Gamer Girls

She looks away to have a moment of reflection.  “Is this ‘casserole’ thing truly funny enough to share with Mike and all of Youtube?  It’s not too late to back down.”  

Mike also looks away to have a split second assessment of the situation.  He knows that Erin isn’t funny.  How is he going to save her from embarrassment?  Is there anything that he can do?  Who knows?  Maybe what she’s thinking really is funny.

Mike asks, “Do you want to pick the word?” as Erin chuckles to herself, somewhat confident that “casserole” is funny.  She finds it funny, after all.  Why wouldn’t everybody else?

Erin says, “Can I?”, still not 100% certain on whether or not “casserole” is funny.  She’s looking to Mike for reassurance. Mike doesn’t know what the word is, though, so he can’t know whether or not it’s funny.  Mike, with noticeable trepidation, says, “Yeah.  You pick the word.”

Erin reassess again.  “Is ‘casserole’ really as funny as I think it is?  Maybe I shouldn’t say it.”  Mike looks at Erin, knowing that whatever she’s thinking isn’t going to be funny, but hoping for the best.

This is it.  This is the moment.  Erin looks to the camera, addresses the horntards, this is what we’ve all been waiting for.  She’s smiling.  This is going to be funny.  She just knows it.  She’s beaming with confidence.

“Casserole!”  Then for a split second she thinks.  “Wait…did that land?  Was that as funny as I thought it was?”

She has serious second thoughts about this.  She looks at Mike for reassurance.  She’s thinking, “That was funny, right?”  Mike gives no indication that “casserole” was at all funny.  He just returns a blank stare.  He’s trying to process what just happened.  

This one is subtle but if you watch the video frame by frame (by pressing the “,” and “.” keys) you’ll see it more clearly.  Erin leans in towards Mike ever so slightly because she’s concerned that she didn’t get the reaction that she expected.  She’s subconsciously urging Mike to laugh at her “casserole” “joke” to validate her intellect and her sense of humour.  But Mike isn’t going for it.  He’s still trying to figure out what just happened.  “Why did she say “casserole”?  Is this a reference to something in our private life?  What is this?  Am I not remembering something?  What makes this funny?”

Mike shifts his gaze away from Erin as he comes to the realisation that nothing was funny about this.  But now what is he going to do?  How is he going to salvage this?  

Mike is now looking at the chat.  Erin is still hopeful, against all evidence to the contrary, that Mike finds her “joke” funny.  Mike has resolved to simply repeat to the chat what Erin has said.

“Casserole”.  But he doesn’t say it in the excited way that Erin did.  He says it in a confused fashion.  He’s still not quite sure what any of this means or why it’s funny but he’s trying to roll with it because this is his sugarbaby and he doesn’t want her to feel bad.  But on the other hand, he still has no idea why she said this or what makes it funny.  Erin continues to look at him for some kind of reassurance.

Erin looks to the chat for some kind of reassurance.  Obviously, the people in the chat can’t give any kind of reassuring look but this is all happening in a matter of seconds.  It’s done on a subconscious level.

Mike furls his brow, still trying to put all of the pieces together.  But this is a riddle with no answer.  She’s just an idiot.  There’s NOTHING funny about “casserole”.  You can sit there for the next two hours trying to figure this one out.  It’s nothing.  There is no joke.  The only person on earth who finds this funny is Erin.  Why does Erin find it funny?  Because she’s mentally ill.

Mike rolls his eyes and sticks his tongue out.  Erin shifts away from Mike and closes her eyes.  She’s made a complete fool of herself again.  Why did she say “casserole”?  She should have just let Mike give his word.  What’s wrong with her?  She should just go back to California and work in a record store.

It ends with Mike finally reassuring her by sharing a laugh.  But not at her “joke” because her “joke” was complete shit.  There was nothing funny about it.  But he’s indicating to her that it’s okay, we all tell jokes that don’t land, I’ll still fuck you in the ass tonight in exchange for Youtube promotion.  Erin laughs nervously, knowing that she failed again, but happy that Mike accepts her in spite of her being an unfunny, untalented, uncharismatic, complete fraud.