]

No, I think he's just stupid, even.

[A]

That's not plastic, though. That's just a form of real snow.

[B]

Yeah.

[C]

Speaking of conspiracies, I finally caught up and watched Begonia since last episode.

[B]

Good stuff, huh?

[A]

That's a good conspiracy movie. Also, Jesse Plemons Might be one of the best actors.

[C]

Oh, yeah.

[B]

I just watched Jesse Plemons in a movie last night for the first time. I watched the Master.

[C]

Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait. Oh, my God. Holy. That's. I. Okay, Good to know. What do you mean, you watching the movie for the first time? You saw Begonia?

[B]

I saw the movie. No, I watched. Oh, I saw the movie. So that's a weird way to put it. I saw the Master for the first time.

[C]

Yeah, I remember that. Came out when I was at game former in 2012, and I thought you'd seen it, but we talked about this last episode, but. Yeah, I'm glad you watched it. Yeah. Really, really quick. Begonia. Really good movie. It's definitely. I don't. I still don't know that it broke my top five from last year. We had talked about our top five, but it's. It's really good. Really well made.

[B]

Weird because, like, as soon as I started seeing Jesse Plemons kind of pop up, which is like, what, mid 2010s maybe. I always thought he had a very Philip Seymour Hoffman deal about him. And then, like, he plays Philip Seymour Hoffman's son in the Master, and I'm like, oh, yeah, there you go. I'm not the only one thinking that. But he's. He doesn't have a huge role in that. But, God, Joaquin Phoenix is just. He's a guy that. Like, every time I've seen him in a movie, I don't know if this is good or bad about him, but I'm like, I bet that guy's actually fucking nuts.

[C]

Yeah. No, no. So, yeah. So Freddie Quill. Wait, so generally speaking, what did you think of the Master?

[B]

I liked it a lot. I remember thinking, like, oh, at first I thought Paul Thomas Anderson, when it was in production, was like, making a movie specifically about, like, L. Ron Hubbard and Scientology and stuff. Ooh, that's going to be interesting. And then I heard it's like it's kind of a loosely based. They don't. It's not really based on. It's. It's pretty thinly veiled. It's very much Elron Hubbard and Scientology, but, you know, it's a fictionalized version of it all. I think I lost a little bit of interest and, like, reviews weren't that great necessarily when it first came out, so I just didn't watch it when it came out. Even though, like, There Will Be Blood was, I think, the previous one. That's like, one of my favorite movies ever.

[C]

Yeah. There Will be blood was 09, I believe master was 12. After that, it would have been Inherent Vice. And then the one before There Will Be Blood, I believe was Punch Drunk Love.

[B]

Yeah, we just watched that recently. Yeah, that holds up. That's.

[C]

It's. It's funny we talked about it because I think it's. I go back and forth sometimes. I think it's actually my favorite PTA movie. I love the Master. It hit me hard the first time I watched it. And that is one of the his movies that I rewatch the most. And I feel like it is making the rounds lately, I think, because Jesse, maybe again, Jesse Plemons has like four lines in it. But like.

[B]

Or one battle. I mean, I think people are just talking about. Right. One battle.

[C]

And I think people are going back to that. So I've been seeing people, a lot of people saying they're watching it now. And I think watching it after understanding Paul Thomas Anderson's other movies a bit more, it's more fun because the first time I was trying to watch, I was trying to figure it out. But, like, ultimately, it really is about the quasi battle, kind of like homoerotic relationship between Philip Seymour Hoffman and Freddie Quell and what the hell's his name? Dodd. Lancaster Dodd. Yeah.

[B]

Yeah, I. That was. The thing is, like, I. At the end, I was talking to Bonk and I was like, we both liked it. But I said, like, I don't know if I'm just stupid or. It's like the thing that kind of bugged me about this was that, like, I liked it, it was very well made and all the acting is an actor movie, capital A, you know? But, like, I didn't really take away, like, what's the message? Like, what do I take away from this here? You know, like, what's that? Is it like Mother, where it's like I watched that whole movie and didn't realize there were like, allegories and stuff and I' totally missing something.

[C]

I don't know. I've never seen Paul Thomas Anderson to be someone who makes things for people to figure out. To me, Magnolia.

[B]

What the fuck was that?

[C]

Magnolia? I really don't think, like, Punch Drunk Love. I guess Punch Drunk Love wraps up tidally because he actually finally kind of does find love after having a really rough life. But like, the Master very much to me is like Lancaster Dodd, who is someone who. A cult leader who is trying to convince people of this intangible thing. And then he finds Freddy, who they compare to an animal visually. And even like in the script, many Times throughout when they both go to jail. He's literally like a caged animal freaking out. And I think Lancaster Dodd sees this like impossible convert in him because the big thing that movie doesn't touch on after the first like 10 minutes is like this is a generation of people suffering from PTSD before we truly understood it. And we still don't truly understand it, but. So Freddy's dealing with that, not knowing how to handle it. But it's very much Lancaster Dodd trying to quote unquote, like tame an animal, realizing it's impossible. But I think there's also some sexual undercurrent with them in a way. Like that's.

[B]

Oh, they're like grab assing in the lawn and stuff.

[C]

Yeah, he sings, he sings him an.

[A]

Old timey romance bunch of grab assing.

[B]

Yeah, they're straight up grab ass in the lawn in that one scene. Yeah, they're rolling around ripping each other's pants and stuff.

[C]

The last five minutes is Philip Seymour Hoffman. Just a one shot on him, crying as he sings. I want to get you on a slow boat to China. I walked. I remember watching. I was like, this is the best movie I've ever seen in my life. In my like douchier years. Like my last few years.

[A]

No, I haven't seen the Master.

[C]

I don't, I don't think like you can really spoil it. It's definitely not something where like there's no.

[A]

Nothing that you guys have said is tangible in any way.

[C]

You can't. Oh no, I was going to say that was weird.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Nothing that you have said is, is, is functionally able for me to like put together and understand what this movie is about. I don't know what's going on. I don't know what the characters are. I do know that there's a lot of grab assing going on in the last third.

[B]

No, throughout there's grab.

[C]

I like think it's. I genuinely think it's a very fun movie to watch.

[B]

I rew at times.

[C]

Yeah, the, like the pace of the editing. I love how the, the soundtrack's amazing. But just like that tracking shot when he's. He accidentally poisons the guy and he's running across the field and that tracking shot. Yeah, all the people are chasing him.

[B]

And the motorcycle shot and everything. There's, there's. I mean, Paul Thomas Anderson is just fun to watch. Even if it's not your favorite one of his movies. Though, watching it though, I. At the same time I'm reading this book about Lorne Michaels that just came out, like, last year. And at one point, they're talking about, like, you know, when he was first kind of coming up and going to LA and stuff. Like, at some point he was, like, doing some onstage stuff, wondering if he wanted to be an actor like Lauren Michaels was. And he said that, like, there was a scene where he was, like, playing against, like, a real deal actor. And Lauren realized that, like, oh, I looked in that guy's eyes and, like, that guy was that character. And I realized, oh, I'm just pretending to be a guy, you know, like, that guy's becoming the guy, and he's like, I'm not an actor. I need to just kind of be behind the scenes here, you know? So, yeah, that. That this movie was like, actor actors, you know.

[C]

Oh, yeah. Like, Philip Seymour Hoffman rightfully gets his flowers for that movie. But Joaquin Phoenix is unreal.

[B]

I mean, he seems like. He seems like he would be insufferable, right, in real life.

[C]

Oh, yeah. I think he's. Doesn't he have a reputation for it?

[B]

I mean, I think I might just be judging it by that weird Letterman appearance, like, you know, 15 years ago or whatever, where he was.

[A]

Tell me about this weird.

[B]

Oh, he's seen this?

[C]

Yeah, he's apologized or sort of apologize for it and also acknowledge that it was douchey.

[B]

Well, yeah, he showed up and, like, he didn't let anyone know. He was basically in kayfabe, like, in character for this stupid, like, mockumentary thing.

[C]

He's.

[A]

Okay. So he was like, here. What do they call it? Method acting?

[C]

Well, yeah, but it was also drunk and high on.

[B]

Yeah, but it was also like, method.

[A]

Acting and drunk and high.

[C]

But.

[B]

But it was also part of, like, he was trying to do this stunt, basically, where, like, the whole deal of this movie was like, a documentary about, like, in real life. Joaquin Phoenix started saying things like, I'm quitting acting. I'm becoming a rapper. And, like, you know, he was basically manufacturing all these things where it's like, oh, I. I was rapping at this party, and then drunken fell off a table or whatever, and it went viral. And. And everybody was legitimately thinking, like, what the is Joaquin Phoenix doing? He's becoming a rapper. He's quitting acting. And it turned out later that it was all part of this movie stunt where it was a bit.

[C]

It was like an Andy Kaufman.

[B]

He was trying to do Andy Kaufman down to the Going on Letterman thing, where Kaufman did it successfully. And Joaquin Phoenix basically just showed up and seemed like a really Aloof Asshole. At one point he like takes his gum out and sticks it on Dave's desk and stuff like that. And Dave, Dave handles it incredibly well. He just has no time for people doing dumb shit like that. So Dave's just making fun of him the whole time. Yeah, yeah.

[C]

I don't, I don't see Joaquin as being easy to work with. I don't know. Philip Seymour Hoffman was either though.

[A]

Do you think that excuses it? If they're good actors, do you think that that gives them like, you know, the right where it's like, oh, well, their performance was so good, it's understandable that they were a huge prick to work with for, you know, I, I.

[C]

I think if you asked me this 10 years ago, I would have said like, of course it's all, it's all.

[B]

For the art same.

[C]

But like, but was it two years ago, that New York, was it the New Yorker article that interviewing.

[B]

Oh, fucking Roy Kendall. Roy. Yeah, fuck that guy.

[C]

Yeah. But my favorite quote from that was when for like a supporting quote they asked Brian Cox. They' they're like, so like you get into the, you're, you're a very well known actor on, on the stage and on, you know, the big screen and on television shows. You're, you, you seem to like embody your actors. How do you go home at night after pretending to be someone that, well, all day he's like, it's called acting. And they use that quote in the same story. That is basically a profile of Jeremy Strong. Jeremy Strong, who, like he by all accounts sounded like he's, he not just the shows he's shooting, but it sounds like someone like him takes everything in his life too seriously.

[B]

He would be completely inseparable. I think that he's a great example of like the worst of the worst sounding, you know, like just that guy.

[C]

And then like, no, sorry, go ahead.

[B]

Oh no. I was gonna say at the end of that Letterman interview, it was just great because the whole time walking Phoenix is just on another planet. And at the end Letterman just wraps it up by being like, well, Joaquin, I'm sorry you couldn't be here tonight.

[C]

Yeah.

[A]

That'S actually really good. It's really good Letterman to, to be able to be that fast. I was thinking this was years ago, but I actually have this like vivid memory of a weird Joaquin Phoenix interview on like a red carpet and a random person is asking him an interview question and he can't focus and he's talking about the fact that there is a sensation of a frog in his hair.

[B]

That sounds like the shit he was doing during that. Like, was this, like, maybe, like, 0708, something like that cosmic gumbo of 70.

[A]

He's, like, really out of his rocker. And I think he says something like, I'm worried about the sensation of my brain being eaten by a frog. And then he, like, walks away, and the person on the mic is like, what? And that's it. And I remember being like, that guy's on acid. But I never really thought too much into it. I always just kind of assumed that celebrities are always on drugs, because if I was on a red carpet, I would probably do drugs, too.

[B]

No, I would not. No. I would be. Drink. I can't imagine being on a red carpet being interviewed and stuff with. On drugs.

[A]

Yeah. I don't see how. Because sometimes the questions that you are asked are silly and mundane and meant to elicit a response, and I think that would just exhaust me. I don't think I could do a press tour at the end of a movie. I don't think I would want to be asked like, my favorite Muppet and then, like, have, like, a serious face when I'm like, I made a movie about a war. I don't want to resist.

[B]

Don't ask me about Fozzie.

[C]

Was awful. We wanted to pay tribute to everything that happened there. I. My favorite ice cream. Ice cream flavors. Rocky road. Like, let's move on.

[A]

Well, I think one of the.

[B]

There was one where it's. You know, obviously, Tom Cruise sucks in his own special way and everything, but there was one red carpet moment where it's like, man, he really handled it well. Where it was like the interviewer was trying to do some prank thing where it's like, he's. It's one of the things where he's, like, you know, going person to person, doing little interviews in the red carpet, and he walks up to this guy to give him an interview, and the guy's like, hey, Tom, do. And then, like, squirts him in the face with, like. He had, like, a. I don't know if it's like, a clown flower or. The microphone was gimmicked to spray water something. I think it might have been the microphone sprayed him with water. And Tom Cruise, like, just, like, grabs the microphone. What are you doing? Why? Why would you do that? Why? Why would you do that to me? I'm going into this thing. I'm coming over here to give you an interview, and you're gonna pull something like. Like, he, like, lectures the guy in A way that's like, oh, I would.

[A]

Feel like a child.

[B]

Yeah. I would feel like if I was that guy.

[C]

Yeah. You'd rather Tom Cruise gets pissed and tries to fight you. That'd be a better story than what.

[B]

The person was going for.

[C]

Yeah.

[B]

Yeah. People wanted a clip where it's like, look at crazy Tom Cruise, you know? Yeah.

[C]

I was gonna say. Amanda's also been more open to watching horror movies lately. So Friday night finally showed her Get Out. And then I told her there was a few scenes in Weapons I thought might actually scare her because get out is scary in its own way. And I remember telling her, I was like, I think it's not gonna be truly scary because you're white. But, like, that's kind of the point of the movie. So then we watched Weapons the next day.

[A]

I think she likes Scary. Yeah, they're both scary.

[C]

But Weapons, there's a couple scenes. Amanda really doesn't love clowns and certain parts in Weapons kind of present as clowns. I don't want to spoil anything, because if people haven't seen that movie, they still should. But, like, she liked them both quite a bit. And every time I watch Weapons, I think I've seen it three times now. I think I like it more, which is crazy because of the way it's structured like that. Rashomon.

[B]

It works for that.

[C]

Yeah.

[A]

Saturday. Yeah. I don't know. I didn't. I didn't know if I appreciated that the first time I saw Thought either. But I think it's. I think it's really brilliantly laid out, and it's almost. I bet it's more fun, Mike, to watch it with someone who hasn't watched it because you know what's going down and why, and they don't yet. And I think that's. That's probably, like, a very fascinating way to look at the movie.

[C]

Yeah, it's fun because I had a really good theater audience for that movie the first time I saw it. So I was curious how Amanda was going to react to it the same way that we all kind of did. And there's definitely certain parts that just elicit a bit of, like, catharsis and laughing in that movie, because that movie is really funny in many places, especially at one particular part where Amanda was also, like, cackling, laughing. But, yeah, no, she loved get out as well. Get Out's still awesome. I don't think I'm gonna show her. Nope. Or us. I like Nope a lot. I don't like us all that much.

[B]

There's ideas in both. Like, I think they're all good movies, but I do think it was kind of diminishing returns. I'm still very interested in anything he does. I mean, great. But, like, get out was definitely my favorite. We're talking, like, backlog stuff. I am finally tackling the Sopranos. Yeah, I watched with Bonk, who is like, this is no from there podcast.

[C]

This is the Sopranos cast.

[B]

Did you know the Sopranos is a good TV show?

[C]

Oh, I, I. Okay. There's actually an email question later kind of about this. I don't always give people the hard sell on Mad Men, which is one of my. It's tied for shows and I've been talking to Bonk about that as well. But the Sopranos, every time someone tells me they haven't seen it, I'm like, I'm gonna be annoying. I'm gonna tell you watch it. I promise it. There's a reason everybody talks about it. I think it like, it's like the Godfather. You go your whole life hearing how good it is. But even if you haven't seen it, the Godfather, I like to think when you finally watch it, you're like, oh, I get it.

[B]

I watched for the first time with you.

[C]

Yeah. And like the Sopranos similarly, like, there are some bad episodes in that show, in my opinion, but, like, overall, still incredible. And it's funny that during COVID it took off again with, like, the younger generations. I think they reacted. I think there's a bit of catharsis there as well for them in the sense that, like, this is a group of people who brought ideas from the old world, which are pretty bad and almost evil in many places. But, like, they were doing it as a result of the authorities not really protecting them and the economy sucking for immigrants. And now I think a lot of people are like, oh, this is so this is like them. Their excuse for a lot of the they do is they're taking things in their own hands because the police aren't going to help them.

[B]

So, like, you know how we were talking earlier about me not getting messages or deeper meaning and stuff? I didn't catch any of that. I was like, oh, my stuff.

[C]

Oh, Dan, I watch this show every year. But also, like, this is. That's the. Also, like, by the end of the show, I think a lot of those things become more apparent. Like, they literally talk about it. But how far are you?

[B]

I'm three episodes. I'm good. Mary, have you seen Sopranos?

[A]

I've seen the first season, like, Three times. And then I always fall off and there's. This is not a knock on the Sopranos. I just think it's a really long show and I usually am like, what else is. What else is on? And then I end up fading. There's no reason. I have no excuse.

[B]

To me, this is a lot like my relationship with the Wire, where it's like, I heard about it for so many years, and then I started kind of watching in college, and it was like I was doing it while I was doing other stuff, or I was just on my laptop and had it on in the background, and I was like, I don't know, it seems like a cop show, whatever. And it wasn't until I finally, like, sat down, I was like, I am making a point to watch this show, that I got it. And it's like, I did the same thing. I watched a little bit of Sopranos. I got season one on DVD in college, and I watched a couple seasons, but in, like, the background. And so I didn't really have any appreciation for it. And now, like, Bonk and I are sitting down and watching it and it's like, okay, this is making all the difference in the world. Like, this is a tremendous show.

[C]

You said you're three episodes in.

[B]

Yeah, And I. I've. In the last couple years, I've gotten up to the college one, like, episode five or whatever. So, like, I. I've seen these first few a few times, but this is the most, like, we're actually paying attention to and talking about it. And. Yeah, let me ask question. You know the theme song? Now, this is crazy to me because this is the thing I have thought for 30 years or however long it's been on, almost 30 years. And then Leo Vader posted something like, the day after I had this conversation with Bonk. I always thought in the theme song, there's the part where he goes. You know that part? And I woke up this morning.

[A]

Oh, in the theme song.

[C]

Yeah, the chosen one.

[B]

I'm feeling fine. Shave my body. It sounds like it's a Shave my body.

[C]

Feeling fine Save yourself or no, no.

[B]

It'S Shame about is what it is. I've never heard since 1999. So weird song where the guy just goes, shave my body. Weird Bonk. I was like, why does he say shave my body? And the next fucking day, Leo posted like, oh, it's. It's shave my body, right? They just shave my. Oh, it's not just me. And like, we're timing too. But no, it turns out it's shame about it.

[A]

I love when that happens with a song where you hear it incorrectly and then you actually can't unhear it and then it becomes this thing that. Like when. Now when you hear that song, it's all messed up. When I was growing up, my sister and I, there was a song, I think it was by Lit, Steal My Sunshine. No, My Own Worst Enemy. That song where you're just like. It is a surprise to me. I am my own worst enemy. Right. What I do.

[B]

Lynn, wait.

[A]

Didn't sing Steal My Sunshine.

[C]

Sorry. I understood.

[A]

You should be shamed.

[C]

Understood the confusion. But the thought of lit singing Steal My Sunshine is so funny. They're very much like a taking back Sunday emo band.

[B]

I don't know what that means either.

[C]

They sing. There's no surprise to me.

[B]

I'm curious for all you pop punk kids, I don't fucking get all your Good Charlottes and shit.

[C]

Yeah, they're a Good Charlotte esque.

[B]

Okay.

[C]

Yeah, for sure.

[A]

My sister always heard that lyric and said because every now and then I kick the living shit happy. And she thought that they say shit happy, which doesn't make any sense. No, the lyric is shit out of me. The living shit out of me.

[B]

Okay.

[A]

But because we both grow up. Grew up singing shit happy. When I do hear that song, which isn't. I actually do like that song. When I hear that song, I'm always. If I hear it on the radio or wherever, I'll be like, I sing shit happy because that's the version I know. I wonder if, like, when you hear it, you're just like, shit my body.

[B]

Shit my body. Weird.

[A]

Shave my body.

[B]

It's a weird lyric. Yeah.

[C]

I still do that for, like, new songs that I'm hearing that I love. Like, I don't. I don't actually know the. You think I know every word of Rocky Road to Dublin when I see it in Sinner. Oh, we rewatched Sinners last weekend as well.

[A]

That's a horror movie.

[C]

Yeah. Yeah.

[A]

And she accepts that one too.

[C]

Oh, yeah. No, I mean, it's Michael B. Jordan. She'll. She'll deal with anything to see him particularly scary.

[A]

She's smart.

[C]

I like Nikki Glaser. Nikki Glaser's Glaser.

[B]

Yeah. Yeah.

[C]

But Michael Jordan plays twin brothers in this movie.

[B]

Movie.

[C]

Which made me Nikki B. Jerkin.

[B]

Yeah.

[C]

Or something like that. Yeah. That's really good. Yeah, It's Sopranos. I love that show. I try to rewatch it like once a year, but it's an Undertaking, for sure. And yeah, it's funny. If I were to call an Uber to the neighborhood where Bonk grew up, I would drive past several shooting locations from.

[B]

Oh, yeah, I've gone past Satin Dolls, which was the Bada Bing club, a million times.

[C]

Yeah, it's funny. Like, my buddy who lives in West Orange now, he does like a tour of the area for people who are coming, not like a paid tour of friends. And he'll show them different shooting locations. The scuba store that Paulie's outside at the beginning of an episode is still there. I'm not. I'm saying this to you, Dan. This is for people listening. Like, Gloria's house is also there. It's actually the gatehouse to a bigger mansion wedding venue. It's just really cool to live semi close by to all that now.

[B]

But it's interesting having like, you know, I watched some in college when I just had. I'd never been to New York City. I had never, you know, like, it was just a. Just a totally foreign concept, everything going on in the Sopranos. And now I lived in Jersey for a few months when we were moving out to the East Coast. You know, I've been out there a million. I've spent a lot of time specifically in like North Jersey where most of that show takes place. And so now it's like, I hear these characters talk and I hear the accents. I'm like, oh, I've met a lot of people that talk exactly like this, you know, so like, there will be like a Polly Walnuts line or something and I'll turn a ball. And that's your dad. That's just your dad. Yeah.

[C]

Yeah. I'm excited for you to get. There's a few episodes in there that I'm really excited to hear your thoughts on. Have you seen College? Yeah, I've seen that. Okay, gotcha. That's. That's an all timer. But there's like. I'm sure you've heard of the Pine Barrens.

[B]

Yeah, I think Mike. I think Mike Minati might have spoiled that for me. Yeah. But, yeah.

[C]

Oh, it's. It's like a Coen Brothers movie in mid miniature.

[B]

Well, he spoiled it for me even though Mike Minati won't watch the Sopranos because he said the mob is mean and he doesn't like seeing mean stuff in movies.

[C]

He spoiled the episode. I don't even know how you'd spoil.

[B]

Because he was talking about, like. I'm not going to say what he said specifically, but he was just talking about, like, I can't watch the stuff. Sopranos, they do mean stuff. Like there was that one where this happens and there's the one I know they do this thing to that person and it's like he's saying you won't watch it because of the mean things. And so I know about a mean thing that happens.

[C]

Oh yeah. That episode's full of them though. So I'm curious. I'll ask you off off Mike, but I'm glad you're liking it. But yeah, I was talking to Bonk too. Because now with Mad Men on hbo, I think that's having a resurgence as well.

[B]

Yeah, I've sat down with her a few times just with the Steam Deck while she's been watching that. And you know, just through osmosis, seeing a bit of it and like, yeah, I can. There's something about the pace of Mad Men that I just could never really do, you know?

[C]

Yeah.

[A]

So slow.

[B]

It's fucking slow. Yeah.

[C]

Yeah. That is the show that like more than the Sopranos or the Wire, which are very like I think verb heavy. And there's still a lot going on under the surface. I think Mad Men is really relies on the stuff going on under the surface. And that's why I don't push that show all the time. Because if the pace doesn't work for you, I can't like.

[B]

And the setting, I don't really. I don't like the characters and it's just like. I don't know, like can I can recognize. It's clearly a very well made show, but just nothing about it makes me want to watch it really.

[A]

If you are looking for like a faster pace, you gotta. You gotta get into Naruto. It is just action packed. I cannot believe how much these kids go through. I constantly almost dying.

[B]

I believe you.

[A]

It's so good. I'm still down with Naruto. I also started a new anime which I know neither of you guys will watch, but I still have to talk to you about.

[C]

I'm not anti anime.

[A]

I don't think you're anti anime. I think you'll be anti this anime. It's called High School of the Dead. Actually Mike, maybe. Maybe I could sell this on you. It is so it's Zombies Attack a High School. So all these high school students are like navigating. What would happen if the entire world was like completely transformed and now there's a zombie outbreak and you have to deal with it and they show a lot of students dying in the first episode like immediately like all these kids are, like, dying in front of everybody. But the fan service is outrageous.

[B]

Let me stop. Let me ask you a question there, because I use that phrase before fan service. I did it on John Bomb east podcast once, and I talked about something like. I used it in the phrase of like, there's a lot of fan service in terms of just, like, references and winking at, like, hey, Easter eggs. Yeah, like Easter eggs. And like. Like a thing. Doing a lot. Like a new Star wars show. Doing a lot of callbacks to the original trilogy or something like that.

[C]

That's.

[B]

That was my understanding of fan service. And I remember Abby was like, wait, what? I didn't know. There's a bunch of like, that's. She's like, I didn't know there's a bunch of DNA and whatever. I was talking about DNA. What are you doing? I'm talking about references and stuff.

[A]

Like, in anime, fan service means paying tribute to the horny boys and having.

[B]

I don't think horny boys watch anime.

[A]

They love it.

[B]

That doesn't track to me.

[A]

They love it. Yeah, that is true. I guess it depends. A fan service in a Star wars is very different than fan service in an anime. But in anime, fan service means heavily, like, suggestive upskirts and shots.

[C]

Yeah, I only watch anime when I'm sexy people. Yeah.

[A]

Yeah. It's crazy. It's. There's this, like, iconic scene where they're shooting a really high caliber rifle at zombies, and the recoil is making these boobies, like, ripple.

[B]

That's.

[C]

That's funny. And.

[A]

Yeah, and it's.

[C]

It's hilarious.

[A]

It is so vivid. They're like. It's in slow mo. And she's like, no. And as they shoot it, it just goes into slow mo.

[B]

Like, no.

[A]

And you see the ripple of the boob go all the way through the nipple to the other boob. It's so amazing.

[C]

Where are you watching this? Crunchyroll Energy. I'm just curious.

[A]

And then this one. This one's for you, Mike. And then there's a shot where he shoots a bullet through that same gun. And one of the other girls, she's fighting a zombie, right? So she's in the limelight. She's, like, in the line of the shot of the bullet, and she does a sick backflip. And as she does the backflip, her boobies cross and the bullet goes in between the boobies as they flop, and it misses both boobies and then hits a zombie in the head. And I was like, I just love.

[C]

The Thought of someone, like, staying after work, one of the animators, like, fucking Taco Bell and half drunk, like Baja blasts. Just working to make sure the boob gap is perfect for the 50 cal round.

[B]

Which really necessary.

[C]

Let's be clear. No, but it's hilarious.

[B]

Do we really need to do, like, why does this happen?

[C]

I know people are jing it to that stuff. Like, I hate.

[B]

Sure. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[A]

I wonder who would be. I'll choke the chicken.

[B]

Oh.

[A]

I think that's what this is. It's like. That's what fan service, I suppose is doing is it's like this ability to have. And it is a good show. I think it's really entertaining and really interesting. And we just has these vivid shots. I just have to be like, oh, my God. I basically have these, like, reactions of like, I can't believe they did that. But at this point, I can't really be shocked at anything because it's so glaringly obvious. But I'll have to see if I can find like a gif or something of. Of the booby one because it was one of the ones where I was like, that is absolutely outrageously well done. Like, it's so. It's so blunt and obvious, but it's also like, I don't know, someone animated that. Someone put a lot of energy in that and made sure that it. It worked.

[B]

It's like in the middle of an action scene where they're all shooting stuff, are people just expected to, like, drop their trousers and just whack off real quick? Like, if it's just like. It's like, not a sex scene, right?

[C]

They're racing against the next two seconds scene.

[B]

I better get done real quick. Yeah.

[A]

Okay. I found a GIF of it. Can I share it with you guys?

[B]

I'm gonna get put on a list.

[A]

You're gonna get put on a list.

[C]

You're on them.

[B]

Oh, God. Okay, here it is. There's a bullet. There's a what? That's. That's stupid. That's very stupid. That's so dumb.

[C]

Wait a minute. I love. Everything's in slow mo.

[A]

And then they're like, yeah, it's beautiful. It's so shocking.

[B]

How do they do, like a scissor motion with the boop? This is dumb.

[A]

They are supposedly in high school and.

[C]

Moving so fast for that bullet to pass one. And then they switch and figure eight. And then it goes past another one.

[A]

The bullets.

[B]

Is this supposed to be ridiculous or, like, funny? Or is this like.

[C]

I think so.

[A]

It's funny. It's humor. It's silly. It has a lot of violence. It's also very violent. It's also very serious in the sense, like, you know, their friends are dying. Like, their loved ones are dying. So serious elements to it. But I would say more than not. This is, like, cheeky and funny action and, like, hypersexual in, like, the weirdest ways. And this is a good example of, like. That is such a strange.

[C]

No, that's like. Yeah, that's over the top on purpose.

[B]

Seems unrealistic.

[A]

It's over the top intentionally. And I was laughing during these scenes. I could not get over how funny they were.

[C]

But where are they in this scene? It looks like a Roman ruin.

[A]

Yeah. I mean, they're in the. They're in Japan, like, in the city now. And so, like, a lot of it, because it's been taken over by zombies, it's no longer inhabitable. And so you're probably. I think they're like, in a. What do you call that? Like a waterway or something?

[C]

Viaduct or something.

[B]

So when you're watching this, because I know all these shows have, like, 9,000 episodes. So, like, is this. Sit down. Paying attention or is this, like, Steam Deck? And it's on in the background.

[A]

I usually have a Steam Deck, but I'll put it down for the booby scene. I think.

[C]

Yeah, you need both hands for the movie scenes.

[A]

You need all the concentration when there's an action shot, I think it's. I probably miss some of them because of the Steam Deck action. But to me, same thing with Naruto. There's usually filler episodes. So in anime, it's, like, really standard that after a heavy action scene. This is because the animators put a lot of energy into these action sequences. They need a filler episode. This is an episode where they have almost no animation and the characters talk to each other and one of them maybe flirts with another one and they get, like, all flushed and I go. And they go, oh, my God, I can't believe you said that to me. And that's an entire episode. And so I can be steam decking during that. That is a waste of my time. I'll listen to it kind of and, like, do it. But when I hear someone be like, let's fight. I put the Steam Deck down and I watch the action sequences. There are animes where they specifically cut out all of the filler episodes. And I don't do that. That Steam Deck time.

[B]

That's what we did for Dragon Ball because they did the Dragon Ball Z. And then there was Kai, which was like, just cutting out the part where it's like, oh, Goku and Piccolo are getting their driver's license or whatever, and it's like, they cut that stuff out. And I think that's an actual episode.

[A]

That's really funny. Yeah, Kai is. It's kind of important. Like, if. If I were to recommend an anime, I would definitely be like, watch the shortened versions or even look up a guide. You can look up a guide to Naruto that will prevent you from watching six episodes of them walking to town. And like, that's it. It's just like, you don't need all. You don't need that. That's obviously filler, and it can make people leave the show. But for me, I use that as, like, really excellent gaming time.

[B]

Yeah, I. I am bracing for anime and. Because Gerson and I are about to start up all Systems Goku again. And it's like. But like, since we're doing a podcast about it, like, I'm paying attention. I'm taking notes and stuff like that. So. So I think we're going to do the original one, the original run of Dragon Ball, with like, no, you know, like, filler episodes and all is the plan. So, yeah, I'll be.

[A]

Well, there's some fan service in that one, so enjoy Dragon Ball. There's a little bit.

[B]

Really?

[A]

Oh, yeah.

[C]

I've never watched Dragon Ball.

[A]

That one, I think is. I mean, it's just a classic. What else can you say? But, I mean, I would die to have you guys watch one episode of High School of the Dead and, like, react to how absurd it is. It's just so. It's so ridiculous. And it knows what it is to. To an insane degree. And the character designs, you'll see so many characters. You'll be like, that girl. Their boobs are too big. And I'm very open about all boobs. And I'll be like, that is unnecessary. You have made this character's boobs too big. And they cannot walk, they cannot run, they cannot do anything because you have made their boobs so big.

[C]

But they can make a mean apple pie.

[A]

They can. They're in this anime. They're the nurse, and so they're like, can I help you? They're trying to stitch people up, but she just has, like, triple Fs and she looks ridiculous.

[C]

Just gets in the way during surgery.

[A]

She'll never be a doctor with those.

[C]

We started the pit. Speaking of surgery, I've heard that's good.

[B]

I know Bon Schwartz named one.

[C]

Yeah. Yes. Episode A.

[A]

Very different show.

[B]

Triple F's and surgery.

[C]

Yeah. Yeah.

[A]

I'm on season two, so I've seen season one. I won't spoil it for you, but I actually thought it was absolutely phenomenal. And I'm really excited to hear what you think. The only thing that is hard about it is after a long, stressful day, it is very difficult to recommend someone this show because it is so stressful and it is very vivid of the scenes of people getting hurt. And so somebody has a bone sticking out, they show it. Oh, they show all of it.

[C]

They show how to do plenty of very invasive medical procedures. Not how to do them tutorialized.

[B]

But, like, is it supposedly, like, pretty accurate?

[C]

I don't know. Yeah, it looks real.

[A]

They say. So, like, I think they're always taking liberties. But when. When they're saying this is probably, like every medical show, but, you know, they'll be like, this person's bleeding out. And they'll be like, you just need to flip the lung upside down and that'll stop it. And I'll be like, okay, I don't know about that. But, like, I do think there are other elements where maybe something will pop out a socket and they will show vividly how to put a bone back into a socket and someone who's, like, bleeding out. And I think that's pretty fucking cool.

[B]

Mortal Kombat X ray, but, like, in reverse where it's like, fixing the bone.

[C]

Someone gets her de gloved from the, like, knee down in the first episode.

[B]

Is that what that means? De Gloved?

[A]

Yeah.

[C]

Basically more deeper than skin. Yeah. Oh, it's just. Her leg is just nerves and veins and muscle down there.

[B]

That's no good. Yeah.

[C]

But it's also.

[A]

Gloved is disgusting. Isn't that what happened to Jimmy Kimmel? He's wearing his wedding ring. Oh, I get them mixed up because they're the same guy.

[C]

Yeah.

[A]

He gets his ring stark in something and it rips his finger skin off.

[B]

Yeah.

[C]

That's why you should not get. I forget what metal is titanium married. On that note, wanna talk about video games?

[B]

Sure.

[C]

Yeah. All right. Dan, I have to ask. Right off the bat, I see you're playing Sekiro. You've been playing it. Are you doing it? The weekly thing? Hour a week for Stream. Are you, like, playing Playing?

[B]

No, I. It's too good. And I also think that, like, the muscle memory and things like that. I don't want to wait a week between se with it. So, like, I've streamed a bunch of sessions at like two plus hours a time, like every, almost every other day or so, like several times a week since I started.

[C]

And yeah, I'm glad you're doing that because that would be a rough way to play that game if.

[B]

Yeah. Remind me, did you beat this?

[C]

Yes. Twice.

[B]

Okay.

[C]

Okay.

[B]

That, that, that's good to hear because it, I'm so intimidated by it. But like I did just get past a really big skill check from what people told me and they told me if I could beat this Gichiro guy that I, I could beat the game. And I did.

[C]

Yeah.

[B]

And it took like better part of two hours of like fighting him over and over and over and over again and three phases of this, this fight and it introduced this crazy mechanic just in the third phase. But man, it's like the feeling I had when I beat him was like, it's. I can only compare it to like when I beat Mike Tyson for the first time, you know, where it's like this huge thing that you overcome that just takes just a genuine amount of skill. You can't just kind of mash with this stuff. You have to learn this stuff and learn his attacks and then like, like when you have that moment it's just like, well, fuck, that's just like this is what video games are all about, you know, So I just continue to adore this game.

[C]

Also like the level design, the environments are amazing too. Like the little sandboxes you get if you're playing stealthily and trying to clear out a horde. Pick off enemies from a horde before you go in and fully fight them. Yeah, sorry, mob, not horde. That you could do that. And like, you know, like the verticality of the grappling hook and everything kind of gives you that option which I appreciate that because in many of the Fromsoft games it's harder to go in and kind of whittle away at the crowd before you fully dive in there this week.

[B]

Yeah, there was an area, there was an area that had like, you know, seven normal sized dudes and like two big dudes with hammers and stuff that I was at recently. And like, you know, it's a lot if you go in there and they're all going to be swinging at you and no matter how good you are at parries, you're not going to hit them all with like them all ganging up on you. But then it's like, okay, wait, I can go underneath this building here and then I can kind of get out this fence here and I can stab this guy. Guy. Oh. And I can hop down and kill this guy here. I can throw the ceramic shard here and make him go over there. And like, I've never been great at stealth, but like, it's really elegant in this game. And like once you just start kind of like you said. Yeah. The verticality, you're like, I'm gonna sit on this tree branch here and then I'll be able to pop down on this guy, go over like it's. It works. And it makes you feel awesome when you're able to do it with stealth. And it also makes you feel awesome if you go in and you fight him head on. And it's just. That game is just nothing but like incredible gameplay moment after incredible gameplay moment.

[C]

Oh, yeah. Yeah. There's some bosses later on I'm excited.

[B]

For you to see. I fought the knight guy on the bridge.

[C]

Yeah.

[B]

Yeah. That was a fun one. That was like a. Had a gimmick to killing him, which was fun.

[A]

It's also beautiful, isn't it? Like, it's. It's stunningly gorgeous. The sequences that they put in, lots of like the fall and the leaves and stuff like that. I just think it's a very pretty game. I found it so stressful. I have not beaten Sekiro. I think. I think I probably quit like halfway through. I just think I was like, this kid game's too hard for me.

[B]

It's stressful as hell.

[A]

I did really. I loved what I played of it.

[B]

And how many times is there that thing where you reach a mini boss or a boss or section and it's just like the first two or three times you're like, I think this might be it. I don't know if I'm gonna be able to do this. And then you just keep trying and trying and trying and your brain just keeps learning and learning and learning and knowing when to predict certain things and then you beat it and you feel awesome and then you rinse and repeat over and over.

[A]

The run backs, like, not bad.

[B]

No, not bad.

[A]

Okay.

[B]

Especially like this big like gitro fight I just did.

[C]

This game is well designed.

[A]

Suck my dick. What?

[B]

Mary. Mary.

[C]

Okay.

[B]

You bet you.

[A]

No, you're allowed to use it. Press away.

[B]

Oh, okay, great.

[A]

Dan is right.

[B]

Thank you.

[A]

No, not that one. No, that one be banned.

[C]

Sorry, I. I could not. That was a low hanging fruit.

[B]

No, the run backs are great because it's like. Yeah. If I defended it in Silksong because I. I didn't think it was ever that Bad, really. But I would be pissed off if, like, before this Ganitra fight, which I did over and over and over again, if I did had to do a bunch of horseshit to get up there, you know, that would have annoyed me. So. Yeah. Yeah. There. There is something to not having the run back for sure.

[C]

Yeah. The. Also, like, it's. The Genichiro fight is just unreal for it. I think the game literally tests you. It makes sure at that point that you legitimately know how to do everything as that character single counter. Like knowing when to jump as opposed to countering and when to dodge as opposed to jumping. Like, it's. It's incredible. Really, really good boss fight. But there's stuff later on. I think Jake. Jake definitely has beaten the game more than I have. I believe he likes it quite a bit. But it's funny. Everybody has that one boss that just gives them a lot of trouble, comparatively. And I have one in that game.

[B]

I haven't seen it yet.

[C]

No.

[B]

Okay.

[C]

It's like a midway boss. Definitely another. But you might find it. You might be like, oh, that was yours. Like that. I found that really easy.

[B]

It's.

[C]

There's just certain types of bosses I always have difficulty with and fromsoft games. But when you. When. I'll check in again next episode and I'll know if you have fought him yet.

[B]

I'm about to fight the monkey.

[C]

Gotcha. Okay.

[B]

And I. And I know the gimmick with him.

[C]

Gotcha.

[A]

I remember the monkey.

[B]

Oh, okay. So you. You've. You've made it pretty damn far then.

[A]

Yeah, I remember the monkey.

[C]

I feel like I'm.

[B]

Yeah, yeah.

[C]

The monkeys.

[A]

That might have been. That might have been. Been who did it for me. And I don't remember.

[C]

That might have been. That might be a. Almost halfway. Might as well be halfway, I guess. Yeah.

[B]

Okay.

[C]

Ish. What are you, like 25 hours in or something?

[B]

I'm like 15, I want to say.

[C]

Yeah.

[B]

But I looked at, like a long play and I looked at where I was. I'm like halfway on the timeline, basically.

[C]

I love that game. It's. That was. If it wasn't for Outer Wilds, that would have been my favorite game of 2019.

[B]

It's just interesting how that stuff happens where it's like. Especially with certain outlets where it's like they're just always blind spots and stuff where, like. I don't remember this being talked about much at Giant Bomb back then, you know, so.

[A]

Hidden gem.

[B]

Yeah. I feel like there was one. Well, like. Like this year, Yote was one that, like, I was the only one that played it at Giant Bomb.

[A]

And, like, I find that interesting. You'd think someone there would be, like, really stoked about a game like Yote. That's huge.

[B]

Yeah, but, I mean, that's always the case with any outlet, I think, where it's just like, okay, yeah, we got X amount of people, and just no one really played this one this year.

[A]

You know, it's still interesting, though, because that's, like, a major one. It's like, sometimes I wonder, though, when you're playing games all the time, you're like, well, we're gonna replay Banjo Kazooie, and we don't have time to play this from Soft can.

[B]

Look, Mike has. Mike Manatti has to play virtuoso over the three do right now, and it's imperative.

[A]

So we're booked and busy.

[B]

Sorry, sorry. Resident Evil 9.

[C]

Oh, God. Did you guys. Did you play that?

[B]

I did not. Jan did. And we put up a video. I did not watch it because I don't want to. I want to go in pretty blind. But, like, just hearing Jan talk about it, like, oh, man, I'm in a Resident Evil mood right now.

[C]

I don't even. Like, I'm not. I'm trying not to even read about it. I know the big thing news that was came out a couple weeks ago that it's like open World, or like, sort of open world sandbox.

[A]

But they did that in previous ones kind of.

[C]

This is. Yeah, that's what I said. And then people were like, no, this is.

[B]

Is a more.

[A]

No, this is more open world kind of.

[B]

I had not heard that.

[A]

Interesting.

[C]

Yeah. Or at least, like, open it. I was like, yeah, the Evil within two sort of did that as well. Like, several open worlds in that game. And I like that one. I think it worked.

[A]

I liked that in Evil Within. I think it's nice to give you a little bit of choice, as long as you generally know what you're supposed to do. I just don't like it when I'm like, now I'm just lost.

[C]

Yeah.

[B]

Modern RE games are so good with maps. You know, like RE2 Remake and RE4. It's like, you know, I'm not worried if it is more open. I'm sure they'll be pretty good about that, that a good map will be good.

[C]

But apparently enemies are on. Like, what did I see? I think Jesse Vitelli had done a quick, like, Instagram video for Z.

[B]

Yes, I saw that on IG of the the butcher and stuff where we're standing in one spot and yeah, the.

[C]

AI is on more of like a hitman kind of clock where they're actually going about doing more believable things. They're not just like waiting at that one fireplace until you walk in. That's pretty enticing. Yeah, I'm looking forward to it. I can't wait.

[B]

This is the most excited I've been for Resident Evil since maybe four.

[C]

Four Remake.

[B]

I had four or four, I think in terms of just excitement levels and like, like I get excited for all.

[A]

The new ones, but the one where they is seven. The one with the family dinner.

[C]

Yeah, yeah, because of seven, I was excited for eight.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

I think seven had some real excitement built up once people realized that the dad did different things based on where you were. I think that's so sick. Like he would kind of of bust through different walls based on where you were.

[B]

But I think there's also skepticism, like leading up to seven because it's like we're coming off a six, which sucked ass. And it's like, okay, yeah, it's like we're doing some new stuff.

[A]

Made a real donker.

[C]

So.

[B]

Yeah, so like the stock was not high. So it's like, okay, we're doing first person. It's just like, okay, we'll see. Hopefully this is good. But like the hype factor wasn't as there. And like now it's like we're coming off of two numbered ones that were. Were good. You know, I would say. I would say Village was very good and seven was excellent. And like, so I, I think nine and everything they've shown of nine just seems like everything I like out of Resident Evil games. You know, the action of the four, you know, the more kind of like survival horror stuff.

[C]

Yeah, I liked seven quite a bit for doing the like Texas Chainsaw Massacre vibe. Rural horror 8 did more gothic Dracula inspired horror. I'm not as psyched to go back to Raccoon City again. I feel like I've seen all I need to see of Raccoon City. Like, dude, that. I think there are six games set there that I played. I've. If they could squeeze more out of it, awesome.

[B]

I think I'm always going to prefer a setting that is a relatable like, oh, this is like an American city. I think I will always find that more interesting than like a gothic fantasy thing or, you know, like, I mean, seven was set in just like, like rural south, you know, but like, I don't know, just Like a city that seems relatable. You know, I think that's, that's my favorite type of setting.

[C]

Yeah, I'm looking forward to it. And I like that it's the first time since. Well seven had two playable characters but it wasn't like interchangeable.

[B]

It was, it was a one year gimmicks section. Yeah.

[C]

But eight had eight did two. But it's way at the end you play. But this is when you can actually go back to the old school. Like choose which one to play play first as. Which is exciting.

[B]

Is it choose who to play first or is it like intervening?

[C]

Oh is it interweaving like.

[B]

I'm not sure.

[C]

Alan Wake too.

[B]

I'm not positive how it works. If it's like a set moment like now your grace or whatever or is.

[C]

It like an old school one where it's like playing as Leon first will change it for when you play as.

[B]

I. I think it's one campaign but again I've kind of been avoiding most stuff about it.

[A]

Yeah, I don't wanna know.

[B]

Yeah, okay, cool.

[C]

Mary, what have you been playing?

[A]

I've been playing a couple things but the one that I'm most excited to talk to you about is Mio. This game was recommended to me by multiple people, which is so awesome when that happens. When people are like, I think this is for you. They were right. This is a Metroidvania. It is between Hollow knight and Ori. For me it has the difficulty curve of a hollow knight, but I think that it is kinder and it is more is easier for people to understand and adapt to. And I like the Ori comparison because it's in a fantastically beautiful world where you're just kind of like this weird little floaty creature. And it really plays on the platforming mechanics of how floaty and how delicate you can be in the these absolute brutal platforming spaces. But it is, it is awesome. A couple things that I really like about it. It's challenging, but again it's not frustrating. These boss fights are absolutely learnable. You will figure them out. Each boss fight that I've encountered, I've been like, holy, this guy beat my ass. And then within like 30 minutes I'm like, I know this guy's skills. I know exactly what to do here. I can get through it. There's no contact damage. So you can get right up in a boss's face and unless it attacks you, no damage. I really appreciate that about this game.

[B]

That's cool.

[A]

It has a currency that you lose when you die and you do not go to get it back, it's gone. When you die, it's gone. But here's what I like about it. There are different areas in the game where you can harden your currency into an item that you don't lose when you die.

[B]

So it's like the rosary beads. Yes. Okay.

[A]

But you don't, you don't pay.

[C]

Like a backpack and Escape from Tarkov.

[A]

Yes, yes, of course. Just like Escape from Duckhov. Yes, I know you love Escape from Duck Off.

[C]

I like that game actually. Neither here nor there.

[A]

So the currency system, it feels like it's. You don't get too frustrated. I've definitely lost my, my currency before. I forget what it's called. Doesn't really matter.

[C]

It's like hard money.

[A]

Hard money. You pick it up from fallen enemies or from the dead that you occur. You know, you, you like find along the way. But you want to harden it and then you, you buy upgrades with it. The upgrade system is also sick and very hollow Knight. It is a badge based system. But think you're a machine so you have to implant these different pieces but you only have so much hardware like hardware like you can only accept so many pieces at once months and they're all worth different amounts. And so I gave up being able to see my own health to being so that I could see the enemy's health. I gave up scraping more money from each enemy so that I could do a better final move of my triple move. And so my third move on my combo does like way more damage now. I just added one. I, I think this one's really fun. I, I have one now that all of the health upgrade spaces cost nothing and I have that one on so that when I'm doing a platforming section, I can just heal without spending a dime. I could heal all the time and do these like really brutal platforming sections. And then when I'm gonna get to a boss, I take that off because I don't need it anymore. And I put on something that as I take more damage, I do more damage. And so I'm constantly changing my system out based on the environment that it's put me in. A couple more things I just like wanted to quickly bring up. I think it's stunning. The background environments look hand drawn and almost like hand painted. But you are very mechanical. So it's half looks like natural environment, half mechanical robot, which I think is a beautiful way to do it. There's a city that is covered in ice that I Just found that I think is so stunningly beautiful. And I can't wait to figure out more of it. And again, I think the platforming is, is phenomenal. I keep learning new moves. God, I want to dash. But right now I have like a double jump, wall jumping, a floaty move. I mean, I found all these really good moves that have completely blown this game out of the water for me. I mean this is like my number one. I mean this is, this is good. The only game I want to play right now.

[B]

You're selling me on this because, like I, I heard some rumblings. Giant bomb. I believe Chuck was playing it, enjoying it. And. But I think the thing that scared me off was like, he said it was a really slow start, I want to say. And I just like, I like Metroidvanias, but I hate slow starts. And so I think I was like, oh, I'm interested. And then I heard that and I was like, I'm not. So how bad is the, the intro?

[A]

I found it really quick and I think what's interesting to me is that I, I needed a fill in for bowling this week and the guy who bowled on our also was playing Mio. And he was like, wasn't it cool when you found this boss? And I was like, I haven't found that boss. And he was like, oh, well, you have this item, right? And I'm like, no, I don't have that item. And we're both five hours in. We went opposite directions. It's very possible that the experience that you have and the experience that the other person who's played this had very different experiences playing. It sounds like you can level yourself up in a totally different order, which I think is great.

[C]

Great.

[A]

So it's maybe not a great answer for you, but what I will say is I found a boss almost immediately. This game is chock full of secrets, hidden hidey holes, nooks and crannies. And so if he missed them, he might have just been doing like a long section of nothing now. Whereas I found a boss within like five minutes.

[B]

I think I'm fine with like gameplay, slow start. Like, I'm fine with like the build up to getting, you know, I just don't want to let like. And then the king was evil and then you gotta kill the king. Like, I just don't want like text boxes for six hours.

[A]

You know, I don't remember that either. I felt like it was pretty dewy. Okay, I will say. I will say. Okay. It has an interesting I, I will, I will acknowledge that this has a really odd start, but I fell in love with it, which is. It starts 2D with, like, little lines and dots and it goes back to it multiple times to teach you new moves in a new environment. That's very simplified. I'll try to explain it. But, like, the very first time you get a. There's a. Oh, you can hit something to get your jump back. Right. This is a common upgrade. Right.

[B]

Like, hit them in midair as you're jumping.

[A]

Yes. You hit something in midair and all of a sudden you get your jump back. And now you can travel a little further there. It takes you out of the game. It puts you into this 2D environment. That's very simple. It's. It's got stunning audio. It's so simple. And it pairs everything down and it goes. Now you're just going to learn this skill. We're going to give you six challenges to learn this skill, to make sure you learn it, and then we'll throw you back into the game. The game starts in that mode. And so when you start, you might be like, what is this? But by the sixth time, not even by, like, the third time, you're getting your upgrade. You're like, oh, sick. This is my learning a skill mode. And then you get to play the game. So maybe that's what threw him off. That's the only thing I can think of. Then I'm less worried about it visually, but I'm not.

[B]

Narrative stuff. I can deal with a slow start.

[A]

There's a little bit of narrative mumbo jumbo, but you just, you know, you look at your watch.

[B]

Okay, okay.

[A]

You don't have to read. I was, like, really surprised. I will also say after that opener, whatever it is, there's like, no story at all. Like, every once in a while you'll run across a robot and he'll be like, this city used to be big. It's dead now. And I'll be like, okay. And then I go fight six bosses. I haven't speak my language down with text at all. I've. I've really loved it. Again, like, the floatiness. Oh, there's ice in a lot of these areas, and I'm slipping and sliding all over the place. Like, the enemy design is pretty fun in. In several of the areas I've been fighting, like, just really cool, mechanical anim. You know, different robots that maybe look like hummingbirds or they look like spiders and they're. Oh, there's one that looks like a chameleon and he literally hides into the walls and so you won't see him unless you're really paying attention. He'll get you. It's just a fun little game. I've. I, I really do think it's. I, I hope more people talk about it. I think it is a. A fantastic platformer. So for someone who's like really interested in platforming, this is a good platformer game with some good boss fights. I, I'm liking it.

[B]

This is one. I, I got some flights coming up for sure that I'll need some stuff for, so I'll. I'll make sure this is like on the Steam deck before some long planning.

[A]

On the Steam deck. It's a Steam deck game. Faux show. I don't think it's perfect. Like there's some things that like I haven't, I haven't been super in love with and I do think it's.

[B]

It.

[A]

There are some pain points around. Like sometimes I don't know where. Where the hell I'm going. And a lot of places it'll just be like, you can't go in there. And so I'll have to repeat. I repeated a space like twice looking for secrets and I finally found one and realized, you know, I had missed something. So that can be a little frustrating.

[B]

Okay, well, I'm curious. That sounds cool.

[C]

The like 2.5D esque vibe. So it kind of remind me of Bloodstained. The art specifically. This is more sci fi. It looks like futuristic, but it does remind me a bit of Bloodstained how they use that. I don't even know what engine that would have been, but I agree.

[A]

And it's, it's cool to see people playing with this style. I appreciate that connection because the 2D 3D is the biggest crossover here. They look very different, but what you're essentially saying is like your character looks very different than the background and it doesn't feel like it should work, but. It does. It does.

[C]

Yeah. The camera's not completely tracking your character. It's actually pulled out and kind of like tilted in to look at them from certain angles. So you can actually see the sides of some geometry environment, which can look ugly in some games, but I think when it's done well, it's attractive. Dan, you played a round of High.

[A]

Guard, the multiplayer game that everybody's talking about her. Tell us about that.

[B]

That's what I hear. Yeah. Is Mary. Is it mostly. All I know is that people are talking about it. Is it mostly bad or mostly good or mix?

[A]

I think that I don't Think this will color your opinion at all? I think it is mostly bad and it is. And it is so volatile that if you like it, I feel like gamers will come for you.

[B]

That's weird.

[A]

I think that's a stressful environment for people. Yeah, it's been a tough launch. Is, is. Is the vibes that I'm. I'm getting from this game. So what was your experience?

[B]

It's one of those games that a lot of online multiplayer games seem to be these days to me, which is in the genre of, okay, spend the first few minutes of the round doing a bunch of boring chores and then something changes and then you go die and then you wait to do it again. So I repeat, yeah, no, that's cool. Yeah. I very quickly was like, I just don't get like, even like, good ones of these. Like this, this is well made. Like, when I was doing the tutorial, I was like, this looks good, this feels good. I like shooting these guns. I like. It's got, you know, like, I love the feel of like, Apex and Titanfall. Like, I like, you know, I know a lot of. There's a through line of certain developers there, but like, I love Titanfall because, I don't know, the campaign was great. And two, and then the multiplayer gimmick was simple and worked where it's like, all right, you're these pilots and these titans. It's multiplayer. It's pretty understandable. And then like, Apex was like, okay, it's this weird, like, I'm never gonna play online with people really. So, like, I, I don't like that you always have to be in three person squads and it was just like, kind of confusing. And whereas, like, they're pubg and Fortnite, I got into those because, like, that's pretty straightforward. You drop onto a thing, you try to survive as long as you can. I like that Apex. I recognize it was well made, but it's like, I don't. There's just too much stuff going on here. And this is like way worse than that where it's just like, okay, I guess at the first phase I need to put up reinforcing walls on this building. And I don't really know why or where. I'm sure there's a reason to. I mean, if I played more, I'm sure I would learn what I was doing. But like, when it's not fun at all to start out, I don't feel incentivized to keep going. So, like, you reinforce all these walls and then you go out and you're just like harvesting crystals. And then I guess you can buy stuff from vendors and then it's like capture the flag for a little bit. And then once you bring a shield breaker sword to someone's dome, it breaks their dome open. Then you can try to breach walls and then it turns into like a search and destroy thing where there's a A and a B. It's just like, I. I knew I was gonna hate it once the tutorial kept going and going and going. It's like, all right, you had me at the beginning when it looked good and it felt good to play. And then it's like you just keep explaining more and more shit. And it's like, all right, I'm done. I don't, I have no, no interest in. It's like it's a personal thing, obviously. Like, that's kind of popular now, but. Yeah, it's just the thing that makes me feel like, okay, this has never been my thing and it, I don't.

[A]

Think it should work. Like, I love the idea of mixing the magic and the bullets and everything. Like, did you get to play as multiple people? Like, how, how much did you play?

[B]

I was a few. I like around, basically. And then I, I bailed on it pretty quick. But it's like, okay, it's not even just like, like, like I, I was a big twisted metal fan and in 2012 they brought it back and I was like, fuck yeah. PlayStation 3, Twisted Metal. And then they did this E3 presentation where it was like, okay, so this is our marquee mode where it's a multiplayer online where it's like, okay, you gotta go around and you gotta like drag these clowns behind your car and you gotta load the clowns into a cannon. And then you shoot the clowns at this like Kaiju clown. And then it's just like, it's like.

[C]

Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. We.

[B]

We had it. We had it. We just. Cars drive around and blow each other up. It doesn't need to be much more complicated. Complicated than that. And I just don't like the over complication of things. I like simpler objectives. You know, it's why something like Dota or League. I see that or I hear it explained and I'm like, this seems like the most miserable thing I've ever heard in my life. And it seems like a lot of that has permeated like FPS and other genres and stuff like that. And whenever I see it, I'm out, I'm out. It's like, I Know, some people like it. I just. It's. Mike. Mike. Is it anathema? Anathema? Yeah. Yeah.

[C]

Okay.

[B]

Yeah, to me it's. I just fucking hate it. So, yeah, I got out real quick. I don't know if other people are liking what it sounds like there. Maybe not, but. Yeah, not for me.

[C]

Doesn't sound like my thing either. I like, I like a straightforward, simple. I like complex shooters, but like, I like deep shooters. This sounds like more like they're trying to go like broad, wide, a lot of rules, a lot of different objectives. Like Rainbow six, Siege. Like get in, plant a bomb at one of these two sites in a close quarter space or kill everybody.

[B]

Yeah, Mike, you. You had a.

[C]

Over and over and over again.

[B]

You had a real period with Siege and you got me playing some. And I did like some Siege. Like, I didn't think I was going to. But like, that's the thing with Siege is that the objective was simple enough. The complexity and the stuff you can really get good at is through learning the different operators and their skills and the way they can play off each other and things like that. And I think that's cool. It's like, it reminds me of like soulcast caliber. Like you want to get in there and match buttons. You're going to have a good time, play a good fighting game. Or if you want to go in there and spend 500 hours and all these tutorials, you know, like learning everyone's combos and everything. Like you can enjoy it on several different levels. Where, I don't know, like a MOBA type thing or something. Like there's. It feels like you have to be a specific type of person who plays a specific type of way to enjoy it. And I just don't find that stuff accessible or fun.

[C]

You know, the objective of chess is very simple, but each of the different pieces has many, many layers and complexities.

[B]

Yep.

[C]

Like, I think the best games, like the rule sets are pretty easily explainable.

[B]

Yes.

[C]

Quickly. It's the more like the depth, the more you repeat it and play it, the death comes out.

[B]

Yeah, it's like board game. Every board game is like that. Now every time I feel like I've ever sat down to play a board game, it's like it's not guess who anymore. It's just like, all right, you have six super tokens and three minor tokens and then you are evil until you're good. And then you. If you flip this crystal to its left side, then it's this. But. But if it's December, then you're a Gemini, and I don't. What are you doing, dude?

[C]

I have a. A certain person who listens to this podcast. It's. My wife will hear this, and she'll know exactly who I'm talking about. But we both know someone. I shit you not. Like, a few months ago, we were staying with them at their place, and they're like, so do you want, like, a really in depth board game, or do you want to do something? I was like, ah, we just, like, you know, we took trains to get here. We want something relaxed. Relaxed. Have a few days tickets. Totally, totally. So they bring out, like, three options, and they're walking us through the options, and I'm like, oh, sorry. We said we wanted the simple ones. He's like, oh, these are. I was like, oh, my God.

[B]

I don't think board game people under. I think they've got lost in the story.

[A]

They have a different level of complicated.

[C]

And I know when you love something. And, like, these people also don't get a ton of chances to play, like, board games with people who appreciate games. So, like, I was like, all right.

[A]

Board game people love bringing out the board game.

[C]

It's. I get it. It's like their board games are my, like, super interesting bottles of Beaujolais that you probably. I get. I've got my thing too, but. Oh, my God, yeah. Board game people. I applaud them because I. I can't do it every time. I'm up for that in the morning when I have, like, the day to learn something and that's all we're doing. But, like, late at night, I'm like, no, guys. Like, checkers would be fine right now. That would be great. Great.

[A]

I have a respect for it. Coding. There's so many good ones, and you have to be open to them, right? Like, you could find your next favorite game through one of these things. You just have to be, to Mike's point, in the right headspace.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

I have been tricked before. I think Wingspan is great. So this is not a. I don't like Wingspan. I just want to say that I feel like there are probably mothers out there that were disappointed when they were, like, excited to play a board game about birds and then found out that there were 400 rules. Yeah, I just thought it was cool to have eggs.

[C]

I was cool, but they feel good.

[A]

And then I was like, shit, this is extreme. This is way more complicated than I was prepared for.

[B]

That's another example. It's like, these are all, like, good. These aren't like. Like, a lot of these things are good and they're popular for a reason. But, like, like Wingspan. I heard everyone talking about it and I was like, all right. Oh. And a lot of people suggested it to me. It's like, oh, me and Bonk. You know something, Sometimes we'll play like, it is good. Yeah.

[A]

Great game.

[C]

Yeah.

[B]

And we bought it and we did some one on one with it and stuff. But it's like, most of the time it's just like, okay, so then if you are in the swamp, you can do this type of. And if you have this bird, it can. If you have six eggs, then it can land on the shoulders of a grass bird. And it's like, oh, my God. It's just code names. Wavelength.

[A]

Like, these are like, Wavelength is good.

[B]

I like games where it's like, you got to party together. There's six people that want to squirrel away into this room or whatever. It takes four minutes. And then the game is about talking and having a fun, like, social time. And, like, Wavelength is like debating about, like, you know, like, having a conversation with someone and not just, like, dealing with a million Chotchkeys and shit, you know, and rules like, that drives me insane.

[A]

I think I agree with you. Someone gave me Wavelength as a gift, and it is my number one when I'm like, ooh, I need something to do with six people tonight. Wavelength is great. You're gonna have a good time. You're gonna have fun. And I don't think it stresses. Well, actually, it will stress people out when they have to choose what the thing is.

[B]

Yeah, yeah, but if.

[A]

Yeah, if people were like, I want a board game and I want something different, and I haven't played a board game since Apples to Apples. I would say Wavelength is the number one. Easy. It's not so easy, but it's. It's easy gaming.

[B]

Yeah, only if you can read a good time, too.

[A]

You have to be able to read well.

[B]

Like, how the. Did Dungeons Dragons ever get popular at all? Because it seems like the most complicated thing on the planet.

[A]

Nerds.

[C]

But. But how Dungeons and Dragons, like, similarly, is more just a vehicle for people to tell a communal story.

[B]

There are books of like, well, here's the six chapters about what the dexterity number means if you roll. Like, I. It is every time I've sat down. It just seems like the most complicated thing ever. And I have no idea how people have parties and get togethers where it's like, this is what we do. It's like, you know, Five people who know how this works. How the did you meet that?

[C]

Well, that's. They took the time as a group to get to know it and like, they have a good dm. Like, there's a difference between, like, playing. People have parties where the objective of the party is to play that game, whereas wavelength is something that you can bust out on a whim at a party and people want to see like.

[A]

Uncle that you don't really know super well, but, like, you want to be able to have a good with them.

[C]

Aunt Nancy. How to play Dungeons and Dragons When.

[B]

I think of a party, I think of a lot of people of just different, like, you know, if I have a party here, I'm going to play Dungeons and Dragons who don't play video games, period. You know, where it's like, I can't imagine having a party where I could be confident enough to be like, hey, all of you, let's come play Dungeons and Dragons. You all know how that works.

[A]

Do not play Dungeons and Dragons.

[C]

No one does that. They have planned nights where they are like, hey, let's play Dungeons and Dragons on like on Tuesday nights. And they're a group that knows how.

[A]

To play Dungeons and Dragons is more.

[C]

Comparable at a party and says, like, who knows how to play how to play it here? That's my, my point was that they're very different kinds of games. My point, which was refuting you and acted like I was agreeing with don't.

[B]

I just. I am standing firm in the fact that I think Dungeons and Dragons is the most confusing and weird thing I've ever seen in my entire life.

[A]

It's confusing if you played it.

[C]

Take the time to get.

[A]

I sat down and played it.

[B]

Apparently I've played it with like world class caliber DMS and stuff where everyone's like, oh, you play with like, like, Austin Walker is supposed to be tremendously at it and I believe them. But like, I played with him and it's just like every time, like, do I, what does this mean? How do I do, what do I do? Like, oh, I just make this. Like, I, I just don't understand what the point of it is. I don't understand how to win. I don't understand how you can play with no board. And sometimes there's a board and then there's a company that makes it. But it's also just a loose cloud of ideas. Like, none of it makes any sense. How does this company exist if it's just like, you can do whatever you want. It's improv.

[C]

The game, it's. It's an engine for communal storytelling. I don't think the objective is to win. It's to tell this long form story together with someone. Like, why are you watching Sopranos? Because you don't win by watching.

[B]

But it's not a game, it's a show.

[C]

I know, but like, the point is, like, it's. You're seeing where this is in drag.

[A]

It's a show.

[B]

Pretending to be elves or whatever.

[A]

Yeah, but it's like cinematic and explorative. It's like. It's like acting out a play.

[C]

Yes.

[B]

Go to your local theater and audition. I don't know.

[A]

How dare you. You're one of the biggest, dorkiest nerds out there. How dare you hate on this.

[B]

You're a giant fucking nerd. It's not anti this.

[A]

You are.

[B]

It's anti this stupid thing.

[A]

It's not stupid. You're ignorant.

[C]

Yes. Yes, that is. That is what I was getting toward.

[B]

No, I think it's dumb and no one should like it.

[A]

Dan is listen.

[C]

Thank you.

[A]

No, and no. You're not. Listen. This is your. This is. Your snow is plastic. You are embarrassing yourself and someone is going to clip you and say that this doesn't know about this world for a long time.

[B]

Don't worry about it.

[A]

It's your conspiracy theory and you are gonna. You've embarrassed yourself.

[B]

I'm happy for all the people who like getting around and pretending they're playing a game with rules when it's just weird improv fantasy, Lord of the Rings time. But it's just. It's not nonsense.

[A]

Mike, you're playing Shadow Gambit. Let's talk about it.

[C]

I know. I was about to do the thing where I point out to Dan that wrestling has a lot of the same aspects, but we. Let's skip that.

[B]

Wrestling kind of sucks now too.

[C]

Okay, well, that. They're going.

[A]

You kind of suck.

[C]

Oh.

[B]

Did you hear that?

[C]

Yeah. I've been playing Shadow Gambit again. I talked about it last episode. That game's still incredible. It still makes me sad that Mimi games are gone. Incredible. Isometric top down stealth game. Really creative characters. I'm unlocking characters in a very different order than I did the first time I played it. Which is cool that you could do that. Similar to Wild Bastards. You guys played that. You know how the first.

[B]

The first run.

[A]

Loved that game.

[B]

Yeah.

[C]

The first run, you unlock the characters at a certain order and then becomes randomized. This one you unlock the same. There's the main character who is the navigator. But then after that you can revive these undead pirates in any order you want for the most part. There's. There's a few point points where they're like, you have to pick from this pool. But it's playing really differently with these different characters and playing on higher difficulty. I'm enjoying it.

[A]

There's different ones.

[C]

What do you mean?

[A]

Shadow Gambit, Cursed Crew, Shadow Gambit Yuki's.

[C]

Wish, Shadow Gambit Doggin's Ritual Curse Crew is the game. The latter two you mentioned are DLCs with new characters. Oh, okay.

[A]

Thank you.

[C]

And missions. Yeah. Incredible game. I think I said this last time, but if you're someone who really likes first person immersive sims like Dishonored or Prey, or you played Dark Messiah way back in the day or Thief, this is essentially kind of an immersive sim. Definitely more heavily stealth focused than a lot of those where you can be stealthy, but it's an option. This one's very much about stealth and. But it's, you know, top down isometric, incredible maps, vibrant locales. Some. Some fun character writing it ever gets in the way. Halts the momentum of the game though. Also just kind of a puzzle game, really. Like it's. It's less immersive, more like a puzzle stealth game. But I say immersive sim because there's a lot of ways you can interact with the environment and approach objectives differently. Yeah, I don't think I'd recommend it to either you. It's. Dan. I think it's too stealth focused for you, Mary. Same thing. I don't think you like stealth games all that much.

[A]

I struggle with stealth, but sometimes I can get into it. But this looks very. I'm like looking at the gameplay and it's got the cone of vision everywhere. So it looks like it's very stealth focused.

[C]

No, it's awesome. I love it.

[B]

Yeah.

[C]

Me Me Me games, they put out the two DLCs for it and then they're basically like we're fucking tired. Because they made Desperad, which is incredible, and Shadow Tactics, which was Feudal Japan and you had like a ninja and a sniper. That was the first. That was also good. One of my. One of the like biggest bummers of a studio closure. Although it was self imposed. I still wish they were making another game of some sort. Don't know where they are now. But yeah, that's mainly what I've been playing. I've been playing stuff for work that I can talk about in a few months or something. Probably that's Been most my time. So more on that I guess down the road. But Mary, you played other stuff besides Mio, right?

[A]

I have a couple quick ones. Yeah, go for it. One, I played a game called Deepest Sword, which I was thinking, Dan, when you do Blight Club, like what if the game is really quick, like 20 minutes, would you do like we have.

[B]

Something called Blightning Round where that is like done in one episode. Episode. Which was what Mike Bonatti was supposed to do with this current game. But I picked one that's probably gonna take him like eight hours, so.

[A]

Oh, that's funny. Well, I think I have like a mini one for you and it's Deepest Sword. This game is free, which I love. I always love like hawk and a nice free game. You can tell this is like maybe like this is like an early on dev cycle game. This is not meant to be like a full on adventure, but it's got a really cool premise. You're a knight, you need to kill a dragon and your sword is not big enough to get to the heart of the dragon. And so every time they make your sword a little longer, but that makes you have to navigate the space completely differently because now you can't fit. Also your character can't jump. This is kind of important. So you have to use the sword to climb or to navigate a space. And by the time you get to the end and don't look it up because again, this game isn't very long.

[C]

Like a.

[A]

Basically it's like a free demo. But it's like as you get through it, the sword gets so long you have to do these like totally wacky things in order to beat this game. And I actually really liked it and thought it was very fun. But the first time I like realized how stuck I was with this giant sword, I was like laughing at myself. I think it's a cute little gimmick.

[C]

Yeah.

[B]

Every image I see is just this dragon with a dude on his back trying to get the sword in there.

[A]

Yes, it is a bit horny, I will admit to you.

[B]

Oh, I wasn't going that way, but.

[A]

Well, it is the. I think it's like a euphemism, right?

[B]

Okay.

[C]

Common thing with everything.

[B]

Yeah. Weird.

[A]

And the. I know there's a bit of fan service with you with the. The dragon because when you put your sword in the dragon, the dragon will say like, is it even in? And then it'll light you up and then you get a longer sword because eventually you need to get the longest sword to the deepest Sword to get it in to kill the dragon.

[B]

Euphemism of some sort.

[C]

Oh God. The fucking. I'm just looking at the.

[A]

It's pretty clear.

[C]

I'm looking at the clip, at the unseen. I'm looking at the clip and it looks like at the beginning, right after you press the start key at the menu, the first dude is like, venture deep into the cavern of longing.

[B]

God, I'm an idiot. I would. I would not have even like registered for me that. That was a sex thing.

[C]

Long the dragon lies ahead. How deep is your resolve?

[A]

Yeah.

[C]

Oh God. It's almost like. What do you want to call it?

[A]

It's a bit literal.

[C]

What are the games called where like climbing a hill or whatever?

[B]

Celeste.

[C]

No.

[B]

Oh, the Bennett Foddy stuff.

[C]

Fadian.

[B]

Yeah.

[C]

Almost the movement sort of. Is it even in. And yeah, she's given sex eyes for sure.

[A]

She's given sex eyes. But you can ignore that. What I think I would say is like, I think it is a genuinely cool mechanic that you need your sword in order to jump and traverse the space. But as your sword gets longer it also becomes a hint hindrance. It gets to a point where it's like this sword is actually so annoying and now I'm stuck. And so it has. It has buttons to reset your character because you will get stuck in an environment with your sword. I found it frustrating and yet enjoyable and it. I just thought maybe it could be like a good blight experience to. To try and get through this game in about 20, 30 minutes. It's very frustrating.

[B]

Wow, that is short. But it is. It's not a demo.

[C]

Right.

[B]

It's fully released. Released.

[A]

It's a game. It's a full game. I just, I feel like it was kind of like a game jam game.

[B]

Gotcha. Okay.

[A]

If that makes sense. But it's. It's a released free to play game. The next one was Big Hops. I think you recommended this for me, Dan. So I did download it and play it and I liked it. I. I haven't beaten it yet. I've started playing Mio and I think that's like now that I've. Now that I've tasted Mio, it's like, okay, this is a different world. But like what you said about Big Hops still true. It's a fun, light hearted platformer. It has. It has some weird physics you can like. It's just a little janky. I die a lot in the stupidest ways that I think the game is like just slightly broken. It is so cute. And colorful and adorable. And I love the mechanics of unlocking locks with my tongue. They're like tiny little puzzles that are like bioshock puzzles, but you use your tongue to crack the code. It's sweet. Have you gone to the part where there's ropes and you use this goo and it. It connects two areas with a rope?

[B]

You must be further than me because I. I don't think I've seen any lock puzzles or anything like that.

[A]

It's. It's a really neat thing that they've done to open the game up. So there's. They've had all these different. I know you've seen them, but they're like mushrooms. They let you jump or they've had this. Doesn't matter. It goes up. And now you have a climbing.

[B]

The binds get.

[A]

Yeah, yeah. And now there's a new one. And it's. It's like a goo ball. And when you. When you throw it, a rope automatically connects to spaces. And so they. They'll throw you in a cavern with absolutely no way to get out and give you a bunch of goo balls. And so I'm making rope nets to climb out. It's kind of cool because you can make them the way you want to. I. I think it's neat. I. I think, like, if I hadn't just played mio, I'd be like, what a great platformer for me to sink my teeth into. But now all I can do is play mio. So if I were to pick a. Pick a platformer, Metroidvania space to be. It would be mio. And then finally, quarantine zone. This is a weird one. I love zombie apocalypses. You guys know that. And I love any type of zombie games. So this is just a weird one where you're in a zombie outbreak, you're in a quarantine zone, and you're the scanner. Your job is to. To scan people and decide whether or not they're zombies as a fantasy. I'm obsessed. I love it. I love the idea. If their eyes are yellow, that's okay, fella. If their eyes are red, they gotta be dead. And so, like, I've made all these little catchphrases to, like, let people in. I, like, decide whether or not if you send them to your death. It's also janky. If you send them to your death, you can follow them and watch them get murdered because you don't tell them. You're just like, you need to go to Section D, bud. And then he goes to Section D and Then he rag dolls and they kill him. There's lots of different devices that you need. And so each. Each day or each section of the game, you progress with different items. At first you're just checking their eyes and their skin. Then you're checking their temperature. Then you can actually find a device that goes under their clothes. There are sections where you're shooting zombies because they get in. They mix it up a lot. I do think it's kind of. It's just in general, I would just say it's just a little jank.

[B]

It's.

[A]

It's obvious that it's really not fully baked. If you like fantasies of a zombie apocalypse and doing like a papers, please situation.

[B]

I was thinking about this. Yeah, yeah.

[A]

You're like deciding people's fate. There's no time limit if you aren't sure. Sometimes the people will be in a gray area. They might be a zombie, but they might be Fine. Fine. You can put them in quarantine and then check on them the next day and see if they've become a zombie, which is cool. But you can only put three people into quarantine, so you have to be thoughtful. If you put someone who's actually sick in the safe area, then they light up your entire space that you have a zombie outbreak and a bunch of people that you saved get sick. If you kill people, that's also not good because you need them. You get more points and more money if you're, like, saving people. So you want to save as many people as possible. I ended up getting really frustrated at a. At a section where I was shooting zombies. I just don't think that that's where this game shines. It's not a. It's not a shooter. It's not intended to be. I don't even know why they added that part of this game. I'm here to scan people and determine whether or not they're sick enough for me to kill them. And I. I don't know. I don't think it's for me, but I. I can appreciate a zombie apocalypse. Apocalypse fantasy game. And that's exactly what this is.

[C]

All right, I think that's everything. Do you guys want to talk about emails?

[B]

Sure.

[C]

Yeah. Okay. As usual, you can Write into firescape castirescapecastmail.com for questions you want read on the show. Got a bunch of new ones since the last episode starting 2026. Off. Off in a strong way. Mary, do you want to read this first one from Thomas.

[A]

Hello, Lovely fire escapees. I picked a Hell of a month to do my first dry January. I've been replacing most of my alcohol intake with kava. Kava is a root tea from the South Pacific that gives you a nice mellow buzz. It's relaxing, not intoxicating. There's no hangover, and you can't have too much. On the flip side, it tastes like mud. It makes your lips and tongue numb, and. And it takes quite a while to prepare if you have to drink a lot of it on an empty stomach because the effects are very slight. It's a hard sell and a tough thing to explain to people who have never tried it. Do you have anything that you do frequently that is hard to explain or hard to sell? Thanks to the podcast Love y'.

[B]

All.

[A]

Joy is an act of resistance. Thomas from North East.

[B]

No, Nordeast. Look at. Look at this.

[A]

Nordeast. Sorry, I was gonna say Northeast. Nordeast, Minneapolis.

[B]

Look what I'm drinking. It's a Nordeast spelled with a D just like that. What a.

[A]

What a confidence for you, Thomas.

[B]

He knows about those. I used to live in Northeast.

[A]

Yeah, man. Much love to you, Thomas. That's a cool. That's a cool setup of, like, stuff that you. That you feel like you struggle to tell. Sell people on. I will say, like, speaking of tongue numbing, it wasn't until recent years, the last five years, I got really into Szechuan peppercorn. Szechuan is a spice that numbs your tongue and it alters flavor profiles so it can make meat more savory.

[B]

Right.

[A]

It can make beer taste like apple juice. It just changes things. And I am so obsessed with Szechuan. And I will crush these bad boys into soups and into different dishes like.

[B]

Nuts or, like, what are they like? You say crush they.

[A]

They look like seeds. Seeds, okay. You should Google it. But they look like a crunchy, dry seed, which I think they are. They look like a peppercorn. How about like an open peppercorn?

[B]

Okay, yeah, same.

[A]

And I keep them at my house specifically, so that if I have hot pot, which I love, it's like one of my favorite meals to make. I cram a bunch of Szechuan in my tongue and rub them all over my tongue until my tummy is tongue is so numb that I can't feel it. Never have guessed. I'm like, you gotta put the drugs on your tongue, directly on the tongue. You gotta mash them in the. Mash the goo in your tongue and then. And then have a sip of beer. It tastes like apple juice. And everyone's like, you're fucking weird. And I can't. I have a hard time convincing people that it's so fun to. To mess with your tongue's flavor profiles and to make things taste more, like, umami or, like, more savory. Everyone thinks I'm a freak. I love Szechuan peppers.

[C]

You know. You know what I do that quite a bit with and changing flavor profiles of food is wine. That's literally what wine and food pairing is. But anyway, I love Szechuan Mary.

[B]

Bring some to New Orleans.

[A]

I love. I will. I'll bring a baggie of them.

[C]

You can't travel with Szechuan.

[A]

You can't.

[B]

No.

[C]

It comes from the prickly ash tree, which is an invasive species in states. It's not allowed, and you have to quarantine it.

[A]

What?

[B]

He's with us. He's.

[A]

He's with me.

[C]

Ash tree.

[B]

But I'm. Yeah, you don't. You can bring.

[C]

But you can't. You can bring it.

[B]

My. I. I will try that. Bring it. Bring it to New Orleans. I'll try some.

[A]

I. I think it's great in a soup. Yeah, go ahead.

[B]

Mine is definitely meditation because it's the thing that's, like, helped me so much for so long with anxiety. And it's like. It's something that, like, even if I don't have, like, a dedicated practice every day, where I'm doing it for 10, 30 minutes a day, and it's just the things I've learned through meditation. I learned, like, just ways of thinking is. It's very much just changed the way I think and the way I deal with certain things.

[C]

And.

[B]

But every time, like, there's a certain type person where it's like, you know, they'll be asking about anxiety or certain things. I'll be like, you know, it would really help you as a meditation. And people will be like, oh, there's no way I could ever do that.

[C]

It's.

[B]

My mind's always going a million different places. There's no way I'd just be able to sit and think about nothing for 15 minutes. And. And it's like, that's the fucking point. It's not about thinking about nothing. It's about recognizing when the thoughts are coming into your head, acknowledging them, and then letting them pass on by. It's. And then, like, if somebody will even try it. It's always the same thing with certain types of people where it's like, I just kept having. I just kept Having different thoughts and stuff. I couldn't just, like, clear my mind. It's not about clearing your mind. It's not. That's not what it is. There's just so many, like, misconceptions about it, and everyone thinks they're bad at it when it's like, that is the fucking practice. Practice. It's like, I've meditated for over 20 years. I sit down to do it. I am still, like, sitting there thinking, like, oh, I gotta respond to that email. And it's like, wait, nope, nope. The practice is acknowledging I had that thought. Let it pass on by, back to the breath, back to the body scan, whatever I'm doing. That is the practice. That is doing a rep. That is doing a bicep curl. That is like, you're not just sitting there with a clear mind for, you know, 30 minutes on a pillow. Like, that's not what it is. So it is just like, if I can even get someone to try it, it's like. Like they still think, like, I'm bad at it. I could never do this. Well, that's just. That's. It's a practice. Something you got to work on and you will get better at it and you will see the results and not that much time if you give it a shot. But a lot of people just.

[A]

What do you do in it, though?

[B]

What do you mean?

[A]

How do you do? You win.

[B]

I see what you're doing. This. Oh, I was not a game.

[C]

I was Dungeons and Dragons. Just. We both were on the same page.

[A]

Mike and I are the same. Same brain.

[C]

Yeah, nice one. I had high five. I meditated quite a bit on the West Coast. I fell out of practice. But, yeah, like, I know exactly what you mean. It is like a muscle you need to work out and maintain. Otherwise it atrophies. But I. If I was to meditate tomorrow morning, I would suck.

[B]

Yeah.

[C]

Everything flying through my head would linger there, and then I'd think I would push away. And then it'd be like, yeah, but, like, I would be better at it. It in three weeks.

[B]

If I do it consistently, it's because I meditate. Is why I can. Like, if I'm in a dentist chair, something that I used to not be able to like, I would just avoid the dentist like the plague. And I still don't like it. No one likes it. But I can go in now and if it's like, they're kind of just, like, doing something or drilling into something or whatever, and, like, I'm tensing up and I'm like, oh God, it's going to hurt. Really? Like, I will acknowledge that. Like, oh, I'm having that thought that I'm anticipating pain, but that's just the thought that's not reality. And I'll kind of let that go and I'll focus on my breath and I'm able to just kind of like lay, like I can, can feel the tension just leave every muscle in my body as I incorporate these things I've learned through meditation. Like, it is a tremendous skill to have.

[A]

That's great, Dan. That's like such a powerful skill. And there's pieces in that that everybody probably does relate to. There are so many studies that show that naming a feeling helps alleviate it. So if there is a spider in a room and everybody's like, like measuring how afraid people are of the spider, but then you ask everyone in the room, how are you feeling right now? And they say, oh, I'm afraid because of the spider, they're less afraid. Like, naming the feeling helps you process the feeling. It's like basic psychology. But those are things that you're learning and practicing and it's your own head through your practice.

[B]

Yeah, thoughts and feelings, wonderful thoughts and feelings aren't reality. You know, like, they can be scary and everything. But like, as soon as you realize, like, oh, this is just a thought this is in my head, this is, that's not reality necessarily. And like things you can learn through.

[A]

That, you know, you are right to be afraid of pain. Pain.

[B]

I don't like pain.

[A]

I'll come out and say, I don't like pain either. I feel like that is a fair fight or flight response to me. Like I, I'm also anxious in the, so many people are anxious in the dentist chair. It's such a miserable experience. But like, what I don't like, like, is the high pitched noise. I don't, I just don't like that in my head. Yeah, yeah, I don't want it in there. And so like, obviously I wouldn't like the pain either. But the thing that I, I, I would struggle with meditation in that situation is that there's a high pitched noise that's so distracting to me.

[B]

But it's a little different because, like, I'm not technically like meditating when I'm in the dentist chair. I'm saying I'm, I'm taking, I'm taking the things I've learned through meditation, the ability to not attach myself to thoughts. And so through my meditation practice when I'm in a situation like That I can have that thought where I'm really tense. Oh, this is about to hurt. And I can be like, wait, no, that's just a thought. And I can just let it go. Let it just float on down the river there. And I can just feel my body.

[A]

Relax because, like, there's, That's a good practice.

[C]

It's great.

[A]

I miss. I'd be fun, though, if you were like, I'm gone. They're drilling you and you're like, little. Your little cloud body actually disappears.

[B]

Astral project out of the chair.

[A]

Yeah, you just get the fuck out of there. You're in a Taco Bell while they're drilling you.

[C]

Your insurance was rejected.

[B]

Fire sauce all over my meditation pillow.

[A]

You're ordering. You're ordering a quesadilla.

[C]

Yeah, I think mine. I mean, I don't think I would. I'm preaching to the choir here with you two. Especially after last episode when Dan was realizing he actually really likes horror movies. But I think horror in general as a broad genre, the people who get it, get it. And I realize it's probably bigger than ever now, but, like, I like reading horror, I like playing horror games. I like watching horror movies. And a lot of people are always like, why do you. The people who don't get it often are like, why do you like being scared? I'm like, because it's in a safe environment. And also it's cathartic. And it's like, there's a power in projecting these very primal emotions onto other characters in their situations. Especially, like, but they're like, but the, but like, the world is right now, isn't it? Like, don't you want to watch, like, some like a rom com or something? It's like, no. Like, there is a way of processing emotions by watching these in a very powerful way. It almost is, like, therapeutic in its own, its own regard. But also, I just, I don't know. I'm drawn quite heavily to, like, dark stories because then I, I, I find the characters more compelling when they're in these situations.

[B]

Well, yeah, you mentioned, like, scary things in safe environments. That's the same thing where it's like, you know, I love roller coasters. And there's so many people that are like, oh, why would he. Like, I don't understand. Like, it's so scary and it's like, well, yeah, I mean, that's the thing. You get to experience this adrenaline and this feeling of your brain being like, this is dangerous. But, you know, you've got that far there, you know, you're not going to die. You know, it's like that's the appeal is like danger, but you know, you're actually sad, safe.

[C]

Yeah, but that's. I. That's not as hard of. As much of a hard sell these days. But that's probably the one. Like I do get detractors. I'm like, hey, I'm not saying it's for you. I'm just saying, sure, sure. I think you have a simplistic take on why I like it. And here's why. The deeper reason I like it, I.

[A]

Think that that's really cool that I mean, hopefully you can convince a couple people. That's like the number one reason is people like, why would you be stressed after a stressful day of work? And I was like, because if you are watching someone get hacked to death, then who cares that that email wasn't very smart. Who cares about all of your worldly issues? Yeah, all that shit is gone. When you watch a horror movie, you're.

[C]

Not trapped in a house. They're not going to do the coagula to you. To an elderly person, you're fine. Some people are fine. Well, thank you, Thomas. Dan, you want to do this one from Lucas?

[B]

Yes. Escapees. There's always been a fair amount of food talk on this pod, but I'm wondering what fast food is a bridge too far. I'd assume Mike is nearly everything and Dan is probably nothing and Mary might be somewhere in between. For myself, it's Arby's. I blame the Simpsons in the talk of throwing raccoons over the fence and letting Arby's worry about it. Also, their sandwiches make me uncomfortable for a reason I've never been able to put my finger on. Love, Lucas. Lucas.

[C]

Arby's is.

[A]

His assumption of the three of us is interesting, don't you think? Is it accurate?

[C]

No. I mean I don't. I don't think everything's too far. I eat fast food.

[A]

People assume like I'm probably have a low, low tolerance.

[C]

I definitely eat it very rarely, but.

[B]

I've never seen you turn your nose up at it. Like that's the thing I always say. But for all we give you for being like high futin and stuff, like you've never been one to. To like turn your nose on.

[C]

One of my favorite wine food pairings is Popeye's chicken sandwich and champagne.

[B]

We did that when you came here and it was fun. It was great.

[C]

Or pepperoni pizza and cabernet franc. Like, I love high, low pairings. But speaking of Arby's, really quick. And this kind of touches on Luke's question. I never really loved Arby's, and I never fully understood Arby's, and I never understood how it got so big. Like, I feel like their whole very specific thing was the roast beef sandwich. And I've had a few of them and they're good. But I grew up in Liverpool, New York, on Route 57. There was a Arby's and a Taco Bell right next to each other. Like, literally there was a curb dividing their drive throughs. So when my parents just wanted to get fast food for the night because they didn't want to make food for my mom specifically didn't want to make food for five kids, they'd say, hey, we're doing Taco Bell slash Arby's. Let us know what you want. I would always do Taco Bell. I had like two siblings who sometimes went with Arby's, but I always was a bit uncomfortable with the Arby's sandwich.

[B]

The basic roast beef.

[C]

Yeah, it was just such a weird thing that people go out of their way to buy. And this was like, huge nationwide chain.

[A]

Is it because the hype. The hype, like, altered you. Like, why is everybody love this roast beef sandwich?

[C]

Sort of like the sandwich just didn't look appetizing. And I don't know if I was clairvoyant because I hadn't seen these at the age of nine. But looking back, it just looks like a stack of, like, labia on a sandwich. And I never really got how that was.

[B]

I don't know.

[C]

I didn't want.

[A]

Oh, my God, I'm gay.

[B]

Hotter. Yeah.

[C]

Mike gets it. But I, I never, I don't know. I don't know how Arby's got so big on, like, such specific things, but, like, like, they got the good.

[B]

They're the roast beef people. That's, I mean, no one else did the roast beef and they still don't really, you know, no one really messes with them.

[A]

No, nobody does roast beef like that.

[C]

So such a specific thing. No, but I don't think there's any, like, bridge too far for me. I don't know if we're talking, like, health or just like, gross or, hey.

[B]

I took it as like, or like below you or something. Like, I, I, I guess they're right in saying that. Like, I, there's nothing I would like, say. Absolutely not at. I will say I've never liked Burger King. And like, I think the only time I would Have Burger King is if like it's the only option. Like if you're on a road trip and it's just like, oh fuck, we haven't had food in a while. Just whatever the next thing is. Oh fuck. It's okay.

[C]

It is the lesser of the big three burger fast food.

[B]

I think it sucks. I think, yeah, McDonald's is, is the standard. I think Wendy's is like a step up, you know, like.

[A]

Yeah. Never frozen.

[B]

Yeah, Wendy's. Yeah. Yeah.

[C]

We're actually my favorite.

[B]

I'm very excited about this. So Bonk and I, we got sponsor ship on. Oh yeah, yeah, we did the Wendy's. Yeah, that was great. Bach and I for the last few years have done. For Valentine's Day we've done this like really fancy like prefix, like very fine dining, James Beard award winning thing, you know, like it. It's great. But we're about to be on a vacation where we're gonna have a lot of like fancy meals and stuff like that. So it's like, ah, we don't want to like get back from vacation and then like, you know, just do another one of those, you know, it's gonna. Whatever. So we're doing the fancy. Yeah. So we're doing the White Castle thing where.

[A]

What's the. Oh my God. Where you could. There's select locations that are doing Valentine's Day at White Castle.

[B]

I don't even know how selected is. Like there were a bunch around here that do and you have to make reservations. And like I've always heard about this. You make reservations and they like do a whole thing where they have waiters come to your like thing like at the White Castle and they have like a special menu and things like that. So we're going to go to Applebee's for cocktails beforehand and then we got reservations at White Castle for Valentine's Day. I think it's going to be awesome. So really looking forward to it.

[C]

Yeah. I'm not above the thing. I am above. I will say if I'm in a city I'm new to or just a. Like if I'm somewhere away from home or even home and I have the option between like a local small business and I'm not just trying to posture here, here and a chain. I will do my utmost. I will, to the best of my abilities, do the local thing or like if I went. When we go to Minneapolis, it's not like I'm like, we gotta go to fucking. And to be clear, I. I could crush Applebee's And Chili's. Chili's is a national treasure. I will still. It is a bridge too far to me. If I see like, a Chili's next to like a. I don't know, like, Minneapolis has a lot of good, like, pho. I will do the pho every single time. And I'd like, if I. I would feel genuinely bad and it would be a bitch too far if I went to the chain.

[B]

Sure.

[C]

Over that.

[A]

I think that's fair. I do the same thing. I really avoid Starbucks like the plague. I. There's got to be a local coffee shop that's going to taste so good, and I just prefer to support, like, that whatever that little business is way more than the Starbucks. Like, I'll drink Starbucks. It's not like I won't drink Starbucks, but like, like, I just don't want to drink a Starbucks. I would rather drink.

[C]

I also don't think coffee's good.

[B]

I will like, this is not the same as, like, massive conglomerate versus mom and pop, but like, around here, it's like, yeah, Starbucks is everywhere. But also Caribou Coffee is a local chain around here and it's.

[C]

I love caribou. I bring back a bit every. After every game of the year.

[B]

Yeah, it's very similar to Starbucks and they're everywhere here. But it's like. And like, I don't, like, have a super strong feeling about this coffee versus that coffee. But like, if there's a caribou in Starbucks and next to each other here, I'm going to do Caribou. It's not a tiny little mom and pop. It's a chain, but it's a Minnesota chain, you know?

[C]

Oh, yeah. When I go to San Francisco, it's like, yeah, ideally I'll go to Phil's for coffee, but I'm also not above Pete's. Like, I'm fine there.

[A]

I like Pete's. I like those, too. Those are both good, but I think those are both better than, like, ultimate chains that are, like, everywhere the same things and have harmed their workers. And now there's protests even.

[C]

Putting. Even. Putting principles aside, I don't think Starbucks makes. Makes good coffee.

[A]

Yeah, you don't need workers or people. It's all about the coffee taste. Yeah, I want that coffee good.

[C]

Robots can make my coffee. It's got to taste good. I don't give a. About the employee. No, I'm just joking.

[B]

That goes to, like, beer and liquor and stuff, too. It's like, you know, I just showed you. We got an email from Nordeus Minneapolis. It's literally. I'm drinking grain belt right now.

[C]

Like, I. I think that's a.

[A]

What a local. What a local, bro, you are.

[B]

You know, there's local distilleries and stuff like that. Udapils. Not even. Like, it's not even a tasting. I don't have the palate necessarily for, like. I couldn't tell you the difference necessarily between a Nordeast and some chain beer. Chains. Not the word, but, you know, like a big national brand. I just. I don't know. I'm going to buy a beer. This is my home. I'd like to buy a local one, you know?

[C]

Yeah, don't fucking drink Camus or the Prisoner. You could spend less money on better wine from smaller producers who are breaking their backs to make better wine, you fuckos.

[A]

I could. Like.

[C]

There are people in the video game industry, developers of games that I love, who are like, oh, my God, I love Cayman. So I'm like, okay, if you like it, then like it. But also, don't act like it's this cool little niche thing. It's. That is the, like, fucking McDonald's of Napa cab. I'm venting about something very specifically.

[A]

How much is it? Is it expensive?

[C]

Like, 60 bucks for their entry level wine. And you're spent. You could spend less money. Oh, it's so annoying to me.

[B]

Oh, you know. You know who else I know likes to drink locally? It's. It's Mike Minati.

[A]

I'm getting fucking ass blasted at Epcot. He's just doing stupid.

[C]

Is that the one you meant to press?

[A]

Yeah, yeah. They're all the same local place.

[C]

And that's where he gets asked, did I send you? We're getting a. We might be getting Rainforest Cafe in my neighborhood.

[B]

Oh, God, he'll be there.

[C]

It used to be this fucking. Oh, speaking of a bridge too far. I'm so fucking happy. The place that shut down and technically was a local business, but, like, they lost their soul. They would sell $1,000 version of their buffalo wings with quote unquote, gold flakes on them as this, like, Instagram flex, and they shut down and off with that stupid shit. Go be a plague somewhere else. I don't want you here. We're getting a Rainforest Cafe. Which is true.

[A]

That they're gonna have. They're gonna have gold flakes.

[B]

Wait, wait, wait, wait. Rainforest Cafe. Does he have any? Jacked off in a Rainforest Cafe. Right, Right.

[C]

I'm gonna. I'm gonna show my gut by actually doing it. And then he Then he, then I have it on him.

[B]

I think that's a good idea.

[C]

Yeah. I'll never be allowed back, and I do that.

[B]

Yeah. Yeah.

[A]

The, going back to the, the question, I just want to say, like, one of the things that I felt like became kind of notorious and people still, still message me about it is my hatred of Skyline Chile. And that is my bridge too far. And I will, I won't eat that. I think it's disgusting. And I don't want noodles with chili.

[B]

And.

[A]

Weird amounts of cheese on it. The other one that I would always say is the seafood sub from Subway.

[B]

That is gross.

[A]

Oh, it's gross. I used to work there. It was my first job, so I used to make it. And it is a vat of mayonnaise and a baggie of seafood. And I, I truly think that it is manufactured seafood. Like, I, I don't think it's actual real fish or anything. It's just particles from the sea.

[C]

Yeah, I don't want that. I will say, actually breach too far for me is Chicken McNuggets. I don't like them at all.

[B]

Go. You can go to hell.

[C]

I find. And that's not, I don't care what they're made of or what they're not made of. I actually leaf when I bite into them. It's gross to me. It tastes like glue inside of, like, that's been fried. I don't care. I'm up for eating things that aren't actually chicken. I don't like McNuggets. Wendy's Chicken Nuggets. I will boof. Day in and day out. I love that shit. I love Wendy's Nuggets.

[A]

Specifically McNuggets.

[C]

I don't like McNuggets.

[B]

Standard bearer.

[C]

Standard bearer of like, I need something in my stomach, so I'm going to shove this fucking dog food into me.

[B]

This is a man with no soul.

[C]

Yeah, right. Dude, I, Dude, I used to get Wendy's chili when I was hungover. I, I will. I'm not above fast food on principle, but Chicken McNuggets are like, if you're if with for to people with actual pallets.

[B]

Oh, here we go.

[C]

Look at me. They're the, they're the lowest rung on the fast cuisine ladder. I hate them.

[B]

Wait, McDonald's isn't fast. Was. Wait, Oh, I thought you were saying fast cash. Visual. Okay, sorry. They're straight up fast food. All right.

[C]

Correct. I know, but like, I, I will.

[B]

Say they, they went down.

[C]

I, I, I still sometimes like crave Big Macs.

[B]

I've had one Big Mac in my life. I. I love that.

[A]

Really?

[B]

Yeah. Yeah. I was always.

[A]

What's your standard McDonald's order?

[C]

It's a plain Sean pen. I love them.

[B]

The plain quarter pounder and cheese. Biggest fry you got. Fat 10 piece nugget, barbecue sauce and ranch Diet Coke.

[C]

Okay.

[A]

Wow.

[C]

Everything except for the nuggets.

[A]

Yeah.

[C]

Or tenders. Whatever.

[A]

Mind the nuggets. But I'm a. I'm a dollar menu girl, so it's. It's double. Double burger. What is it called? The McDouble specific double cheeseburger.

[B]

Wait, is McDouble.

[A]

Double cheeseburger isn't on the dollar menu. McDouble is double. The McDouble is two patties, one cheese. A double cheeseburger is not on the dollar menu.

[B]

I need a double cheese.

[A]

I understand, but it's not. I'm a. Then you're spending lots of money.

[C]

Lots of damn money bags over here.

[B]

Yeah. Double cheese. Who cares?

[A]

Slap another cheese on there. And then the McChicken Ale. The lo.

[B]

That I get for free.

[A]

Yeah. That he's. That he begged for. Please, please tell me what you want me to.

[B]

It works.

[C]

I get here and I get done. No. Yeah. There's not really like a bridge too far though, for me.

[A]

Sounds like there is. And it's the McNugget.

[B]

They went down.

[C]

Just don't like. That's not a principal thing. I definitely would not eat. That seafood conglomerate you just mentioned, they.

[B]

Used to have dark meat in the nuggets and they stopped that like 15 years ago. And that has been a hit in quality. I miss those. But they're still great.

[C]

Yeah.

[A]

I really preferred when it was just the innards and the. The holes of the chicken.

[B]

When I eat nuggets I like. Literally. It's not even like crossing my mind that it used to be a chicken.

[C]

No, I'm. Again, I'm not saying that I do. I. I'm well aware that like Wendy's and Burger King, all these places, there's a lot of artificial shit in there. I'm not saying I dislike McNuggets because they're not actually chicken, but I eat a lot of, like, General. No, no, no, no, no. General tso's is a lot of.

[B]

No, no, no, no, I'm not.

[C]

More.

[B]

It's stupid, Mary. I'm stupid because, like, I will eat a boneless, skinless chicken breast and it won't register to me that that's actually used to be a chicken.

[C]

Like, unless I. I think we all do that to some extent, to kind of like, to make it more mentally palatable. Palatable that we are eating an animal.

[A]

It's hard.

[C]

I eat a lot of chicken, but.

[A]

It'S so manufactured in the nugget, like, Right. You don't even see the, this, the, the, like, meat line because I think it's getting ground up into dust.

[C]

I'm well aware it's not real beef in the crunchwraps, and I fucking love crunchwraps.

[B]

I'm.

[C]

It has nothing to do with the provenance of the meat. I just don't find the texture or the taste of McNuggets good.

[B]

You say you have a palate.

[C]

Yeah, maybe I don't. Maybe I'm just misleading myself with my chinons and my Rieslings. Like, I don't. Maybe I don't know what the fuck.

[B]

I like when you do your own voice to mock yourself about the wine stuff.

[C]

Oh, this off dry Riesling from the Tsar.

[B]

That'd be great. Please. What do you turn into a Dracula?

[C]

I don't know. Becoming weirder the more I talk. All right, well, thank you, Lucas. Hello, Daniel, Mary and Michael. What is the best nickname? Oh, I get it. What is the best nickname you've ever encountered? I work with a bloke name nicknamed Pothole because everyone tries to avoid him. That is. Lots of love, Simon from Perth, Australia.

[B]

I, I. There's a night in college, we got back to the dorms after the bars, and we were all, like, completely shithammered and just, like, sitting around the lobby. And I was with a guy named Ben and a guy named Brian. And Brian, for some reason, he was drunk enough to think it was funny to keep me. Like, oh, Ben. Ben the hen. Bend the hen. And he just wouldn't stop saying, Ben the hen, Ben. And Ben was getting annoyed. He's like, God, I wish your name rhymed with something like stupid. Like, I wish your name was, like, Linus. And we started calling him Linus. And it stuck so hard that in future years, I knew this guy all through college. People didn't even know his name was Brian.

[C]

Yeah.

[B]

His dad would come to visit and call him Linus. Like, oh, my God. Stuck. So this guy was.

[A]

That's funny.

[B]

That's Lena.

[C]

Yeah, that's. That's the dad thing's crazy. I was gonna say, I feel like it's the mark of a good nickname that people. You actually have to either rack your brain or truly forget what their name is.

[B]

Yeah. People would meet him and be like, linus What? Where's that from? I've never heard that name. And it's like. No, it's just because it rhymed with penis.

[C]

Yeah. My good friend here. I don't actually use this, like, it's more of a joke nickname that we use in, like, text chats. Not to each other's face, but, like, I think you guys both met him at one point.

[B]

Another.

[C]

He's my Australian friend, so we. And he's from outside Sydney in the suburbs, so we call him Bogan sometimes. But that's not, like, an actual, like, one I use regularly. I can't even remember the last time I had, like, a truly good. We had. We. We had a friend growing up when we were young. His name was Eamon. Like, E, A M, O, N, N. I believe it was Irish, something like that. Which is a cool name now that he's older, he goes by that. But I remember he was short for our friend group and I think just in general. And I remember people started calling him Pooch and, like, the whole high school started. And I don't. I don't think he didn't dislike it. Like, he embraced it. But I remember at one point, I also. I, like, forgot what his first name was for a few days until someone had to remind me.

[B]

Me.

[C]

Pooch is all right.

[A]

Pooch isn't. Isn't too bad.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Have nicknames.

[B]

My stepdad's name was Dan, and so I called him Big Dan and he called me Junior. So he would call me Junior.

[A]

A Junior. That's cute. My dad called me maybe.

[C]

Yeah. I go. Some of the. My dad and my. Some of my uncles still call me maybe, like the Irish family. But my sister, still, to this day, I believe it's from the Goonies. She still calls me Chunk. Like, I don't know how. I forget how it started. Oh, he does the dance in the movie with his stomach. And when I was.

[A]

The Truffle Shuffle.

[B]

Come on.

[C]

The Truffle Shuffle? Yeah.

[A]

What do you mean? You haven't seen the Goonies, Dan?

[B]

I have not.

[C]

Interesting. That seems like a movie you would have seen.

[A]

It's transformative.

[B]

But I remember thinking. I used to always think it was, like, a Gremlins thing. And I was like, oh, I like Gremlins because it sounds like Gremlins. And then I would, like, see the COVID of the vhs and I'd be like, it seems about kids I don't like. And I just wouldn't want it.

[A]

It's better. It's better than the Gremlins. It's such a good story.

[C]

Yeah, you gotta watch. Watch both of them and then compare.

[B]

Okay.

[C]

Okay.

[A]

Yeah. I'd really like to see on your.

[B]

Bracket what I think Gremlins 2, the new badge, is gonna be just about anything.

[A]

I don't think that's. I mean, now we're talking. We're back to palettes. Are we.

[B]

Got our own Gremlins.

[A]

My favorite evening is some chicken nuggets and Gremlins too.

[B]

That sounds like a dream.

[C]

That sounds like half of it.

[B]

Sounds like something I've done many times in my life.

[A]

Regular Tuesday.

[C]

God. Not to get off topic. Well, I mean, I guess we do that sometimes, but the first. The only time I've ever seen Gremlins too, was I had a. I remember I had a train from here up to Syracuse, and Dan was still living in New York. This was before I moved back and I was visiting from San Francisco and I went. Hung out with Dan and Bianca and then Bianca had gone to bed and it was probably by this point, 1am and my train was at 6am out of Penn Station that next morning or later that morning. So instead of getting any sleep at all, Dan's like, you could just, like, stay up and watch Gremlins 2.

[A]

I have a great idea.

[C]

Like, you start heading down to the tr. I'm like, okay, sounds great. Of course, I keep drinking while I'm watching Gremlins 2. So it's by the time the movie.

[A]

Can't watch that movie sober by the.

[C]

Time the movie ends and I'm just like, still blown back into my seat from the awesomeness I just saw. I'm hammered. And I have to get down to Penn Station to get on a train and get upstate.

[B]

Did we also watch Rocky 4 that night?

[C]

We watched Rocky. Rocky 4. Oh, that's what it was. We watched Gremlins.

[A]

What was the order?

[C]

And then I was like, okay, well, my train's in like four hours. And you're like. Like, let's. You could just watch Rocky Ford.

[B]

I was like, all right. Gremlins 2, Rocky 4 train.

[C]

And before Gremlins 2, we had watched John Travolta as John Gotti.

[B]

Oh, God, that was that.

[C]

Oh, we watched Gotti. Recorded your podcast.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

And then we kind of like, hell trifecta.

[B]

Yeah, a good time here.

[C]

Fun. Well, Gotti was. Aw. Gotti was tough to watch.

[B]

I've watched it again since then. It's unbelievably bad. Bad.

[C]

Why?

[B]

Well, I just did like a stream watch along of it.

[C]

Oh, yeah, Interesting.

[B]

I had to show back. I like. I like making people watch insane movies. And stream is a good way to do that.

[C]

We got. Oh, we wait. We got a recommendation of a movie in the emails. I don't know if I could find it quick enough where there won't be a bunch of dead on horror. Maybe horror movies. Yes. Yes. Simon said. Mary. If you haven't seen Influencers. No, no, no, sorry. Different. What is it?

[A]

You read.

[C]

You read.

[A]

I'm gonna say something. Dan. I think this was last episode you told me to watch. Annette.

[B]

Yes.

[A]

Here are my messages to Dan in real time.

[B]

Yes.

[A]

Mary. Starting Annette. I have been told not to fart. Dan. Hell yes. Mary. Oh, is this a musical? Dan.

[B]

Ha ha ha ha ha ha.

[A]

Who can say? Mary. It can't be this the whole time. Mary. They keep singing. Dan. I'm so happy for you. Mary Is the joke that you convinced me to watch this? Dan. No, I've watched this seven times. It was around that time that I turned this off.

[B]

Okay. I was gonna say the text stopped at a certain point. Did you even.

[A]

I can't get through this.

[B]

I'm telling you, it's. You gotta keep going, going.

[A]

No, you.

[B]

I'm telling. It goes places.

[A]

It's miserable.

[B]

I. It was when I watched it the first time. I thought it was the worst movie I've ever seen. Then Bon and I kept looking at each other and like we'd pause to go to the bathroom and be like, oh, we're not going to be able to make it through the rest of this. We've been there, Mary. We've been where you are.

[A]

Torture. It's torture. It was 20 minutes of torture.

[B]

You haven't even gotten to the baby. Mary, Mary, Mary, Mary, Mary. Promise me.

[A]

No.

[B]

Maybe tonight. You did 20 minutes last week. We do this 20 minutes at a time. It's. I'm telling you.

[A]

Horrible. I hated it.

[B]

I never said it was like, great or you're gonna love it. I'm saying you need to watch it.

[A]

I think you're with me and you like enjoying how miserable I am. I don't want to watch it.

[B]

I'm not with you. Do another 20. 20 at a time.

[A]

I don't want to.

[C]

It's.

[B]

I thought so too. I thought so too.

[A]

I don't like it.

[B]

What? Give me another 20 tonight and text me your thoughts.

[C]

I have a movie recommendation from Brian from Portland. He said, I think Mary and Mike would like it as well. It's a horror movie recommendation for Dan. I think Mike and Mary would like it. As well. It's called the monkey from 2025.

[B]

Oh, I've heard about that.

[C]

The whole thing is people dying in hilarious ways.

[A]

Ways it is. It's kind of like a Final Destination.

[C]

But like zero seriousness. According.

[A]

According to Brian, it's zero serious seriousness. And I would also add zero brain cells because, like in Final Destination they will like, allude to what might happen. You know, like, you might see it in the reflection of a window and you'd be like, oh, my gosh, like, it's gonna be the sign. It's gonna fall. And then the sign falls and it starts like a rube. Rube Goldberg machine of death that like cascades into their death. And it's like this interesting sequence. The monkey is like. It's nonsense. It's so stupid. I do. I will. I will admit with the. With this person, like, it's good old fashioned death fun. But the whole time when I was watching it, I was like, this is. This is such a silly way to die where like nothing makes sense. If someone's in a pool and you'll be like, oh, this person's gonna get like electrocuted or something. Something. Something so stupid unnecessarily will also happen to them just because they're like. They're like actually like, you know, someone's going to come in and stab them at the end. And it's just like you. Like nothing makes sense in this movie. It's. It's a. It's a total joke of a film. But it is very fun to watch people die.

[B]

And you got time for all these joke movies, but not cinema.

[A]

That movie is garbage, Mike. Have you seen it?

[C]

Yeah.

[B]

Do you think. You think future Keep going going.

[C]

Yes. I liked it. That it was weird.

[B]

Liar. We're not with you.

[C]

I like, like, I like it more the next day after it was done and I was thinking more about it.

[B]

Yeah, no, it stays in your head a bit.

[A]

Like, you're both liars. You're both with me.

[B]

We're not.

[A]

Shut up.

[B]

It went from a half star letterbox to like four go to hell.

[C]

In his defense, he did talk about it like a year ago on the show before. So like. And this is this still trash.

[A]

It's a musical that makes no sense.

[B]

Give it. You haven't even got to the baby.

[A]

They keep singing how they're feeling.

[C]

I hate it.

[B]

I know. Give me another 20.

[A]

No.

[C]

Oh, I thought of one more nickname when I was young. There's a kid in my friend's neighborhood who was like the. His family had moved there from, I don't remember, like Florida or somewhere. And they, they had a lot of money and he was like immediately looking down on us for not. And so we didn't. So I don't feel bad about this, but his name was Ama Verdi and we, my friend came up with it and we started calling him I'm a virgin and just kind of clever.

[B]

That's really clever.

[C]

He was just an elitist dick. 14 year old, like was being like an elitist prick about having more money than then everybody's. I can't stand living here. Like my old neighborhood had a gate and security. I was like, oh my God. My friend was brilliant for I still don't even remember. Like I forgot what his real name was for a bit. But that one was good. Thank you for writing in tonight. Lucas, Thomas and Simon. That's our Show. It's fire escapecastmail.com, keep them coming. Stock us up for 2026. We might be reading them. Yeah. So if you're not a patron, you can go get ad free versions of our audio episodes. You can get the video versions as well at a certain tier. You can also get access to our bonus videos, which we do when we can. A lot of co op videos we have there, some of them with our producer J. Jake. You can also go get [e-mail] deepdishpussy.com, we'll bring you to our Patreon page if you want to subscribe through there. That's always a fun, roundabout way to do it. We have a show with nextlander called Mike and Vinnie Save the World. You'll get access to that as well. Vinnie Caravella from nextlander, who many of you know and if you don't, you should. We play through a co op campaign of Total War Warhammer III. I believe we're on episode 18 for that and that's bi weekly. It's in our off weeks when we don't have a new full episode of the show. And then you can also go become a patron for nextlander if you're not already where we're doing an evil campaign for them, but also co op between Vinnie and I. And that's similarly on about episode 18 or 20 or something like that. We'll have a new one. Or rather nextlander will have a new episode on theirs this week if you're listening to this when it's out. And then we'll have one next week. Dan, what do you have going on.

[B]

In the meantime, giantbomb.com, a lot of fun stuff going on over there. We got some new stuff we'll be announced in the near future. Blight Club is continuing to kill it. Bombcast, all that. All the usual. Just follow giantbomb on socials and YouTube.

[C]

Mary, what about you?

[A]

I'm streaming every Monday on Twitch and posting silly videos of my dog on Instagram. That's my entire existence.

[C]

Sweet. I'm here.

[A]

I also exist.

[C]

Yep. Yeah, we'll be back in two weeks with episode 126. Until then, hopefully everybody shovels digs out of the snow if you've been affected, which is like 2/3 of the country. So odds are you have. And we will see you a couple weeks. Bye.

[A]

Bye.