Episode 24: But I don’t like candy corn
*whimsical halloween music plays*
Chase: Welcome to Neurotakes! I'm Chase.
Courn: This is Courn.
Chase: Let's get into it!
Courn: OooooOooooh! *laughs*
Chase: *in ghostly voice* Let's get into it!
Courn: *in ghostly voice* Let's get into it!
Chase: See, it wasn't that hard, the intro's easy.
Courn: Yeah, I did wanna ask you, what's your favorite Halloween movie? Do you have one?
Chase: I don't have one.
Courn: I know you grew up in a cult, so.
Chase: I don't have one, so that's the boring answer, but I don't even know of any Halloween movies.
Courn: There's so many.
Chase: Okay, hit me, what a couple.
Courn: I guess it depends like kids genre.
Chase: Sure.
Courn: Like I feel like people think of like, you know, Nightmare Before Christmas.
Chase: That's a Halloween movie?
Courn: Yeah, and it's a Christmas movie.
Chase: What?!
Courn: Have you never watched that? Well, it's problematic and Tim Burton sucks.
Chase: Okay. Yeah. Okay.
Courn: It is. I mean, he's a skeleton. He's in Halloween town.
Chase: Okay.
Courn: There’s the Halloween town franchise. Oh, twitches?
Chase: I feel like I watched Wizards of Waverly Place that's probably about as halloween.
Courn: They have like a Halloween episode, so.
Chase: I mean, I had to sneak around and watch that even. Like my parents didn't like me watching that too much. I was not allowed to watch Harry Potter. Yeah, that's not Halloween.
Courn: But it’s adjacent!
Chase: Yeah, witch adjacent, wizards? I got no Halloween, no favorites.
Courn: Hotel Transylvania, I know that one's later, but I really like that.
Chase: Never seen it! We gotta get together and watch some movies, dude.
Courn: I know, have you seen like Coraline?
Chase: No.
Courn: Frankenweenie?
Chase: No.
Courn: Monster House.
Chase: No.
Courn: Okay, we gotta watch those. Most of those are like, there's a bunch of like, they're all from Laika, a lot of those movies.
Chase: Which we like?
Courn: And that's nearby.
Chase: Yeah, I would say local. The guy at my church, he used to work there. I don't know if he still does.
Courn: Too bad they rip off their artists, but-
Chase: Oh, is that, yeah?
Courn: Yeah. But they make really cute claymation animation.
Chase: It's really impressive that they're still like, claymation made, like that style.
Courn: Mm -hmm. I don't think I really had like a favorite Halloween movie growing up cuz I didn't really like the Halloween movies that much. They always were like very on -the -nose like oh, he's a pumpkin man, you know, like he's a vampire. The house is scary. I like actual scary movies. Yeah, that's kind of a hot take if that's like Halloween?
Chase: Yeah, could Shutter Island be a scary movie? Can that be a favorite? I like that one. It came out.
Courn: Yeah, yeah yeah! I think any horror movie, like there's obviously the Halloween franchise. There's a lot of horror movies that I feel like are very like, they always have releases in October and stuff and they're actually based around Halloween and stuff. But yeah, I love horror.
Chase: Okay. So are those some of your favorites? Do you have some favorites?
Courn: I do.
Chase: Did you just list them or is it a separate list?
Courn: No, that's a separate list. That's like kids movies, which I feel like is different. I hate having to list scary movies I like because I feel like I have a wide range of horror watching habits, I watch anything and everything. I watch a lot of body horror too, and that's like a hot.
Chase: Rocky Horror Picture Movie?
Courn: Yeah.
Chase: Picture show.
Courn: Yeah.
Chase: Is that a Halloween movie? I've never seen it.
Courn: Yeah, I think. Yeah, it's Halloween adjacent.
Chase: Adjacent.
Courn: Yeah.
Chase: Okay.
Courn: Oh, people like Beetlejuice. I didn’t really watch that.
Chase: Yeah, I never saw it.
Courn: Winona Ryder is kind of cute in it, so.
Chase: Okay. Winona Ryder’s cute.
Courn: Yeah, yeah, yeah. I like traditional scary movies. Like, I like a lot of A24 movies, which is very left of me, but I like hereditary.
Chase: Mm-hmm, I think Jess really likes that one.
Courn: I really like Cabin in the Woods.
Chase: Okay.
Courn: That one's like, I don't know what's the right word. Like, it's not an actual scary movie.
Chase: Horror movie?
Courn: It's like, it's making fun of horror movies, but not in the same way that I feel like-
Chase: Oh, like, no, not a mockumentary.
Courn: No, not like scary movie, but like, it's just, you just have to watch it. I really like that one. It's really interesting, so.
Chase: I watched they slash them, that was stupid.
Courn: I didn't watch that 'cause the name was a red flag to me.
Chase: Oh yeah, we were just like, what is this? We're like, it's probably horrible, let's watch it.
Courn: Yeah. I like Nope, I like Us. It Follows is probably one of my favorite horror movies. Apparently it's gonna have a second one.
Chase: Does "Nope" count as a scary movie?
Courn: Yeah.
Chase: Oh, okay. I saw that, that was solid.
Courn: I mean, my bro's gonna not watch that, 'cause he thinks it's so scary. There's some definitely like jump scares and stuff. I think alien stuff is always kind of on the lines of business.
Chase: Do you like the alien predator series?
Courn: I do, they're fine to me. I like the original aliens and stuff. The newer ones weren't as exciting for me. I never saw the new one, which I should. I like "Barbarian," I like the Platform, I like "The Mist," I like really sad, scary movies.
Chase: Like think morbid?
Courn: Yeah, I like the gross stuff. I actually really like the Saw franchise. I know some people find that absolutely so foul.
Chase: Jess really likes it. Jess and Brenna both like those.
Courn: No, they're so funny. They're so camp. They're so ridiculous.
Chase: What's the guy's name? Is it Saw? Mr. Saw?
Courn: No, no, no, no, no.
Chase: Yes?
Courn: His name is not Mr. Saw.
Chase: Jigsaw?
Courn: Yeah, Jigsaw.
Chase: That's what it is.
Courn: Yeah, yeah, yeah. He's not Mr. Saw.
Chase: I don't know, man. *laughing*
Courn: *laughing*This is Mr. Saw. Yeah, but that's like his stage name. Like that's what he's like signing is like jigsaw. And there's Billy the Puppet, which is the thing on the bike, the little.
Chase: Oh yeah, the creepy character.
Courn: Yeah.
Chase: Ooh, he's creepy. Billy on the bike, is that what it's called?
Courn: Billy the Puppet.
Chase: Billy the Puppet. -
Courn: Yeah, the actual guy is like so petty. That's what the whole franchise is. It's just him being petty and punishing people.
Chase: I kinda like that.
Courn: Like there's literally a new movie where literally someone like scams him into thinking he He got a surgery to save his life and so he then tortures and kills all of them, like that is the whole premise.
Chase: I love that.
Courn: It's, he's he's a queen.
Chase: I think it's hilarious.
Courn: The stuff is really interesting. I get it. There's gross stuff in there. Body horror is not for everyone!
Chase: For sure. We're just looking at pictures of jigsaw, it looks funny. Yeah!
Courn: It's really funny I don't know and the special effects is actually like so much cool stuff the effects like almost everything is like like analog because there's not a lot of like digital special effects touching stuff up. They did a lot of like real life things, which is cool.
Chase: Yeah, I'd watch those movies.
Courn: That's why I like horror movies. I think they're really cool from a, I don't know, special effects sign. I think there's a lot of reasons why people like horror movies. Um, but it does remind me, because I've been seeing these TikToks talking about like, uh, people being like, oh, like, do you think no, this person was just saying like, oh, anyone who loves scary movies that they think they're like a psychopath, like you must be mentally ill or something if you have enjoyment from stuff that is gross. And that got me really, really heated.
Chase: Yeah, I don't like that.
Courn: Because there's so many reasons why people watch horror movies.
Chase: It feels similar to one that has a lot of hate towards the BDSM community of like, how could you like that? And it's just judgmental for no reason. Just 'cause you don't enjoy it doesn't mean someone else can't enjoy it and that's part of the enjoyment. It's as a taboo or like it's out of reality that people love that. So screw that.
Courn: I don't like yucking someone else's yum. Also like horror is such a big genre of different things. Like, yes, like historically, a horse had some pretty gross like sexual assault scenes. I don't like that side of horror. I don't like the misogyny and just like, I don't know. Arrow going through boobs, that's Wrong Turn. The movies are absolutely gross. Weird incest, like disability mocking shit in horror movies. Totally valid. But some people just like horror movies. They like for the special effects. They like being scared. I love being scared. Like I don't get a strong reaction for most movies. Like I don't feel an emotional connection to a lot of movies, but being scared is something that I'm like, oh, if a movie can get me, I'm like, oh yeah!
Chase: See, and I don't like being, I don't like being jump scared typically.
Courn: I don't like that much either. I like stuff that like makes me think.
Chase: Oh, see those freak me out even more.
Courn: Like that's scary. I don't know, body horror like grosses me out, but like I find it interesting because I know it's not real. That's the thing most people like enjoy horror movies. I'm not watching it because I'm like-
Chase: What about the Last of Us? Does that count as horror?
Courn: I mean, yeah, it's like-
Chase: We watched that. That was solid.
Courn: I think those guys are pretty scary.
Chase: Yeah, the little infected-
Courn: Flood-looking people. Yeah, there's like some scary jump season stuff.
Chase: Yeah, I'm excited for season two.
Courn: Yeah, me too.
Chase: Also non-binary actor. Let's go.
Courn: Yeah!
Chase: Is it actor actress if it's non-binary.
Courn: I don't think there's a good.
Chase: Yeah, cuz there's those are both-
Courn: That’s why people then just use actor, which like actor to me doesn't even feel gendered?
Chase: Me neither.
Courn: Someone just added actress to be like oooh.
Chase: Dude and dudette!
Courn: It kind of feels like that!
Chase: We digress so those okay, okay. Yeah. Yeah, I know you like horror a lot and I'm surprised you don't get like more like horror related tattoos to be honest.
Courn: Okay, see, this is the thing. I like horror movies, but I don't like the aesthetic of horror movies. And that's a whole different thing. Like that's just not my personal style. So I love horror movies. Most people don't know that about me, but I like, I don't want a tattoo of Chucky. I fucking love Chucky. That's one of my favorite franchise movies.
Chase: You should get a little jigsaw tattoo.
Courn: You know, no, I just find this, I don't like scary things aesthetically on me. It's like saying where I have appreciation. I feel like I really like people who dress really like alti and like or in those sub-genres of like goth, emo dressing, of like even just like dark Lolita dressing. I think it's super cool but it's not my vibe and I like to stick with my aesthetic which is bright and happy things. So I love watching horror movies but I'm not gonna put horror merch in my home.
Chase: Where it’s permanent or on your body permanently? Versus in the home.
Courn: Yeah.
Chase: Okay I could see that.
Courn: If it was like cute stuff, I don't know what it like you could do a cute like maybe just like Chucky’s like little overall or something or like good guys like that could be cute, but I'm I don't want fucking Chucky on my body. That's terrifying!
Chase: So the balloon from it.
Courn: Yeah. *sighs*
Chase: Uh oh!
Courn: I have so many, I hate Stephen King movies.
Chase: Yeah, yeah, I was about to say! Okay, all right, so you got a lot of good favorite movies and like a lot of, do you have a lot of nostalgia just around like Halloween, spooky movies.
Courn: Yeah, I feel like I do. Halloween's always a weird thing. I don't really think, we didn't really celebrate Halloween that much growing up. I know you obviously didn't either, but like we'd go trick-or-treating sometimes. We live in a small town.
Chase: Where the house is far apart?
Courn: Yeah, like we lived on like a, like almost like a beach rental area. So like our immediate neighbors were all old and retired. So they didn't keep candy for, you know, the one family. Like we lived on a private drive so there was no one to go. So we'd go into town like in the Lincoln City.
Chase: I've heard about that, yeah.
Courn: And it still was like kind of mid.
Chase: Yeah.
Courn: So I don't really remember like doing big Halloween stuff. Like I feel like I more had more excitement around like dressing up in a costume and like taking photos and showing friends and stuff.
Chase: Yeah, yeah. Did you do a lot of like the pumpkin carving?
Courn: No, I've never carved a pumpkin.
Chase: Really?
Courn: I still have yet to carve a pumpkin. Every, every friend is like, "Oh, I'll carve a pumpkin with you." Then we never get to it.
Chase: I think I did it once it twice. I don't have any desire to continue to do that in my adult life.
Courn: From a sensory standpoint, I do not want to touch pumpkin guts. And I'm not really... I don't allow myself around knives because I have really bad impulse control and knives scare me. And I'm always scared I'm just gonna...
Chase: Slice, slice.
Courn: Yeah.
Chase: Fruit ninja.
Courn: Kind of. I don't use knives at all at home 'cause they terrify me.
Chase: That's 'cause your Asian, I’m making a joke. 'Cause you're Asian. -
Courn: Oh.
Chase: (laughing)
Courn: Oh, went right over my head. I love fruit ninja.
Chase: I will say, I never liked, I mean, my parents obviously like had a lot of hatred for like coming by and getting candy. So we always turned the lights off and pretend we weren't home kind of shit. But, I think Halloween was the first holiday that hit when we went back to school and I didn't like school. And so I didn't, you know, I was always like, it was hard to train just didn't go back to school after summer. And so I feel like it was the first holiday that I was like left out and like had bad memories around and like it was cold and wet and it was like I couldn't play outside as much. And so it was kind of just like bad memories and like I always got candy as a kid. So I didn't like feel special to get candy in that around that time and everyone just like lost their shit around candy so. To me, is like Halloween's like whatever, but I think as an adult the dressing up piece, like it's now like way more fun. I get it now. I just-
Courn: I think the costume part thing is so fun to me and I still love that aspect.
Chase: I'm leaning into that a lot more now.
Courn: Yeah, I don't even have a reason. Like I wish I had friends that had Halloween parties and stuff, but I really don't. So I feel like I've just maybe just used to like, I don't know, dress up and take photos and stuff, but it's just kind of like a more socially accepted way to cosplay, which honestly want to get more into cosplay stuff, which is probably like, Halloween's the entry point into to doing a lot of cosplay stuff.
Chase: I could see that! Do you want me to throw us a Halloween party this year?
Courn: If you want to.
Chase: I've always wanted to throw one, but I'm not a party animal these days.
Courn: I just never had enough friends, like I think I did one with my two close friends a couple years ago, we invited my brothers, that's how lame I am, and that's all it was.
Chase: That's okay, someone on my team's throwing a party, you wanna go to their party?
Courn: No. and I'm gonna guess it's probably not a COVID conscious party and I feel like that matters a lot to me right now.
Chase: That's a good point. I didn't think about that.
Courn: But there's so many cool ways to integrate masks into your costume, which I really like. Like there's a lot of fun things.
Chase: Like what ideas you got?
Courn: I mean, like when you dress up anything, that's like a bird, for example. I can make like a duck bill.
Chase: Okay, you just gave me so much crap about birds on the other episode. Now you're gonna dress up as a bird?
Courn: Now you can dress up as that chicken from Surf's Up.
Chase: No, Psyduck, I would dress up as Psyduck!
Courn: And there's just like a lot of characters that have like masks and stuff, like cartoon characters that you can like do the color of whatever their skin is, like as your mask.
Chase: That's a good point.
Courn: Yeah, I'm not about just having going to big parties from a COVID conscious standpoint, also sensory standpoint, that's too much for me.
Chase: Fair, okay, that's fair.
Courn: But yeah, but speaking of costumes, what have you dressed up as? Like what is your highlight reel of your Halloween costumes?
Chase: Well, I didn't dress up that much, but the witnesses and the J -Dubs would throw, I don't know, have we discussed that the witnesses is like the short term for J-Dubs?
Courn: Yes.
Chase: Okay, anyways. There would be like families and stuff who threw parties at different times of the year that allowed you to like dress up and do little things. So I only had two parties that I attended that were costume based. 'Cause it didn't happen too much, huh?
Courn: Hawaiian barbecue.
Chase: Oh God, I probably did do like a grass skirt costume at one point, but that wasn't for like a costume party. I actually just found the photo the other day. It's like me dressed up in like a little princess outfit. It's actually pretty wholesome and cute. I've never seen it do.
Courn: I want to see that, that sounds adorable.
Chase: Yeah, so I was like really young though.
Courn: I feel like that's not your vibes at all, dressing up as a princess.
Chase: No, and I was probably like five Five years older. I was like pretty young even just in the in the photo. So there's that one It's like a little like princess. Yeah, I kind of bullshit. The other one was a bug party that you dressed up as a bug.
Courn: And so what is the context for this?
Chase: Cause J-Dubs have weird party ideas, dude. They don't know how to party. So they're just like, oh, this is fine, Let's do this.
Courn: I'm dressed up as bugs! Okay, that sounds like a fun time.
Chase: Well, yeah, and it's it was kind of weird like I don't know here. I'll just airdrop this to you so you can see the picture. So I dressed up as a bee yellow shirt black, tape around you know.
Courn: A bee?
Chase: A bee, and so that's probably the only two costumes that I have got.
Courn: You haven’t done anything like in your adulthood?
Chase: uh-uh!
Courn: Nothing?
Chase: Not really, I know I'm really missing out. W eried to do Bob and Linda from Bob Burgers one year.
Courn: Oh yeah, I feel like I remember you telling me about that.
Chase: And then we just never ended up going 'cause we just decided to stay home. That's the other thing, I don't feel like I wanna dress up and be out late at the party.
Courn: No, I feel like that's not my vibe at all. I just wanna go somewhere in a costume and be cute and then leave.
Chase: What about you? What about your highlight reel of costumes? I bet you've got some good ones in there since you've got a lot more time celebrating.
Courn: I don't know, they were always generic ones though. I feel like I went with easy stuff, like when I was a kid, I had a phase where I dressed up as a dog for like dreams and the world.
Chase: Yeah, I can see that, I can see that.
Courn: 'Cause I just was obsessed with dogs, and my mom was like, why don't you keep dressing up as a dog? I just had this onesie.
Chase: I just want to be a dog!
Courn: Yeah, I just literally, and you show up to kid at your door. (dog noises) Yeah, and you're like, god, take the candy, go! Then I had a big princess face. I dressed up as Mulan one year 'cause my friends made me 'cause they were all big Disney princesses, of course.
Chase: Like you have to be Mulan.
Courn: I didn’t wanna be Mulan. I wore my handbok and then it was like, oh yeah, nice. Nice outfit, that's very Chinese and it wasn't. It was Korean, whatever.
Chase: Cringe!
Courn: Yeah, I remember dressing up as a devil one year in high school. No, eighth grade.
Chase: Oh my.
Courn: 'Cause I thought it would be sexy, but it was not. It was not.
Chase: Did you shoot like a red bodysuit? Like a body con?
Courn: No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no. 'Cause imagine this is old, this is corn.
Chase: Yeah, fem corn.
Courn: This is a child. This is not even, this is before, this was on his eighth grade, I didn't hit puberty.
Chase: Oh, okay.
Courn: I literally looked like an eight year old, but I thought I wanted to be sexy because that's the male gaze.
Chase: Okay.
Courn: But I think I just wore like a black shirt with like black skinny jeans. And I had like a red cape and like horns. And I think I like a little what is that like a trident?
Chase: Yeah a little pitchfork.
Courn: Yeah, but I thought I like ate, I thought I was like so hot.
Chase: Wow.
Courn: Looking back at the photos just like a literal just child-
Chase: Just dressed up as like the devil. Oh, you know what I did dress up as an adult once.
Courn: As what?
Chase: Queen of Hearts.
Courn: Oh, cute!
Chase: And that was back when Jess and I were first dating. Having a party.
Courn: Yeah, my parents just didn't want to give me money for costumes.
Chase: They're expensive.
Courn: Yeah, so I always had like pull something together from my own closet, so I just didn't have good costumes growing up ever. It was always like stuff I already had.
Chase: Oh yeah, and I was gonna say the costume as a kid with a B costume is like kind of making myself and like cardboard and yeah, it was tough.
Courn: It is, I just never had like the right friend group to do it as an adult, but like we went as the, whatever the mystery gang one year obviously. Who do you think I was?
Chase: Velma?
Courn: Yeah, of course.
Chase: 'Cause you're a nerd.
Courn: I did have a brown bob at the time, so I feel like it would fit with more of the style.
Chase: Orange turtlenecks, not that hard.
Courn: Yeah, I dressed up as like Kiki, from like Studio Ghibli, dressed up as Saiki.
Chase: Okay, hold on, why wasn't the, this is gonna be a tangent. In the Hear Me Out, why has nobody picked the flame from the Ghibli movie, what's his name?
Courn: Calcifer?
Chase: Yeah.
Courn: Yeah.
Chase: Somebody should have picked that.
Courn: See, 'cause that's not gonna hear me out. Every single character would see you, Ghibli. Even though they're all kid coded, like they're just like, like the boy from the frickin' spirited away and from howl’s moving castle. Both of them, I was like, ooh. As a kid, I was obsessed with all the boys in those movies.
Chase: Oh, okay, damn.
Courn: But the fight, kind of a hot take.
Chase: Okay. Okay, so that was, as you got older, your costumes.
Courn: I think my costume just became cosplay 'cause I literaaly went as Saiki the year before just because I wanted to cosplay Saiki cause I have pink hair and stuff. And we went as Cosmo and Wanda for le a friend's party a couple of years ago.
Chase: Yeah, that's solid, that's solid.
Courn: Now I just feel like I'm limited to stuff with pink hair 'cause I hate wigs, so it's like.
Chase: Oh, yeah.
Courn: But I just want to go as the person from Teen Titans, who has pink hair. I always wanted to dress up as that.
Chase: Yeah! That's a solid choice. That might be a costume you have to purchase though.
Courn: Yeah, or really, I feel like I'd have to layer stuff. There's just so much fun stuff. I don't know, I love niche Halloween costumes. I just think they're so funny.
Chase: Power Ranger?
Courn: That's a buy costume. I hate costumes that you just go and buy something that is so lame to me.
Chase: One time specific. Oh really?
Courn: I think it's just lame to me to go to a Halloween store and buy a costume, and they're always cheaply made. I'm always like, I want a costume that is just from clothes that you can just go buy or thrift. And I think that's so much cooler.
Chase: That's fair.
Courn: I don't want to know you spent $200 on some fancy Barbie costume. Just go get pink clothes. - Yeah, you know?
Chase: Yeah, dude, are you gonna decorate your house or for this year, like a big decoration?
Courn: I'm not for Halloween just because I don't really understand the decor. And it's not my vibe, either.
Chase: Oh, okay.
Courn: Like it's like what, spiders and webs and pumpkins. It's really not in my color scheme. I find it spooky.
Chase: You could do pink pumpkins.
Courn: You can, but I feel like that's just like another thing. I already go all out for Christmas and I put out my Christmas decor.
Chase: Do you really? How have I not known this?
Courn: You don't see, I mean, I don't go all out, but like I have two trees.
Chase: Yeah, outside the house you do a lot of decor?
Courn: No.
Chase: That's why.
Courn: I don’t, we do lights. It's too annoying and it's like we've all we're pretty early to home owning and decorating stuff Like we never had the option. We always had apartments. So I was like, what is this? No, it's scary to put up lights and shit.
Chase: Is it?
Courn: Yeah, it's like dangerous. I mean we like a two -story house and it's like you have to go on a high up ladder and I don't like doing it, I don't want Raymond doing it. But our neighbors have like, you know, a spooky spider web. And I'm like, that's cute.
Chase: There's someone around here who has like a pirate -themed graveyard. It's pretty intense. They go hard. Like I walked past it the other day and I was like, oh my God.
Courn: I just, I have no wills or I just don't have a reason to spend, you know, several hundred dollars on like Halloween decor.
Chase: Especially if it's not your thing.
Courn: No, but I do love this. I like going through spirit Halloween. I like going, whatever Home Depot had some hilarious stuff.
Chase: Like?
Courn: Just like the the animatronics. They just go back and forth. I stan Lewis from Target. I am not a jack -o -lantern. My name is Lewis.
Chase: Yeah, that's a good one. Yeah, I like those.
Courn: I just don't really like pumpkin stuff, and I feel like that's half the decor. It's just like scary stuff.
Chase: Yeah, yeah, yeah, what about candy, you giving out candy?
Courn: We gave out candy a couple years ago and onem one kid came. So we live on-
You got kids in the area?
Courn: Apparently not.
Chase: You're not keeping up with the amount of kids?
Courn: No. And then I just felt like then it was just like when we got a house is when COVID was like in its early stages and stuff so just, I'm not gonna give kids candy. So.
Chase: (laughs) You're not gonna give it out king size bars?
Courn: No, we just turned our house light off last year. 'Cause our neighbors aren't home either. They all go do the trunk retreating, whatever that shit.
Chase: What?
Courn: You not heard of that trunk ir treating?
Chase: Is that where they all go out and walk past each other's cars?
Courn: Yeah.
Chase: That's stupid.
Courn: That's like a small town thing. We always did that. I never did that, but people did that in our community.
Chase: Yeah, I don't like that.
Courn: It's just, I don't know. More of a community aspect, you know who they're going to.
Chase: Sure, sure, sure, sure. That's strange.
Courn: Yeah.
Chase: Okay. Again, as someone who doesn't celebrate, I'm like, this is kind of an interesting experience.
Courn: Halloween in general which is kind of a weird holiday. I don't know, I just feel like the overly religious people are like, "Oh, it's Satan's day." But I really liked Halloween growing up and I liked all the lore. I had a Halloween book that was like the origin of Halloween. Turns out all the stuff in it was kind of wrong 'cause I Googled before this episode, I was like, "Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait. What is this?" And then I found it was like Celtic, Celtic? I don't know how you pronounce that.
Chase: Celtic.
Courn: Yeah it was like 2 ,000 years ago, called Sauin, which is like this dancing ceremony where they had bonfires and they wore costumes, like ward off evil spirits. And it was like the day, the next day was the new year. So this is why it made sense. So like warding off evil spirits for the new year and somehow that got adapted. They like banned it when Christianity came through and then it came back.
Chase: Okay, yeah, yeah, yeah.
Courn: There's something about like Christians came and called at All Souls Day, which is called All Hallows, which became All Hallows Eve, which got shorted to Halloween.
Chase: Interesting, I didn't realize that was the connection.
Courn: And then apparently it came over with like immigrants into the U .S.
Chase: Of course.
Courn: Came with it, all the fall activities and stuff, but turns out orange and black have been the colors of Halloween long before it had to do with pumpkins and stuff.
Chase: So they added pumpkins when they were like, "Oh, it's orange themed."
Courn: Yeah, I don't know just 'cause it was like fall or something, they're like, that's what's around?
Chase: Yeah.
Courn: I don't know, my hot take is that I think if pumpkins weren't associated with a Halloween, that they wouldn't be popular. Pumpkins suck.
Chase: They do, they don't taste good.
Courn: Yeah, why's everything pumpkin flavored? It's such ass, it's such ass.
Chase: It's terrible, it's terrible.
Courn: Let's invest in apple cider. That is the true flavor.
Chase: Apple pie?
Courn: Cinnamon, like why are we doing stuff with pumpkins?
Chase: It's bad. That's a good point, pumpkins shouldn't be eradicated. (laughing)
Courn: Eradicated?
Chase: I'm just saying, if it weren't for Halloween, would they stay around? Like you said.
Courn: I am like, I don't know. The carving thing is weird to me. They just rot outside your house.
Chase: And moldy eventually.
Courn: And you got to pay $40-
Chase: Same with a Christmas tree. That's kind of weird.
Courn: Yeah, that's also why we have fake trees, because I don't like dealing with the real tree thing. So it is weird, though. I don't know. All the traditions around Halloween are weird to me.
Chase: Okay. Yeah.
Courn: Like Apple bobbing, gross! Yeah. In a COVID world, even grosser.
Chase: Yeah.
Courn: But I'm like, that's foul. I don't want to dip my head.
Chase: Do you have any traditions then for Halloween?
Courn: We always would just watch scary movies, but that wasn't like a family thing. We didn't really celebrate Halloween growing up that much.
Chase: Yeah. Do you think that was because of the small town factor or just like?
Courn: No, I think my dad didn't like me and didn't want to do things with us.
Chase: Your dad is the worst.
Courn: That is correct. Like my mom made a big deal of Christmas. My mom would put up like some Halloween decor and stuff. She had a lot of stuff, but we didn't like do something. I think as soon as I got past like 10, we stopped going trick-or-treating and that was like kind of sucked. And I wanted to keep doing that, but yeah.
Chase: Okay.
Courn: But I do find it interesting like as adults, I don't know how many adults have such a strong personality around Halloween and love Halloween. I don't know, I think it's cute and endearing, but it's just funny to me. Like, there's so much like, I don't know, like hype for Halloween, especially on like, I don't know, social media and stuff. People are just so jazzed out getting Halloween decor out. And I think that's sweet.
Chase: Yeah. I think people get really excited of it, especially if you don't like hot weather too much, especially in Portland. I feel like a lot of people don't care for the warm weather. So they're like really excited for it to cool down, get cozy, Make those like comforting foods, you know and like transition out of summer. Yeah, I couldn't relate, but couldn't relate.
Courn: Yeah, there's a lot of good foods and stuff in the fall. I really just like apple cider.
Chase: Yeah you do!
Courn: Anywhere I go in fall. I'm like hot apple cider. Let's go. It's so freakin good.
Chase: Yeah, that's a solid choice. I Like when Starbucks would do it and I would get the whipped cream on the top I'd mix it in and it was like, Almost like a creamy apple.
Courn: Yeah, they have a hot apple cider.
Chase: They used to, I don't know if they still do.
Courn: I haven't been to Starbucks in like a long time.
Chase: Same, same, it's been years.
Courn: And they got all their union busting shit, and some people are boycotting them anyway, so don't go to Starbucks for your PSL.
Chase: No, no, no, no.
Courn: Go to a local shop.
Chase: There's, especially in Portland, there are literally hundreds of options other than Starbucks.
Courn: It's literally the same price too, that's the thing. The thing that gets me, all these chains now are also like $5 a coffee drink now that I'm like dude, just pay six dollars and get it made from a smaller like place. Yeah, be so for real.
Chase: Oh, let's talk about candy because you like talking about candy and I've been asking people this a lot, did you have favorite candies? When you did go trick-or-treating or when you got like a little bit. Okay, what were your go-tos?
Courn: Top tier was Reese's because that was big. That was a whole cup. So whenever someone had like the full cups. That was a big deal. They had like a two-pack. I, I don't like most traditional candies. I don't like Hershey's and Babe Ruth's and Kit Kat's.
Chase: Back then or now?
Courn: Anytime.
Chase: Okay, okay.
Courn: Both. I still don't. Actually, I don't like any chocolate candies. I don't even like Reese's anymore, but I did as a kid 'cause of the peanut butter. I liked all the kind of lame candies, so I liked Laffy Taffy and Jolly Ranchers, which I feel like those always came-
Chase: Do you like lemon heads?
Courn: That never really came up. I never really had lemon heads that much. But I feel like everyone had to pack where it was like, okay, whatever the Hershey's pack that comes with KitKat, Snickers. And Butterfingers, I didn't like any of those. So my brothers love that shit.
Chase: Oh, wow.
Courn: And then I wanted, I love tootsie rolls for some reason…
Chase: Courn!
Courn: I know it's not chocolate, whatever it is, but the texture intrigued me.
Chase: It's like chocolate-favored taffy.
Courn: Correct.
Chase: Ooh.
Courn: I like that, but I love Laffy Taffy and Reese's and Jolli Ranchers.
Chase: All right.
Courn: So, I don't like M &M's either, I don't like Skittles. I was kind of lame.
Chase: Wait, you don't like Skittles?
Courn: No, I still hate Skittles. I hate most major candies. They all just taste like very artificial to me in a weird way.
Chase: Yeah, so then what candies do you eat now?
Courn: I don't know, I like the bags of sour candy, very specific brands. Like I'm very specific. Like I like the ropes, those. What brand is that? It's not like Twizzler, but it's like the soft, it's like the gummy ropes. I feel like I always see people talk about them. They come in like-
Chase: It’s like a sour straw or something?
Courn: It’s not like a sour straw. It's like a taffy ish. I just need to look up.
Chase: Do you like the sourness of the candy or do you like the fruitiness?
Courn: Both.
Chase: Okay.
Courn: Okay, it's the sweet tarts ropes.
Chase: Oh, yeah. Yeah, those are good.
Courn: Yeah, that got me really back in the candy a few years ago. I like all of like the like the Jolly Rancher, like, whatever, sour stuff. I like the, what is that, the gummy bear company?
Chase: Haribo?
Courn: Yeah, Haribo.
Chase: Haribo?
Courn: Yeah, they make good, like, clouds, like other stuff, like their other products. I don't like their gummy bears. The gummy bears are so hard for no reason.
Chase: Those gummy bears were ass.
Courn: I don't understand why there's so many commercials for those because I literally ate them and I was like, I can't even eat them.
Chase: Yeah, they don't taste good. The white ones kind of taste okay.
Courn: Yeah, the nerd clusters are so good. I've been on a lot of like a kick of like the sour candies and there's ropes, stuffs like that.
Chase: Oh, you never asked my question about sour versus fruit.
Courn: Yeah.
Chase: So you like, do you like the sourness or do you like the fruit flavor? I like the sour shit, like sour skittles, hmm, give me all day.
Courn: I think I like the fruit flavor more, but I like sour candy a lot. Like I like the feeling of sourness, but I also hate that feeling. If you ever like candy in your mouth, and someone makes you laugh, and it like hurts the back of your jaw and it's like amplified with sour candy, it's like a very specific feeling and some people when I tell them this, they're like, "I have no idea what you're talking about."
Chase: I don't know that I've experienced that, but I haven't eaten a sour candy in a long time.
Courn: Yeah.
Chase: I've been eating those nerd clusters.
Courn: It hurts your jaw and I hate it and it happens to me all the time now, it's gotten worse as I've gotten an adult. I don't know the sciences.
Chase: Oh, interesting.
Courn: I tried to look it up on Reddit and I couldn't find anything.
Chase: Maybe just because like your saliva glands are already like putting a lot out or something.
Courn: Something, but yeah. But I'm not gonna do like airhead shit. Like I'm not trying to have stuff that's like sour to the point where it's like, it's not fun.
Chase: Warheads.
Courn: Yeah, warheads, not airheads. Airheads are gross.
Chase: You don't like airheads?
Courn: No, they're like weird. The texture's like plastic.
Chase: That's the best part.
Courn: I want it to be like Laffy Taffy, but it's not. It's more plastic -y than Laffy Taffy.
Chase: That's why it's good. Did you like now and later.
Courn: Those are fine.
Chase: Starburst?
Courn: Flavors are mid, I only like the pink. So like, I don't like half the flavor, so I don't wanna eat it.
Chase: Yeah, the pink and the red is the way to go.
Courn: I always liked the-
Chase: Who liked the yellow, ugh.
Courn: Ew, I liked the mambas, I like those, but I only eat like two flavors. The problem is I only like the berry flavors. I don't like anything citrusy, and that's half the flavors.
Chase: Yeah, I could see that.
Courn: Do you like sour patch kids?
Oh yeah, oh yeah.
Courn: I like those, but I only like certain flavors too, so.
Chase: The yellow is disgusting.
Courn: That's fair.
Chase: Sour patch, and orange is pretty bad too.
Courn: Yeah, I just like the red blue. Green's fine, it's kind of neutral. But you can buy whatever bags of just colors now, but I'm not that extra.
Chase: The red one.
Courn: Yeah.
Chase: The red one, where it's at.
Courn: Yeah, do you like candy corn? Do you like me? Do you like candy corn? Instagram handle candy.courn.
Chase: Follow me. I ate candy corn as a kid because I had trash tastes and I would almost eat any candy like there was like not it didn't say much about me as a kid. My grandpa worked for a vending machine company like a-
Courn: What?
Chase: Yeah. And so like he would goaround and for they were like his company would stock the trucks and the trucks go like filling the vandal machines and doing all that stuff so like any they would pull out old products if it was like a day old and then they couldn't sell it right you can't get a candy out of any machine have it be like expired yesterday. Big trouble so anything that's expired which it never does he would just get to take back home and so like I grew up around so much candy and junk food like I eat it constantly so I ate pretty much any candy That came in. Yeah, I loved like red vines. I liked sour stuff sour skittles sour patch kids definitely did warheads I mean, I was on hichew before high shoe got big. I'm just saying.
Courn: I love hichew!
Chase: Yeah, that's solid I didn't like lollipops so much. I did like the little dum dum ones though the small lollipops. Do you know the ones that I’m talking about?
Courn: Yeah, tootsie pops are actually so gross!
Chase: Those and the like Bubble Pop or whatever, I would have just cut my tongue. I hated Tootsie rolls, I didn't like Laffy Taffy. I hate licorice, I don't like licorice.
Courn: I forgot about Hubba Bubba, the rolls, and Big League Chew. I would just eat so much of the Chew. If there's a reason why I have digestive blockage, it's 'cause I've consumed probably 300 bags and swallowed them.
Chase: Wow.
Courn: I did not know it was gum and no one told me.
Chase: You just swallowed it?
Courn: Yeah, it was so good. And or said anything I would my brothers were in baseball and they'd always sell that at the stand yeah I need like two packs, multiple days a week.
Chase: We're gonna come back to big chew but I definitely remember like the Bubba tape like the tape gum that was huge that was big I love that stuff!
Courn: I also ate that.
Chase: Yeah definitely a nostalgic candy of like the bottle baby, bottle bop baby!
Courn: All the stuff that was just weird liquids you just drink!
Chase: Yeah the sour liquids and stuff!
Courn: My parents did not like me buying that stuff but I loved it.
Chase: I loved that stuff, that was a good time. Those, remember those dots that were on the sheet of paper?
Courn: Yeah.
Chase: Those were weird.
Courn: That look like weird little like drugs, like a little line of-
Chase: Acid! I was gonna say, we should go into the candy that's also like adult stuff that they kind of mimic for kids. You remember those candy cigarette type things?
Courn: Yeah.
Chase: Those like looking ones? They had, I mean, big league chews, like chewing tobacco.
Courn: I know.
Chase: And then there's a couple other ones like kind of druggy.
Courn: They got rid of those so fast. I feel like they were done by the time I was like in middle school. Most of that candy like disappeared.
Chase: Yeah, I didn't get big league two until much later. And I think it was like late elementary. And I was like, oh my God, what is this? It's so good. True, so yeah, I was a big candy kid. I didn't really have any discriminatory candy choices. I ate it all. I drank a lot of soda too.
Courn: I love candy. I also love finding out that like, so many of my friends love candy too, because there definitely is a connection between dopamine-seeking too, and the texture ofjust like also when you're lacking joy, you want to see that.
Chase: Well it’s a stim. Eating is a stem a lot of times for people, I would think. And like, I don't know, it probably masked a lot of my ADHD traits, 'cause I was eating so much sugar that I didn't really like have that drop off, or like have those moments, but like, I was just constantly sugar high.
Courn: I feel like I just needed it to function. I actually still feel like that, that I I actually feel like I never really got a sugar high, but it's the same thing with caffeine. I drink caffeine so I can just, I don't know, act regular. Same thing with candy. I feel like I would not get super sugar high as a kid. I'd just act more like this.
Chase: Yeah, same. And I was already playing active outside a lot, so it didn't really matter that I was eating all this stuff. Like you couldn't equate it, right? It was just who it was. That's wild. Oh, I missed the day so my grandpa just coming home bringing of like day old stuff, it'd be like sandwiches.
Courn: That's wild.
Chase: You get ice cream. They had like a whole refrigerator full of soda at all times, 'cause it would just be like a day old and then, you know, it's fine to drink that, but in the stuff that keeps-
Courn: They had a hookup.
Chase: Yeah, dude, it was cool. It was wild.
Courn: I love that. I would have ate so much candy.
Chase: Yeah. Yeah, but that's why I think Halloween wasn't too big for me or big of a deal to miss out on this, 'cause I had all that candy at my disposal all the time. Like, there's always a box of chips in my grandparents' basement. We could just go rummage through and pick whatever, take some home, you know. It's like, "Oh, go take some candy and chips and soda." We'd take home boxes of soda, so.
Courn: I love that.
Chase: Yeah, it was wild, but I wish they kind of had nostalgic candies like that still. That should be a video episode we do one day. It's just we just get nostalgic candy.
Courn: Yeah.
Chase: That'd be so cool.
Courn: I think about fun dip and stuff like that.
Chase: I fucked so hard with fun dip.
Courn: Oh, the pixie sticks? I like conned my dad into buying me one of those like four foot sticks at the mall.
Chase: Yeah, the really long one. Yeah, yeah, yeah. And it would get like gummed up inside 'cause of the saliva, do you remember that? Like if you like.
Courn: It's absolutely disgusting.
Chase: And you're just chewing it through. Oh, I forgot about pixie sticks and fundip. Fundip was my shit for sure. Yeah, pretty sure that's drugs as well.
Courn: That's just pure. I mean sugar.
Chase: That's like that's like picking cocaine out of a bag and like licking it, like come on.
Courn: I don't know. Someone wasn't thinking very hard and they were pitching these kids-
Chase: No, they thought it was hilarious.
Courn: Let's feed them powder and they're like there's friends. I literally got there's kids in school They're gonna sniff the fun dip and stuff that's bad!
Chase: Smarties. I used to use to know a kid who crushed up the smarties. That’s brain damage. That's not good.
Courn: You gotta hurt your nasal stuff.
Chase: Yeah. What about like the little Debbie's cakes and stuff? Did you have those a lot?
Courn: I did, but I don't really like them that much. My family, we liked the little Debbie's. I did not.
Chase: Yeah, if you didn't like the chocolate stuff, I see how I loved all the chocolate stuff. I love Snickers, I love Kit Kat, love Reese's. Butterfinger was my favorite for a hot sec.
Courn: I've just really never liked chocolate stuff. I affectionately have very bougie taste in desserts and candies and stuff. So I feel like I just like all the simple stuff that's like more expensive and like, I just never really liked the super processed, like they always just tasted weird to me. I never like Twinkies or Nutty Bars or Oatmeal. Like Oatmeal cream pies are fine for me, but they're spicy.
Chase: What?
Courn: I don't know why it's something in the cinnamon or the cookie, but they always hurt my mouth. I've never met someone who has that problem, but I can't eat Oatmeal cream pies 'cause they're spicy.
Chase: What?
Courn: But also me will just eat straight sugar and I'm like this is high quality!
Chase: High quality sugar!
Courn: Me just eating fancy caramels I'm like this is just fancy sugar-
Chase: Caramel apple pops! Do you remember the caramel apple
Courn: Yeah, there's so much good candy. How much of my life revolved around just like when I'm getting my next candy as a kid!
Chase: Wow!
Courn: Still kind of as an adult.
Chase: It's why your candy, candy corn, that candy corn dog.
Courn: Honestly, hot take. I just don't like candy corn at all.
Chase: It's bad.
Courn: It's actually quite gross. I don't like any of the waxy.
Chase: Yeah I like the jelly beans as a kid because it was all different. That was fun. I would organize them by flavors. Pez did you like Pez? I think I hated Pez?
Courn: They don’t even taste good. They don’t taste like anything. They were like-
Chase: There was so much work. But the candy it, I just ate them out of the sleeve.
Courn: They should have they should It tasted like smarties, but they didn't.
Chase: They were like bad.
Courn: Yeah, but I do like the all the little you know heads and stuff. Those are cute. I had a few of them that people gifted me and stuff, but-
Chase: Yeah. What about appropriated costumes, do you remember any like costumes that would get appropriated very commonly around your time or did anybody dress up? And like where was your town was pretty white to begin with.
Courn: Yeah, there's a lot of people who dressed up as like native Americans like that was a really I don't know why?
Chase: That was a hot take, that was a hot moment.
Courn: Yeah. I think it's 'cause we had that whole lesson. I feel like whatever third grade where like with Thanksgiving and shit and then people would just like reuse their, like we had to dress up.
Chase: Really?
Courn: In class, which I think I talked about this like last time we talked about holidays. But yeah, I had to dress up as like a Native American. Some people had to dress up as like the pilgrims and stuff. I made my mom make mine out of pink fabric. So I looked nothing like, I was just wearing like a pink sarong and I was like, yeah. But so many kids are dressed up as that.
Chase: Yikes.
Courn: It's pretty bad. I feel like now it's like, I feel like it was rarely kids I feel like that dressed up as problematic. Like I don't hold kids accountable. 'Cause like sometimes they just dress up as a character and like, you know. But adults, I swear there was so much. I feel like early when I was like in high school, my brothers were in college and I would see photos of like their frat parties of people just dressing up as like the most unhinged shit of just like putting on a sombrero and like they're not from that culture or anything. Like, I don't know, there's so much like blackface and shit. Like, and even like, okay, even in like, there were so many costumes, like the, I think it was like the second year of COVID, people dressed up as COVID and thought it was so fucking funny.
Chase: What? I missed that then.
Courn: It's like actually so gross for like people dressed up, like I saw someone dressed up as like, is like, oh, like a hurricane, like dressing up as like natural events and a super traumatic, let me, I've made so many lists over the years on like whatever my art account and things like you don't do with costumes, but like here's just kind of like a refresher.
Chase: Yeah.
Courn: Like if you have to like body shame or wear a fat suit, don't do it. If you put on a fat suit, that costume's not for you and it's probably not a nice thing.
Chase: Very problematic.
Courn: If you have to darken your skin in any way. It doesn't matter, it's probably problematic.
Chase: But it's not, it's also, is it okay to go lighter? Is that a problem too?
Courn: You know, no, because there isn't the history.
Chase: Reverse racism doesn't exist, kind of argument.
Courn: No, 'cause there's no history of power, there's no history and minstrel shows. It's completely different. It doesn't matter why you're darkening your face in any capacity, it's not good. So if you have light skin, don't do it, you can do that costume probably without dark skin.
Chase: Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
Courn: Doing stuff like on traumatic events, like I said, on COVID hurricanes.
Chase: That's wild.
Courn: I've seen people do 9 /11 costumes, like people dressing up as like Jeffrey Dahmer or like serial killers, like stuff that's just like you think that's a funny costume. So many people dressed up as Jeffrey Dahmer last year 'cause of that show coming out on Netflix.
Chase: We could not finish that by the way, that was weird.
Courn: Yeah, I watched one episode and then I went into a a deep dive of like why Ryan Murphy is so problematic, how exploitative that show is, don't watch it. Actually don't watch any like true crime stuff that's like, I don't know.
Chase: Almost like a drama series.
Courn: That one especially, but yeah. Don't dress up as like a problematic celebrity, which could be someone like, people think it was really funny to dress as Kanye.
Chase: Oh, I didn't realize.
Courn: 'Cause they're just like, oh yeah, he's having a crisis. Like this is such a fun costume. Like don't. Don't dress up as a little racist and other people don't.
Chase: Or someone who's also having like a mental break.
Courn: Yeah, which that's another side of it. Don't dress up as like us people who have like, I don't know, very like mental illnesses or they have some-
Chase: Very untreated, untreated public mental illness kind of thing.
Courn: Yeah, if it's not something you have.
Chase: Yeah, sure.
Courn: Like don't do it. Don't do like transphobic gender swaps. Like I always think of like in high school we had like a gender swap day and people just, you know, putting over the top, like giant boobs on, there's ways to do like gender swap cross plays that are respectful.
Chase: Yeah, and are like really cool and like artistic.
Courn: Yeah, but if you're just putting some giant bazongas, some ridiculous makeup, it's usually always like guys dressing up as girls and doing it in ways that are super. Like yeah, not cool.
Chase: I can't just wear my really long strap on and put it with the football outfit.
Courn: I think you could pull that off.
Chase: Oh my god. (laughing)
Courn: No, but like that's also a costume where I feel like girls dress up as dudes and like do like giant ding dongs and stuff and be like oh it's-
Chase: Not good?
Courn: No I just I think it's I think it's less distasteful but
Chase: Still weird?
Courn: Yeah it also feels like it can be borderline like transphobic too when you dress up in a way that's like made to make fun of someone like oh the idea that I could dress as a guy is so hilarious when it's like trans people look like that. It's not funny. It's not funny to not pass. It's not funny to pass
Chase: That's a good point. Yeah, yeah, yeah. See?
Courn: Be respectful if you're gonna cross dress in that way.
Chase: Yeah.
Courn: And then I feel like the big one, which I feel like we see less of, it's just like dressing in anything that could be like culturally appropriating someone else. In a way that's like something that's not a costume. It has meaning. Even if you're doing it respectfully, if you're putting it on with the attention to be a costume, like you can have problems, especially if you're not from that culture. If you're from that culture, do what the fuck you want. If I want to wear a hanbok for fucking Halloween, it's a little sussy 'cause I didn't grow up in Korea, but it's passable.
Chase: It's okay, you don't have to grow up to still be Korean.
Courn: Yeah, that's-
Chase: I'm telling that everybody, they're like, "How long have you been away from Hawaii?" I'm born here, but I can still be Hawaiian.
Courn: Yeah, I think it has less to do about where you were raised, where you were born, how that culture interacts with your life. If you don't know about it, don't.
Chase: I was gonna say, technically, according to 23andMe, I've got some Chinese blood, right? I'm not gonna go dress up in some kind of appropriation of the culture.
Courn: It's also just weird to pick that for Halloween. Like something that has significance.
Chase: Yeah, like it's meant to be, like you said, it's cosplay essentially is what the idea is. It's not supposed to be like-
Courn: Like you wanna wear a handbok, do it any other day of the year. Like it doesn't have to be for Halloween. Like it's the fact that you're putting on for entertainment purposes, which that's what a Halloween costume is for.
Chase: That's yep.
Courn: Yeah, and that's kinda it. And like that seems like a lot, but it's actually not. Like you could like dressed up as anything like there's so many unique costumes!
Chase: Literally so many TV shows and movies and characters you could be instead.
Courn: Yeah I just love unique costumes I saw someone that was doing a cosplay of Jean Jacket from nope which is so insane!
Chase: That's good!
Courn: It was like really complex and doing this whole cosplay and then someone was doing the inside where it looks like a giant vat and I was like okay! This is what I live to see. You also want to be basic? You want to dress up as like, I don't know, Barbie or a clown or like a a fey being be my guest.
Chase: Yeah. Yeah.
Courn: Just don't do something offensive.
Chase: I didn’t realize Jean Jacket was the UFO.
Courn: Yeah.
Chase: That's a I need to watch the movie again.
Courn: I would dress up. I want a mask of the fake aliens from that movie. Yeah, I think they're really. Yeah, that design was like interesting to me. It kind of looks like a howler monkey.
Chase: Yeah. And like you said, it's like picking that creative piece and like running with it and doing like stuff like that, not taking other people's culture, which it has like historical, spiritual meaning at times and like making fun of it.
Courn: Like there's so many costumes that are arranged, like they're super basic costumes that you don't have to try that aren't offensive. Put on some cat ears, no shame. You just want to be a sexy cat, be my fucking guest.
Chase: Sexy plumber.
Courn: Yeah, but don't, I hate when people like dresses are occupation though. Like I'm a nurse and I'm like, maybe don't do that.
Chase: Yeah, also that like sexy spin on stuff. How do you feel?
Courn: I don't like it. Personally, I don't think it has like a history of being as offensive, but I think for women, I think it kind of does like sexualizing, like nurses.
Chase: Yeah, a little degrading.
Courn: Yeah.
Chase: I would think.
Courn: There's also just like costumes that are like red flags and you dress as a cop, I don't like you.
Chase: Yeah.
Courn: That's not a fun costume.
Chase: No.
Courn: That's like offensive.
Chase: What about like a stripper cop?
Courn: No. Or like a prisoner, that's always a common costume to if you put the black and white suits on, like what?
Chase: Why would you dress as a prisoner?
Courn: Like people do like a cop and a prisoner costume or like a cowboy and like, you know where that's going.
Chase: Don't like that.
Courn: Just like when in doubt, don't pick costumes based on like occupations. That's kind of a lame costume anyway. I don't know, just like pick a person.
Chase: Yeah, pick a character.
Courn: Pick a character. There's so many good characters. What do you mean? Like go on TikTok, literally I get like every other video now just like this really funny Halloween costume and I'm like, oh yeah, that's great, that's great. Like look on the internet. Don't go to spirit Halloween and look for a costume.
Chase: So expensive too. That's fair, making your own. That's just like the waste of materials eventually just goes to landfill.
Courn: That's what I'm saying. Like all these industries, I know we talked about this before just all the holiday season, buying all this crap you don't need you know. We should be able to have joy and buy things if you like you know buy that little pumpkin spider. Put it on your house if that brings you joy. Do you need a hundred of them? No!
Chase: One or two is good.
Courn: Yeah, do you need a new costume every year like no! If you're going to you can thrift stuff You can get stuff secondhand ask friends for stuff, you know. You don't have to buy a $200 costume from Spirit Halloween. That's made of plastic.
Chase: Every year.
Courn: Yeah I love all the naming.
Chase: Go as a tampon. I'm gonna go as a tampon.
Courn: Oh my yeah, that'd be a fun one to DIY.
Chase: Literally just a white shirt, white pants. Put a string somewhere.
Courn: Yeah That's a that's a look. That's a that's a hot take for Halloween costume.
Chase: I'm not gonna do that. Someone could take that idea.
Courn: I love all the naming at a Halloween stores of like like costumes where they're like trademarked.
Chase: Yeah. Cause can they use the trademark name or no?
Courn: Spirit Halloween has a lot of partnerships that they actually have the names. But they'll just be like, Oh, like, you know, captain red, white, blue.
Chase: Yes. Yeah. Captain Hook. That's a good costume. I feel like you do that or like Jack Sparrow. Like you do Jack Sparrow.
Courn: I think all the superhero costumes are like overdone. Yeah, unless you're a child.
Chase: Yeah.
Courn: Don't that's also like kind of weird, patriotic, like Captain America is cop adjacent.
Chase: Yes.
Courn: Red flag. You want to dress up as Homelander? Red flag.
Chase: Oh!
Courn: I've seen a lot of those costumes coming out this year. A lot of people doing boys costumes, which some of it's like, you know, it's pretty cool.
Chase: I could see that.
Courn: Cool cosplay and stuff. But I wouldn’t want to dress as Homelander.
Chase: Ew. Of all the people? No.
Courn: Like why you got to pick the most vile character on the show and be like, oh, that's fun.
Chase: That's, yeah, laser eyes. I'm gonna cosplay as you.
Courn: Yeah, as a friend. That's a hot costume, dressing as each other. That's hilarious, but that'd be so funny just dressing up as someone else. I see whatever the video people all dress up as like the manager of the office or something.
Chase: Or they all wear the same outfit dressed like the manager kind of thing.
Courn: Yeah, I think that's hilarious. Maybe don't do it to someone that might get mad, but-
Chase: True.
Courn: I'd be honored if you dressed as me. I'd love to see you try.
Chase: Pink hair.
Courn: Just a ridiculous pink wig.
Chase: We don't have a party planned, but I might do this for you. Be wild. Okay, well on that note, we should go thrifting so I can buy a costume and dress like you and clearly we have a lot of Halloween movies to catch up on so we gotta get on that, bye!
Courn: Bye!
Chase: Happy Hallloween!
Courn: OOooooOhhh!
Chase: Hey folks, a quick disclaimer here. Courn and I speak directly from our own experiences, and while we try our best to amplify marginalized voices and present accurate information, the thoughts expressed here are definitely not a reflection of all neurodivergent, AAPI, or queer folks. So, if you have any suggestions, comments, or thoughts, feel free to email us at hello@neurotakespod.com. Thanks!