#and he just has to add that in his 'stuff to figure out about joe's expressions' folder he has stored in his brain

[cementcornfield]

also like speaking of college joe'marr....one of my favorite headcanons is like, yeah, ja'marr probably hero worshiped/had a big crush on the new hot older super talented QB....but i also think joe had a very inconvenient little crush on ja'marr

like joe said himself that thought of his time at LSU as a master's/internship type program but for football instead of any real school curriculum (lol). he had just spent 3 years at OSU /not/ playing football and it was all he wanted to do. now that he had this chance at LSU he was going to buckle up and take it as seriously as possible (he took all online classes and spent as much time as he could at the facility, living and breathing football as much as possible).

so like, he did NOT plan on getting distracted by the cute freshman with the million watt smile and easy warm nature. this kid who would try to joke with him but never try to talk with him without justin or terrace around. this kid with all this god-given talent but no clue how to actually watch film and improve from it. but hey! nothing always goes 100% to plan!

[fallloverfic]

Thoughts on To Be Hero X Episode 6: Two E-Souls

What an episode XD

I'm a bit worried about shipping anyone because my characters of interest seem to keep dying alkdjal Yes, Nice died (presumably) in Episode 1, but Wreck also maybe died later lakdjla Ah well, it's never stopped me before!!

They really pushed Shang Chao and Yang Cheng together this episode. Yes, there was lots of love triangle stuff, but surprisingly interesting moments of making Shang Chao matter a lot more to Yang Chang. I know the idea is to make Shang Chao's death more relevant for Yang Cheng, but still.

Just... this whole sequence with Rock setting them up, and it being framed as an awkward date. Shang Chao having interest in Yang Cheng... I love it. I love all of it. Even if he could have alternate reasons for it like money (maybe), building up his own hero business, platonic friendship, or even just because Xia Qing likes Yang Cheng, this is still so adorable.

I still love E-Soul's secretary(?) and his pink outfit. Looking fly, sir.

I think the episode handles the identity fraud thing in odd way, but eh. I think another point should be made how 1) there are many actors pretending to be E-Soul, and even contests for who can be the best, which E-Soul seems to support, so by certain standards, this is fine and allowed, and 2) it would be kind of complicated to make people stop believing in Yang Cheng, which is kind of what Shang Chao is saying. Identity fraud is an individual choice, not a mass movement of people convinced you're someone else.

I didn't think about it last episode, but this arc is giving me Death of Superman vibes.

Yes, Yang Cheng using his new powers to... electrocute children. I imagine it's just static shock (another great DC Comics character), but... well... It's good to remember that electric shocks can kill and tasers can be very dangerous, even if they're meant to just knock people out, which even on its own is dangerous for a variety of reasons. Even static can be bad. If nothing else, it can burn and paralyze.

There's something really tragic about E-Soul going from this person who fought actual villains (maybe) to... selling action figures of himself. A lot of celebrities do it, obviously, it's just framed in a really kind of sad way? Like ah yes, we're holding a press conference to announce the limited edition statues of myself.

I'm just saying, Yang Cheng doesn't wear the gloves all the time. He could have had it off while Shang Chao worked on it. He didn't. This was a choice. I notice that right hand Shang Chao. I NOTICE IT!!!!

It's also really lovely how hard Shang Chao and Xia Qing are supporting Yang Cheng. Shang Chao is putting a lot of effort into it, not just from a money and convincing his father angle, but also clearly through his technical expertise.

They're just so cute. "It comes from each person that supports, trusts, and loves you." INDEED. THAT LAST ONE THOUGH. Followed almost immediately by putting his hand on Yang Cheng's shoulder.

He believes so hard in Mr. Hero.

I love when Shang Chao is driving the car towards the ongoing crime, and Shang Chao is also talking animatedly into a walkie talkie and Xia Qing is tightly holding onto her seatbelt, looking reasonably concerned about the distracted driver. She deserves better. Poor woman.

I have a weakness for speedsters: I've been a Cyborg 009 fangirl for years. Yang Cheng and E-Soul are not 1:1 with Joe, but there's just a little in the scenes where Yang Cheng races off. His determination and conflict feel similar, too and I actually think they're similar in age.

I also think we hear Yang Cheng's theme/E-Soul's theme(?) in this scene. It sounds nice! If anyone has a link to it, I'll add it to the post.

The whole Yang Cheng fight scene was really cool. Babe doing great!!

I know a lot of us suspected that Shang Chao was the true villain behind everything, and who knows, maybe he really is all along or something, but I like to think he's innocent, he just wants to support Yang Cheng. And that support is really adorable. Taking photos, planning events... It's just really cute. I do, however, wonder why he at no point hires a lawyer. I'm glad he thought up the petition, and it's great his father (maybe Mr. Shand?) managed to get Enlighter, but a lawyer would also have been nice, too :D I mean unless pink dude was a lawyer, E-Soul didn't seem to have one at the mediation either, even with all his money and connections, so I don't know...

It was nice to see Enlighter again. And he's kind of random, but fun! Also, although he's not a lawyer, he does the semi-accurate thing by casting doubt onto the evidence: they can't prove it was Yang Cheng, and it's very unlikely it was him. They can't prove Yang Cheng is guilty. That's likely how a case would have been handled. Though it wouldn't have worked out in this specific fashion. The goal of the defense isn't to find who committed the crime, it's to show how weak the evidence/the case against the defendant is.

They're just so cute, they end me. Every time Yang Cheng feels doubt, Shang Chao is there being like hey :3 Yes, I know Shang Chao asked Xia Qing out. I'm not into the ship, but I support anyone going for an OT3 thing here. Still, I'm rooting for my guys.

And then, alas, the bullet they were previewing... hits Shang Chao. This show sure does have it out for characters associated with the color yellow (Nice, Wreck, Moon, Shang Chao). I think it's interesting he was playing with the helmet when it happened, maybe to tease the theories about him becoming E-Soul or something. And obviously it's to accidentally make the gunman think he's Yang Cheng.

Sad days, sad days. But hey, maybe he's fine (that's not really what a gunshot to the head looks like, so maybe it was a graze, plus, it hit him through the helmet, which might have been armored to some degree, even if it didn't fully stop the bullet)! We'll see next episode, I suppose. (Though the preview for Episode 7 seems to show Yang Cheng and Xia Qing attending a funeral, even though we had a fake-out funeral before with Moon). And who hired the assassin? Pink dude? E-Soul? The fear villain? Someone else? Was it just a rabid fan of the original E-Soul or Yang Cheng? We'll have to see. It definitely seems to make sense why that portal E-Soul (presumably Yang Cheng) was attacking older E-Soul in the character trailer.

Again, I really like how they're using 3D animation in this series and swapping between art styles. It's a lot of fun. But every time they do the 2D, it makes me really wish that was the primary way they were doing the series... It's so much nicer looking...

Overall, it was a great episode. Looking forward to Episode 7! (And if you need some Shang Chao/Yang Cheng comfort, here you go)

More thoughts:

Episode 1, Episode 2, Episode 3, Episode 4, Episode 5, Episode 6 (You are here), Episode 7, Episode 8, Episode 9, Episode 10, Episode 11, Episode 12

[neiacrockets]

silly ass eltingville club oc self insert!!

i just now decided to interact with eltingville fandom holy shit i remember watching the pilot in the summer of 2023 or 2024 its such a shock for me not gonna lie

neia (nene) perez!

general info

i haven’t made much lore for her yet but heres go nothing “nene” (neia perez) is addicted to fighting games and gambling game currency on gacha/lootbox things, she is usually seen at a nearby arcade thats close to joe’s comics and she wastes her allowance on getting the highest score (also i forgot to add that shes 5’1” )

relationship info

neia despises bill but she personally finds it funny to annoy him, probably one of the few people who don’t take him seriously (you know she beats his ass at the new major violence fighting game) also based off this info alone i feel like neia and jane would be mutual friends

neia finds josh to be weird but he is her most favorite person to annoy and lie to for fun, she would claim to have something he wants (money, a collectible random figure, etc) and somehow here & there he falls for it

neia would stand at least 5ft away from pete, she personally feels like something is off with him like the first thought she has “how could one be just soooo into horror stuff…”

neia has the most ehh relationship with jerry, its not as entertaining for her to annoy him so at most she asks him annoying questions or beg him for quarters

neia is one of the few people who is nice to willoughby, when she meets somebody for the first time she makes it her mission to be nice to them! they both hang out sometimes due to similar interests

her pilot intro card thing

SHE CAME OUT SO GOOD

ignore the skullgirls sneak i have a big hyperfix on it right now pretend its some thing major violence related i don’t fucking know

i have nothing else to talk about so heres some concept art and her in the comic art style (i tried)

anyways folks uh see you in my next post!

[bullet-prooflove]

For the writers ask!

6. Favorite character you ever created.

19. First line of a WIP you’re working on.

30. Favorite line you’ve ever written.

31. Hardest character to write.

32. Easiest character to write.

42. How do you figure out your characters looks, personality, etc.

50. Weirdest story idea you’ve ever had.

❤️

6. Favorite character you ever created.

There are so many but if I had to narrow it down I would say Ally (Beau Simpson) or Isobel (Dean Archer). Both bring out a really fun, softer side to their partners and they handle their shit with such dignity and grace.

I also wanna add Gina (Travis Wheatley) in here for destroying Travis’s trophies when she thought he was cheating on her.

Oh and Georgia (Terry Silver) too. There is always so much magic when I write the two of them.

19. First line of a WIP you’re working on.

It’s Roxie that notices Margo’s attraction to Dean first.

31. Hardest character to write.

Honestly Joe Cruz from Chicago Fire. I have tried writing for him hundreds of times over the years but I just can not find the key that unlocks him.

32. Easiest character to write.

Terry Silver, in my head he has such a defined voice that it makes him really easy to write. As soon as I see a prompt for him I’m like yep, I know exactly what we’re doing with this one.

42. How do you figure out your characters looks, personality, etc.

For me it’s really about what the fandom character I’m writing for needs from a partner.

So for Wes Mitchell (FBI International) it was a home away from home. So I knew it would be someone from his past, someone familiar he would feel comfortable in a strange country and who wasn’t part of the fly team because he needs that distance. I also knew it would have to be someone who understood the job he does because it would really fuck up a relationship. Hence we have an FBI Instructor at the International Training Academy who he had had a friendship/fling with in the past. The friendship angle allows her to call him out on his shit when he’s misbehaving because she already knows his history/antics.

With Terry Silver I just felt he was a very lonely man who has all this money and travels  but no one to really experience it with. When I wrote Georgia, I wanted someone who could bring a little colour to his world, who was soft and didn’t see the money or prestige. She doesn’t realise he’s a billionaire until later on in their romance and she’s already falling in love. I felt anyone to assertive or aggressive would really raise Terry’s hackles because he’d been burned before with people who wanted him for his status and not for him. I think one of their first dates is Georgia showing Terry, her version of Paris and it’s the act of sharing that experience that makes him fall in love because he sees the world through her eyes and it’s a wonderful place to be after being disillusioned for so long.  

Also I also really wanted to shy away from the whole sugar baby thing and focus on a relationship that was very loving and deep.

50. Weirdest story idea you’ve ever had.

Hm I can’t think of any weird ones off the bat (like witches or tentacles). I’d say more weird in terms of oh shit this is taking a turn I didn’t expect.

It’s happened with a few fics I’ve had in the past esp with the three things prompts.

Stuff like Dean Archer telling Isobel he found out Leanne was cheating when he was diagnosed with an STD. – did not see that coming.

Mike McClusky ending up in a devastating situation with Stella – the prompt was cocktail and from the instant I started writing the vibe was not a positive one.

Nick Torre’s partner being sent dirty lingerie by a stalker – the prompt was surprise gift I think and triggered a massive storyline for those two.

Rip Wheeler setting up an anniversary meal for Imogen and hearing gunshots across the pastures.

There are tons more but these are the ones off the top of my head.

[shrinkthisviolet]

3, 5 [i love you (i'm sorry)], 10, 18 [when you help someone (you help everyone)], 22 [we'll give the world to you (and you'll blow us all away)], 30, 36 and 38 for the fic writer ask game please!

3: What are some tropes or details that you think are very characteristic of your fics?

Ooh well I tend to write a lot of physical affection. I also tend to lean more gen than shippy, though ofc I write plenty of ship fics 😅 especially for YOTP (though that in itself is me challenging myself to write more ship fics that aren’t just prompt fills).

In regards to romance…I love pining, I love first kisses, etc etc. Established Relationship is fun in its own way ofc, but the thrill of the buildup is just *chef’s kiss* I love it.

Also in general, I don’t write higher than T—the most smut you’ll ever get out of me is some innuendo and “fade to black.” Even in fics I read, I don’t read E fics and I’m picky about M fics. It’s just not my thing

5: What do you wish someone would ask you about [i love you (i’m sorry)]? Answer it now!

“What was the point of making Barry and Morgan fight between 1x11 and 1x14? You’ve said yourself that it’s a bit contrived, so why have it at all?” This is something I’m sure people have wondered 😅 and maybe I’ve preemptively answered it before, but I’m going to do it again. Because either I didn’t and should, or it’s something that bears repeating:

For starters, I’ll say that Barry and Morgan’s initial fight, where Morgan was pissed at him because of the Bivolo and Tina stuff, was supposed to be the fight that lasted until 1x14. But then after 1x11, I realized that…it was way more natural for Morgan to try to “clean up her mess” with Hartley (her perspective—remember, she blames herself for being duped by Hartley, she just disagrees with the idea that she had bad intentions), and Barry to be overprotective and beg her too tay out of it. And like…with that, that’s a bridge to resolving their issues right there. You’re not gonna get a better resolution for Morgan to forgive Barry than that.

But on the other hand…now I needed something to fill 1x14. So I thought…what if Barry found out about Morgan’s involvement with Hartley and took it badly? And that went through a few iterations. Initially, Morgan was going to come clean, and Barry would be furious that she worked with Hartley at all and misinterpret her intentions due to his anger. But then…that presents no opportunity for reconciliation. So I figured, Eowells would be a better way—he’s already upset about Barry and Morgan’s closeness, so using Morgan’s alliance with Hartley to turn Barry against her? Absolutely something he’d do—including twisting the facts to do it. And like…I’ve said it’s a little contrived, but only a little. Barry has plenty of reason to assume Eowells is being truthful—by and large, he’s publicly been a very loving, attentive father to Morgan, and Barry hasn’t worked a lot of CPS-esque cases up-close-and-personal enough to really clock the signs. Add in the fact that Eowells is his science hero who he canonically doesn’t want to assume the worst of, and how Eowells lies about Morgan in a way that he’s never done before (to diminish her intelligence, which goes counter to everything he’s ever done—he’s always wanted to prop her up as his perfect daughter, and this very much does the opposite), and the picture becomes more clear. But of course, those more disconnected from Team Flash (Henry, Joe, Iris if she ever really saw Eowells and Morgan interact, which she hasn’t yet) can clock what it is immediately—because they’re on the outside looking in.

And now we come to “but why do they need to be fighting in 1x14?” Well…in theory, they don’t have to be, but it makes certain parts of “i love you (I’m sorry)” hit harder. Barry being worried when she’s seriously hurt and when she’s in danger (something Cisco tells him), Barry’s not-so-secret pride when Morgan talks about time travel theories, the passing-of-the-torch between Ronnie and Barry…plus, it means Ronnie gets to be the stern big brother essentially giving Barry the platonic version of a shovel talk—basically saying “I trust you, it’s clear you two care about her, but you’d better do right by her or else.” If Barry and Morgan weren’t fighting, Ronnie wouldn’t really get to do that—so this gives him a bit more to do. It also gives Caitlin more of an avenue to be a stern, protective big sister. She may be Barry’s friend, but don’t get it twisted—she’d throw him overboard to save Morgan, no questions asked.

(…well. Maybe not something so overt. She’s still a doctor—she’d make it look like an accident. Probably)

Plus…this way, we get some “platonic jealousy” from Barry, which is hilarious 😂 bending a fork, calling Ronnie’s smile a “fire hazard”…dude please, you are fooling absolutely no one. Meanwhile Ronnie’s over here cheerfully talking with his baby sister’s new big brother, completely unaware of any rivalry in Barry’s mind. It’s hysterical.

Especially since, as everyone keeps reminding Barry, this is a fixable problem. He is causing his own misery. So unlike most jealousy arcs…this is at Barry’s expense rather than Morgan’s. Which is great! More jealousy arcs, whether romantic or platonic, should be written that way.

(Maiko’s brief (romantic ofc) one in the Beach is like that—where Zuko is presented as the one in the wrong. Though some fans still act like the show was somehow criticizing Mai…*sigh*. Anyway. I digress)

Hopefully that explains why I kept them fighting in 1x14 😅 was it contrived? A little, though hopefully it did also make sense. But it was also necessary.

10: How do you decide what to write?

Oh I don’t decide anything 😂 the ideas come to me in a flash (pun sometimes intended), and those are a dime a dozen. As for which ones I write…it depends which ones itch at me to write fic for them. And even then, actually writing said fic can take a while 😅 prompt fills are quick by their nature, but like…a multichap? Could be months before you even hear about it.

Of course, sometimes I do choose not to write fics, or abandon them, for various reasons. The plan I have is too extensive for me to want to take on, I’m not in that fandom anymore, etc etc.

There are also WIPs that I haven’t abandoned but cling on to stubbornly—like, okay maybe I don’t have the time now to actively work on them, but I want to make time at some point because I’m so attached to a particular story and want to see it through (Bumizumi AU, Rey & Luke time travel AU, Saviris/Westallen s3 fix-it, Savimiris fic, and Snowest/Killerwest s3 fic, and Savitar & Nora fic are the current ones for these).

So there’s some choice for sure. But yeah, usually it feels a little like getting possessed by the muse 😂

18: If you wrote a sequel to [when you help someone (you help everyone)], what would it involve?

Ooh to be honest, I have no idea. I conceived that as a “one and done” idea, so I’m not sure what a sequel could really involve. I guess if I did, I’d write Haja being more involved in the rest of the Kenobi show—maybe beating Obi-Wan to Tatooine and engaging Reva to defend Luke until Obi-Wan gets there, maybe some Haja & Leia interaction (because I think they got a little iirc? But they could always get more)…hey, maybe they could’ve used him for an Ahsoka stinger at the end, who’s to say. The possibilities are endless…though it’s not a sequel I’d ever write. The fic feels complete as is.

22: Who is your favorite character in [we'll give the world to you (and you'll blow us all away)] and why?

Aww man, unfair question 😂 my favorite character in that fic is a baby and technically doesn’t do a whole lot (it’s Izumi)! Though Mai’s a close second. I love her so, so much…and I love her and Zuko fiercely defending their little girl, especially since I’m sure Mai is super exhausted from having just given birth. Writing Mai as a fiercely protective and also very loving mom gives me life 🥰 in a fandom where everyone would rather take Mai’s daughter away from her and give her to other people to raise, I defend Mai’s right to be her own daughter’s mother.

I also just...really love that fic in general. It's my personal hc that Maiko had an impulse wedding, and perhaps a proper wedding later for the sake of propriety (hey, part of "a new era of the FN" is still having public royal weddings, just also showing that their marriage is more loving than Ozai/Ursa's forced, loveless arrangement. And this fic also shows how I believe they came to have Izumi - if she's around Bumi's age (which I hc she is), then it means Maiko took their sweet time, and I'm sure part of that was because they wanted to have a child on their own terms, no one else's.

Also, unlike what a lot of people weirdly seem to hc, Maiko stopped at one kid just because they wanted to. Not because Mai had fertility issues, not because of a miscarriage, or what have you (funny how people only have those "fertility issue" hcs for Mai and not Zuko btw...but I digress). She just decided "well! That was rough. We're not doing that again." And like...that's fair, honestly. You don't need a reason to stop having kids other than "yeah listen I'm fine, the baby's fine, etc etc, but that was rough and I'm not doing that again." That's absolutely a valid choice. Izumi was a difficult birth for Mai, as stated in-fic, but like...I'm a first child. We tend to be difficult births for our mothers in general, from what I've seen 😂 even without fertility issues.

And it was really nice to explore both her and Zuko's reservations about having kids! Zuko's are explored a lot in fics, but Mai's aren't as much. I liked giving her a little more spotlight (and in a Zuko POV too! It can be done!)

And the brief bit of Maitara friendship! I love them sm. Katara and Mai would absolutely defend each other against any bs 💞 just as they'd both do for any of the Gaang

30: Have you ever written something that was out of your comfort zone? If so, what was it, and how did it affect your approach to writing fic thereafter?

Technically every longform ship fic is pushing me out of my comfort zone, since I’m so gen-inclined 😂 but I love it. I do love romance, and getting more used to writing it in more than short spurts is very fun.

Also! I’m pretty open about the fact that i love you (i’m sorry) is me tackling one of my least favorite tropes—Miscommunication—and trying to use it in a way that isn’t utterly ridiculous. Did I succeed? Well…that’s up to my readers to say 😂 it’s not my favorite fic by any means, but I still like that I tried it…especially for the hilarious “nooo I don’t care about Morgan! *proceeds to care about Morgan*” moments from Barry that we wouldn’t have gotten without this fic. Ronnie’s shocked that Barry thought he was in any way subtle lol

36: Do you visualize what you read/write?

To an extent. Sometimes it feels more like disjointed images than one clear scene—it helps when I act it out myself, but then I’m just visualizing myself rather than my OCs 😅 it’s a bit of a challenge. I’m a little envious of those who can perfectly visualize their scenes as they write tbh

38: Did any of your fics get surprisingly popular (whatever that means to you)? Which ones? Why do you think they were so successful?

Well ofc the Morgan AU—the enthusiasm keeps growing, much to my delight! Though I do feel a little sorry for new fans 😅 the current formatting (unfinished s1 and s2 arcs) is a bit jarring. Hopefully finishing the s1 arc should help.

Also…i love you (so please let me go)! It was my first Spidey fic, and it like…blew up overnight after I posted it—got a bunch of bookmarks, kudos, etc…even got added to a collection, all in the span of one day! I hadn’t really experienced anything like that, and it was surprising in a wonderful way. Big fandom definitely contributed to that, as well as PeterMJ being a pretty popular ship (and Peter & Ned & MJ being such a fundamental trio)…plus, it was post-NWH in the few weeks after it was released. All those factors contributed imo.

(I also happen to think it’s an amazing fic and the POV switches are something I’m very proud of, though I doubt those specifically are what contributed to the popularity as much as like…the timing, the fandom, etc)

fic writer ask game!

[alexandersimpleton]

So saw this post, and decided to share some stuff, I scrolled down your blog a bit, and saw an OMORI post... So here's my idea for everybody's Epithets!

Sunny - Dreamer - This word is brought up a lot in the context of Sunny, and makes sense for Headspace and how it works. I'm still gonna explain the logistics and why I had those as powers though.

Dreamer allows for the user to have incredibly complex dreams, manifest abilities from these into reality. (Calm Down, Focus, Persist) Create nightmarish illusions from somebody's psyche. (Think Nightmare Fuel with Drowsy and SOMETHING and all of it's related fights) Invite others subconsciousness into their dreams. (Mostly Basil related stuff from the OG OMORI) As well as being able to fall asleep and wake up on command. (It's a buncha instances rather than one so..)

Kel - Caffeine - It's mostly because, he's really fast, and also Orange Joe contains extreme amounts of caffeine

That is... not normal.... So, I made it Kel's Epithet!

Caffeine allows the user to consume any amount of caffeine without consequence, as well as boosting the effects of it. It also allows for short boosts of caffeine which can give a bunch more energy and speed. The user can also apply these effects to others. They can also almost infinitely restore physical Stamina... mental stamina though? Yeah... that's gonna take a hit after a while.

Aubrey... Honestly not sure, whether she'd be a Mundie or Inscribed. If she WAS Inscribed, Bunny would work, but eh idk. Just not sure.

Mari ~ Picnic...? ~ In Headspace, everybody has an Epithet, simply because they're cool. So of course Mari needs one. In the Real World, Mari had no Epithet and was totally not frustrated about that, and assumed that Sunny having an Epithet should be as good as her, if not better, especially with something like Dreamer, wouldn't somebody be able to reach their dreams, and Sunny DOES want this doesn't he?!

Picnic allows travel from any picnic blanket to another, manifestation of food in a picnic basket, this food immediately restoring all your stamina and healing your wounds.It also allows immediate transportation to the last held picnic basket imbued with Picnic for anybody. This is all at no cost to the user.

Hero ~ Mundie...? ~ Honestly it'd be kinda funny, and make sense, if he was a Mundie. But nobody realized. Because he's very charming, very good at making food, and very good at school. Everybody assumes he has some kind of Epithet, but just doesn't talk about it.

In Headspace, his Epithet is Food. Which allows for the creation of, of course, food. This food can heal wounds, or restore stamina, works similar to Picnic basically but way less strong, and does actually require stamina.

Basil - Photo - Allows for the capture or summoning of a photo of any moment the user has seen. As well as the summoning of a Photo Album. Reflects the memory itself, rather than what truly happened. Though after it's been shot, the memory stays in that state, until the photo is destroyed, at which the memory continues as if it were a normal one.

OMORI - ??? - It's stated OMORI hasn't figure out his Epithet yet. OMORI basically acts as he does usually in Headspace, with all the powers.

Honestly the Epithets don't change... much, since I kept them fairly similar to the anomalous things already existing in canon, still some stuff that's fun and different from OG OMORI, but, yeah, fun! Hope you enjoy!

Yeah I enjoyed all of that! They were all so creative! I don't have much to add (which is probably partially because it's the middle of the night where I am and I can't think), but I just wanted other people to see these amazing ideas (and add a Kel nuke joke because that uses coffee)

[the-moon-and-sea]

Trying something new bc im bored. Please imagine all the parenthesis are footnotes.

I have decided I'm going to watch the new Ghibli movie when it comes out. I saw ads for it in Japan (just posters on the movie theater wall at the mall, they intentionally didn't advertise the movie At All before releasing it there) and it was more intriguing than some of the other movies coming out (looking at you, ghibli look-alike about a chair??? who okayed that premise) but the timing wasn't right, plus I'd have to watch it all in actual Japanese and while I could do that for something simple like Way of the Househusband (great movie btw but I didn't know enough lore apparently) I figured I'd want to follow this one a bit better. Plus, my boy Yonezu Kenshi contributed to the soundtrack, so I have to watch it to support.

This movie is the first in a while (I'm not googling to see if this is correct) with the old duo of Hayao Miyazaki and Joe Hisaishi, and while there have been....other movies in the last 10 or so years....miss little witch etc was never very compelling for me. But based on the barely-over-a-minute trailer...I'm ready. We've got the creepy soundtrack, the same solid style, but somehow a level up in the animation?! some random old ladies, cute spirits, it's got it all. What it also has, very importantly, is a war reference. We all know Miyazaki remains heavily influenced by his nostalgia of wartime Japan (and aren't all of us (Please Read/Watch In This Corner Of The World)) so it's not surprising to see some bombings here. Some fire there. I'll bet you $5 there will be a plane in there somewhere. Mans loves his planes.

Anyway add onto that the ~mystical elements~ weebs like to love about Japan (please read Orientalism by Edward Said also) and I'm sure this will sell well. And I'm also sure, I'm probably gonna love it lmao

I was reading the official description on GKids which I guess is the site of the producer and distributer in America, and they mention Yonezu, my boy, right under Miyazaki. Joe isn't there. Poor guy. Anyway they say about Yonezu: "After posting a series of Vocaloid tracks under the moniker Hachi, Kenshi Yonezu distinguished himself from the crowd with remarkable results." This is. a severe understatement. I think I might end up writing my thesis on Vocaloid and the impact it STILL has on children today in America and Japan (my kids always played popular songs during lunch/cleaning and during sports, basically anytime the broadcast club had control; some of the kids in the art club literally only drew Ms Miku fanart) and amongst that Huge Library of Music (I won't call it a genre bc thats not what it is), Hachi was like. Top 10 if not Top 5 if not Top 3 most popular. If you listened to vocaloid at all before 2016 you know Matryoshka. That's Hachi. He was a wonder to all of us middle schoolers. More recently, he came out with Sand Planet, about the way time has changed Vocaloid and the people who enjoy and produce it. It was also really cool.

I learned about his Real Name career a bit after it had happened. I stumbled on Mad Head Love one day on my youtube rabbit holes, and it slapped, and I was like oh it's that guy. But then I lost track, forgot his name, and generally wished him well from afar. And then ! I refound him! And have loved him ever since (not really some of his recent stuff is weird but - actually hang on lemme actually write this)

Recently, and I mean in the last oh 3 or so years, he's done what a lot of popular Japanese artists do - make anime music. Some of it's okay, some of it is Absolutely His Thing, and some of it is like every other anime op ever and not very impressive. Spinning Globe (the song in this movie) is Pretty Good I think. I listened to it while crying on the plane on the way back to America. The lyrics are simple and easy to understand, it's got his plodding beat and an easy background. I could probably transcribe the piano part in 15 minutes. "The day I heard a voice patting me on the back, telling me to go ahead" is like. well it was really relevant to my personal time in Japan and a lot of the issues I've been facing so maybe I'm biased!

Yonezu is so popular that he literally wrote a song for the Tokyo Olympics. He represents Japan. He has been a top singer in Japan for 10 years. This started with his landslide take over of Vocaloid music. Even my students who didn't know literally any celebrity knew him. And I know this is the English website so they probably don't expect anyone to know who he is, and don't care about the understatement, but listen. Yonezu if you're out there and you want anyone to write you PR in English. I've got u.

The Japanese title is 君たちはどう生きるか. It's based on a book of the same name from 2016. I'd literally translate that title as "How do you live" with the 'you' being plural, like 'you all'. I don't know anything about it. It's apparently semi-autobiographical. But they've chosen to translate the title as "The Boy and the Heron," the choice of which could be a thesis in itself. But I wish it had come out just a little sooner, because one of my favorite games to play with my kids was getting them to guess titles to ghibli movies in English and they would've lost their minds over this one.

[the-firebird69]

Hannibal Wonders How He'd Be Eaten🥩 #movie #shorts #hannibal

This person is very sick already and he is not in control of the situation and it looks like he is that these guys are forced to get out and they see he is a very stupid a****** it is Jeff and it's Dave Dan. And your whole time they're like this but not really just vindictive and stupid no I pretty much are at the higher level they speak like this about it but they're really just animals animals think and say this kind of stuff and to threaten each other twist of damn time yeah and we don't have time to watch it but we have to and it's gross you're sick and we will have to do things of course to stop you all the time what we do is cold and intercept if you say it's antiseptic and we agree and we will keep it that way and you move all of you from society including your Mac proper idiots and you don't know anything yet Anthony Hopkins and he is saying I don't get it it says well you're sick too aren't you you've been out here and your value is gone down too you meet Mr Joe Black most likely lose control of your body gross that's what it's like because there's too many of them but here's the behavior of your chosen vice president and president and our son and daughters in the last part couple sentences and it's true you're disgusting and out in your ass shortly. And it happens to this guy a few times he loses his nose in the Texas chainsaw massacre and in a movie with Fletch he's the judge and he goes back in his father and he has no nose for several movies. The guy with them in the chair it is not BG it's one of their grandkids of course and he is mutilated by Tommy f and Jeff doesn't recognize it no he sees Tommy f get mad and pulls the guy out and he says you are to treat him gingerly if we are to eat him and he says I'll treat him anyway I want in code and the other two say that doesn't sound right and they stopped him and they're going to eat him and it didn't work

We're posting the show with these people are actually like and what they're doing and why are some hates them so bad one reason and there's plenty and what they're doing in the public eye is terrible and he has to be taken down

Thor Freya

We have our son volunteering for all the projects but he's doing it but really our group needs to know did you hear now or watching remotely we need your help we need an army here now and we need a hefty one and we need bases in Florida

Hera

Zues

We are going to add those shortly and we are getting people here infiltrators now people don't really come here but we're getting infiltrators in and we are infiltrating like madness we need it now. It's been several events at Black widow Harley no they only have their weekend stuff. Good enough and they're out in the woods looking all the time they don't see anything some of them see stuff on scans and they're trying to get out there they're opening up the mouth of the harbor and digging out the sand recently the past couple days and we're playing for the fog and people figured out that they are not the ones doing that it's open about 68 ft today they'll probably take 10 more it takes a while it's a ton of sand and the water will drain faster you think by the end of next week it'll be open fully and they're scanning to see what the object is and they're looking at it and it looks like a big bull it might still be there and they want to talk to it really they want to let it run around it's going to be a huge sacrifice but it comes out a different way now they're out there fighting and scanning and moving sand it's not really doing too much but the mouth of the harbor cavern is sizzling three Asians going up today I'm probably 6.5 RADS and increasing tonight the reason is the salt water is coming up wasn't much water coming down but that storm we mentioned a little bit no and he didn't get to print it it's coming down today around noon the water will start going up for real not real high but high tide at least and it will slow the sizzling a bit but not too much as a matter of fact because it's fresh water and a sizzling doesn't stop offshore the radiation will increase by about 0.3 and inland at the mouth increase by 0.2 we think it'll hold the numbers are at and it's very high it's heading towards the calamity whereas this water is going to blow muck into it and it's just not going to stop and it will start sizzling and that Mark is going to cause a disruption yeah the radiation is going to be about 9:00 on Friday next Friday it will continue to go up as the salinity increases right now there are 80-ft crabs 30 mi out from the Yucatan pretty soon they will move in to 10 MI and people will attack them only because of their size and it shifts will be sunk they don't have it I think they do and you can look at any historical records and find out that they don't but these are stupid people it's going on right now but really I'm that 80 ft incident will probably happen Tuesday of next week and the big ones will see it they're going to be 50 miles out at the time and they can see it pretty clearly right now there's 65 miles out and the salt water is more clear the bugs are leaving their shell and they're still kind of underwater no they're in it and it goes throughout their system they ingested and they can see the shore they can see the river through the land they can see the ocean on the other side and smell it they're encouraged and they're moving out they're moving parts of their armies soon the whole thing will move in the middle they're going to go ashore soon the 80 ft crabs I'm going to go into 10 miles Monday Tuesday and start fighting in the 60 miles crabs will go in after they start fighting and they'll start pushing in other crabs will push they'll be a war it'll be brief with the humans mostly the trumpsters and they don't have that much and they will proceed across sometime next week and open it up and shortly after the others will begin to open up and salt water will flow in as badly needed tons of salt water we do think it's going to happen next week and it's because of the fighting the crabs will do anything goes can see it and the big one see it more shortly later on this morning

Thor Freya

Olympus

There's going to be a lot of death coming up real soon the Macklemore lock number here is going to drop they say to 500,000 some say a little more some say a little less but come the next few days all of them are going to be down very low and he'll continue to drop and the pseudo empire and miscellaneous and minority warlock and kind of work for them as except miscellaneous they're going to be here and miscellaneous will have to fight them off but they are going to be fighting Tommy f coming up soon

Hera Zues

This is a big war this is a deciding factor it's going to happen relatively soon we do feel that the pseudo empire is going to have to pull out and minority morlock pretty soon and they will still be in tunnels to push out Tommy f it will start a war between them and they will take ships and they'll take them from these guys pretty soon is a big war

Thor Freya

And this guy Dan Davis in my hair and tons of stuff is going on I suppose I'll probably beat that small fleet before he gets there sort of have to and he'll give me tons of s*** and he'll probably die that's how I see it

Sran

Olympus

[rageofdyinglight]

All of my thoughts and reactions (that i remeber) to tma season 1 + the first 7 episodes of s2 because i didn’t get the chance to really live react

…

- heavily attached to jon but i can’t tell if i want him or want him to be my father

- actually had to skip most of ep 6 because it grossed me out too bad

- there’s so much reliance on remembering stuff from earlier episodes BUT IM STUPUD

- live laugh love gerard keay stupid emo ass

- dreamer is BY FAR my favorite episode it’s SO COOL the idea of the husks of almost dead people in the not quite right city, it’s actually really funny because i have a ttrpg character i’m playing right now that has a very very similar concept, down to the death omens, black tendrils, and even the pulsing red light leading to somewhere

- i tend to spoil myself for the sake of i want to know more about hyperfixation but can’t consume content fast enough to satiate so i’ve been looking into the entities and it’s fun to try to piece together which entity the ep is based around (bc i think that’s how it works)

- how did jon not realize the construction guy that pulled the tree up in ep 8(i think) is the same guy the priest saw pull up a tree in ep 19/20 what is he stupid even i figured that one out

- i’m having a terrible time here for someone who doesn’t really like body horror

- killing floor made me want to throw up easily most uncomfortable listen for me

- ep 31 is just a dude from europe experiencing Average Appalachian Activities lmao

- i must have missed them talking about jane before because when it started coming up originally i was so confused about what was going on

- as soon as they mentioned the delivery guys (likely the ones from the 2nd ep with the coffin) bringing that table i KNEW someone was going to get yoinked and i was RIGHT

- why was gertrude kind of a badass

- live laugh love mike crew

- seriously i cant wait to find out more about what was chasing him (<- his ass LOVES lightning imagery)

- LIVE LAUGH LOVE MICAHEL DISTORITION

- the technical effects on its voice is SO cool oh my god just the subtle clips and echos that add into the inhuman-ness is GRGEGHRGRGGRGR i’m biting at my enclosure

- also off handedly i wonder if michael is somehow tied to the bone tuner thing? bc it mentioned that dude having the long fingers and distorted limbs or whatever idk

- looking forward to more tales from tim on joe spooky

…

AND THATS IT FOR NOW- loving the show so far i’m excited to watch it unfold

[the-dream-beyond]

Episode 21: Redefining Wealth: An Experientially Rich Life With Joe Huff

Nik Tarascio 

I was actually curious in the study. Was there anything that surprised you? Was there anything in there? They were like, I did not see that coming.

Joe Huff 

Yeah, the biggest one was how many people listed as their most important experience of their life, a negative experience.

Nik Tarascio 

Imagine this next breath that you're taking is your last breath. I think back to everything you've done in your life, think of all the things you wished you did. All the things you were really happy you did. And ask the question, why didn't you do more of the stuff that you wished you had? What were all the reasons that got in the way? I think this next speaker really touches on that as it's not too late. How do we cultivate that sense of urgency, and then go and make that life of our dreams. That's pretty much what the show is about. So I really hope you enjoy this next conversation. That may be the kick in the ass you need to just make make your life exactly what you want it to be. Add more of those incredible experiences that make it perfectly rich for you. Hope you enjoy.

Welcome to the dream beyond. I'm your host, Nik Tarascio. I'm a CEO, musician and overall seeker of Truth, inspiration, and simply put, how to live the most fulfilling life possible. Growing up surrounded by extremely wealthy and successful people gave me unique and unfiltered perspectives of those who have seemingly made it through on the dream beyond, we're letting you in on what it really takes to achieve your dreams. What happens when it turns out your destination isn't the promised land you are expecting and how to process the lessons from your past while mapping of course to true fulfillment. Let's get started.

Hey, guys, how's it going? I'm here with an old friend, who's an entrepreneur for more than three decades brings a wealth of experience as a founder and owner he's led multiple eight figure businesses and achieve successful exits. He's also the co author of the upcoming book experiential billionaire, build a life rich and experiences and die with no regrets. And in that book, he delves into the world of experiential living, which I'm really curious to learn more about. I've not touched her book yet. I figured I get it right from the source. And his quest for experiential richness has taken him across 50 plus countries, all 50 states and diverse cultures. And he gets to share this wisdom as a keynote speaker at major events worldwide. Please welcome Joe Huff, everybody. Thanks for being here, Joe.

Joe Huff 

Thanks for having me, Nik. And great to reconnect.

Nik Tarascio 

Yeah, man, I think where did we first connect? Was it WAS IT Summit? It was also in Sedona? Yeah, I

Joe Huff 

think it might have been Sedona first. I'm not actually sure which one happened first, but Sedona was definitely where the the deeper connection happened, for sure. So that's

Nik Tarascio 

right. That's right. Shout out to Andrea lake for that for bringing some really great people together. And it's super cool. It's like, you know, people come into your life, and then you don't know what happened for a bit. And then something awesome happens, and you just collide back into there. So thank you for allowing this collision today.

Joe Huff 

Yeah, you know, it's funny, we actually talked about that in the book about those types of, you know, the importance of those relationships, because it's really experiences create deep, meaningful relationships. And then those deep meaningful relationships, create more opportunities for experiences by you know, those people that you forge those bonds with, because like, even if it's a decade later, when you if you whether you bump into them or you see their name pop up on your phone, or they come up in conversation, you just get this feeling because you remember, like this moment that you shared together some really cool experience that like bonded you forever. That's really cool. Yeah. Yeah, no, on the other side to like, the whole, like, don't

Nik Tarascio 

be an asshole policy, it proves really true. And you're like, you never know, when you're gonna run into someone later in your life. You never know when they know someone and it just feels really good. Like you said, you just see something you're like, I don't even know what we spoke about 10 years ago, exactly. But I know that I feel really good around you. And I'm lit up when I see you. So really love that. And I'd love to start at a place that is kind of my favorite opening question is when you were little What did you dream you'd be when, when you grew up? What was the thing that that you were really excited about?

Joe Huff 

Oh, definitely. By, like, the adolescent years, definitely rock star. It was definitely music was a big part of my life. And I definitely thought, you know, wow, what an incredible opportunity to to be able to be like a worldwide global type of rock star. They seem to have a pretty good life. Of course, like the the lifespan wasn't so great for a lot of investors. It seemed like a pretty fun ride while I was there. So you know, it's funny, we talk about this stuff in again, like that's, that's something that I think people should spend more time thinking about. I love that question that you asked that right now. Because as we get older, we suppress all that stuff, right? We just decide that, you know, those were dreams when we were kids. And we put it aside and we said maybe someday and even like I see all like big guitars on the wall behind you.

They're people that were musicians and like, oh, I want to play in the band. And I'll do that someday. And then that someday just goes into the someday. Outlander This is a great abyss, you know, we call it someday syndrome, and then it just doesn't happen. But there's really not a great reason for it not happening. You don't have to become like the rock star, right. But you can follow that dream and get quite a lot of joy out of just, you know whether you get up on stage in front of your friends, or whether it's at a cafe or something. So. So I think that the big part of what we preach is that finding your dreams is part of it, but also rediscovering the dreams you had that you forgot about is a really huge part of it.

Nik Tarascio 

Yeah, and I do think I remember that probably 10 years ago, we connected on that, because that was my dream, too. I was like, I want to be a rock star. It's interesting, I still desire much of that aspect of the dream. But not the same reason why underneath I think, like when I first wanted it as a teenager, I wanted to be worthy of love. And I was like, if a million people love me, maybe then I'll know that I'm worthy of it. I just want to have that, you know, that kind of experience. But now it's more like How cool would it be to impact a million people with your words? Right, which you get to do on stage as well. I imagine that in many ways, the things you do now, are still related to some aspects of that dream. And I'd love to hear that. Like how, how has that informed your journey? How has that ended up with even where you are now?

Joe Huff 

Oh, man, that's that's the whole thing. That's really, and it's, again, really insightful way to put it. You know, when you're when you're young, you know, you're thinking about impressing other people, because you want to make friends you want to find your significant other, there's a lot of reasons that you feel like that. But as you get older, and you start to realize that the real truth is you get so much joy out of making the world better and making people's lives better connecting with with people in a way that's meaningful to them. And it's the, you know, like the idea, music, right? That's a great example, again, because so many people get a feeling from it, you know, it's such a, it's a great positive feeling.

I think I think it's a Rick Rubin quote that says something like, the goal isn't to create, you know, perfect art, the goal is to basically create something that people knew existed but couldn't touch or couldn't feel or didn't know how to attend to connect with that. And then you just show them that. And that's really what I feel like we're doing where, you know, when you tell people that your experiences are the greatest thing in your lives, and the most important thing and the most valuable thing in your lives. Everybody knows it. It's like, if you asked everybody that, especially as they get older, they will Oh, yeah. But at the same time, that's a harder one act. It's like we have this glitch, you know, in our in our system, but it's those connections, those proof points where you actually do something and you affect somebody, and it starts to, you know, come back to you oh, wait a minute, you know, that's just they're still awake, that all that stuff for me, even now, it's funny with the journey of writing the book, which is like a really crazy, crazy, difficult journey. Little tiny things along the way. Were so impactful.

Like, for instance, like having a proofreader read, like the first draft, and then come back and say, you know, yeah, I made some edits. And here's some things I think that, you know, doesn't make sense grammatically. Also, by the way, this inspired me to move to California, like I always said I was going to do and I wound up living in Michigan for 10 years instead, because I got sidetracked. And your book just completely reminded me that I just suppressed my goals and forgot what I really wanted to do. And Baba, I've, we've heard this story like 100 times now just in the process, book writing process with the handful of folks that have like, read it. So that's been really cool. And then on the broader stage, like when you actually get out in front of a bunch of people. The overwhelming response is just wow, yeah, you know, everybody's like, it's this kind of like, tapping back into something that we all know deeply that we just suppress, because we get really busy with life. And it's very normal. So

Nik Tarascio 

you know, what, and what is that feeling from the stage for you, is like to be up there. Like when you're up there, when you're up there speaking to a bunch of people and sharing from your heart sharing your story. I'm wondering what that feels like for you and your body.

Joe Huff 

Yeah, you know, that's interesting that you say that. Also, it's a great question, because I used to actually have a lot of stage fright. I used to be, you know, afraid of public speaking like most people, it's called claustrophobia. It's like effects like it's like, considered to be I think the number one fear in modern societies, public speaking. And I reframed that because I really felt like this message was something I had to get out.

And as I started reframing that in my head of like, this is so important, and this is something I need to share. And I started really turning that kind of fear into this isn't your this is I'm excited to tell this story. It became way more personal and when I'm on stage, and I'm talking when I'm delivering this message. I definitely feel like I'm in my at a bar full of close friends, and I'm trying to just kind of share something that is really deeply meaningful to me. And that connects really well and makes me feel like I'm yeah, it just feels really good to know that I'm able to connect like that, because I do feel like, you know, the delivery system has the chance to, you know, we've all been preached at, we've all been told things, this position of like authority, and nobody wants that, you know, I definitely don't want to give people that. I try to actually, in general, when I'm on like a one on one kind of conversation, ask way more questions than tell that people kind of come to the answers on their own. But, but yeah, I feel like, I just feel like I'm in, I'm in a place that I'm meant to be in, and it just feels really, really good.

Nik Tarascio 

So kind of, I'm gonna stay with the music theme for a second, because I think we've kind of touched on something that has showed up in a lot of parts of my life. And probably for a lot of people that don't see themselves as creatives or artists, but realize their work. Their work is their art, right, whatever that thing is, it isn't just the medium of being a rock star. I think of your book, in many ways, like writing a perfect song, right?

Everyone's after, like, I just want to write the perfect song, I want to write the song that takes off on its own. It has a life of its own, it actually goes beyond me. I think Rick Rubin talks about that, too, of like, there's a certain point where you realize you were just the conduit, and it's the song belongs to everybody else. And what was the moment? What was the moment where you were like, wow, this is my song. Like, this is the song that I need to go put out there. I need to produce it, I need to get it all done and put it out into the world. And how did you know?

Joe Huff 

I mean, that's what's been the culmination of of a lot, I had been telling a lot of my close, close friends and my wife and people that I feel like right now. I am, everything I've gone through in my life has prepared me and, and guided me to this moment, I really feel like, that's where I'm at. And so I think I'm actually just coming to that moment you're talking about, I feel like this is my song. This is what it's meant to be. And I can kind of give you the backstory in a somewhat short version, and like to probably make a little more sense for the audience. But yeah, this whole life journey for me started, when I was really young, my parents met on an assembly line making brake pads in the Midwest.

So you know, my closest experience to a trust fund was trusting that my parents would fund the occasional trip to an ice cream truck. I was trying to figure out, you know, the whole rock star and Blackstone sounded pretty good, but it was pretty far fetched lifestyle for me. And I had a rough childhood in a lot of ways. I overcame some some things that were self inflicted, etc. And I made it somehow through high school and right as I was graduating high school, I came downstairs rip for my 18th birthday and, and my dad called my dad slumped over the kitchen table. And he was pails, you know, just white as a sheet and drenched in sweat. And, and we rushed into the hospital, he was 48 years old. And he had worked his whole life and had I'm sure this great grand plan for retirement. And it turned out that wasn't just a heart attack, we got to the hospital, and they said that his heart was failing, he had cardiomyopathy. And it was a really advanced stage. And it was standing right that not in the future at some distant point.

And they added him to the top of the transplant list and told us he Eberly low at survival. And, you know, we were like pacing this hospital, I'll show you and walk into another halls looking in these other rooms, seeing these other people in these situations. And it just, it just felt so wrong to feel like this is how people live, you know, they're postponing their goals in their life now for this future that just might not exist. And, you know, I kept thinking about other things my dad wanted to do so but had it and, and the more I just kept turning that over, I was just like, this is this is bullshit. This is all wrong, something's wrong with this plan.

But um, you know, that moment gave me this really great gift. It gave me this gift of urgency. And I basically my dad, by the way, it was very lucky. He was one of the lucky ones he got a transplant and wasted we got a second chance at life, which was also extremely, extremely impactful on my life watching that happen. But it made me aware that I might not have time for my dreams and my goals. So that sent me off on this just crazy urgent journey in life where I was determined to try to do stuff that you know, come hell or high water, I was gonna figure out ways to do things. I didn't have much money or, you know, resources. But I was like, I'm just gonna figure out what I could do.

And that led me on this. You know, I had a bunch of terrible jobs. They did a bunch of different things, but I met a lot of people got a lot of new experiences and it just kept building from those little steps again, actually led me to one of my friends started a small T Shirt Company that then somehow accidentally turned into a warehousing business that we somehow accidentally built into a pretty big warehousing business over a decade. And, you know, that was that was like, none of that would have happened had I not just been gifted this gift of like urgency, I would have probably just been sitting where I grew up in the same town doing the same thing. But because of that, I made all those changes.

And then something else happened with my dad, which was he actually got cancer, which happens from the type of drugs that you do you do from a immunotherapy. And I brought him home for hospice care. And I was able to watch the second end of life for him kind of, and that gave me this really great clarity of just like, what's going to matter? What are we thinking about for the end of our lives, and they began to get that gift at a young age, relatively speaking, that that just sent me off again, like another the urgency I had had kind of like, plateaued, and that just kicked it back into gear again.

And I, I had always thought, you know, I, I'd love to be a philanthropist and do something, you know, in a positive way to impact the world. But I'm not rich, I'm not Bill Gates, I don't have any money, your time. And then I thought that's all an excuse for a reason. And these are all the kinds of things we talk about in the book a lot is like, you know, how do we just overcome those, those excuses and those reasons? And yeah, so So what happened this I, I left the company and started doing a bunch of other stuff. And that, that led me to my business partner, Bridgette, who saw me doing charity work with other companies.

And we started, listen, and we started giving hearing aids to people around the world. And that turned into us traveling around the world for a decade and giving over 50,000 people hearing aids, which was like the most remarkable life changing experience ever. And then along that route along that road, people kept coming up to us. And this this actually ties right back to the actual concept of the book and how I found my saw, people kept coming up to us and going wow, you guys must be rich, you guys must be killing it. You know, you're traveling all over the world, we saw beats sold the app $3 billion, you guys are about to buy your own private jet or something. We're like, I'm actually we're pretty broke. We're what's on paper is not the same as what's in the bank account.

But we're having all these incredible experiences. So we like to consider ourselves experiential billionaires. So we would tell people that as a way to kind of laugh off the fact that we were giving all of our money to charity, and doing all this stuff. And, and then this was still a really great lifestyle for us, because we were, the fulfillment level was like, you know, we were at the brim. And then 2020 happens, you know, everything shuts down, we can't do the missions, we started the company to actually give hearing aids and came up with the speakers and headphones as a as a tool. So suddenly, we were just selling speakers and headphones, because there were no more mass, you know, we couldn't get together and give people hearing it.

And we we really actually just did a deep dive and asked our friends and our mentors and our network and said, What's the value that you see us giving to the world? And what could we do that would be the most impactful or positive thing. And everybody kept coming back into saying, your stories about how you've done all these things like that's, that's the message now you guys should really share that because it's really inspiring, because, you know, we, we came from like, unassuming beginnings, you know, a humble beginning to like turn somehow into like giving millions and millions of dollars away and traveling the world and checking off all these things in our lives, where we help other people check things up on their list kind of thing. And yeah, that was like, how it all kind of just coalesced into writing the book.

And And one last note on it, we started writing the book about just this, you know, the science and research behind how important it is to invest in, in experiences, because, you know, all the data shows that that is the number one regret people have. And then so we actually ran our own survey of over 20,000 people to see, you know, what are the number one regrets you have in your life? What are the things you most want to do? Still, why haven't you done them yet? You know, we started collecting all this data. And as we started writing the book, though, it turned more and more into our life stories with all of these, you know, messages in them and exercises and the research data points and all that. And it just became this like, really, you know, this is the most personal thing I've ever done by far. And it's like, you know, really, like, I guess that's when it became like, this is my song. This is what I'm, I'm standing firm on this is like this is this is what I believe and I hope I really truly believe this can transform people's lives that they if they follow this kind of path. So yeah,

Nik Tarascio 

well, congrats and thank you Let's, you answered a bunch of my questions, which was really going to be touching on, you know, the relationship to regret. And going into the study. I was actually curious in the study. Was there anything that surprised you? Was there anything that you were like, I did not see that coming?

Joe Huff 

Yeah, the biggest one was how many people listed as their most important experience of their life, a negative experience. So many people actually said, you know, this, this thing happened, you know, where, whether it was like a divorce or a loss. And even like, in my case, you know, that's an example where, you know, losing someone made somebody aware of something or they changed, or, you know, they got fired from a job, and then they actually wound up going into the thing they had wanted to do. And that was really interesting to see that it took some outside negative force.

And this is part of that, you know, the hero's journey, stuff that we all we all know, where it's like that everyday, ordinary person, some crazy obstacle happens, and they overcome it and become this better, bigger thing. And, you know, that was really, really powerful. The other thing I would say that was really surprising and alarming is, and this is something that I really think speaks to, you know, your audience. There's so many people that we just all fake, we have more time, right? So there's so many things on our list. And if we really hone down the list and like make that actual plan, you know, once we get the urgency, we got to visualize, there's so many things that are so achievable, that we just don't do, because we just assumed, like, so many people put things like, I regret never having taken my wife to go see where I grew up in the next state over, you know, and now she's gone, or I regret, you know, never taking learning Japanese because my parents spoke it.

And I always wanted to be able to learn more about our culture history, and I didn't, you know, things that were very, very achievable and doable in this day and age, especially with, you know, the access to some most of it wasn't expensive, there's a lot of things, obviously, people, some people put stuff like, I always wanted to go to, you know, Italy or something. But a lot of the stuff was very, very, very attainable. They just slipped by, because they just didn't get it on their calendar didn't make an effort to do it. So. So that's the kind of stuff that I think people can avoid, you know, with my daddy, I like to like, kind of phrase it like that. And with most people, we always hear the story right of somebody that has a near death experience, or loses someone close to them, and then they go out and run that marathon or climb that mountain or do that thing that they always wanted to do. The thing that's really crazy is like, you know, with my dad, for instance, like that the health situation wasn't avoidable, probably.

But the regret that he would have had had he passed that first time around was, you know, because he had just been putting off all those things. So we're trying to give people that urgency, without the near death experience.

Nik Tarascio 

Yeah, I appreciate that. I really appreciate the what you said, you know, people find that the negative experience is often the blessing, right? It's often the thing that's like, let me kick my ass into gear. That was the meaningful turning books I know. Especially like New York, the Western world, a lot of our life is avoiding the negative, right? It's like, I don't want to face the shadow. I don't want to deal with the darkness. I want to press buttons and everything show up. So I never have to feel any form of discomfort. And it's interesting to see it's on some point it almost as if maybe the gift of health is sometimes look if you're not going to listen to all the signs that are telling you you're not on the right course. We'll just take it off from you. And some of us are lucky enough to catch it right before right catch right before and say I didn't have to lose everything to really get my life in I appreciate that story.

Joe Huff 

Yeah, I It's funny. In my talk, I always like to start off with I tell a story about how even when I was 27, I actually I had to file for bankruptcy. And I it was really, really difficult time in my life. It was this really terrible situation. But at the time, I had also decided I was going to do stand up comedy for the last few years I've been trying it off and I was actually younger. And instead of like dwelling on it actually it turned out to be a really great joke in my stand up comedy because when I went to file for bankruptcy, they told me that it costs $2,500 to file for bankruptcy. So I had to go around telling people I'd like to be bankrupt, but I just can't afford it. This just became like a It's all framing things. You may turn it into a joke and be canceled. If you don't laugh, you'll cry kind of thing. So yeah.

Nik Tarascio 

Beautiful. I'd love to go a little bit deeper into as you were speaking and touching on the urgency. And again, I think this I've had a similar experience of watching my grandmother die when I was really young and she spent a lot of time in a hospital really struggled with health issues. And it was my urgency in many ways watching that happen was I also had a lot of health issues when I was a teenager and again, these were the blessings of like everyone else's like we've got infinite time I was 17. And I'm like, I could die tomorrow. So, you know, that wasn't true, necessarily, but that's what it felt like. I'm curious, how do people balance? Or how do they know if they're running from death? Versus running towards life? Right? Because I think that that is one of the things that can happen when we experience death at an early age or lose someone that we really care about, or watch just the suffering of that.

Joe Huff 

Yeah, you know, there's, to me, I think the Western world in particular, you know, we're really good at avoiding the conversation of death. So if there's one, you know, for sure thing that we all know that everybody's gonna die. I think that if you dwell on it, and you know, it could become obviously a morbid and be create, like a fear induced reaction, which isn't really what I think is healthy at all, I think that it's contemplating its, you know, thinking of like, this is going to happen, and you know, we use the momentum warrior, you know, that has what's right in the card deck, it's in the book. But in America, right now, it's 76 is the average lifespan. It's actually 74 for men and 78. For for women.

So it's just a box set, it's a chart of 76 boxes, and you can just fill out how many you've lived so far by year and see how much time you have left on average. And that again, that's not to create, like fear, it's to create reality. So you can look at the math and go, Okay, I got, hopefully, if I'm average, or above average, I've got, you know, 20 boxes left, I said, I want to go to all the states or I want to visit these 12 places or whatever, like if I'm going to do one of those a year, I gotta start planning, you know, just gives you like, as a template map of like, okay, this is how much time because if you don't do that, you won't, but if you start looking at it, you know, from Oh, my God, I've got to do everything like next week, you could probably start making some on healthy habits. You don't want to like chase things down as though like we say, like you want to. It's kind of like the Gandhi approach of you know, you want to live as if you'll die tomorrow learn is that you'll live forever.

So you want to have long term goals, still you want it you couldn't plan a family or you know, a long term career, any of those things, if you actually act as though you're going to live tomorrow, you're going to be pretty self destructive, because you're not going to think that the repercussions are going to last. So it's really more of a contemplating it. So you can form a plan, there's, there's a lot of really great ways to like use that math, like, you know, if you think you're going to, versus if your parents are like in their 70s already, you know, maybe you know, they're doing well, maybe they're not maybe the last 20 years, and we'll have five but if you just use the average and you go, okay, they've got like, on average, four or five boxes left, and I see them once a year, that means I'm only going to see my parents five more times, well, maybe I should make some changes to my travel schedule and my plan, my kids, you know, with me, I've got two small kids, you know, one and a half and three and a half. And this time is flying by so if I want to take them to the amusement park or the zoo or on a road trip or camping or you know, you got to plan those things, because it's going to just slip right by all the sudden it's like, oh, I didn't ever take that road trip or did that one thing? And then you're gonna have that that's the kind of regret that's avoidable. But yeah.

Nik Tarascio 

Yeah, that's a great perspective. Was that clear? Yeah, it doesn't, you know, I think the, the place that I go to with that is, starting with that reality seems like a really great way to see it. Right. It's like, I think that that Denial of Death would be someone that doesn't want to look at the fact that like, there is a chance that this as long as I'm gonna go on average, right? The or at least most of the people in my life, on average, that people my life, we're gonna probably go around that age. So I do really like that as an approach of start with the reality of what's there. And then the case that like, I'm sure you've spoken to so many people about this, I imagine. Have you spoken to people that couldn't face the reality that you've experienced them? Like, almost like, this is not something I want to think about?

Joe Huff 

Oh, gosh, I mean, I mean, and yeah, I would say the majority of people probably like they're very much like, I don't want to think about or talk about that. Because it's scary. You know, a lot of people look at it, like, it's scary. They don't they can't reframe it into, okay, you know, this is finite, but which is it's weird, right? Because it's, it's avoiding, it doesn't make it go away. Right. It's not like it's like sticking your head in the sand. Yeah, so, um, but there's definitely a lot of people that, that need that kind of push.

And that's why I think getting into again, the book I think does a really good job of like a building of showing people you know, how to start thinking like that, you know, we do a really cool exercise called the treasure map right in the beginning that you know, you actually you pretend that you got that call from your doctor that you only have 30 days left to live what are you gonna do? You know, then you're using that as kind of like, you know, there's a it's a longer exercise than that but using That kind of as a base, you know how many of those things are on your list now and why not, you know, and then we kind of build into that, like, here's all the things that other people said, you know, these things sound familiar.

And this is, if they probably do, and this is ways to start, like, removing those kind of regrets by doing those things, and putting those things on your calendar and taking steps to do them. And then, as you do that stuff, you start to see that fear of the specter of your mortality kind of go away, because suddenly your life feels full and purposeful. And I think the fear that people experience is the fear of getting to the end and not feeling like they had that life story. They want it you know, I'm gonna take that verse eulogy, where if you, if you picture your eulogy being said today, if something happened to you, today, would it be the eulogy that you want for your life? Would it be, you know, Nik, he did this and this and this and how he affected people.

And if it's not that now, you got to change it right? And you can, it's super easy to start taking the steps to just start working towards what you want that to be, I have a very, very powerful proof point of how, how well this works, unfortunately. So my wife and I, we met a decade ago, and my wife lives halfway around the world. And our relationship was founded in like us traveling to meet when we could and spending a lot of time all over. And we were really intentional about like, where we met and what we did. And her friends were all around the world and mine were around the world, we got married and Indonesia and Bali.

And you know, we we wound up doing all these really cool experiences together. And then we planned, we did the work, like I'm telling you in the book, you know, we figured out our treasure map what we want to do how we want to try to maximize our time here. And we finished the first draft of the book. And we literally read before the end of the second draft, my wife got diagnosed with stage three breast cancer. This is just a year ago. And she was It was literally like, the weekend of her 34th birthday. So it was a wild wild journey. And she did five months of chemotherapy and then a double mastectomy. And then she had radiation and a full year of immunotherapy.

And it works, the treatments worked. There was you know, obviously about eight months of of being unsure if that was going on what was happening was working or not, but but we're out we're just now on the other the other side of it, but the reason I share that story is first of all, my wife is just a badass, and she just handled this, like, you know, as a mother of two young kids, it's I can't even begin to explain how much respect I have and how it I think as a lot of guys probably think I'm tough like she she made the tough like into a thing I can't even imagine, you know, she's like a superhero. But the reason that I think it's so important to us that stories, at the end of it, as we found out that it worked in her pathology came back negative and the tumors were gone.

We didn't have a bunch of changes in our future. You know, like with my dad, he had to change his whole life. He literally moved to Mexico and started doing all these adventures and things he had never done. My wife and I our plans the same. And that was so powerful to me. Because when we sat down and started thinking about what we were going to do, there wasn't like, we got to make all these changes, we got to we've been going to living for other people, we've been doing the wrong thing.

We actually were like, we're on our path. And this was just a crazy, crazy obstacle that she just broke through. But the path was the same and that was really powerful. Because like obviously we would be in still, you know, the idea of something happening and losing her it'd be completely devastating. But the regret part, you know of how she's been living her life isn't there. She's been living her life on her terms the way she wanted and intentionally. So that's a powerful

Nik Tarascio 

what's an incredible it's an incredible story. And again, sorry you went through that and congratulations for coming on the other side of it with a positive outcome. I wonder for you is there is there a regret you look back on in your life as someone who's had to think about that so much. Is there something specifically like that is the number one regret I had?

Joe Huff 

Oh, you know what, man, I mean, and hotshot more regrets than I can imagine. But I don't have it's funny because I guess that's the difference when you start talking about this kind of a life right where it's most people's biggest regrets are the things they didn't do not the things they did that went wrong. So my regrets for things I did are things like that was you know, that was dumb. I could have done that better, et cetera on but the bigger regrets probably not starting I feel like even like, like this whole idea of what your song is that use that musical metaphor. I feel like if I had actually done the more personal work, I probably would have been doing this sooner I had a lot of fear, I was actually very afraid of, you know, basically telling people this message or this story or trying to, you know, influence people, I felt like maybe that would be maybe I'm a fraud, maybe I'm not worthy of sharing that etc.

And, and I feel like, took me a long time to get past that. And so I would say I probably just regret not starting sooner. And I think that's the overall message that most of the regrets in the 20,000 Plus person survey. It's all stuff like, I wish I started my business sooner. I wish I had traveled more sooner. I wish I did. It's all stuff that people wish they did, or started sooner than they did some.

Nik Tarascio 

Have you done the eulogy exercise for yourself?

Joe Huff 

Yeah, you know, we actually went deeper than that Bridget and I did a little fake funeral concert a few years back, the people do this in that and saw and it's, it's quite popular. And I think probably in other parts of the world. It's even been a comical release. But yeah, that it was an episode of Larry David. And we did it like, you know, joking. Way, definitely. But it's powerful. Still, I gotta say, you know, when you ask your friends, like, you know what they would say? I was surprised at how many people you know, talked about how I inspired them to start a business or, you know, do something that they hadn't thought they could do, because I did it.

And I think that that's something that in society we take for granted, we don't realize that our actions are really what speaks the loudest. So you know, like you having this podcast. And there's definitely folks that are listening and watching going, You know what, that that Nick can do it? I could do, you're giving people permission, right to like, live their dreams, and especially if it's like, well, you know, Nick didn't come from some family of broadcasters or history of entertainers, or blah, blah, blah, and it's like it, it connects people in a way they're like, that's that he's like me, I could do that, because he did it.

And that was really powerful. It was really, really powerful to hear how many little things I didn't realize that I had done that affected people without even knowing that I did that. So it's worth doing. I think people, I think people would enjoy that experience. And I think he got it takes a little bit of the that negative like you want to, let's make it a little less serious, the whole deaf topic and make it a little more lighthearted.

Nik Tarascio 

Ya know, I love my 43rd birthday is coming up in two weeks, and I was trying to figure out what to do, I think I'm actually going to do it as funeral. That's great. Because I have some of my closest friends coming over to back, let's have some fun. Let's hear what you guys have to say about it. And like touching on the you know, you talk about stand up comedy, which is something I also pursued for whatever reason you and I have a very, very similar path. And I very much appreciate that. We're also in like, the black T shirt club. But yeah, I think that there's something really beautiful about the idea of comedy is tragedy plus time, right? Like, if you've ever heard that equation, right? And it's like, for most people, it's like, oh, man, things are so heavy and dark. And it's like, just give it some time. Give it some time, we can find the levity in it. And we can laugh about it. Because if we can't laugh about it, then man, it's a hard ride if we can't see the humor in at all.

Joe Huff 

Yeah, we there's a whole chapter in the book, literally turning negatives into positives, because it is and so much of it is that you know, and even that's why the idea of, you know, going out and trying to have an experience, even the stuff that at the time, like, for instance, we all know like for me, I protect the kids. It's hard to travel with kids, but I do it. And in the moment, there's definitely times where I've got like, you know, two very uncomfortable kids or they're driving me a little bit crazy, or, you know, we're whatever you're trying to do whether you're setting up a campsite, or trying to get six hours to a hotel, or, you know, there's maybe projectile vomit or her she knows what with kids.

There's a lot of things happening afterwards. Like right now I'm laughing about it. Yeah, those are the things that you laugh about. Because it's so ridiculous. And that's why like, if you're in an experience with some friends and things like completely sideways, those are the best stories. Those are the ones that you want to tell nobody wants to hear the story about. Yeah, we went on this day trip and everything went absolutely perfectly. And it was very easy. No, no controversy happened. Nobody cares about that story.

Nik Tarascio 

Yeah, for sure. I mean, I recently was telling someone that my other like, what, what does life mean to you. And I said, life to me is just, you have a certain number of containers of moments. And you try to fill them with with as much experience as you can. And then you have a bunch of connective tissue of like the other stuff that happens in life. And, man, this is I love the way you framed it again, it's like anything, it's like you could take a guitar and you could sing over it. But sometimes when people do it, it moves you in a way that other people can't. And I just love the way you've you've really framed it. Thanks.

Joe Huff 

You know, it's funny when when we started this, you know, writing this and sharing this content but it's not new. I definitely think that lots and lots of people, you know, throughout history have preached this message. And, but it's the time and the messenger. And we hope I hope that I can connect with people that just this hasn't struck, you know, this this concept. And yeah, the whole idea of moments, you know, that's the end to be clear, by the way, you know, this isn't about experiences versus money, I think that people confuse that and they think, well, great, have a bunch of experiences, I've got to work, I've got to pay my bills, absolutely, totally agree, it's about experiences being the most important thing to invest in.

So even if you, you know, have this huge, big idea of like, I want to go on a vacation to you know, travel Europe, and whatever, you put that on your calendar for a year from now. And in the meantime, do what you can do, you know, start filling up your days and stop losing the time that is getting stolen from you every day with stuff that doesn't add value to your life, because that's what you can control, there's a lot of little everyday moments that you fill in around all the bigger picture things. So besides doing the big picture stuff, you got to get those little moments in, because the moments as you put it, you know, those are, that's your experiential, you know, wealth. And the wealth equation that we've been taught forever is that your money equals happiness, and the more money you have, the more happiness and everybody that's successful, that worked their ass off to get successful, but sacrificed everything else in their life. A lot of them are, you know, eating a very on tasty sandwich, right? Because they're just like, this isn't what I thought, right?

I sacrificed my family live, I sacrificed my 20s or my 30s, or whatever, and I didn't do anything. And I didn't put those moments in what the real equation is our experiences times a lot equals happiness, you know, if you can get that whoever gets the most experience is that it's a contest, but those are the people that feel good. And again, back to like the bankruptcy story. You don't lose them, right? You know, what your experiences good or bad years forever, you invest in them. And they also make you more valuable, generally speaking, because everybody you know, you're, you're so specialized, you can be replaced in a job, you can be less interesting in the social environment, etc. But the person that's, you know, done more things has more to talk about as more give us more perspective has more value as a person, both in their personal life and their social life and, and in their, their work life. So it's a it's a mind shift, I think it's suddenly a mind shift that people just once they see it. Oh, yeah, I knew that. But I'm glad I got reminded.

Nik Tarascio 

Phenomenal. And interestingly, my last question is somewhat answered by one of your processes. So I always ask people, what's their dream beyond? And I really think that's the treasure map question. Yeah. So for you what is what is the dream beyond what's the treasure map, this book, it's

Joe Huff 

funny this week, crazy as that might sound, this feels like my wife's very last immunotherapy was like two weeks ago, the books coming out in two weeks. And this feels like the beginning of, for lack of a better word, the rest of my life. This feels like my legacy kind of work. So for me, the dream is to build experiential billionaire as a message and as a brand and as a movement. Just over the course of the rest of my life, where I show my kids that you can do the things you want in life, you can write a book, you can inspire other people, you can make a positive change. And it's something that I think I can do forever because as I did, you know, physically less active, which sadly, I'm relatively sure happens, she can alter those are things that I can still I can hopefully still speak to people and share this message and share my stories and, and create a positive change. That's, that's my, my big dream is to try to affect as many people as possible.

Nik Tarascio 

Beautiful and sounds like that's a dream that's gonna come true in a big way. And we've only been speaking for 43 minutes and I'm so inspired by everything he said. So thank you for doing it, man. Thank you for sharing that.

Joe Huff 

I'm very very thankful to be I have a question for you though. So what what's if you what's on your your list on your treasure map? What are you What are you trying to achieve?

Nik Tarascio 

Great. I love a good turnaround by the way, I always know when I have a good guest and they're like, Wait, we're not done here. So yeah, I got a man to

Joe Huff 

help you achieve whatever your experiences are. We can do one together.

Nik Tarascio 

Yeah, that would be a lovely man. Oh, man. There's a lot of things that have come to me lately. i It sounds really reductive, but I want to give myself permission to be fully expressed and any medium I want to play in. And I think what that's really driven me to is I want to help people cultivate creativity.

Joe Huff 

That's awesome. I love it. And how would you see yourself doing that like creating tools or giving like actual direct standing,

Nik Tarascio 

I'm standing on that cliff right now of I don't know exactly what the media medium is. So I've been working with people on like, parts work and different modalities of healing. I do sound healing now in sound therapy. So I don't know what it is. But I know like in the next three months, I can feel that it's going to reveal itself as what the medium is I play in and I'm, I'm just putting that out there that if anyone has tools or practices for cultivating creativity within my dream has always been to write the perfect song and the perfect song is actually not me. It's it's without any distortion, allowing that source, that creativity, that muse to come through me. And knowing that it just, it happened in front of me, I want to be in a front row seat to letting that through. So that's been the dream is to spend the rest of my life moving. The ego, the distortions, the fear, what you just said, it's like, can you have the courage to actually speak what you know to be true without the fear of like, someone's gonna stab you and your most sensitive area when you're like, but this is what I believe. Don't say no, don't criticize don't troll me. Can I cultivate that confidence to be able to just to speak what feels true within me?

Joe Huff 

Oh, yeah, I think you can I think you're going to that's a really just thinking about it. That's the first step. You're already there. Right? So yeah, I mean, I know for a fact, people are going to come out and attack the book and the message and you know, there's going to be people, but I already know that people are going to it's going to resonate and change some lives. That's what matters, right? It matters, that you're doing that. So by just what you just shared, if you just start doing that. It only takes you know, the winds for you to forget about all the losses and maybe the song you'll come to realize the end is like the song has been all the songs that you've ever written all

Nik Tarascio 

that stuff. It's, it's my Bohemian Rhapsody, I gets that that's what it's like, the song is not chorus, you know, a chorus verse, chorus verse, it's more like it's just this crazy movement of all these different things that that is the dream. I don't think I ever wanted to have just the repeating pattern. So thank you for asking that. It's probably the first time I've verbalized it, and put it into words of like, yeah, that is what it is. It's about cultivating that source creativity and getting out of the way and seeing what comes through. Well, I

Joe Huff 

love it, man. It's beautiful. That's really cool. Thank

Nik Tarascio 

you. Thank you. This has been phenomenal. And I am excited to follow your journey. It is beautiful to reconnect. And thanks for sharing so much from your heart and doing what you do. And for anybody that is curious to stay on the journey with Joe as you could check out experiential billionaire.com or his personal website Joe huff.com. He's got some info on his keynotes and everything on there. And of course, go get the book experiential billionaire build a life rich and experiences and die with no regrets that's on his websites and Amazon as well. And if you want to get playful, which this may be a birthday gift to myself or the treasure maps Man that sounds super cool to car deck that can inspire you to do some really cool things with your life and, and just add more experiences to them. And you could get those again on Amazon or his website. So Joe, thank you so much for being here, man.

Joe Huff 

Thank you. It was really great to reconnect man. I'm looking forward to the next round.

Nik Tarascio 

Absolutely. Thank you for listening to the dream beyond. I hope that you receive whatever message or inspiration you were meant to get from today's episode. I had a great time recording it for you. If you love the show, please take 30 seconds to subscribe rate and review it that really helps get the word out. And if you want to connect with me, you can find me at

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YouTube

[gods-revolver-twice-as-shiny]

Also Patrick was like. Awake for all this. He was heavily drugged by the time of young volcanos but he could very clearly see that his friends were eating his organs (and they were definitely eating more than just like a kidney because the shots of the food paralleled with multiple surgery scars on Patrick's body imply that many more organs were taken out.)

I believe the one shot of Pete vomiting blood + the snake (along with some shots of the young volcanos video) imply that he also figures it out but?? Andy and Joe NEVER realize it and it's not even known if Pete even knows what happened at that dinner. Patrick probably knows some as he was awake to see what was happening but too drugged to comprehend it (by the time of the young volcanos video he is very out of it and giddy, so he's been drugged for a while).

This definitely ties in with the brainwashing Patrick goes through where he becomes hostile to music itself . He's had to cannibalize not only part of his physical self but also his metaphorical self.

- physically Patrick has eaten part of his own body that was forcibly removed from him. Like this wasn't skin or anything THESE WERE HIS INTERNAL ORGANS that were being eaten. And Patrick wasn't even put under anything for the operation either: he's wide awake as the women dissect him in The Phoenix mv. There's also some really fucked up ties to the last supper (which adds to the messiah like imagery that surrounds all of the guys but Patrick specifically) as the four of them literally consume the body and blood (I think it's also implied that the wine they drink is blood? Not entirely sure but it is possible). Patrick has part of him consumed by not only himself by but others-- others that he absolutely loves.

-metaphorically a part of him was torn out violently and then consumed by himself in the form of music. Patrick is the frontman! The lead singer + rhythm guitarist! He is VERY tied to music not just in fall out boy but also in his solo stuff. Which is why HE is chosen to become the brainwashing victim instead of Pete or Andy or Joe. Music is very very important to who Patrick is as a person, and that part of him is VIOLENTLY removed in an invasive procedure (paralleling the physical invasive procedure of the dissection in the Phoenix). Both the Alone Together and Rat A Tat mv show how painful the brainwashing process is for Patrick. It's implied he's being violently shocked (the electrodes on his head) while being forced to listen to music, which creates a sort of response that associates music to violence and pain and anger (in a sort of Pavlov's dogs type of experiment). Here Patrick is forced to "cannibalize" his music (whether it was his music or not that he was conditioned with, it's music all the same it's quite literally part of his body) and become something evil for the benefit of others.

What you said about the intimacy of it all-- carrying a part of the person you love inside of you in the most literal, evil sense-- is totally correct and I feel like it has something to do with the toxic relationship imagery that is spread throughout Fall Out Boys music (but VERY specifically in Where Did The Party Go and Miss Missing You).

- both of these songs address a relationship. A very toxic one at that-- WDTPG directly draws parallels between a person and a pack of cigarettes. They're beautiful (in a twisted sense) from afar, but it's only after you start to get involved that true colors are shown and you start ingesting poison. Specifically this parallel to cigarettes makes me think of the feast in Young Volcanos and how Patrick has to watch the people most important to him (whether you choose to view it romantically as in Pete or strictly platonic is up to you. The idea is the same at its core). Patrick has to watch this sort of twisted up beauty-- beauty being in the form of a holy supper, twisted in the sense they are literally consuming his body and blood-- and he eventually has to ingest his own poison himself. Patrick is both ends of the toxic relationship that he has with himself: he is the person that is toxic and dangerous and who you shouldn't get near because he will hurt yoy (as evidenced by him killing Joe and Pete in the two songs I specified) while also being the person dragged into a toxic relationship that slowly poisons him from the inside out.

-

[respectthepetty]

I’m new. Ok. And only just watching BAD BUDDY and erm….. colours. Obviously they have different over shirts at school anyway! Pran- red over shirt and Pat - Blue over shirt.

But before I embarrass myself with trying to do a theory - I have come to your Holy corner of the interweb for your colour expertise and knowledge because I can watch any shows without looking at colours and barriers, mirrors and windows. Like.

Help. 😅

Anon, I knew Bad Buddy would eventually come up because it was rich with colors, so I was prepared to cushion this answer with good meta before I dropped the landing:

I updated my master post of colors to add more color-coded queer shows <- Shameless Plug

@dribs-and-drabbles did an amazing job analyzing the colors in Bad Buddy, which every post can be found here -> this awesome link!

@shortpplfedup examined Bad Buddy through the lens of Romeo & Juliet and compared the common themes between the two *chef's kiss*

@miscellar wrote about the tropes Bad Buddy leaned on to tell a compelling story, but admits to being "garbage at tagging [their] own stuff," so the linked post has some links within it of their posts.

I gave you all of this beforehand because . . .

I didn't like Bad Buddy

It's not the show! It's me. I became very frustrated in the last quarter, so I zoned out and refuse to rewatch it. HOWEVER, I will give you a quick Bad (Color) Buddy post since you were brave enough to ask about this show.

In general, Pat is a Blue Boy (loyal and stable - he kept that guitar for a very long time), and Pran is a Red Rascal (stimulating and passionate - he fell first).

Even their parents were color-coded, but the switches in colors, and the barriers gave away some of the underlying issues between the parents.

But when Pat thought about it, the love (and the color exchange) was always there between them, right? They are sleeping on the other's color.

Because when they met on that roof at the end of episode five, they had already exchanged colors, multiple times

BURY ME WITH EPISODE FIVE!

Even when they were fighting, the love (and the colors) were there. Pran is wearing Purple Pair (when Blue & Red mix), and Pat has the red name tag.

But the second their friends found out about their love, their colors morphed into the darkest timeline versions

But they figured it out, only for Pat to GET SHOT with his Blue Boy Squad while wearing both his and Pran's colors and love

So Pran continued to show up at the hospital in his man's blue to give him love and support, only for Pat's family to show up trying to give him love (in red)

It was okay though because when Pat got out of the hospital, he declared his love for Pran in front of the whole school while wearing Pran's color

So we were all lead to believe all would be okay . . .

But shit goes sideways outside of a Trader Joe's when Pat and Pran run into Pat's family

They run off to the beach to live Kinn and Porsche's dream out where Pran falls even more in love with his Blue Boy

Then they have sex on their colors because they were already sleeping on them since day one

But they decide to BREAK UP because they realize their parents will never give them peace or relief due to the long-standing beef between them. But it's okay *cries into my pillow* because the ladies got their happy ending.

Ink is a Yellow Yal (communicative and creative) and Pa is a Green Gal (optimistic and relaxed).

They exchange colors and love because they aren't complicated and just want to be together while not making us cry.

We get a time jump and see Pat wake up in the . . . red? But that's Pran's color.

Then we see Pran getting ready with his red and . . . blue comforter.

They both attend a class reunion, but are distant with each other not speaking to the other one since they are no longer even friends

BUT IT'S ALL A LIE

As if the colors didn't give it away before the reveal, and we find out they have been together THIS ENTIRE TIME

So they slut it up right in front of Nong Nao's salad

And live happily ever after having sex on every surface of their apartment like they deserve, exchanging colors for all their lives. Amen.

Thanks for the ask, and I hope we never forget that Pat was shot ON CHRISTMAS EVE!!!!!!

[funnfinnreal]

for people who missed x/jevin/doc's livestream (Joe was there but he wasn't streaming) - they did a hermitcraft season 9 town hall and so I'm gonna try to write down as much info as I can get

warning: long post - i tried to be as concise as possible but this was a 2+ hour stream. also it’s somewhat disjointed but that’s just bc i went in the order they said things

I wasn't there for all of it so if I missed something that's why. also they can talk faster than I can type so I may have missed some stuff there

-they wanted to take a longer break this time, they've never had much time between seasons since the start rly

-they were planning on the 19th originally, but it had to be pushed back

-x's posting of the date on the video wasn't meant to be seen? YouTube stops videos on the final frame, it was only supposed to show up for a split second

-there were reasons for everyone to get a break, not just one hermit, everyone had complications

-they met very close to the "start date" so they didn't have everything figured out NSJFHJS and ppl had more complications coming up

-due to the uncertainty and complications they pushed it back

-doc said "quicker than you think" for the new season!! he said they need maybe one more meeting before the start

-Jevin clarified that this was NOT just because of Scar - several hermits has complications

-X said it's not healthy to speculate on why and it's affecting some of them, just send Scar support and nothing else

-Doc said they're not gonna give a firm date in case more complications arise

-Doc also said they're all just youtubers trying to also lead normal lives!! they're not trying to misinform things just Happen

-they have a date, it's soon but they're not gonna say bc of what Doc said

-it's going to be a full season! not a short season like 8. they plan seasons around updates and the caves and cliffs split messed them up. "we learned a lot from short seasons - don't do them"

-the short season was an experiment for them, and it sounds like most of them didn't like it

-Joe said not to read into people's health based on the launch date - the date does not mean anything about Scar's health and it's stressing him (scar) out

-Joe said it was later than he would've thought? soon regardless

-sounds like time between seasons is going to be the norm from here out - they enjoyed their independent time to recharge

-the date has to be unanimous (or consensus driven as Joe said - there are usually one or two people who have different opinions but they understand they have to work in a group) (as do all of their decisions) remember there are 26 hermits some with fulltime jobs - I can't even coordinate a date for my 4 friends man I can't imagine

-some hermits may not be there at the start due to schedule but they'll all be there at some point. again scheduling for 26 people is almost impossible

-stress and iskall WILL be there this season FULL TIME!! they needed a break but they're both very excited for the new season

-everyone who was on s8 will still be on s9

EVERYTHING AFTER THIS DOES NOT HAVE TO DO WITH THE DATE, JUST OTHER ASPECTS OF S9 AND HERMITCRAFT IN GENERAL. 

-x has 13k viewers (he broke his record!) and he said he's going to try to stream a lot in the first week of s9 (so go follow his twitch)

-they add new members by first voting, then asking the person to join - it takes a lot of time to add new members because they have to vet them thoroughly and they don't add temporary members - once you're in you're a full member, there's no probation, no hazing, the newest members are on the same level as the oldest right away

-no one has ever denied joining as far as they know, but Joe almost said no! he did solo challenge maps and wasn't sure if he wanted to come in or not and said he thought it was a scam at first MSJFJSJ

-part of the vetting process is being fairly sure the person will Want to join - they wouldn’t ask someone like dream bc they know he probs wouldn’t care to join

-THERE WILL BE A SHOPPING DISTRICT THIS SEASON!! last season the idea was separate districts to promote stories and competition, but it didn't really work LMAO. most people just ended up being independent and selling the same stuff as all the other shops - people weren't gonna check every shop on the server just to find one thing

-shopping district was always a natural thing, it wasn't initially planned and enforcing rules about it takes away the "natural-ness"

-they don't consider popularity when adding members, subcount means nothing, they look at your content, how you carry yourself in public, etc

-it's annoying to ask people to join an smp or to ask ppl in the smp to add a specific person - X brought up a recent fwhip tweet

-Joe brought up being bothered about joining Grian's series and how annoying that is - he doesn't know why he's not and he doesn't care - it sounds like all the hermits get this

-Gem and False joined!

-they've picked a seed but they can't say much about it - X did accidentally say that he was gonna be the only one on an island tho lmao. they did a poll to see if ppl cared about the seed and were surprised when most people said no

-there will be a "starter town" in s9 - almost everyone will start in the same area and eventually spread out - this was something they did in s3 and liked it a lot so they're bringing it back. hermits don't Have to do it but it's the general plan

-there are no plans to form groups again, but they could form organically

-the data pack with the texture changes (derpcoin, beef's food, scar's hat, etc) was an experiment that they tried. a lot of viewers love it and a lot don't. some of the textures were way too detailed and didn't look vanilla enough.

-they may add custom textures in s9, but they have to look vanilla and can't be excessive

-overall, they just have to test content real-time! they don't have data about things, they just Do Things and if they fail they fail. s8 especially was meant to be very experimental

-the mods used on the server are mostly for performance and video-making reasons. minecraft is not meant to be played by 26 people at once.

-they WILL still have proximity chat! and it will be on the server until they can't anymore. a lot of communication barriers are solved and the audio quality is better than discord in recordings with it. they all seem to love it

-some like to use litematica and some don't but they're allowed to use client-side mods like that. there's a code of honor there, where they won't use automatic aspects of the mod, just the blueprint function. same with other client-side mods

-the hermatrix and moon were modded (kind of obvious but I wanted to add it in NSJHFS). the moon mod was super complicated - the blocks floating weren't just random and neither was anything else! that's the heaviest modding they've done

-doc is probably gonna make a video showing off the moon mod and make it public

-they're not adding the create mod. i didn't think they were but a lot of ppl on the streams were asking

-there's no senority in hermitcraft. everyone has an equal voice. ik i said that already but jev said it again. joe reiterated this and said the server wouldn't work if they didn't. "bring in people you trust and act like you trust them"

-X wants to abandon "all forms of symmetry and counting" for his builds next season - no numbers. (when he said he was abandoning symmetry false popped in and said "hey!" which was funny)

-stories on the server are somewhat scripted - there's a beginning and an end planned out and maybe some cornerstones but how they get there isn't predetermined. sometimes someone will talk about what type of story is important to them but again it's not defined

-I GOT AN AD but they're talking about storylines more. X dipped out for a minute so i switched to Doc's stream to make sure i didn't miss anything

-generally the person who created the story guides it but they keep reiterating that there's a huge improv element

-ren joined and he tried to use some intro music but his mic kept cutting out MSJHFHD but ya ren is there now. and X came back

-they don't feel that vanilla/survival limits them, if anything it challenges them to be More creative

-they're super ready to challenge themselves, they don't feel the magnitude of their builds have plateaued or anything

-several hermits are potentially planning minigames this season

-they're all always challenging themselves and doc talked about how they're playing with their youtube idols! they want to look good for the people they admire! doc specifically mentioned Scar and Etho as his. being in a group of amazingly talented people and being able to bounce ideas off of them/get criticism is very inspiring

-you're probably not gonna be able to join hc but it's such a great experience they're all saying you should try to make your own thing like it! even if it's not minecraft, just making a group and doing cool things together is amazing!

-ren said that overall they're gonna be "digging into the old school" this season and bringing back a lot of stuff from older seasons. maybe smaller pranks, minigames, the starter village, etc

-they try to encourage collabs as much as possible. in any group there are ppl who get along easier/record together better than others and so collabs just don't work for everyone together. there's always gonna be ppl in a large group who hang out more within a smaller group.

-also timezones are a huge thing. they'll wake up early/stay up late if there's a concrete thing but if they're not usually awake at the same time they're not rly gonna collab

-they're planning to update to 1.19, sounds like they're gonna do the same thing they did with 1.14 but they're not sure (it sounds like there may have been a miscommunication)

-tbh i recommend going back and watching the vod if u have the time, there's a lot i can't get down

-they don't care about trends/popularity, they want to make their own stuff without obeying the algorithm

-there needs to be some mystery about them in order to make their storylines so they don’t want to reveal everything

-also their own audiences affect how they do their content/stories - ren and doc have an older audience compared to grian etc

-they mostly add youtubers but if you have very exceptional content they'd consider anyways. streamers are live so much they might spoil content so they look more specifically for youtubers. also not all of them agree on that

-jevin had to go at this point

-gem writes plans for her stories in advance but she has a lot that she uses for different things

-big things, like the s6 civil war are largely impromptu. they may plan the start of the season but they don't necessarily plan how the full season is gonna go

-apparently Gem and Pearl have a lot of plans together, they're good friends outside of the server and they're planning some pranks and chaos. im excited

-they're being very vague about potential new members but it sounds like there won't be anyone new this season. they just said "maybe" but joe said that usually they add when people take the season off or leave and nobody is doing that this season

-at the very least, ren and doc aren't continuing their s8 hermatrix storyline. x is not continuing either, he doesn't care much for rp. for the most part they don't want to re-do any old storylines, but they didn't say anything about other hermits. so everyone except X, doc, and ren is up in the air

-they're never gonna do modded. doc rly doesn't like it and it's very hard to make good modded content, it's a lot of grind for not a lot of reward. some hermits do like it tho! Gem talked abt her own modded series. joe likes non-technical mods/packs bc tech packs require a ton of wiki reading. doc and X pointed out that there are often a lot of exploits that break the game

-other series have a big time commitment in general. most hermits don't have time for more than one. gem doesn't have a lot of responsibilities outside of content so she can but it's hard for a lot of other hermits

-hermitcraft is a long-game type of content so they're able to take breaks, even though youtube doesn't like that

-doc said he's never gonna get a dad bod despite being a dad. not relevant to hermitcraft but i wanted to include this

-apparently sometimes other hermits will ask others to change builds if they think it doesn't look good enough for the server SNFJJS not too often bc they dont want Drama but it does happen

-there's probably not gonna be a theme for the starter village, ppl don't have a lot of resources at that point anyways

-X is gonna try to be more spontaneous this season

-there wasn't a lot of new info after that point, a lot of ppl hadnt been there at the start so they just reiterated other stuff

this ended up being SO Long so uh... sorry. I hope it was informative tho! and kinda disjointed but i mostly put it in the order they said things

[paradisetemporarilymisplaced]

So I was being a basic bitch the other day and listening to my true crime podcasts when it occurred to me just how suspicious Nile’s “death” would look to everyone not in the Guard, leading me to a train of thought that, 2200 words later, absolutely got away from me but I can’t let go so I’m inflicting it on all of you!

To set the stage, we know the movie takes place over approximately a week. Here’s what happens to Nile from the military’s point of view:

She dies is very seriously injured

She heals without a scratch

Just before she’s supposed to be shipped out to Germany, she vanishes, leaving two men concussed (and presumably reporting being knocked out by a woman with short hair wearing civilian clothes)

She goes AWOL for several days

They get word from the CIA that she is to be reported killed in action (details unclear)

So, at the beginning of this very weird week, the USMC has to tell Nile’s family of her death critical injury. What her family was told depends on how long she was dead – a Google search tells me that family will be notified in person within 8 hours of a soldier’s death, but we don’t know how long her first death lasted. For an injury, however, they’d get a phone call to notify them and the unit would arrange for them to visit as soon as the soldier is transferred out of a combat zone. Like I remember when I was in high school, a guy from my church who was a Marine was really seriously injured in a helicopter crash in Iraq and from what I could tell, his parents were told immediately and were flown out to Germany to see him, so it stands to reason that Nile’s family would have been informed relatively quickly after her throat was slashed, one way or another.

And then, she goes AWOL. Her family would be notified while the USMC tried to figure out where she went, not least because the military would want to know if she’s contacted them. (And it’s possible that her family may have been on the way to Germany to see her since we know that’s where she was supposed to go!) So for several days:

Nile’s mom and brother have no idea where she is

They know she was seriously injured and most certainly should not have been moving around on her own

They can’t get a hold of her

The military can’t tell them anything

And the next thing they know for sure is that she was “killed in action.” After being injured and vanishing into thin air. And they presumably cannot produce her body or any concrete evidence of her death. In any case, something sketchy is going on, so they’re like. SMELLS LIKE A MILITARY COVERUP.

In a surprise to probably no one, there is a well-documented legacy of mysterious US military deaths, particularly of women of color (TW for sexual assault in these links). The cases of LaVena Johnson and Vanessa Guillenin particular have made national news because of their families’ persistence in seeking justice. Likewise, Nile is a Black woman, and her mom and brother are most certainly hypercognizant of (a) state violence against Black people and (b) these high-profile cases of suspicious military deaths. So her family are seriously side-eyeing the situation, knowing that (a) the military has a serious incentive (and a documented history) of covering up things that make them look bad and (b) nothing about Nile’s disappearance and supposed death are adding up.

And Andy’s right. Nile does come from warriors. And you know who else does? Her brother.

Don’t get me wrong. Nile’s mom would absolutely not back down. She’d know something was up and want to get to the bottom of it. But based on what I know about Gen X parents (mine), they’re not the most technologically savvy. Like they can use the internet, but they didn’t grow up with it the way we young millennials and Gen Z did. So Nile’s brother takes the lead. And what do zillennials do best?

Social media.

Nile’s brother starts going hard on any site he can, trying to get the word out to see if anyone knows what happened to his sister. He starts a Reddit thread. He starts a Facebook group. He reaches out to the media and true crime bloggers and podcasters à la Sarah Turney, getting loud and being a general nuisance in hopes of getting some answers. He gets his friends and Nile’s friends involved. Maybe eventually Dizzy, Jay, and others from Nile’s unit hear about it and reach out, telling him what they saw and how weird it all was. He’s drumming up interest, and soon “Nile Freeman” becomes a household name (at least among the true crime fans).

Copley is, of course, trying his best, but at this point there is just so much that it’s impossible for him to scrub everything. Sure, he can erase new footage of Nile and the Guard, but what can he do about Reddit threads and podcast episodes that are speculating something weird has happened? Maybe he could hack the sites and shut those things down, but honestly, that’s the last thing he’d want to do, because that only adds weight to the theory that Nile’s disappearance is a military coverup. So eventually he has to tell Andy what’s going on.

Andy, obviously, does not take the news well. However, she is also completely computer illiterate, because that’s Booker’s job and he’s the only one who ever bothered to learn what the internet is in any meaningful way. (She probably calls Booker for advice, and for the record, I think Booker would have no qualms about shutting down conspiracy threads, tinhats be damned, but Copley is too concerned about the consequences. He’s ex-CIA for crying out loud, he knows how it’ll look if they scrub every mention of Nile’s name from the internet.) Maybe she confers with Joe and Nicky but, let’s be honest, they’d be equally unhelpful. So at this point, she knows they have to bring in Nile.

But the thing about Nile is that she, too, knows how to use the internet (duh). Aside from her being a young millennial/digital native, we know from the cave scene where she’s giving Booker suggestions on how to track Copley that she clearly is even more computer savvy than the average person. And for that reason she almost definitely took over the day-to-day tech stuff after Booker’s exile. So I think it would be foolish to expect her to be unaware of what’s happening. She’s not contacting her family or posting on the message boards or anything, but she knows what’s up. So Copley and the team probably sit her down to “break the news,” but we know the girl does not have a poker face (see: literally shooting herself in the foot and not being able to play it cool whatsoever) and cracks immediately, telling them she’s seen everything about her case – she’s not interacting with any of it, she certainly didn’t instigate anything, but she knows. (And she is so goddamn proud of her brother.)

At this point, I’d like to pause and consider Nile’s role in the overall narrative of this movie. She’s set up as a foil to Andy, obviously, but she’s also a foil to Booker. Booker, who, like Andy, is a serious pessimist, but who, unlike Andy, still has very fresh memories and trauma associated with being the new kid, which have destroyed him. In his mind (and Andy’s), if Nile communicates with her family, she’ll become just like him in a century or two – bitter, alone, and stuck with her grief and memories of watching her family die and knowing they died resenting her. It’s a small sample size, but this is the only experience they have to go off of.

But it doesn’t have to be like that.

There’s been a lot of discussion of TOG being a fundamentally queer movie – a group of people brought together because of something inherent about themselves that is different, that must be hidden, that causes others to hate, fear, and reject them. Booker’s backstory is the archetypal traumatic “coming out” story – his family learns who he is, hate him for it, and attempt to cast him out of their lives. He’s stuck with his trauma, his pain, his loss, and it consumes him.

But what if Nile’s family would be the opposite? What if her “coming out” to them as immortal is met with acceptance, love, celebration? What if her family is just overjoyed to have her back, and they don’t care what the circumstances are? I'm reminded of this incredible post from @shitty-old-guard-deaths a while back, where Nile’s mother hits Booker with a frying pan because “my baby let me believe she was dead for FIVE YEARS based on your bad advice???” (which may or may not have inspired this whole tangent). Nile takes the advice of someone who did the same thing she wants to do because she doesn’t want to risk her family’s rejection. She wants the good memories with her family and is afraid that showing them her true self will bring her unbearable pain, forever replacing those memories. But, with high risk comes high reward.

Anyway. Nile and the team are trying to come up with a plan for how to handle this whole thing, but she’s not really participating because she’s too afraid to hope. Until finally, quickly, so she doesn’t lose her nerve, she suggests she reach out to them, knowing that, realistically, that’s the only solution before things snowball even further out of control. The team is shocked, but realize that she has a point. They decide that Copley should actually be the first point of contact, posing as a US government official to talk with them and test the waters.

So Copley goes to Nile’s family’s house to talk with her mom and brother. They’re probably distrustful and apprehensive, but nonetheless secretly ecstatic that their work has paid off. They talk and review all of the information that they’ve collected, including testimonials from the people on Nile’s base and recent sightings (along with photos) of Nile (with the same three people) over the last few years that people have sent them but they haven’t posted publicly. At this point, Copley’s like, yeah this is about to blow up, we gotta put our cards on the table. He convinces them to come with him to some safe house/black site/whatever he can get that is technologically impenetrable (I’m picturing them in like, an interrogation room at a police station kind of deal), takes their phones, locks the doors, and brings in Nile.

What follows is the most delightful reunion scene of all time, bringing Joe, Nicky, and even Andy to tears as they watch and listen from outside the room. With Copley’s help, Nile tells her mom and brother about her immortality and what’s been going on since she died (within reason, of course), and they are thrilled. They don’t understand why (because no one does) but they don’t question it and they see it as a gift from God – she’s been resurrected, she will live, and she has a purpose. Her mother and brother are so happy to see her again and are willing to agree with pretty much anything to stay in her life as long as they can.

So. They set up some complicated agreement (they bring in the other three for support/intimidation as needed) setting the terms of their relationship. They swear Nile’s family to secrecy, maybe bringing up the lab to show how high the stakes are, and they readily agree. They come up with some cover story for Nile’s brother to share on the message boards (maybe that the government has opened an investigation but because it’s an open case he has to shut it all down? Tells people to direct their tips somewhere else? Something to that effect). There’s still speculation, of course, but without Nile’s brother at the helm providing the energy, the hype dies down as news stories are wont to do without any movement. And Nile’s family goes to work for the team. The experience has taught them that Copley can’t possibly do everything himself, especially when it comes to social media, so Nile’s brother takes the lead on the day-to-day tracking/social media while Copley and her mom focus on finding jobs and scrubbing their traces afterward.

So there you have it: Nile gets to integrate her biological family into her found family and spend the rest of their lives with them as it should be, Copley gets some badly needed help managing the reality of social media, the team finally has a positive narrative surrounding outsiders Knowing About Them AND about interacting with people from their previous life, and the audience gets the happy ending to this very lovely and very queer story to counteract the pain associated with Booker’s family.

Plus, you know, I’m a sucker for both a good government conspiracy theory and for Nile getting every good thing she deserves.

[moemammon]

The Demon Bros react to GN!MC Sleeping while Standing Up!

(Interpreting this as mild sleep waking)

Lucifer

Lucifer found you standing in the hallway just outside of your room, after curfew.

He's used to you lurking and sneaking around, considering the troublemaker you are, so it doesn't surprise him to see you out so late.

What DOES surprise him is when he calls your name, but you don't respond. And when he touches you.... that's when he realizes you're sleeping. You're snoring and everything.

Belphie does the same from time to time so he's more or less prepared to handle it. Though, that's just one more thing to add to the 'why MC is troublesome' list...

He carefully eases you back into your room, being careful not to startle you awake, before managing to get you back into your bed. Maybe he should consider tying you down? 🤔

Mammon

"And that's when I- Huh? Oi, human! You're spillin' coffee everywhere!"

You fell asleep while serving yourself a cup o' joe, effectively spilling it everywhere and startling poor Mammon. Could you be any clumsier???

Though, he's more worried about you burning yourself so he snatches the pot and moves you away, startling you awake. He knows how fragile you humans can be!

"Are ya seriously sleepin' right in the middle of the kitchen?? That's dangerous! Geez, what'll ya do without me by your side if ya can't even handle pouring some coffee?"

He's now using it as an excuse to follow you around everywhere. What? You might fall asleep in the middle of the road, or in a dark alley somewhere! He's gotta keep you safe! It's not clingy, it's just being responsible!

Levi

He DID just wake you up in the middle of the night to come look at the new additions to his figurine collection, but he didn't expect you to stand there staring at them for so long....

Was your brain malfunctioning?? MC you good??? Wh-

Wait, we're you sleeping?! Just like in that episode of 'My Love Interest Can Sleep while Standing, and it's Seriously Freaking Me Out!'?!

Doesn't really know what to do?? He's heard that waking sleepwalkers is a bad idea and he doesn't want you spazzing out when you're so close to his precious figures....

Literally just leaves you as you are. He can't concentrate on any games or manga right now, so he's settling for reorganizing his stuff while sneaking glances at you. "Wake up already, will you? My heart can't take this kind of pressure..."

Satan

You were browsing his extensive book collection in the late evening, trying to find something to prepare you for a grueling essay coming up.

But when you'd been standing in one spot for well over trendy minutes, Satan assumed something was wrong. And rightfully so, since he soon discovered you were sleeping.

You're standing there with such a gentle expression that he can't help but laugh. Were you really comfortably standing like that? The pressure of that essay must've been too much for your brain, huh?

He watches you for a little while, making mental notes of every time you move. He's read a book on sleepwalking before, but he's only ever seen Belphie do it. Interesting!

He does wake you eventually though, patting the small of your back and calling out your name. "MC, don't you think my bed would be much more comfortable for you? If you're tired, you should nap for a bit before getting back to your studies."

Asmo

Ooooh, he KNEW you weren't listening to him!

Asmo dragged you away to a shopping outlet and was making you help him choose a few new wardrobe pieces. While he spent his time in the changing room, he was going on and on about the party he’d been invited to.

And you were WAY too quiet. You didn't even respond to his playful teasing! So when he opened the door and saw you standing there sleeping, in the middle of the store, he sort of.... froze?

"Um....sweetheart? Are you okay? Are you really asleep right now??" He's patting your cheek to get a reaction out of you. Did his overwhelming beauty put you into a coma??

And speaking of beauty... maybe a kiss would wake you up? Only one way to find out~ 😘

Beel

Belphie is that you-

He's also pretty used to seeing this sort of thing, being so close to his twin and all. It's just a surprise that there's someone else capable of doing it.

He watches as you stand there, your head leaning to the side while you snore away, standing completely upright near the bathroom.

From the looks of it, you'd just finished washing up and tried to get back to your room for bed, but you didn't make it there. His heart softens up when he realizes that.

So he gently picks you up in his arms, careful not to wake you as he takes you back to your room and tucks you into bed. Maybe he should pass your room more often to make sure you make it there?

Belphie

Eyyyyy same

He was pretty surprised when he found you sleeping, your cheek pressed against the hallway wall and your RAD blazer in your hand. From the looks of it, you were trying to get ready for school, but didn't make it.

The other brothers were gone already, too. As for Belphie, he was skipping as usual. But that meant he got to see you in a rare predicament. Even if he gets scolded by Lucifer, this makes it worth it.

Somehow the cowboy has managed to lead you all the way back to his room and into his bed without waking you, and now he's all cuddled up with you comfortably. Your blazer has been thrown onto the floor, a sign that he has no intention of letting you go to school today.

But that's alright, isn't it? Why go to RAD when you can stay with him for the entire afternoon? And when you wake up, you'll be safely tucked away into his arms. That's better than listening to a demonology lesson, right?

[rek1s-headband]

hi! figured i’d drop a request for you :))! Maybe some general bf hcs for reki and langa? Just in general how they would be as a boyfriend or how they would act in a relationship?

Hi!! Thank you so much for your request, I’ve been excited to do one of these. I hope you enjoy it!

➯ random boyfriend headcannons

➯ characters: Reki Kyan and Langa Hasegawa x gn reader

➯ warnings: none! Just some fluff for these two boys:)

Reki:

-Literally the most enthusiastic person you’ve ever seen. He’d be happy to just sit in silence with you because come on, it’s YOU. There’s no one he’d rather be wasting the hours away with.

-Your biggest hype man, EVER. You post something on Instagram? Get ready for a flood of comments, all from him. You could put your phone down for two minutes after posting, and you’ll come back to 99+ notifications of just reki commenting along the lines of “woah suddenly I’m on one knee” “DAMNNNN” and many, many more.

-Never leave your phone unattended around him. He won’t snoop, but be prepared to come back to your camera roll flooded with just zoomed in pictures of his face, his mouth, his eye, ANYWHERE. Mf is spamming your whole phone with pictures of him for you to come back to.

-He has to always be touching you in some way. Whether it’s holding your hand, your waist, a casual arm around your shoulder, there has to be something. He’ll put his hand on your ass sometimes while you walk in public.

-Honestly doesn’t even think PDA is anything out of the ordinary. Like, you’re his s/o??? Yes you’re in his lap, yes you’re in the middle of the skatepark, so what? You’re his, and he’s happy he can make everyone aware of that.

-I saw a post on here that said he would peel stickers off fruit and stick them to peoples’ foreheads, and I fully stand by this. However, it doesn’t just stop at fruit stickers. Anything remotely sticky, whether it’s tags from clothes, tape from a food box, even random sequins and bits of glitter he finds around, it’s immediately being stuck to some part of your face.

-Loves casual dates. Stopping by food stalls, browsing in clothes and game stores for a few hours, and skating around with you until it’s time to go home is a dream for him. Be prepared for day-long dates, because he will clear his entire schedule just to spend the day with you.

-His family adores you. His mother is always goading him to bring you over more, complaining that she misses her "honorary son/daughter/child". His sisters love you too. Any time you come over there’s immediately three tiny bodies shooting at you, grabbing you by the waist and dragging you over to wherever they’re playing. Reki tries to drag you away, wanting to have you for himself, but you always try and stay for at least five or ten minutes. Secretly, he loves that you get along so well with his siblings, going soft at the thought of how you would act with children of your own.

-He loves playing video games with you. Sitting in his lap, the two of you could spend hours switching from game to game. One minute you could be burning down a village in Minecraft, the next complaining while Reki whoops your ass in Mario Kart. His mom brings you food for your breaks between games, and she’ll even stay for a few minutes to talk to you while Reki shifts underneath you, glowing red from embarassment.

-If you can’t skate, he would beg to teach you. If you accept, he goes all out. He’ll make you your own customised board just for practicing, making sure it’s absolutely perfert for you to learn on. But if you can skate, get ready for endless races and competitions to see who can nail a new trick the quickest.

-Adores when you come to S to support him. He loves looking into the crowd and seeing you there cheering him on before he goes into a beef. If he wins, he’ll race over to where you are in the crowd, picking you up and spinning you around, kissing you without a care in the world. However, if he loses he’s thankful you’re always there to pick him back up and make him feel better afterwards.

-Loves cleaning you up after a big fall, kissing your bruises and cuts better. He’ll carefully wrap each injury with care, telling you how brave you are, no matter how small the cut. Secretly, he loves when you baby him after he falls himself. Seeing you wipe away the blood from a new cut and place a small plaster on it with such tenderness melts his heart in a way only you could.

-Speaking of plasters, this man has one for every occasion. Princesses, pirates, aliens, cats, dogs, sparkles, stripes, you name it, he’s got it.

-The type to sneak you out at two in the morning to get a slushee with him. Honestly, he’s up so late making boards for people he just has no perception of time.

-Spams your phone with TikToks or other funny things that reminds him of you. It could be a very specific thing, or a flower or cloud. If he thinks of you when he sees it(which is fairly often), it gets sent to you.

-Talks with his hands a lot. He’s a very expressive talker, so when he’s telling you a story it feels like you’re right there in the story with him.

-Please just kiss him. His cheeks, his forehead, his hand, his shoulder, his temples, his lips. Anywhere, he’ll melt under you. Mf is touch starved to the max.

-Always knows how to make you laugh. His laugh is infectious, it could get you out of your darkest moods.

-Sleeps with his head on your chest, and one hand in your shirt little perv.

-His social media is like a SHRINE for you. His highlights, his posts, his stories, EVERYWHERE. He’s just so proud to be able to call you his that he wants the whole world to know.

-Kisses in the rain while you run home, skateboards in your hands after the weather forecast failed you once again. He’s just so happy in the moment that he can’t contain himself, so he’s pulling you into him in the pouring rain, kissing you hard while your hair gets drenched.

-You don’t need to steal his clothes, he will literally give them to you because “you just look so cute wearing them”. Occasionally, he’ll take one of your hoodies, and even if it doesn’t exactly fit him, he’ll still keep it near him while he sleeps so he can keep your scent close to him.

Langa:

-This man is so oblivious to obvious hints, but still manages to pick up on the smallest of details? It’s incredible, honestly. He could describe the exact colour of your eyes with the most insane detail, but he still won’t notice when you try and hint that you like him in the first place!

-You two have a bit more of a low-key relationship, but you’ll make your usual appearance in his Instagram posts, or on his Snapchat story with a casual caption like a simple heart, or “my love<3”

-Not very big on PDA, not because he doesn’t like it, but because he doesn’t think of it. However, when he does feel like he’s being too physically distant, he’ll link pinkies with you as you walk along, or rest his head on your shoulder while you watch a video on your phone.

-His mom adores you, which is why Langa despises bringing you to his house. You always seem to leave with seven of his baby photos from his time snowboarding in Canada, a new recipe from his mother that you complimented, another one of his hoodies, and more miscellaneous stuff that you don’t even know how it ended up in your bag. He has a little shelf in your room specifically for this random stuff, and he always adds to the collection when he comes to your house. He’ll leave a keyring, a small toy, a Polaroid, anything honestly.

-Loves dates that you can experience. The movies, aquariums, museums and the zoo are common dates for the two of you to go on, but other than that, he adores going skateboarding with you. He’s been improving, and he loves when you notice little things he’s been picking up on, whether it be a new trick or simply how he balances himself on the board.

-Adores old Disney movies. Yall will binge a ton of them in one day, having full-blown musicals in Langa’s living room. When any of the romantic songs come on, like “So this is Love” from Cinderella, Langa will stand up and offer his hand to you, as the two of you waltz around his sitting room, humming the tune of the song.

-Study dates are frequent with the two of you. If you happen to stay up late studying and fall asleep on each other, his mother will cover the two of you with a blanket, tidying some of your books and leaving with a smile, happy with the knowledge you were making her son the happiest he’s been in quite a while.

-Slow dancing in the kitchen while you cook is a regular. When a particularly sappy love song comes on while he stirs the pot, he’ll turn around and hold you close to him, twirling you around the kitchen.

-Reki constantly jokes that he is a third wheel, poking fun at the two of you, Cherry and Joe, and Shadow and “his little girlfriend back at the flower shop”. He’ll hang out of Miya, whining about them having to stick together since they’re the only two “lone wolves”. He’ll usually get a well-earned thump into the back of the head from Miya, but it’s still funny to watch the whole thing go down.

-Tends to be shy when giving you clothes, so instead of asking you to wear them he’ll leave them out in places he knows you’ll find them, or he’ll come up behind you and plop it in your lap, murmuring about how cute it would look on you.

-Please do this man’s makeup. He will sit so still for you, waiting patiently while you dab eyeshadow at his eyes, trying not to blink so you don’t mess up his mascara. He’ll sit there mesmerised for a few minutes, taking in how he looks, and simply whisper “you do this every day?”

-Evem though he’s not a very openly affectionate person, he is stuck to your hip behind closed doors. He’ll lie in your lap for hours, staring up at you while you mess with his hair, pulling it into little plaits and pigtails.

-I can’t even describe how the two of you sleep. It’s simply a mass of limbs, and no one knows exactly what belongs to who. Somehow one of yall will end up upside down, and-why is Langa on the floor??

-He could talk about his time in Canada for hours, and you’d just lie on his chest and listen to him. Every once in a while he’ll look down at you to see if you’re still listening, and his heart will melt a little every time he sees you staring back up at him, eyes wide with interest.

-This man NEVER gets jealous. You’d literally have to cling to another man for it to click in his brain that Oh. He doesn’t like that.

-He’s not big on texting, but if you call him he will stay on that call with you for hours, even after the two of you fall asleep.

-Whenever he falls(which is quite often), you’ll always have plasters on hand to help fix him up. He always flushes bright red when you kiss his cuts better, and never knows just what to do with himself afterwards.

-When he skates against tough opponents, you’ll always give him a kiss for good luck. Of course, this doesn’t stop you worrying, but you know Langa wouldn’t go out of his way to get injured. And if he does, well, at least he’ll have you there to kiss his bruises better.