The Warm Fuzzies

GT Radio - The Geek Therapy Podcast

#335: As we go into the cold season, Marc, Josué, and Link discuss their comfort media. They touch on how media fulfills different needs in different contexts, and how we choose to seek them out to fulfill those needs.

Transcript

Marc Cuiriz 0:12
Welcome to GT radio on the Geek Therapy network. Here at Geek Therapy. We believe that the best way to understand each other and ourselves is through the media we care about. My name is Mark Cuiriz and I am joined by Josué Cardona.

Josué Cardona 0:24
Hello,

Marc Cuiriz 0:26
And Link Keller.

Link Keller 0:27
Hello.

Marc Cuiriz 0:29
hello, hi. So guys, I’m back. It was a wild first week of classes.

Josué Cardona 0:37
Welcome back.

Marc Cuiriz 0:39
I just actually had class yesterday, and I already fell asleep for about five minutes. So that was fun.

Josué Cardona 0:47
you are my son.

Link Keller 0:48
Uh Oh.

Marc Cuiriz 0:51
So this semester is already off to a great start. But, um, yeah, so considering I couldn’t, I couldn’t be here last week, just knowing about the topic, it kind of got me thinking a little bit. And with the beginning of September, now we’re kind of getting closer to the fall time that that cooling of the weather and we got hoodies and bonfires and the pumpkin spice everything now, I just started thinking about all the things that sort of kind of make, make you feel all like warm and fuzzy on the inside, you know, the things they just bring us like a sense of comfort and a sense of of, you know, just given the warmth, the warmth snuggles, basically. And so I was kind of curious as to sort of what are some of those things for you guys. Like, for instance, for me, what my my wife and I have been doing recently is like, we’ve been going back and we’ve been rewatching Pokemon. And so now we are almost done with the first season of Pokemon. And she busts

Josué Cardona 2:03
twenty three more to go

Marc Cuiriz 2:04
23 More there is I looked it up there are 24 seasons of Pokemon, and that’s not including the movies. But she also busted out her Gameboy and I busted out my old DS light, and she had FireRed and LeafGreen. So she’s playing fire red, and I started playing Leaf Green. So we’re sort of like playing together. Granted, she’s pretty much done with the game right at this point. And I kind of started tapering off just because I got more sucked into the show that was actually playing the game. But this is like, for me, this was one of those like nostalgia little bits that just like, just this idea of us, like we’re coming home from work, it’s a really long day. We’re both tired, we’re both fed up with children. And we just want to do nothing but just sit down in front of the TV, have some dinner, watching Pokemon and playing Pokemon. And just having that time together, we’re just kind of sitting on the couch doing these things.

Josué Cardona 3:03
I want to acknowledge that being a mental health professional, and a teacher is very hard work. So I’m glad that you all have things that help you. How would you say just like recharge kind of self soothe,

Marc Cuiriz 3:18
I think it’s very much more of a self soothe than it is a recharge. I think it might be a recharge for her. But for me, recharging just looks a little different. I don’t know, I feel like I need to be like fully engaged. And I feel like either playing Pokemon or watching Pokemon for me is very passive, just because it’s something that I’ve absorbed in it. I’ve had Pokemon with me, my entire life basically. So for me, it’s very, it’s more of a passive thing. So it’s more of just like, this is this is relaxing. This is comfort to me, this is something that’s familiar for me. But like to recharge myself, I do something that involves more of my attention. But it’s also fun, enjoyable. So like, playing Fallout for a little while was a way for me to recharge because it demanded all of my attention. So I’ve really physically cannot think about anything other than what was in front of me and what my next quest was because of the hyper that hyper focus, and now I’m back to destiny. And so now it’s back for me just just grinding it out and just shooting aliens basically. That’s my recharge.

Josué Cardona 4:36
So are we talking about both or only the The warm and fuzzy Snuggles?

Marc Cuiriz 4:41
I mean, we can honestly go both. I mean, if some of the warm fuzzy snuggles also serves as like a way to either self soothe or to recharge. We can definitely I am kind of open to all sorts of those different topics, but I was just I was just thinking that was just like how what kind of got me started and

Josué Cardona 5:00
Yeah,

Marc Cuiriz 5:00
I was kind of curious to see. What is it for you guys?

Josué Cardona 5:04
Yeah. This one’s hard for me to answer. Because I don’t like revisiting stuff. So I very, there are very few things that I go back to. So I’m gonna need some time to think.

Marc Cuiriz 5:20
Well, I think it could also be just like, what are activities that like, just for you is like, it doesn’t necessarily have to be like revisiting. So like, for me, for instance, like just simply sitting down and watching something and spending that time with my wife is something that does bring about that sense of comfort in the warm and fuzzy especially if it’s something that we’re both into. So like, when we were sitting down and watching the Marvel movies, we were we were all for it. And for her when there was like her first time seeing like the older ones, and then going into the newer ones and the shows like that’s kind of how like, That, for me was a sense of comfort and like given the warm fuzzy feelings for me. It’s just that for me specifically, it was Pokemon. But yeah,

Josué Cardona 6:06
yeah, because I didn’t want to go in this direction five minutes in. But everything that comes to mind is more of an avoidant behavior than a than a like a comfort thing, I don’t know why my mind is there. Right now, to come back to me. Well,

Link Keller 6:30
I’ll just hop in here talking about cozy comfort stuff. We are, in my opinion in the spooky season. And therefore we are quickly approaching my yearly rewatch of Over the Garden Wall which absolutely cozy comfort soothes me makes me laugh forces me to confront my inevitable mortality, you know, all my favorite things. And so I’m very excited that it’s it’s almost Over the Garden Wall time again. I’ll probably wait till closer to Halloween since it is a Halloween show. But I will probably be watching it with my friends over in their theater on the projector screen. Which is my favorite. So I’m pretty excited about that

Josué Cardona 7:23
will be the largest you’ve ever seen.

Link Keller 7:26
No, because I’ve I’ve watched it on the projector screen before. It’s been eight. I think this is eight years. I think it came out 2014 So I’ve watched it every year it’s come out so

Josué Cardona 7:42
did you hear about the live action version that they’re making?

Link Keller 7:49
oh the cozy and comfort is gone how could you do that.

Josué Cardona 7:52
I just wanted to see the look on your face

Link Keller 7:54
betrayal oh my god

Josué Cardona 7:59
I do apologize.

Marc Cuiriz 8:01
No, he doesn’t

Link Keller 8:02
stinker

Josué Cardona 8:03
it was not okay. I shouldn’t have done that. I regret it

Marc Cuiriz 8:07
I was funny though.

Link Keller 8:09
Yeah, so um, yeah, just like getting into the Halloween season and you guys know how much I love horror content so so it’s time of year to like go back and revisit some favorites. I do find comfort in returning to things that I enjoy. But I also like I also try and like watch lots of new things but I’m on this topic marc when you posted it in our Slack about cozy comfort stuff. I was just okay, context I have been playing cult of the lamb a lot. Great game loved it. I beat it just the other night rolled credits on it. Very fun. It is pretty buggy on the switch. So if people have PC I would probably recommend getting it on that instead of switch

Josué Cardona 9:15
I’ve been playing it on your recommendation.

Link Keller 9:17
Yeah it’s very cute I love it. But I wanted something on in the background while I played but I didn’t want you know I don’t I don’t want to miss like new stuff so like put on other stuff and instead of watching our flag means death for the bajillionth time. I decided I was like oh, you know, I saw like a tik tok of funny Chidi moments from the good place so all rewatch some good place episodes. i When the last season came out, I guess I was feeling a way about it ending and so I never watched the last episode.

Josué Cardona 10:04
what?!

Link Keller 10:05
So I have now watched the last episode.

Josué Cardona 10:08
Were you dehydrated?

Link Keller 10:09
No, I thought it was I thought it was perfect. I thought it was a great ending. I have been having ongoing conversations with some of my friends about how ending things is really hard, its really hard to pull off and ending in a way that I find like satisfying and interesting and good. I think the good place ended very well. And I liked that it ended, honestly, almost identically to how Six Feet Under ended, which I loved. But yeah, the good place is absolutely cozy comfort show. For me. It’s great background stuff. It’s funny, it’s touching. It’s got total cuties that I get to look at. God, I love D’Arcy Carden so much. But yeah, so

Marc Cuiriz 11:15
you know, now that you mentioned it, I think the good place is one of the few shows that I’ve actually rewatched in its entirety. And was not, did not get bored, like halfway through it or anything like that, like the good place was one of those shows where I watched it based on a friend’s recommendation. And just I fell in love with the show, like, by the end of the first episode, like it was, it was, I thought it was really nice and well written. And then watching all four seasons of it, I dehydrated by the end of the first first time, as Josué put it I was I was I very much enjoyed it. And then I got my wife to watch it with me, I think not even like a couple months after I finished it the first time like Alright, let’s do this, I’m gonna watch it again. And hearing like her, like seeing her reactions to it and like getting that it was almost like me watching it for the first time again, because like I was experiencing her reactions and everything to it. And I feed off of that energy. So all her energy was then making me have that energy and it was just like, it was almost like a way for me to experience it all over again. And I have to agree link I think the good place is one of those TV shows that like it’s always going to be there like I can go back and re watch it in its entirety right now too and I would love it just as much as if I was watching it for the very first time. It was also one of those shows where it really got me thinking a lot about my own mortality and death and did

Josué Cardona 12:59
you do love philosophy

Marc Cuiriz 13:00
Exactly. And it sparked a lot of questions for me and it sparked a lot of great insight into how I view what comes afterwards and what my own personal beliefs in that are and I don’t know I think it just it further solidified the fact that I’m okay I you know something I can go at any time and I’d be perfectly content but I think the good place is one of those shows where it’s it’s it brings the warm fuzzy feelings that and another you started you got now you got me thinking about all these shows that have watched that just bring me nothing but joy. It’s actually an anime and I have watched it I want to say I’ve watched it back to like, all the way through at least 12 to 13 times now Toradora it’s my it’s my rom com silly goofy, just absolutely cheesy anime, but I love it so much. The characters are so cute. And I like to think of myself as a Ryūji. Where I’m this rough and tough exterior looking boy but on the inside I’m just a housewife but I do not have that rough and tough exterior exterior. But I just I love the dynamic of the characters. I love the whole story. It’s It’s so cute. It’s it’s it just makes me feel it just it’s just fills me with with immense joy and makes me feel like the world isn’t actually that bad. It could be burning, it could be flooding, it could be running itself out a muck.

Josué Cardona 14:59
All those things are happening. Yes,

Marc Cuiriz 15:01
it is very much happening. However, when I watched Toradora it’s like, you know, it could be worse. It’s not that bad guys, at least I have this, at least the world produced this.

Josué Cardona 15:17
I haven’t finished watching Toradora.

Marc Cuiriz 15:19
I mean,

Josué Cardona 15:20
but I’ve enjoyed it a lot. But the reason I started watching it is because I saw a tik tok that basically showed a fight scene from from from there. And I thought I thought it was an action. And you know, it’s so violent. It was like, he was in a classroom and there

Marc Cuiriz 15:38
ah okay

Josué Cardona 15:39
you know what i’m talking about

Marc Cuiriz 15:40
now i know, it clicked.

Josué Cardona 15:43
when I saw that video, I was like, well, that actually, that’s a hell of a shonen. And it is not it is a, it is a slice of life. Rom Com. It’s, I’ve enjoyed it very much. Yeah.

Marc Cuiriz 15:57
That’s so good. It’s so good. You need to finish it, meaning that we need to talk about it after that.

Josué Cardona 16:02
Okay, I promise, I’ll go back to it. I think it’s so hard for me to think like, I can think of a lot of things that give me joy, but in like, in like a hype sense, right of like, like that they like recharge me. Um, and usually it’s watching newer stuff. I think the closest thing that I’ve ever had to know like, some people just watch the office nonstop over and over again or friends and you know, they do the start over from the beginning. The closest thing to me for that it has been the Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt. I just found that show. So funny that I, there was a time when I felt kind of down and Like, that would cheer me up. But it’s also just like, I find it so funny. It just makes me laugh. It’s ridiculous. But I wish I had I think music is mostly the kind of thing that would be like, like a balm. The different types of music depends on what mood I’m in. But that will that’s the closest thing to like, a warm blanket that I can. Because I feel, I feel like my, my stuff is usually like in my head. So I need to calm down my head. And music will like relax me and bring me down. When I need it. I listen to a lot of music, I think. I think that’s what does it for me mostly. Because I’ve been thinking about

Link Keller 17:40
I think music is probably a go to for most people because it’s it becomes so like, intrinsically linked to like, whenever you first started listening to it.

Josué Cardona 17:53
Yeah. But also just like the way it makes me feel, right.

Link Keller 17:57
Yeah.

Josué Cardona 17:58
It’s not when I’m watching, you’re playing something my attention has completely shifted. But when I’m when it’s music, it’s like, I’m still engaging with the world. But that’s like creating a little bubble that makes it easier to to move forward. And I was thinking of a lot of games that I I wish were more relaxing. Things like flow and flower those games are very frustrating. Like I like them, but like mechanically, they’re very frustrating. Journey less so. But also frustrating mechanically. Like, it’s almost like playing Sonic the Hedgehog, right? If Sonic the Hedgehog were perfectly you would never stop, you know, but you’re constantly you’re like, Whoa, yeah, I got this a BWONG and stop very suddenly. That’s how I feel about some of some of those games. And I started playing Cult of the lamb, because I wanted something more like that. I was like, I don’t want to start Stardew again, I don’t want to, you know, but I was like in the mood for something I didn’t know it was. It was a roguelike. But I do like roguelikes. So I started playing that because it has this. You’re building up this community and this town. So I’ve enjoyed

Link Keller 19:13
its cute.

Josué Cardona 19:14
It’s very cute. It’s very funny, but it has not been soothing. Because it’s such it’s got that Stardew Valley feel of like it just like that clock keeps ticking

Link Keller 19:24
there is a timer yeah

Josué Cardona 19:24
and there’s so many chores to do. I can’t bless everybody in a day and so there’s not enough time and I ran out of stone. And this guy got sick and he’s throwing up and these people are pooping. He was so it doesn’t fall into that category.

Link Keller 19:40
yeah not super soothing.

Josué Cardona 19:42
Yeah. Fun. Exciting even but not soothing

Link Keller 19:47
remember the name of the game. The one that you are very into

Josué Cardona 19:56
terraria?

Link Keller 19:56
that no you’ve it is a shooty

Josué Cardona 20:05
shoot ’em up a shooting

Link Keller 20:06
game. You’re on like a cylinder. And you’re like,

Josué Cardona 20:11
Oh, um

Link Keller 20:12
around the sides and

Josué Cardona 20:13
resogun.

Link Keller 20:13
Resogun.

Josué Cardona 20:14
Yeah, Yeah,

Link Keller 20:16
I feel like you’ve talked about, like returning to that several times. So like, yeah, getting in the groove and finding like that to be an easy way to get into like flow state for you.

Josué Cardona 20:27
Yep. Yep. So shoot ’em ups. shmups are definitely the closest thing in video games for me to that, because you start off slow. And then it just keeps building momentum. And then, but it is very much a distraction. Right. Like, like, I just get lost. This is why I brought it up. It’s, it’s, it’s more avoidant. And things like I need something to slowly take my mind out of the world and into something else in a way that is more distracting

Link Keller 21:01
I don’t see that as being opposing forces, like sometimes there is comfort in escapism, like, Why do you think it’s so popular?

Josué Cardona 21:09
Yeah, yeah, no, no. And I think I think, yeah, I’m not saying that there’s anything wrong with it. But it like, I’m not saying that it’s, but I think there’s a difference between, like a, like a warm, like, going for a run versus, you know, getting under the covers, right, it’s like so so I’m trying to think of it that way. But I think yes, shmups are the closest thing to that. And there’s, there’s one game that I keep going back to. And it’s not Resogun actually, I played resogun many, many times and got back to it. But I think now that the game that I’ve gotten back to the most is called Skyforce. And it’s just I just started playing a whole bunch of shmups. And Skyforce was one that was on sale, at some point, or it was a Free PS Plus game or something like that. And I bought it on every system that it’s on. And, and I don’t mind starting it over from the beginning. Because the way that it’s paced is really, really great. That’s been good. And lately, my, the game that I’ve played the most is Terraria. Because I’ve built a world with a friend, and we go in and we get to go on adventures together. And it’s that type of game. Like, I love Co Op games where you can, you know, while one person isn’t there, you can farm for stuff and they can share resources. And, and that one has been great because that game, I think that game has a great it’s a it’s a it’s an open world and you can you can do anything you want. And like you can dig straight down or you can go you know, you can fight enemies, you can farm stuff, you can just tons of stuff to do in a on a 2d plane. And it’s just very, like, No, I’m just gonna go down. I’m just gonna, I’m just gonna fish right now. I’m gonna go do this. And you can pick so many different objectives. Like, I want to change the color of my costume, or my armor. And so you’re just spending a long time just going through and doing something. It’s a relaxing game because it’s not it can be super hard. But at least when I started my friend gave me a couple items that made it a little easier at first. And so that was that was good. I think easy mode is may be the answer for for a warm blanket. Yeah, like I don’t want to be stressed. I would just want to I just want to dive into an adventure and feel powerful. Think give me give me a good easy mode. That one might be it for me.

Marc Cuiriz 23:56
Yeah, I think for me, like I I don’t necessarily play a whole lot of Terraria but I will occasionally get the itch to go back to Minecraft. And I’ve gone back to Minecraft numerous times ever since I first got the game. But I don’t necessarily do Vanilla Minecraft. I always do like some like modded version of it. And I always like to go for ones that are more like quest based or like progression based. Just because it always it always feels good because it’s like little little gratifications got like alright, I it’s giving me something to work towards. So I’m slowly learning these different mods, and learning how they’re working and how they operate and what to do with them and all while adjusting my own living space. So like I’m making sure everything works the way it’s supposed to. But then when I do a complete an objective or I complete a quest, and it progresses me and then I unlock more stuff to do. It’s like yeah, you did it. And I’m like, yay. It’s like little instant gratification. For me. It’s like I did a thing and then like Keep going and I mean, when I when I do get a Minecraft fix like I it’s one of those games where I can be lost in it for I could literally wasted an entire day just playing and I wouldn’t even know when the sun rose or when it set like I could look and be like, Oh, it’s still dark. Oh, that must mean I barely I barely played and in reality like 16 hours have passed and I and so for so like Minecraft is one of those things where even though that yeah, there can be times when it’s really hard if I find like I’m getting like bombarded by the mobs when I started when I noticed that I’m starting to get further and then I just switched to peaceful mode and I’m like, Alright, no mods for now. Let me you know, get my things back in order. Let me reorganize everything, build everything up because the creeper just blew up my stuff for the 15th time. All right, everything’s back to order. Okay, and then I’ll put it back to Easy mode and then go from there and reassess things and then you know, adjust the difficulty as I as I so want. But I think another one another game now that I’m thinking of that really gives me the warm fuzzy feelings inside is Assassin’s Creed Brotherhood. You knew I couldn’t

Josué Cardona 26:16
I haven’t played that one.

Marc Cuiriz 26:18
Oh my god, I have played Assassin’s Creed Brotherhood, particularly. Um, I think that’s also like 13 times, and I have 100% it 10 times. I think that’s what I said. I swear, someone’s gonna go back to when I talked about Assassin’s Creed on an episode of one of these shows. And they’re going to just be like, No, you said it. Was this you’re lying?

Link Keller 26:43
You said 14 times last time

Marc Cuiriz 26:45
Did I? Did I really? Oh my god, I’m a fraud.

Link Keller 26:50
Just one more, who cares?

Marc Cuiriz 26:53
No, but

Link Keller 26:55
you’ve played it like 80 or 90 more times just in your brain thinking about it.

Marc Cuiriz 27:01
I’ve learned to tap into the Animus technology on my own. No but Brotherhood is is one of those. It’s my all time favorite Assassin’s Creed game. And I just love like rebuilding Rome. I love the missions. I always like to strive for that 100% And it’s always just one of those things where even though

Josué Cardona 27:22
assassinating people

Marc Cuiriz 27:23
Yeah, even though it’s all about, you know, taking out all these evil people. And yes, I’m just murdering people left and right. It’s just one of those things that, ya know, it just makes me feel all all. Like, it’s like lighting a nice fresh candle, you know, like the bit nice, fresh, new smell throughout your apartment or your home. And it’s like, Ah, this is it. That’s what playing Brotherhood is kind of like, for me, it’s just like, just lit this fresh candle. Now I’m just gonna just bask in it.

Josué Cardona 28:00
I wish I had more stuff that were like my go-tos. I just, I just don’t, again, in the warm and fuzzy sense and that like, but it’s hard for me to go and repeat anything. So like,

Link Keller 28:13
I think for you, it’s like, and tell me if I’m wrong. But I think for you is less like a specific piece of media and more like a an experience that you go that you return to if it’s like shmups is like that kind of engagement where you know what is expected of you. Even if it looks different, it’s colored differently. It’s cutesy, it’s scary, you know, whatever. But it’s like how you are engaging with it in a specific way. And that is comforting.

Josué Cardona 28:45
It’s funny because shmups are, are overwhelming.

Link Keller 28:49
So I can be comforting. Like, it’s like, I can finally like my brain is 100% on a thing. And that is comforting, because usually my brain be doing eight or nine things.

Josué Cardona 29:00
Yeah, it’s

Link Keller 29:01
it’s comfort in a singular focus sometimes.

Josué Cardona 29:04
Yeah, it’s kind of rare. Like we’ve talked about how I’ll speed up a podcast to two audiobook at 3x. Right. It’s like it’s not fast enough. I mean, more, more and more. And so shmups are called bullet hell shooters as well. Right? Where it’s like, the screen is just covered in lasers, bullets, bombs, other ships, monsters, whatever it is, and you’re navigating through it. It’s like it requires so it takes it requires such a large percentage of my brain simultaneously. That feeling is comforting. Yeah, yeah. And the other thing I was gonna say, well, just like just novelty. Right. So like, I can’t I can’t go back. I can’t usually go back to old stuff like my mind will just check out because it knows it just it knows too much. I can’t I can’t enjoy Think so. But like, like tomorrow, there’s a new episode of She Hulk and Thor is coming on Disney plus, right? Like, I’m looking forward to that right to see it finally. And you know, this weekend there’ll be a new house of dragons and on Friday, there’s a new Lord of the Rings like that type of it’s like, oh, okay, like there’s a new episode continuing a story like that, for me, is like the experience of, of the new of the novelty is kind of what I find soothing. But I don’t have particular things that I usually go to. And I think about this all the time. I had had a counselor asked me this recently, it’s like, oh, what are your coping mechanisms? I couldn’t think of any positive ones. Or not any that I like, I felt were positive. Because a lot of them were kind of like avoidant, but I think yeah, I think that new that new new, the newness is,

Link Keller 30:59
your comfort media is when there’s a new like, game release show. Like

Josué Cardona 31:09
game release show?

Link Keller 31:11
I’m totally blanking on the name of one but you know, when they have a big show, and they show games that are going to be coming out in the next year, like the PlayStation show, like

Josué Cardona 31:21
like earlier today, I watched the Apple event live

Link Keller 31:25
yes, that experience is your comfort media just like they’re gonna show me new stuff and I get to be hype about it and I get to share that hype with other people. Oh, comforted warm blanket. cozy!

Marc Cuiriz 31:41
Ubisoft has their showcase this weekend? And this is where they’re gonna announce

Josué Cardona 31:45
the double the double Assassin’s Creed

Marc Cuiriz 31:47
Yes. Well, I don’t know about the double one but they are for sure going to announce infinity, Mirage

Josué Cardona 31:52
Mirage? infinity?

Marc Cuiriz 31:53
Yeah, I guess only because I don’t I they might make a mention of infinity but I don’t know they’re gonna show necessarily a whole lot of it just because I know that’s something that it’s going to be like the next thing so like they’re going to need that two years. So they might tease it a little bit. They might kind of might be like with they I think they did something about like Skyrim like a while ago like with the Elder Scrolls I think the tease something about six or doing something with with the Elder, the Elder Scrolls a while ago where it was just like a title screen.

Josué Cardona 32:24
We’re working on it,

Marc Cuiriz 32:26
basically, where the game was just like a title screen. And then that was it. But like that was the teaser. So they might do something like that with infinity. But because of the leaked stuff about Mirage, and then having to confirm the announcement of a new game and this one being a lesser title. They’ll probably go more touch more on that to kind of draw away from infinity right now while they continue working on that in the background considering they’re planning to make that infinity. I forgot what game they they’re trying to make it more like but

Josué Cardona 32:58
how hyped are you?

Marc Cuiriz 33:00
I’m pretty hyped, honestly, because I think I’m starting to get a little too overwhelmed with kind of how the new installments are like I love the RPG and I love the open world and I love it. But it’s kind of like how you are with

Josué Cardona 33:13
you beat it thirteen times.

Marc Cuiriz 33:14
Exactly. It’s kind of like how you are with with shmups it’s it’s overwhelming. And it’s overwhelming in the sense that because my brain has to dial in all its focus into the game. But there are so many different things within the game itself and my brain wants to do nine and those different things at the same time. It’s a great all my attention is into this one thing. And within this one thing my brain has now divided its attention into nine different things. And it’s just like this inception of divided attention and I just I shut down my brains like too much. We’re shutting down. So I think

Josué Cardona 33:49
that sounds soothing.

Marc Cuiriz 33:50
No, it’s not that’s that’s just for that’s just a personal pleasure torture of mine, I don’t know. But I think with the way Mirage is set up so it’s it’s going back to kind of how the older games are. I’m excited. But I mean, I have to see I’m gonna have to watch it later because I have to work so unfortunately, I will not be able to see the event live. So everyone’s going to be talking about it and I’m going to be crying while I’m at work, and that’s fine. But I know how you were saying how you feel like you can’t like go back to old things because your brain just kind of starts tuning and I think that’s what’s finally happening with me though and Pokemon like the reason why I can’t finish playing leafgreen is because I’ve played Pokemon games, literally since I could hold a gaming system in my hands. Like I have just nonstop played Pokemon. So I know the games I know how they operate. I know like all the things behind it. So like even when I get to like like the remasters for Diamond and Pearl, like brilliant diamond like I have it on my switch. I started it. I I can’t my brain just won’t let me finish I just start tuning my I just start tuning out. But I also think my problem is I have too many go twos of like what brings me comfort.

Link Keller 35:17
I think that this is really outlining the difference. If you have ADHD how you engage with media is different.

Marc Cuiriz 35:25
this I think this is where the where the similarities are started to to branch out between me and Josué here. Yeah, I have I have too many go-tos of like, this is what brings me joy. This is what brings me comfort. And it all depends on what my brain is craving at that moment. Like, right now I’m craving these first person shooters of destiny, where as last month it was I just like to roam around a post apocalyptic world also shoot things, but it’s more of an RPG, free roam kind of thing. But it was relaxing in that sense. Or sometimes, you know, I just want to walk around Renaissance Rome and kill the Pope. I don’t know.

Link Keller 36:10
So comforting.

Marc Cuiriz 36:12
Comfort.

Link Keller 36:13
I think this really illustrates like, it is like, comfort is such a like nebulous idea. It really depends on like, what you are experiencing and what needs are not being met, and how you are seeking out to fulfill those needs through whatever media games, TV, movies, books, comics,

Josué Cardona 36:34
that’s a great way to frame it,

Link Keller 36:34
whatever you know, is like what, like when I am feeling this hasn’t happened in a while. But when I’m feeling very much like out of control of my own life, and when like, you know, waiting for something to happen, or what have you. I you know, every couple of years, I returned to the Sims. And I get real deep in. And because I have like molecular control over that thing. And my favorite part of the Sims is not the Sims game, it is character creation, and building a cute little house that I can live in. And then I’m like, Okay, I’m done. I’ve fulfilled that need, which is it is the need to feel control over something. Which I’m not feeling in my real life. So I’m fulfilling it through this media. Yeah, realizing it’s been a hot minute since I had a Sims run like, oh, no, am I due??. I when I was, you know, when I was younger, and dealing with, you know, fucked up home life and everything my escape was fantasy books, fantasy novels, I was big into them. I read them all the time. I stopped when I got into university in grad school, I didn’t have time for reading for fun. And this past year or so I’ve started getting back into that. And I did go back and reread some old, old favorites. But I’ve also been diving into all of the wonderful new stuff that has come out, you know, since then I’m like, getting to dip my toes into and I’m finding a lot of really cool stuff that I’m getting into. And I’m not really feeling like this escapism vibe so much. But it is comforting because those feelings of like, getting to imagine a different world and getting to imagine magic and how the magic works and piecing together, you know, like, how is this little mystery going to come out? Or how are these characters going to like, reconnect and finally understand each other and fall in love. If they’re lesbians, I want them to fall in love. And that sort of stuff is like very much that getting back into reading like fantasy novels, fantasy YA, more specifically is like very much comforting to me. It’s to just sort of have that experience of like, I’m gonna lie down, I’m gonna, you know, put on low lights. I have twinkle lights up above my bed. And that is enough light to read by. And so it’s like I turn off all the other lights in my room. Sometimes I light a candle and just sit down. If it’s very close to bed, I listened to like a rainscape to sleep. I find it very soothing. And so it’s like if it’s close to bed, it’s like I turn on my rainscape. I read my little fantasy novel. I’m getting more into sci fi stuff I’m reading. Well, I’m reading Mexican Gothic right now. But I just picked up from the library today. The next two murder bot diaries that I’ve been very much enjoying that series. They’re like, novellas are like 150 pages, great bite size, little stories, and it’s like fun sci fi and the character is very endearing. And so it’s like it’s been nice to just sort of like settle in with a with a book in the low lighting and the sound of rain. And it’s a very fuzzy warm blanket. I mean, I’m also in bed. So I am literally in my fuzzy warm blanket but like also emotionally, mentally, physically, all of the levels.

Josué Cardona 40:17
What are the needs that are being fulfilled? Oh.

Link Keller 40:23
Um I think I think I mean, it’s a little bit of escapism in that sci fi and fantasy are it’s like it’s not my world is a different world. And so I get to escape from like, politics and climate change and job searching and stuff like that and be like, Okay, how how is the murder bot going to hide her gun arm from the human she’s trying to trick into giving her a ride to the space station.

Josué Cardona 40:57
I want to make a note on the on the on the escapism part because, cuz to me, and I think for a lot of people, we, we talk about it as as escapism. But like, for me, it’s more like part of my diet. Right? It’s like, it’s like, it’s not all like some things I will do because I just like I want to think about something else. But it sounds like knowing like, I need to consume some sci fi and some fantasy that’s just part of my

Link Keller 41:24
I think that’s part of it definitely is, you know, on the one hand of like, not thinking about real life and instead thinking about this fantastical world, but it’s also like, I like stories, and I like to collect different types of stories and fantasy and sci fi is filling stories.

Josué Cardona 41:46
It fills it right. It’s like, oh, my my tank is empty on a new story. I need any more story?

Link Keller 41:51
Yeah,

Josué Cardona 41:52
yeah. Yeah. Okay, so then keep going. So then what other need fulfillment?

Link Keller 41:58
Okay, um, how familiar are you two with the Addams Family?

Josué Cardona 42:05
Somewhat?

Marc Cuiriz 42:06
Yeah somewhat

Link Keller 42:07
Okay, so I saw the 90s movies in probably early 2000s. And I was like, I saw them. And I was like, Yeah, Addams family is cool, whatever. Not a big deal. didn’t really think about it never really consumed anything else. Last year, early in the year when I was living with my friend, Tracey. Tracey loves the Addams Family, deeply. And so recently, she had been talking about it. And she had a book that had a bunch of the original comics that the addams family was based on. And she has shown me some episodes of the 60s TV show. Great. I was like, how did I missed out? I wish I had seen that the 60s show when I was younger, because it is so good. It’s funny. It’s sweet. It’s

Josué Cardona 43:07
that song.

Link Keller 43:08
The song is great. But so basically, we’ve been on this like Addams Family journey where it’s like we watched some of the 60s show. And I was like, you know,

Josué Cardona 43:19
did you watch the animated movie? The new one?

Link Keller 43:21
I’m getting there

Josué Cardona 43:23
okay,

Link Keller 43:24
so we watched the, I think 92 Addams, the Addams Family, and then we watched Addams Family values, which is so good. That is a great movie. Very funny

Josué Cardona 43:37
who’s baby is it? I forgot who is it? Is it Morticia’s baby?

Link Keller 43:42
Yeah, Morticia and Gomez have a She said she’s pregnant at the end of the first movie. She has the baby in the second movie. But yeah, so we watched those two. And then we watched the 2019 animated movie, which Tracey is not a fan of. There were some really good bits. I enjoyed it because I liked at that point, having, you know, watched the older movies and seen some of the show and then looked at the comics, it was really interesting to see. Like clearly the people who made the 2019 animated movie, like loved the Addams Family because you could see like where they had drawn from, to recreate into this movie. We haven’t seen the newer one, but we are gonna watch that. And then also Addams Family reunion is the third 90 That’s like the late 90s

Josué Cardona 44:35
theres a third movie?

Link Keller 44:36
yeah, Apparently!

Josué Cardona 44:38
did they recast some of the people?

Link Keller 44:39
I think so, I think they recast like most of the cast

Josué Cardona 44:42
Yeah, That’s what I thought.

Link Keller 44:43
But then there’s a new show coming on Netflix Wednesday, and we’re both like tentatively excited about that. But this has been fulfilling a social need of getting to connect with Tracey on this thing that she deeply loves. And so getting to share this where she is, you know, the joy of sharing something you love with somebody and having them respond positively to it. It’s like I get to be on the I’m the positively responding to it side, usually the like, please look at this side, but it’s fun being on the other side for once. That is, you know, that is deepening my understanding of Tracey as a person and getting

Josué Cardona 45:31
cuz the best way to understand each other and ourselves through the media we care about!

Link Keller 45:34
It is!! It is. And also getting to enjoy like this piece of media that’s, you know, from the cartoon started in the 40s. And so getting to see this, you know, 70-80 year old

Josué Cardona 45:50
and it’s very much your vibe

Link Keller 45:51
I absolutely. Yeah, spooky, creepy, but also, like, endearing and charming and caring. Like that’s one of the things I really love about Addams Family is like, they’re weird. It’s like they’re not they’re not normies because like they are so kind and open to those people who look down on them for being weirdos. And they’re like, come on in. We are very hospitable. Welcome to our spooky mansion. Don’t mind thing. He’s just here.

Josué Cardona 46:24
Yeah.

Link Keller 46:26
It was very exciting to find out that thing. The hand originally was not just a disembodied hand that scurried around the house. It was like a guy, just a guy. Like in the old comics is like they’ll show you know, a room and up on like a banister or like peeking out of the doorways. You just see two hands and like the top half of a face is like, oh, that’s thing. He came with a house. Which I was like, Oh, wow. Okay. But yeah, it’s been it’s been really fun engaging with that stuff. I love the 60s show. I recommend that to anybody who’s looking for something. Sort of, you know, just fun and gentle and silly, little spooky. little spooky. But yeah, it’s been really, it’s been really fun engaging in that media with somebody who has been into a probably her whole life. And just getting to have that moment of like connection and being like, Oh, I see why, like this moment right here. Like I see how you have like, created a part of your identity around this moment is like I get to I get to witness it and, and see how it’s like affected her and rippled out through her life and her relationships with her family. And friends and stuff is like it’s very enjoyable, comforting. It’s comforting to feel included in something that she cares deeply about.

Josué Cardona 47:55
Yeah. Yeah. I do love the framing of the need fulfillment. I think I think that that that’s a great way to describe the snuggles that we talked about before. Because, yeah, like they all they are fulfilling different needs at different times. And all these different examples, like you said, it’s like what needs or do we? What needs do we have that therefore need fulfilling? And once they are, we feel warm and fuzzy or soothed or calmed or comforted,

Link Keller 48:37
regenerated, Refreshed.

Josué Cardona 48:39
Yeah. Yeah. But even

Link Keller 48:41
reconnected, you know, all the good stuff.

Josué Cardona 48:43
yeah, yeah. Yeah, exactly. It depends on the need. Yeah. Yeah. And I like I like that framing. Like, some of the things you were you were saying, both of you, like the Pokemon thing, like, I get so excited about every Pokemon game. And like, Arceus, I was like, oh, it’s finally gonna be different. And it was different for like, the first hour and a half, and then it was then it was Pokemon. Right? And it’s like, oh, wait, I’ve been here before. You know, what is new? You know, God is texting me. But you know, otherwise, I’m still I’m still you know, just going and catching Pokemon. And, and I’ll think like, it’d be me. Like I like I said, I like new things. I like that. Whether it’s fictional or nonfiction, like just new data and new new ideas, or something that I crave and I think I think I do need them. Like I feel stagnant if I don’t see new stuff. And I do need some hype, to like, move me forward. And I do get excited about the future. So yeah, so stuff like, again, a whole bunch of announcements are watching a whole bunch of trailers, I get hyped. But and one thing that I was thinking too, like, I won’t usually go back and rewatch an entire thing. But there are there are experiences that I want to feel like I want to remember. So I remember I used to I used to rewatch a lot of scenes from The Matrix, not the whole movies, I would just go back and like rewatch certain fight scenes and things. And there’s a there’s an episode of Dragonball Z, that is like my favorite moment, which is when, when Gohan defeats Cell. I even have like a little statue of it. It’s a it’s a little bit but like I have, I don’t know if we’ve talked about this before this idea of aphantasia where like, I can’t visualize things. In my mind’s eye, we ever talked about this? So this thing called aphantasia, if you like, when I close my eyes, and you told me like, picture something or visualize it, I can’t, I don’t see anything. I’m unable to do that. And so there are things that like, I feel like I’ll rewatch that episode, because I kind of remember it, conceptually. But I want to see it again, because I can’t picture it in my mind. And so I will revisit some things for the visual, like, reminder, because I sometimes it sucks that I can’t remember what it looks like, like that I ever like I can’t. This is Yeah, it’s a thing and it kind of sucks. And, and so that that is comforting in a way where I can I can revisit something that I can’t picture in my mind. So yeah, I like this need fulfillment framing of it.

Josué Cardona 48:48
I think you just made me have a stark realization about my own mind.

Link Keller 49:28
ain’t that just the way.

Josué Cardona 49:39
Do you have aphantasia? Here’s the test. Okay, so here’s, here’s the test. I’ll do the test. Because this isn’t this is informational for our listeners as well. Close your eyes and picture an apple. Link. What do you what do you see?

Link Keller 52:08
I see a green granny smith apple with a sticker on it. I can rotate it.

Josué Cardona 52:17
You can rotate it?

Link Keller 52:19
I’m looking at its little butt right now.

Josué Cardona 52:21
Okay, okay.

Link Keller 52:22
Flip it over stem. There’s a stem on top. Not a very big stem. A little stem.

Josué Cardona 52:26
Yeah. Cool. Marc, what do you see?

Marc Cuiriz 52:31
I’m seeing light from my computer monitor going through

Link Keller 52:34
I see my eyelids.

Josué Cardona 52:39
Yeah,

Marc Cuiriz 52:40
just seeing the light like, as links describing it. I’m like, maybe I can try to like, I’m hearing I’m hearing link. Maybe I can try to visualize what they’re saying. No, I can’t.

Josué Cardona 52:51
Yep. So if you can look online, and there’s tests and I’ll show you like 8 different levels of detail. And once somebody starts saying that they can rotate it, I hate you. Because it’s so like, that’s like a superhuman ability. I can’t see I can’t see anything the most I can see is like a little smoke. Sometimes if I tried really hard. I have theories about why this might be but it um, yeah, so it’s called, it’s called aphantasia very, very small percentage of people have it

Link Keller 53:21
and to be clear to people listening. It is a scale, right? It’s not like either on or off.

Josué Cardona 53:27
Exactly.

Link Keller 53:27
well it Can be but it’s like,

Josué Cardona 53:28
yeah, just see a 2d image. Some people can see it and rotate it. Some people can’t see it with color. Yeah,

Link Keller 53:34
exactly. Yeah, it is. It is a sliding scale. Brains are fucking crazy, dog. Wet gooey mass is responsible for a lot of problems

Josué Cardona 53:44
of things. So it’s so funny. So So Marc, you, you this will probably blow your mind as you continue to think about it. Right? But when people say like, oh, visualize your happy place, right? Some people actually see it.

Marc Cuiriz 54:00
god, I can only imagine the euphoria

Link Keller 54:03
Some people just says happy place. It’s just like text. And they’re like, I’m there. I’m in my happy place, it’s labelled.

Marc Cuiriz 54:11
I can only I can only imagine the euphoria that they must be feeling when they’re able to do that.

Josué Cardona 54:17
Yeah. So the funniest part of the thing about this for me was a couple years, like a little while after I learned about aphantasia and realized that nobody around me had, you know, was unable to visualize this way. I had bought a course on memorization that used mind palaces. And I could not understand

Link Keller 54:39
Oh, no

Josué Cardona 54:40
how mind palace has worked. And then I finally realized like, oh, they are literally picturing and building a structure that they move through. And I was just doing that conceptually. Like, like in the dark, right? Like there’s no, I was trying to. Yeah, it’s uh

Marc Cuiriz 54:56
trying to build something in the dark and you’re just like, I hold that.

Josué Cardona 55:00
During the period, yeah, I can’t picture it. So I was just it was just like the concept of a room connected to another room. Not and I felt so I should get my money back now that

Link Keller 55:10
I would like a full refund, my mind palace is permanently under construction.

Josué Cardona 55:19
Which so when I watched oh, what’s the the? The the chess series

Link Keller 55:29
Queens Gambit

Josué Cardona 55:30
Queens Gambit, right? When she did the thing where she’s playing the game on the on the ceiling. I was I had, like, to me that was a superpower. Right? I I can’t visualize anything. Like I can’t, I can’t. It was like a lot of things I’m realizing. Anyway, need fulfillment. Sometimes I want to see cool stuff, and I need to actually see it. I can’t just queue it up at any moment. Like other people can.

Marc Cuiriz 56:05
I think that’s why I get so drawn to like, shows that or movies that like have really stunning, like visual effects or movies that are just really trippy. So like, into the spider verse, a masterpiece of a movie, but because it’s so art, it’s done so artistically, well that my brain is like, how can someone visualize this conceptualize it and then create this, like, I can create a concept of what I want it to look like, but there is no way in hell, I’m gonna be able to execute that on paper, let alone in my mind,

Josué Cardona 56:40
but you can remember it even. Yeah, because it’s like yeah,

Marc Cuiriz 56:43
I think and so that’s why I feel like I get I get drawn back to a lot of old media because like, it’s what I know can can bring that in and have that need of like, I just I need something to just give me a bunch of pretty colors. Or give me something that’s just gonna really give me get make my mushy mass in my skull just just make it feel like it just got turned upside down. Just I need that so like it, multiverse of madness with like, the them going through the different universes and things like that. It’s like, Woah,

Josué Cardona 57:19
I think that’s why like, like the doctor stranger movies are my favorites. Because just visually, it’s like, I’m seeing things that I could never, I’ve never seen before. Or since until I watched it again. Yeah, well, we’ll talk about this more later, Marc. You get to do that. Do the apple test with people. Do it with your wife and see see,

Marc Cuiriz 57:49
I’m going to tomorrow and then I’m gonna get so mad.

Josué Cardona 57:52
You’re gonna be furious. You’re gonna start feeling very differently about a bunch of people. The Envy is real. Yeah, I think I think the final thing I want to say probably Steven Universe is the closest thing to like the warm fuzzy that I could go back to because it’s it’s short episodes, like, like Over the Garden Wall. It’s got music like Over the Garden Wall. Right.

Link Keller 58:15
Steven Universe is so good.

Josué Cardona 58:17
Yep. And it continues through a story. One of my plants I named Giant Woman because it’s supposed to grow very, very large. And all I want to do is see it turned into a Giant Woman

Link Keller 58:32
Ahh! I love that!

Marc Cuiriz 58:33
I love it

Josué Cardona 58:37
Yeah, I think that’s the closest thing to warm and fuzzy that I can think of. And I can’t wait to unlock Steven in multiversus so I can

Marc Cuiriz 58:47
Oh, my goodness

Josué Cardona 58:48
kick Batman’s butt or something. That’s my closing thoughts closing thoughts, Link?

Link Keller 58:59
I enjoyed this conversation. This was fun. I love talking to people in general about like, what what their comfort media is whatever that means to them if it’s a TV show, like you know the office where they just replay constantly or if it’s you know, a story that they like to retell because it’s sweet and endearing. Or very funny. I comedy I feel like it’s very comforting to me to have a little chuckle Yeah.

Marc Cuiriz 59:33
Well, aside from now, this new sense of existential dread I also really enjoyed this conversation and link when you bring up like stories that bring up comfort, there is another one last thing that comes to mind but I’m going to hold off on this one because I am saving this this

Josué Cardona 59:57
whole episode?

Marc Cuiriz 59:58
I’m See how it’s gonna be whole episode, but to be fair, it’s probably going to be a little bit before it actually will happen.

Link Keller 1:00:05
Stay tuned, folks.

Marc Cuiriz 1:00:07
Yeah, but this one is a gem. It’s one that I’m all I keep it in the back pocket and I mean, if I have to dish it out earlier, bring it only because

Josué Cardona 1:00:18
break glass in case of emergency

Marc Cuiriz 1:00:19
exactly only because it’s a last resort. Like it’s like we need a topic and we’ve got absolutely nothing and I’m like, Alright, guess I’m just but for now it’s in the back pocket. So you guys will just have to wait and see what this eventual topic.

Josué Cardona 1:00:34
Is it Carebears?

Link Keller 1:00:37
Oh, my god what if it was carebears?

Marc Cuiriz 1:00:41
Guys. Well,

Link Keller 1:00:43
surprise ruined

Marc Cuiriz 1:00:44
spoilers over. He figured it out. It’s Carebears. Actually, no, it’s Teletubbies.

Josué Cardona 1:00:51
No, that’s not funny. That’s disturbing. I’m glad I can’t recall what they look like

Marc Cuiriz 1:00:57
thats a Halloween episode. Teletubbies.

Josué Cardona 1:01:01
No, no. Well, no promises. But maybe in the shownotes there might be links to episodes where we have discussed comfort media before because the last few years have been really hard. And we’ve had some other discussions but not exactly like this and not focus on needs fulfillment. This we can use these a lot. We’ve done episodes on Over the Garden Wall into the spider verse. Steven Universe, there’s a whole show. Lots of good stuff out there. Please let us know what your comfort media is. What makes you feel the Snuggles? What? And, yeah, from that needs fulfillment piece. I like that. I think it’s a good a really good framing. So thank you for joining us. Remember to geek out into good. And we’ll be back next week

Link Keller 1:01:53
mmbye!

Josué Cardona 1:01:54
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Transcribed by https://otter.ai

Characters / Media

• Pokemon (TV series)
• Pokemon FireRed / LeafGreen (game)
• Fallout (game series)
• Destiny
• Over the Garden Wall
• Cult of the Lamb (game)
• Our Flag Means Death
• The Good Place
• Six Feet Under
• Toradora!
• The Office
• Friends
• Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt
• Flow (game)
• Flower (game)
• Journey (game)
• Sonic the Hedgehog (game)
• Terraria (game)
• Resogun (game)
• Skyforce (game)
• Minecraft (game)
• Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood (game)
• She-Hulk: Attorney at Law
• Thor: Love and Thunder (2022)
• House of the Dragon
• Lord of the Rings: Rings of Power
• Assassin’s Creed: Mirage
• The Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim (game)
• Pokemon: Brilliant Diamond / Shining Pearl (game)
• The Sims 4 (game)
• Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia
• The Murderbot Diaries (book series) by Martha Wells
• The Addams Family (TV series, movies, and comics)
• Pokemon Arceus
• The Matrix (1999)
• Dragon Ball Z
• Queen’s Gambit
• Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (2018)
• Doctor Strange and the Multiverse of Madness (2022)
• Steven Universe
• Multiversus (game)

Themes / Topics

Conversation Topics:

* Comfort media
* Difficult emotions
* Problem Solving
* Resilience
* Needs fulfillment

Relatable Experience:

* Escapism
* Clarity/Understanding
* Depression
* Fear/Anxiety
* New Life Event (New Rules)
* Novelty seeking

Questions? Comments? Discuss this episode on the GT Forum.

—

Links / Social Media

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GT Facebook Group: facebook.com/groups/geektherapy

Find us at www.GeekTherapy.org | @GeekTherapy | Lara: @GeekTherapist | Link: @CHICKENDINOSAUR | Josué: @JosueACardona

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Join the Conversation!

What are some of your comfort media?

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