Carolina Otakus Podcast
We all know that being an otaku can be fun and exciting. But we also know that there are certain questions and topics that otaku's ask just because they can. "Is Goku a dead beat father? Or Does the intro music to an anime make it better? AfroSly and LexyTheNoob will answer these questions and more on Carolina Otaku's Podcast. If you enjoy gaming, tech and anime then Carolina Otaku's is right for you. So give us a listen.
Carolina Otakus Podcast
Let It Snow Is The Best Christmas Song, Fight Me
Holiday energy hits early as we trade quick life updates, a Punta Cana birthday plan, and the kind of shopping chaos that defines December. A budget TV hunt morphs into a 65‑inch Sony, followed by a full‑body reaction to Costco gridlock and a surprising win at a spotless rural meat market with fair prices and great cuts. We share thoughtful gifts that fit our worlds—Fallout mugs for the morning ritual and an Elder Scrolls official cookbook that turns Tamriel into spices, breads, and desserts worth trying at home—then plot a brisket and chicken smoke that anchors the week.
The conversation turns to soundtracks for the season and why some traditions faded. We make a passionate case for Boyz II Men’s Let It Snow—warm harmonies, timeless romance, and replay value well past December—and ask why R&B Christmas albums vanished when they once defined winter mood. That leads into the year’s biggest gaming tension: an acclaimed indie used AI for parts of its production, patched it out quickly, then saw awards pulled. We weigh the ethics and the future: should AI‑assisted categories exist, or would that legitimize a shortcut? Craft still matters, and audiences can tell when heart leads.
We also dig into Bethesda buzz: real movement on the next Elder Scrolls and rumors that the Fallout TV series could become canon in Fallout 5. That sparks curiosity and caution—transmedia can deepen a universe or tangle it. To help you win the season, we wrap with a clean, practical gift guide: USB‑C cables, surge protectors, RGB lighting, handheld accessories, U3 microSD cards, and digital gift cards for Steam or Game Pass during the big sales. The final note is simple but urgent: appreciate the people near you. Take the photo, make the call, share the meal. If this conversation made you smile or think, tap follow, share it with a friend, and leave a quick review—what’s your bold holiday take?
https://www.carolinaotakus.com/
Thank you, and welcome to another episode of the Carolina Utaku podcast. I am Afro and I am here with my co-host.
SPEAKER_00:Alexi.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, welcome back, guys. You guys have seen this background before. I don't want to explain it. If you listen to us, you listen to us, you know what his background is. It's real, it's not fake. You guys know how we start these off. Kind of just seen what we've been up to. We know it's the holiday season. Wanted to get something out to you guys pretty quick. So, what have you been up to since we last talked, Lexi? Um, what have you been up to?
SPEAKER_00:Playing a lot of where wins meet and enjoying the new season of Fallout and getting ready for my birthday trip.
SPEAKER_01:Nice. Nice. What's your plan?
SPEAKER_00:I'm going to DR for my birthday.
SPEAKER_01:Oh, please don't tell me you're going to Puta Cana.
SPEAKER_00:I am.
SPEAKER_01:My God. Jesus Christ.
SPEAKER_00:What?
SPEAKER_01:Nothing. Nothing. I'm a I'm I'm nothing. It seems like it seems like that is every I can talk about this because I'm a black man. It's every black person's destination when they go to DR, Punta Kana. And I'm just like, oh my gosh, is there another city in that motherfucker?
SPEAKER_00:Except there are lots of different places. Okay. I forgot where the other Punta is, but I've been there and now I'm going to Punta Kanto. Yeah.
SPEAKER_01:Is this is this like a resort type shit?
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, all inclusive resort.
SPEAKER_01:Nice. Okay. That's what's up. That's what's up. Um, I haven't been really much to anything. Bought my sister a TV for Christmas. She, I told her, I went, we went into Best Buy yesterday. I went to go see her new place. Went to Best Buy yesterday, and I was like, all right, Tyler, you got$500 to$700. That's your limit, right? And then we go in there, and Best Buy's like, you know, they get somebody to help us. Oh, yeah, I've heard that. My sister's like, I heard that Sony is good. And I looked at her like, I said$500 to$700. I'm like, we can listen to this dude talk. But if it ain't between that, you ain't getting it, right? So she ended up with a Sony, 65-inch. Um, came out 900 with warranty and got her amount and everything, and put up the TV today. So that's up. Um it's a nice TV. Hope she likes it. But been getting just giving gifts early because I'm just like, I'm not gonna, you're not gonna travel back up here with that TV and then who you're gonna get to mount it and all that stuff. So it's just like, okay, I'll just take care of it while I'm here. Went to a really nice meat market today with really good cuts of meat. It was beautiful in it. Like, it was really nice. The one thing it was like in the it was in the rural area. I'm not gonna say country, rural area of Maryland. And it seemed it looks like I had my hair out. I didn't have this on my head, and it looks like it seemed like they never seen a black person in that area before. Because when when I it was me, it was my mother and I, and we went, I drove, and went in there. I ordered like Saturday, right? Because I went to Costco. Fuck Costco, fuck Costco. Costco fucking sucks. All right. I went to the Costco in North Carolina and I was overwhelmed as hell, and I had to get the hell out. It freaked me out. Went into the Costco here. It was a little bit better, but I got the briskets were horrible. They looked bad, and the chickens did too. So I got some pastries and some um what else did I get? I got pastries and a roasted chicken, right? For like dinner. I go, I'm having my cart, and I'm like, I see a line that's like back in the frozen section. And I'm like, oh, it must be people getting free samples or some shit. Is that the checkout? That was the line to check out. That was the line to check out. And I said, You have got to be kidding me. And I'm in, I'm in front of this older white guy, and his wife is off going getting other stuff to put into the cart while he stands in line, and he's like sitting there holding up the line. I'm like, bro, you got about five seconds until I say something, tell you to move up because I need to get the fuck out of here. This place is disgusting. So yeah, I hate Costco's. Um, I'd rather go to Sam's Club any day. Uh, so that's that. Um we both got each other gifts. I like both of mine. I haven't got another one because I'm not home. But I got Lexi a set of mugs from Fallout by this coffee company that they had a coffee, they made a coffee based on Fallout, and then they made those mugs also.
SPEAKER_00:It's my favorite coffee company too, by the way.
SPEAKER_01:I didn't know that. Was it Bones and what?
SPEAKER_00:No, it's called Bones Coff Coffee Company. Yeah.
SPEAKER_01:Oh.
SPEAKER_00:Bones Coffee. Yeah.
SPEAKER_01:So I saw those like months ago, and I was like, oh, okay. Yeah. Because it I it just happens to, I mean, it's not happened. New season uh started last week, and so Fallout is just Bethesda and Fallout, whatever, they're just trying to capitalize on what's going on right now. Yeah, for sure. And Lexi knows that I like to cook. So she got me a Elder, the Elder Scrolls uh you know, official cookbook. And I looked in this thing and I saw the map and I freaked out. I was like, this is dope. Like everything about this it has basics, the different spices that you were gonna be using that you can make up, the starters, the bakers, the drinks, the desserts. Like, it's great. It the pictures even tells you the people that you see in Tamarill. Yeah, from the Khajitz to the orcs and everything. It gives a description of them. It's it's great. This is amazing. So, and also pictures from like in the game. It's actually really nice.
SPEAKER_00:It fits them well.
SPEAKER_01:I brought this with me just so I can take a look at it and stuff like that. So, yeah, that I mean it's it's been pretty good so far. I'm waking up early tomorrow morning to cook a brisket and smoke a brisket and a chicken and back to uh North Carolina on Christmas Eve. You know, been kind of busy, but nothing too crazy. So, like I said, this is kind of gonna be not a long episode. There are just certain things that I kind of wanted to bring up. Do you mind if I go into this first topic? Because this annoys the hell out of me.
SPEAKER_00:Go ahead.
SPEAKER_01:People don't make, I'm gonna say RB singers don't make Christmas albums anymore.
SPEAKER_00:They don't.
SPEAKER_01:Right? And maybe, maybe that's just a niche thing that just kind of went out, but I hear people talk about like, you know, you listen on YouTube and stuff like that. Oh man, the best Christmas song is this and that and that. The best Christmas song till this day is Let It Snow by Boys to Men. I don't want to hear no Paul McCartney simply having a wonderful Christmas time. Don't need it. I don't need to hear Mariah Mariah Carey's chunkmunk high, hi, hi, hi, hi, hi. Soprano. I don't even know that soprano. Is that like Meso Soprano or something? I don't know. But I don't need to hear that song. All I want for Christmas is you. Don't need to hear it. The best Christmas song is Boys to Men, Let It Snow. That's it. I'm sorry. It's a great song. And you can play it in July. You can play it at any time. I'm not playing Mariah Carey's song that All I Want for Christmas this year in April.
SPEAKER_00:Why not? For what? Just feel the nostalgia. Like you might miss Christmas. You won't want to hear it.
SPEAKER_01:Nah, it it's something, it's something about that boys the men's song at any time. It works because it's a it's a it's it's a love song, right? We know it's a love song. So because it is a love song, it's like, all right, cool. We can we can listen to this all the time. But I hear people talk about jingle bell rock and all that stuff, and I'm like, you guys are missing like I mean, Luther Vandross had a Christmas album, Jackson 5 had a Christmas album. Like, I wouldn't.
SPEAKER_00:But he also did like jingles and shit for commercials. That's where he started. So like I'm not surprised he would do a Christmas album.
SPEAKER_01:Okay. How would you do you think Leon doing a Christmas album would be great?
SPEAKER_00:I would say it would have potential because he's also like been on like TV. That's where he started, right? So like he can like play into it, and I think it will be like a really good like Christmas album. But is he gonna make one? No, because nobody does that anymore.
SPEAKER_01:But that's what I'm saying. It's lost. It's lost. I would love to hear that. It's not something that's gonna make you like tons of money or something like that, but it's just something that's that you can do, like you know, if it's good, people are gonna come back to that every year, i.e. Mariah Carey, right? It it's just something about it, and I I just hate that people leave out Let It Snow by Boys the Men. I do. Because people leave that song out, and it's just from when that's it doesn't even have like a like it has an intro, but it doesn't even really have an intro intro like that. It just goes right into the song. There is no in the like there is no beginning, it's just let it snow, and he just goes into singing. It's great, it's a great song. Anywho, yeah, uh Christmas albums aren't really a thing like that. Okay, I do get that it is a love song and not an X-Men song, but who said that a love song can't be Christmas?
SPEAKER_00:I mean, it's true. No, but then again, if it's a love song, there's other times that you can play it besides Christmas. So it doesn't make it a universal song.
SPEAKER_01:Exactly. It just happens to be there in a cabin with fire and playing in snow. And most of the lyrics are based off of Christmas activities, you know. So it's a great song.
SPEAKER_00:It is. So we'll disagree.
SPEAKER_01:We'll put that to that. Another thing that came up, this is actually kind of funny to me. So we know that in the game awards, and we called this, we called that this game was gonna win everything. We called it, and it it did, it won the most, it won the most awards. Expedition 33 won the Indy Awards and everything like that. But there's a caveat there. Um, so Expedition 33 has come out and said they actually said we used AI to make this game, to make parts of this game. Yeah, not the whole game, but parts of this game. And the game award said, fuck no.
SPEAKER_00:We can't it's just two titles from them. It was like yunk.
SPEAKER_01:I don't know. Taking our shit back that I don't know if that has happened before. And I don't want to take away from the game itself because uh it looks great. Voice acting is great. Oh, yeah, people love it. And like I said, it was in it's an indie, it was that game was so good that after it won the awards, do you know that the French government actually gave it like applause? Because you know, it was a big deal, like it was a really big deal that this French company made this amazing game and took home all these awards when it was going against a whole bunch of other games. And the French said, all right, yeah, we we standing behind you. Shoot, this is this is what we got. So I thought that was interesting, and that kind of opens up another question of is the game awards gonna have like a category that's just like AI supported games, the best AI supported game awards.
SPEAKER_00:I I hope not. I really don't want us to move that far to where like AI-based games are winning awards and shit. But like, I don't necessarily agree with the ruling on that either, because yes, they did have AI assets, but they did come out and say that those were patched within five days of release, so they weren't even really in the game at the time that the game was even being considered for the award.
SPEAKER_01:So and and it doesn't seem like they really got like a lot of backlash about it. I think a lot of people were just like, yeah, I I get why. You know, I can see gaming companies, you know, doing this. It's that time, you know, it's that it's coming to that time within tech and in the future where AI is going to be in a lot of stuff, unfortunately. So I thought that was interesting. Um, I also did see some headlines about Bethesda actually making some leadway when it comes to Elder Scrolls, the new Elder Scrolls.
SPEAKER_00:Have you also heard the rumor that the show is going to be canon in Fallout 5? That's what they keep saying.
SPEAKER_01:Really?
SPEAKER_00:That's what they keep saying, and I'm just like, I don't know how that's possible, but we'll see. Yeah.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, we'll see about that. But I haven't, of course, Lexi have seen the first episode of the Fallout, no, the new season of the Fallout series. I haven't watched it yet. I might watch it while that brisket is smoking tomorrow morning, early in the morning.
SPEAKER_00:Sorry, guys, I can't talk about it.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, I'll I'll check it out for sure, for sure. And I guess one other thing. I know Christmas is what, two days?
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, essentially.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah. Two days. And if you are a person that is doesn't know you don't know what to get that person, you know, we talked about this before, that anime, that tech type of gift, something quick that shit, I can go on Amazon real quick. You know, I might be able to get this next day, or you know, whatever. Just things that you can always get that are always good because you can never have too many of them. USB type C cables. A good like uh surge protector. Maybe something that actually has like, I don't know, that's kind of gives that whole like gaming room type of effect, you know, and a nice color, something that they might like. Or something that's like see-through or clear or something. I don't know. Something like that. And I don't know what it is with people that play games because I'm uh I'm guilty of this. Anything that you can change the color of.
SPEAKER_00:Yes, RGB anything. Yes, RGB anything.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, RGB, LED lights, whatever. Anything that I can change the color of and I have that control, yeah. Get get stuff like that. They'll find a use for it in some type of way. Either they I don't know, they'll use it in some type of way for sure, for sure. Um people that have like handhelds like Steam Decks and stuff like that. I'm not the biggest battery packs, cases. Do you use those like thumbstick covers?
SPEAKER_00:Yep, I have some on my LI. So yeah, those micro SD cards.
SPEAKER_01:Oh yeah. Oh my gosh. Oh, yeah, yeah. Yeah, and and get like good ones, get like the U4s or the U3s, yeah, yeah. Get those. Don't don't go, and you can find those pretty cheap now, too. Like, you don't have to get like the scan disc ones, you can get the P and Y, or I think Amazon actually has their own brand of ones that are actually U3s too, if I'm not mistaken. So, yeah, those are also good to get. I'm trying to think, is it anything else? Like, I'm talking about like quick stuff, USB type C's. Um that's just the way shit is now. Something that's also not like crazy expensive. I would say multicolored zip ties.
SPEAKER_00:I would say like gift cards as well. Oh yeah, yeah, like the I guess for like PlayStation and um Xbox and Steam and all, especially Steam, because right now Steam has a winner sale to the fifth. So gift cards would be greatly appreciated for your PC players.
SPEAKER_01:Oh yeah.
SPEAKER_00:What else? I mean, if you got an Xbox, you know, fanboy or fangirl, you can get them like um ultimate or premium, because you know that that price is expensive.
SPEAKER_01:Or just give them money to go to a fund to buy a PC.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, that or some RAM because that's oh yeah. Super expensive.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, yeah. Or see now, now you get my mind going about really, really small stuff. You can buy hard drives and stuff like that. Like stuff that you like, you know, stuff that you just see and you're like, oh yeah, you can always go the route of Funko Pops or like collectible figurines and stuff like that.
SPEAKER_00:If you can make their lives a little easier by buying them something, probably the best route to go.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah. Yeah. That's true. Or like a good phone case.
SPEAKER_00:Mm-hmm.
SPEAKER_01:That's also good too. And this is gonna be really off topic. Okay, so I went to that meat market right today, right? Okay, and like I said, they had to like that he'd never seen black people before. And the biggest thing was that I I expected to pay a lot of money for two briskets and two whole chickens. And the briskets were about 10 pounds each. When you cook a brisket, a lot of it's water that's gonna cook down, so you half that to like five pounds, right? Yeah. So untrimmed at that too. So I still had to trim it a little bit. So I was I was she was ringing it up and I saw the brisket was like$89 and I said is that right I was like$89 for real and she was like yeah and I was like I'm paying in North Carolina almost a hundred dollars or a hundred and five dollars for a whole full pack of brisket can I tell you I'm getting fucking robbed because I said that to the lady and she said damn he said damn and I said yeah you're right it's crazy it's crazy I'm oh my god right so it was very clean in that place I would definitely recommend it um oh my gosh what was that um place called hold on give me a minute because it it was god it was a really really good place it is called Bullocks Meat and it's in well if you're in this area it's in Westminster Maryland like I said it's the it's it's very very rural but it was nice very clean and very nice people and really good pricing for their stuff because I was getting I've been getting robbed man I've been getting robbed I still had the receipt I'm holding on to that receipt and I'm taking it back down on North Carolina with me and I I'm gonna sit there and I'm uh I'm really gonna sit there and like really think when I go into the meat market that's like actually near my house and I'm gonna be like how are you coming up with these prices? How how are you coming up with these prices? Yes I understand that you are a a a business but it's crazy buying my mom got two pounds of wings and it was 11 dollars wait what yes it was eleven dollars yes for two pounds of wings and then if I go back down there I get wings and it's about two pounds it's almost 15 bucks and I'm like you have got to be shitting me it's shit it's crazy it is I don't know man I don't know but I got some good briskets and that shit's gonna be fucking tasty tomorrow yeah so um but yeah you know uh like I said it's gonna be a short one y'all didn't want to make this too long I gotta get to bed because I gotta wake up early you you working tomorrow of course I gotta work all the way until Christmas Eve then I'm off for four days that's good that's good but yeah is there anything else that you wanted to Merry Christmas you guys happy new year Merry Christmas Happy New Year enjoy it this is gonna be this is gonna get really deep but really take into consideration the people that are around you because you never know when they're not gonna be there because most of the time when shit usually happens it's usually at times where it's least expected. Yeah and when it happens you're usually saying what the fuck I could have done something but you really can't so enjoy those moments um take heed of what people say to you and enjoy your family and stuff and um just enjoy the holidays just enjoy that's for sure um so yeah thank you guys for listening this is gonna be a short one like I said follow us on all of our uh socials TikTok and everything like that I haven't been posting the past couple days because I've been I've been here and my mother and my sister have been putting me to work I haven't been been in chilling no free time yeah so um yeah follow us on our socials and like I said Merry Christmas and have a happy new year.
SPEAKER_00:We'll see you guys in 2026. Bye
