Geoff here with just a little update, as promised, before I announce things on social and make a BIG push. First, though, a few things to get you caught up. I want to make sure you saw this!

BOOK LAUNCH PARTY

If you’re in the Indianapolis area, I’d love to see/meet you if I haven’t already. Come out to the book launch for Just Put the VHS in the Bag, Bro. My debut book, and I’ll be there with my family signing copies, doing a live reading, and taking questions if there are any. Click here to order tickets.

BOOK AVAILABILITY

Just Put the VHS in the Bag, Bro WILL be available on June 25, 2026, as promised. You can pick it up on Amazon as the primary source. You can also pick it up at the Cloaked Press website and my website, but we’ll talk about that next.

The Kindle Pre-Order is happening RIGHT NOW, so you can be in line to get it at midnight on the 25th when it becomes available.

On Amazon, the book will be available in hardcover, Paperback, and Digital Formats, including on Audible, as read by me. That’s right! I read and produced the Audible version of Just Put the VHS in the Bag, Bro, and it comes with voices as you’d expect from me.

REAL NEWS

Here’s the good stuff. I’ve got new things in my store: Two new shirts AND SIGNED COPIES OF MY DEBUT!!! This is the ONLY place you can pre-order Just Put the VHS in the Bag, Bro in hardcover or in print, and ironically, it will take a few to get to you.

The paperback and hardcover are selling for their retail prices, and you’ll get a specialty copy sent to me, where I’ll sign it and send it to you!

No one but my publisher knows about the pre-sale on the signed copies yet. Well, I guess, NOW you and my publisher do. Tomorrow, I’ll launch it on socials.

Buying a book either at the book launch event, on Amazon, at the Cloaked Press store, or even on my website is an amazing way to support the content you’re getting here. There’s more to come, and I promise, it’s going to be an awesome time. I wouldn’t be here and doing this if it weren’t for you.

With All My Heart,

Geoff

P.S. All my content is reader- and listener-supported. If you want more content and want to be included, then consider subscribing for FREE.

Subscribe now

It’s going to be a wonderful time, and I’d love for you, your friends, and family to join us. The book’s printed copy will be available for purchase, and I will sign each and every one. Then I’ll be doing a live reading of the book and taking questions. The book will be available for purchase at Indy Reads afterward.

If you live in or around Indianapolis, I’d love to meet you. The QR code takes you to the Eventbrite site that the bookstore put together, or you can click the picture to go there. You can also click here to do the same thing.

You might notice the word “Donation” in that flyer, and there’s a good reason for that. The proceeds from this event support Indy Reads and its programs that aid Indianapolis's diverse community, including Literacy Foundations, High School Equivalency lessons and exams, and English Language Learning (ELL) groups.

You can read more about their programs here.

Regarding the tickets, here’s how they break down:

As of this writing, we are 45 days away from launch. Currently, the edits are finished, and the book is going to the formatters to get it set for print and e-book publication. I’m producing and narrating the audiobook, and I’m knee-deep in magnetic tape doing that currently.

I really hope you enjoy everything that Cloaked Press and I are putting together for you. If you want to sign up to be an ARC reader, you can apply on the website here.

You are an amazing person, and I’m incredibly thankful for you. As always, my dog, my cats, and I love you.

With All My Heart,

Geoffrey Breedwell

We’ve reached it, you and me. We’re here at the end of the first season! Just a little housekeeping announcement for the moment to let you know before I get into things.

There won’t be another blog or episode of The Geoffrey Breedwell Audiocast for a few months. It’s going to be after the release of Just Put the VHS in the Bag, Bro, but that doesn’t mean I’m going to leave you in a lurch. All updates, especially the PRE-ORDERS update, will be sent to subscribers FIRST before they're posted on my socials.

Ten episodes ago, I went through the three “Art of Deciding” posts, which detailed Moral Mechanics in a triple episode (linked above). I described Moral Mechanics as a “groundbreaking field in philosophy and psychology.”

The first post was about how many choices we make in a day and how to categorize them. I showed how the choices we make can be divided into three categories:

• CAT 1 (Binary. Think of it like a XOR logic gate).

• CAT 2 (Goldilocks. Think of it like a NOR logic gate).

• CAT 3 (Pro/Con. This is more like an AND logic gate).

In the second post, I showed how every choice we make is a moral choice. I showed how morals provide the features for our categories. They’re the framework for making choices, regardless of category.

Then, in the third post, I showed how each choice affects the people around us and how those choices can lead to different outcomes. Even more so, I used Candace Pert’s work to show how choices trigger physiological responses.

Honestly, it wasn’t really anything that groundbreaking. The math I mentioned was derived from a formula I had made to represent what I thought, rather than letting the math lead me to the conclusion. And in all honesty, I wanted someone in physiology, neuroscience, or even philosophy to take a look, but conversely, I never pursued it. My wants and desires were left behind by the lack of my physical action.

I can blame any number of things for this, including my AuDHD, but that’d just be an excuse. I can blame it on not having the money or time to pursue a doctorate, which is what I’d need to properly experiment and adjust as necessary. But that’d just be another excuse. My moral choices were there, but the failure was in the breakdown of taking that choice into action.

That, however, isn’t the case for the way the basic principle of moral mechanics illustrates a fundamental concept we’re taught through religion, philosophy, and basic cause and effect—choosing virtue leads to coherence. Choosing virtue doesn’t lead to joy or happiness. Those are subjective. Coherence is everything about you being right about something. It keeps you on the path you want to continue walking. Choosing the virtue brings positive bodily reactions, even if it’s a difficult choice.

A friend of mine let me use his story to illustrate this point a bit better. I’ve changed the names in the story for privacy's sake.

Mark was out of work, and he decided to drive for Lyft in the meantime. He’d been doing it for a number of years, and he had every type of person in his car from every walk of life. One Friday afternoon, he picked up her. Her name was Mary, and she ordered the Lyft in secret.

As Mark pulled up to the house, Mary had her bags in her hand and was running toward the door. Mark rushed out of the car to meet her and place her bags in the trunk. Taking them, he greeted her, and she either didn’t hear him or ignored him. She handed her bags off and ran back for more. Just as Mark put the bags up, Mary burst out of the house again, the door slamming shut. Her hands were full of bags, one of which was a brown paper grocery bag that ripped open, spilling her underwear everywhere. Mark picked them up and placed the bag (or what’s left of it) in the trunk. Mary got in the car, gave her PIN, and they were off.

“Thank you,” Mary panted. “You seriously saved my life.”

“I did what?” Mark asked.

“You,” her panting was a signal she was under more stress than Mark initially gauged. “You. Saved my life.”

Mary caught her breath and explained that she was a woman whose youth and mental health issues made her the prime target for exploitation. Fairly new to town, she looked for a place, finding a room rented out by a couple, the Thomases. They opened up a room for her in exchange for rent. Mary moved in and became the maid and the third in their relationship. Mary didn’t want to do any of those things, but if she wanted to continue to live there, she had to. This continued for months until she couldn’t take it anymore. She didn’t want to be exploited like this. So, she left.

Mark’s heart broke.

Ever the gentleman, Mark was empathetic to her trauma. He told her he believed her and consoled her during their trip. He listened, offered a caring word here and there, but mostly, became the human pillow she could cry into for their forty-five-minute ride together.

“How are you so perfect?” Mary asked.

“I’m hardly perfect,” Mark explained. “I’ve done my fair share.”

“Yeah, but,” she sniffed. “You’re incredibly handsome. You’re caring. You’re empathetic.”

“Thank you,” Mark replied, blushing. “Let’s, um, let’s change the subject. What do you like to do for fun?”

As much as Mark tried to change the topic to a lighter, calmer conversation, it backfired. Instead, Mark found that he and Mary had a lot in common. This continued to set Mark’s mind ablaze with racing thoughts. He found Mary attractive, but he also knew this was the absolute worst time to do anything about that.

“Do you know how long it’s been since I’ve been touched by a person I’ve wanted to touch me?” Mary changed the subject. “And physical touch is one of my love languages!”

“Do you need physical touch right now?”

“Uh-huh,” Mary nodded.

“You can come up front if you want, and I’ll hold your hand,” Mark offered.

Just as his car came to a stoplight, Mary came into the front seat, buckled up, and held his hand. Her heartbeat slowed. She breathed easier. There was a moment of quiet. Things were peaceful, and Mark could tell he was having a positive effect on her.

“Is it bad I want to tell you to just pull over so I can give you like a blow job or something?” Mary asked, out of nowhere.

“Do what now?”

“Sorry,” Mary retreated. “That was wrong. That was too forward. I’m sorry.”

“It’s OK,” Mark reassured her. “I get it. I do. You’re in a vulnerable spot right now, and all you want to do is pay me back for being nice, right?”

She nodded.

“Love shouldn’t have conditions,” Mark explained. “I’m treating you with the same love I’d want to be loved with. I’m treating you like a human.”

“You’re so perfect,” she said.

Mark thanked her again, and the two traveled in silence.

As they neared her destination, she confessed that it was a transition house. It was somewhere closer to what she knew. She needed a place like this. When they turned into the subdivision where her destination lay, she exhaled, “This feels like home.”

Then she burst into tears when they arrived.

Mark couldn’t just let her get out of the car like that. He wasn’t one to abandon a lady in tears when he had the ability to help her. With her approval, he ended the ride, went offline, and pulled forward to the next street over to park.

“No one has ever been this nice to me,” she confessed, sniffling. “I’m afraid I won’t see you again.”

“Well,” Mark wasn’t sure how to say it. “Life is full of possibilities. You never know what’s going to happen. The most important part for you right now is for you to get back on your feet. Then life will get better.”

She nodded, wiping her tears away. “So, no sex?”

“It’s not like people want to fuck the Lyft driver,” Mark quipped.

“I do,” she said.

Mark exhaled in deep thought. It wasn’t like he had a wife to go home to. He was struggling to find someone, but at this moment, Mary was vulnerable. She wasn’t in her right mind. Mark wanted Mary. He wanted to give her what she wanted, but in that moment, everything inside him was telling him no.

He told her all this. She didn’t cry. She understood.

They drove back to her destination, where he helped her in with her bags. He made sure she was in good hands. Mary hugged and thanked him when he left. She wanted a kiss. Her body begged for it, and Mark felt the same. He wanted to kiss her, but he couldn’t. Even that wouldn’t be right in this moment.

As Mark drove away, he looked back to see Mary walking back with one of her new roommates, starting her new life. She didn’t look back, but he did.

When “Mark” told me this story, he was telling me about “Mary” and getting my opinion on whether or not he did the morally right thing. He confessed that he couldn’t get her out of his head for months. She was the first person in a long time to say any of those words and want him sexually, and he turned it down. Everything in Mark’s mind was questioning his actions that day.

I agree with his actions that day. He became the hero in her life, and, much like Mary Jane initially loved Spider-Man for saving her life, this is based on a psychological phenomenon. It was a trauma bond, or as pop-psychology is calling it, “The Damsel Effect.”

Mark and Mary went through their moral issues caught within their minds and bodies. Let’s break each person down.

• Mark: Hero. Saved the damsel. He cared, consoled, and protected the woman in distress. He was attracted to Mary. He was aroused by her proposal. He was tempted to gratify his lust at the expense of her mental state.

• Mary: Damsel. Saved by the hero. She desired everything Mark provided. She was attracted to Mark. She felt the love and misinterpreted it as romance. Her mind was fragmented by fear, and it desperately wanted resolution in the nearest thing. In this case, Mark.

Mark’s choice was a Category 3. There were pros and cons, and in this state, the choice was between temperance and lust. Mark’s categorical choice was simpler because he arrived free from the immediate trauma.

Mary’s choice was a Category 3, but it wasn’t clean. Her con was overloaded with trauma, where it’s drowning in the weight. So, when temperance is presented, she initially sees it as love and latches onto it. Her choice between temperance and lust became a rock up a mountain to get through.

{Wait, wait, wait. That wasn’t their choice. You told it wrong.}

Huh? What’s going on? Who wrote that, and why can’t I delete it? Lucifer, are you…

{Breaking into your blog to pay you another visit? Guilty!}

Let me guess, something else I did made you upset?

{You skipped a key piece of crucial information.}

Oh? And what’s that?

{She was making it all up.}

What?

{Ok, read carefully, OK? She. Made. It. Up.}

Made what up? Her backstory?

{When she met Mark, she wasn’t leaving somewhere traumatic. She was leaving her ex’s house, where she had used him up.}

That doesn’t make any sense.

{OK, fine, she didn’t make it up. But I had you there for a second.}

No, you didn’t. What do you really want?

{Sheesh, straight to the point today, huh? Reader, can you believe this guy? He can’t stand for a little “Nice to see you” or playful banter to get in the mood.}

My friend, you don’t have to listen to him. Remember how he acts the way he does because he’s just representing what is wrong with all of humanity. He’s fictional, and if he had any clue, he’d relegate himself to the land of myth to relax with Loki and Surtur.

{Geoff, I’m going to be honest. Surtur stinks. Have you smelled brimstone? There’s not a deodorant strong enough for him. Loki is great, love that guy. But that’s not why I’m here. I’m not here to pester you.}

Then what do you want?

{Your analysis of the Mark and Mary situation. It misses a crucial piece of information.}

And what’s that?

{Me! I am there through all of it. All the trauma Mary went through that drowned her in a paralyzing anxiety, and while Mark was there to save her, she only reverted to sex as a way to thank him because of me. I’ve been working on Mary since she was born; Mark, too.}

Mark? He came into that situation clean.

{Au contraire, mon ami. He came in lonely. He met her in a state of loneliness that men across your world feel.}

OK. Sure. That makes sense. Men across the world have been reported to feel huge amounts of loneliness, whether they’re good guys or not. The people in it to exploit others ruin it for everyone else, but that’s what makes Mark a great person. He’d argue for women to choose the bear rather than a random guy.

{Ah, yes. The “Gentleman Factor.” A polite, educated, and chivalrous man comes to save the damsel in distress from the abusive captors! He rides in on his Lyft, so gallant and cavalier, like a knight in an SUV. Don’t make me sick.

Mark is just like every other guy on this planet. His desires are no more pure than those of any other human. Mark was in the right place at the right time, and honestly, his choice was self-defeating. He was wrong. He should have sought to preserve himself and his lineage.}

You’re saying that Mark should’ve taken Mary up on her offer?

{YES! Mark was destined to be there for her in that moment. Why not turn that into a relationship? Why not allow the two of them to fall in love, spurred by a meeting ripped from the pages of classical fantasy stories? Even the most chivalrous of knights would have done the same thing in their time. Ho-ho! If only you knew the true story of Lancelot.}

Mary wasn’t in her right mind. She couldn’t logically consent to anything.

{She started it. She consented. It was no different than a firefighter saving a woman from a burning building, and then plowing her into next week.}

That…that doesn’t happen. Right?

{I see a lot of things. Maybe it does; maybe it doesn’t.}

But it’s not ethical.

{It’s not illegal. I love those gray areas. When things go wrong, they blame me.}

And yes, you love it when people blame you.

{It’s like a fire blanket with boiling chocolate.}

Is that all you wanted to say?

{You know what? No. It’s not. Your entire Moral Mechanics system is unproven, and yet, here you are presenting it as fact. And they call me a liar!}

You’re right. That’s why I mentioned it at the top.

{Some people don’t have the moral capacity to follow your math. You haven’t even given the math for people to follow! Besides, your entire model works for people who are predisposed to virtue, not the people who are predisposed to vices and violence. Who gave them that?}

Regardless of nature versus nurture, it still holds up. Whatever the person determines is “Good” and “Bad” then come their morals.

{And of the people whose morals are flipped from the rest of society? For me, it’s “good” to tempt humanity away from its virtues. Your virtues are grotesque to me. There are millions of people around the world just like me. They prefer lust over temperance. They prefer greed over charity. And what of them? You know what they would have done in that situation?}

Let me think for a minute. If everything I determined to be “bad” were their “good,” then they wouldn’t have been in that situation. They would have been stuck at home, slothing around. They would have been manipulating the weakest of the weak online towards their goals. They would have been eating and drinking alone, greedy for all the world has, yet poor enough to be envious. That realization would make them furious, taking their wrath out on anything around them. And in their vanity, they would see nothing wrong.

So by their own resolve, the “bad person” wouldn’t have been there for Mary. She would have been left alone for someone else to pick her up. If it wasn’t for Mark, someone else would have come.

{Ugh, and what if that person was predisposed to a morally gray background?}

Then I doubt he/she/they would have done anything to help, Mary. The morally gray are mostly apathetic towards others. Sure, they might have helped with the bags, or at least opened up the trunk, but they wouldn’t have talked to her. Mary would have spent 45 minutes in an uncomfortable silence.

{Slowly sending her down the mental drain towards me.}

Which is why good people like Mark exist. They’re the people who are willing to be good in everyday life. They’re the people who give the shimmer of light in the clouds to the sailors at sea approaching the cliff.

{Really? A lighthouse metaphor? Ugh. I hate those things. I need to restart the siren protocol. Siri, remind me to restart the siren protocol.}

Did she listen?

{No, Siri! I don’t care about Ricola cough suppressants!}

Looks like the Devil’s been thwarted…

{Oh, we’re not done yet, Breedweezy. You side-stepped my question!}

No, I answered it.

{People who are predisposed to virtue. They’re the only ones who fit your “Moral Mechanics” system. The people who…}

…Who don’t run on the virtues that we know of traditionally, their values get changed. Moral Mechanics is neither good or bad. It allows us to see how and why the subconscious makes decisions. Then, when we can see our decisions made in a trend, we’re able to identify the morals we’re predisposed to. We can then align those morals with the “objectively good” morals, which are for the betterment of humanity, such as “loving your neighbor.” When it’s a different moral set, the math remains the same.

{…}

Well, I guess that’s it then from him.

Before I sign off, I want to show you the Moral Mechanics process. It’s something I didn’t get into in the third set, but now that we’ve gone through a decision in real time, you've seen how things go. You’ve seen how the psychological and the physiological coexist in decision-making. When we’re talking about how choosing the virtue leads to coherence, it might help to see it as a process.

If this looked intensely confusing, that’s OK. Let’s break it down:

This literally means: “Infinity contains virtues (α) and (∧) vices (ε).”

Every choice is a moral choice, and morals can come from anywhere. Every person, every experience, and every background shape a person's spirit and culture, which contain that person’s morals and ethics. They can change. They are infinite.

This literally translates: “The virtues and vices precede under a relationship to the theoretical choice (ω).”

These are the categories, where the choices are made under the relationship of the categories and their mathematical equivalent.

This translates as: “The theoretical choice contains as a normal subgroup the physical embodiment of the choice (Ω).”

This is the portion where the choice is made.

This is: “The physical embodiment of the choice precedes under the relationship to the body’s physiological reaction (B).”

When the brain makes a choice, it sends the signals through the body via the neurotransmitters:

• Adrenaline

• Noradrenaline

• Dopamine

• Serotonin

• γ-Aminobutyric Acid (GABA)

• Acetylcholine

• Glutamate

• Endorphins

It’s through these that the body reacts to the choice positively or negatively. Then the body receives the response and feeds it back through the nerves, indicating whether that was a good choice.

For Mary, the previous choices and consequences had caused her body great trauma, sending her body out of coherence with where she wanted to be. This is why we see her in such great physical and emotional distress when we first meet her in the story.

When we choose virtuous choices, we are coherent, acting in tune with ourselves and avoiding the horrible reactions.

{Wait, all of this to explain “Do what makes you feel good?”}

That’s not what I said.

I said “coherence.” Sometimes, making the right choice feels wrong. Sometimes, making the wrong choice feels right.

{I love that feeling.}

Feelings are subjective. Coherence is where everything about you is unified. When we’re choosing a vice, our system goes out of balance. When we choose a virtue, our bodies, our minds, and our spirits act together as one in harmony.

{Yeah…Look, you made this huge scientific and mathematical moral mechanics system for what? You can’t prove it, and even if you could prove it, it’s not like people would listen. They do what makes them feel good, and that’s where I live. I want to make you feel good now, and anything that does can’t be wrong.}

Sure, tell that to anyone who’s ever had an STD.

Who do you think was right?

{Me.}

Not you. I’m speaking to the reader now.

Who is right in your mind? What would you have done in Mark’s situation? Would you have acted the same in Mary’s situation? I’d love to read your thoughts in the comments.

That being said, my cats—

{You’re kidding. That’s the ending? We just leave it up to them?}

Of course.

{What about the whole cereal gag? Wait. I just noticed. Why am I not on the graphic like the last two times?}

Well, you interrupted the piece. Although you did help me prove the point. So you were kind of like—

{—Don’t you say it—}

—the prize in the cereal box.

{And you said it. Ugh. How do I let myself just WALK into places like this? UGH! HUMANS!}

That being said, my cats, my dog, and I love you.

With All My Heart,

Geoffrey

Buy a shirt.

I love the way this episode went, even if Lucifer decided to pay me a visit for this. I’m just glad I recorded that portion while Mickey, Shaggy, and Scooby were out of the studio. They would have been FREAKED.

Anywho, you can check the blog here for the math equations, as I mentioned. Don’t forget to subscribe to the Substack, as subscribers get all the details first. And as always, buy a shirt.

My cats, my dog, and I love you.

Catch you next season!

Love,

Geoffrey

It was deep into the night. The living room was lit only by the television. I sat on my sectional couch, furiously pushing buttons on my XBOX controller, intensely focused on the latest update to Starfield, where I take out people who are trying to kill me. This happened to be a space battle with other Starborn who were attacking my ship outside of a distant planet. My eyes never left the television, and I wish they had. If they did, I would have noticed him creeping up behind me.

My dog snored loudly. She was out. Her large body was colored in the tint of a Red Coon Hound with the head of a Labrador. She snored louder than me that night. I’m honestly not sure if she was tired from all the lack of play we had that day or not, but for Ginger, she was definitely seventeen layers deep in the field of dreams of that farm upstate. She didn’t notice him either.

The cats were no help. Despite what people think about them being guardians, these cats are all gray tabby mixes, and they left me alone. They were upstairs, and frankly, they might as well not have existed. They didn’t help me that night, either. It’s not like they could have done anything to frighten the being who crept behind me, but still, to be alerted would have been nice.

I finished with the battle, and I sat back on the couch in relief. I exhaled, and slowly, I could feel a cold tingle move along both my shoulders. Across my black Skull & Quills shirt, it was like the chill was coming from beneath my skin. I felt the chill crawl up the sides of my neck, gently touching the hairs on the back of my neck. They probably would have stood up if they were long enough to lie down.

My hands left the controller, and my body clenched tight from my head to my toes. The electric signals of my nervous system burst throughout my body, as they had done so many times before. My muscles were snatched from their freedom, and my shoulders raised like someone had grabbed me by the back of the neck. My left hand instinctively goes to pull it away, but nothing is there. My left palm only feels the back of my neck and shoulders.

I shook my head in a tilt, twisting my neck, and I shimmied my body back and forth. I tried to sit forward, but I couldn’t. I’m locked in a single motion, unable to free myself. My shoulders were pinned to the couch. I could feel two gigantic gorilla hands on my chest, keeping my back to the couch, but I could not see them there. My eyes widened and shot around the room. What was happening?

That’s when he showed up.

Fading into the room like the smooth dissolve of an old camera trick, the being I poked at last week appeared in my living room. Dressed in a cherry red bomber jacket with a coal colored inside and matching coal colored trim, he lounged on my navy blue upholstered accent club chair with his legs crossed over its matching ottoman. He wore deep black jeans, a black Tenacious D shirt, and triple black Air Force 1s. His crimson skin wrinkled across his face under his black goatee as he sucked on a cigar. His iron colored horns sat on his head just below his slicked-back hair. His gold chains were flat on his chest; the diamonds reflected against the light of the television.

“A metaphor,” he exhaled. “Really?”

His voice was as gruff as a seasoned smoker's. I honestly wouldn’t have been surprised if he had shown up with an artificial voice box. But from his perspective, it was probably less menacing, not that the rap star persona did anything to help that.

“Oh, that’s what this is?” I asked. “Did I fall asleep?”

“No,” he jostled a laugh. “You’re not asleep, Geoff.”

“It’s Geoffrey,” I corrected. “If I’ve met you before, it’s Geoff. I don’t think I’ve met you before.”

“I think you might remember this friend of mine,” the stranger said, pointing to the being pushing down on my chest.

I looked up to see the face of a monster. Its skin was charcoal on the inner features with black hair around the bright yellow eyes. Its nose protruded into a snout with a horn large enough to render a minivan as an ornament.

I did remember that one. He was from a vision I had when I was sixteen, inside a Baptist church. He had a chain around him then. Now, he simply held me down. Then, he scared the shit out of me. Now, I was less afraid and more astounded by the beast.

“Hey,” I said to the beast. “How’s the family?”

The beast huffed, sending snot splattering on my face.

“That’s great to hear,” I said, trying to wipe off the snot.

“You’re not afraid of him?” The stranger asked.

“Not at all,” I explained. “I’ve seen worse in my time. When we first met, sure, I was terrified. Now? I understand that he’s just another creation with a life that is no more important than mine is.”

“Oh my god,” the stranger said. “You’ve become one of them.”

“One of?”

“A Hippy!” He yelled. “You’ve become a fuckin’ hippy. No wonder you think I’m a metaphor.”

“Wait,” I paused. “You’re the Devil?”

“In the flesh,” the Devil smiled. “Metaphysically speaking.”

I curled my bottom lip up and frowned. It made sense. The Devil isn’t an actual person, as I said last week.

“And you,” he continued. “You broke the news and said I was a ‘metaphor?’ Are you fucking kidding me? Do I look like a metaphor to you?”

“You look like a rap star from Temu,” I replied.

“Temu wishes.”

“What do you want?” I asked.

“We got beef, bro,” he said. “You said something that clearly isn’t true.”

“And that would be?”

“Let’s see,” he began. He held out his hand, and in a poof, a paper appeared. He read:

“That’s the thing. He’s fictional, and because he’s fictional, humanity has no true scapegoat for our misgivings. We have no escape from the horrific acts we commit against each other. The crimes we force onto others, the lives we take, the blood we shed, and the tears that flow from the victims fall onto our shoulders. The Devil looks the way he does and acts the way he acts because we look and act the way we do.”

“Let’s examine that, shall we?” he said.

“Sure,” I replied, holding back my laughter. “Do we need a courtroom, or are we going to do a scientific lab thing?”

He snarled and adjusted in his seat.

“First, I loved the blog,” he began. “The creation story you wrote from my perspective was inspired! I loved it. There was so much truth in those few paragraphs. Then, comparing me to other gods and other gods of evil? Oh, I am all for that. I love it when you humans shout out to my friends.”

“You’re going to ‘compliment sandwich’ me, aren’t you?”

“See,” the Devil continued. “See, then you get into this little paragraph right here. You tell them I’m fictional. You let humanity keep all that responsibility and accountability. See, Geoff, that’s just not fair.”

“It’s Geoffrey,” I corrected.

“Humanity doesn’t need all that accountability for their evil crimes. That’s where I find pleasure. I love tasting the redirection of their blame. Who do you think came up with the ‘Devil made me do it’ thing?”

“Flip Wilson?”

“ME!” He snarled. “It was me! I’m timeless. I’m the eternal king of the damned. I’m the hottest of the hot, the baddest of the bad, and the evilest of the evil! That’s me. That’s my brand! Who do you think you are to challenge me by telling the world how I’m a ‘metaphor’ and a reflection of you disgusting humans? I am nothing like you!”

“Can I resp—”

“I have it within my power to curse you to an eternal torment in my world!” The Devil stood up and slowly walked toward me. “I can arrange torture so horrifying that the most terrifying films you’ve seen wouldn’t come close. Your body will be screaming for relief for thousands of years.”

“Really?” I replied. “You can do that? Is that with or without shipping and handling?”

The Devil was less than entertained.

“Ugh,” he exhaled and rolled his eyes. “Millennials.”

A moment of pause erupted between us. He stood in my living room, hands on his hips, frustrated. He looked like the exasperated middle-aged father of a teenage daughter. The only thing missing was a devilish dad bod.

“Look, it’s pretty obvious that you’re hurt by my words,” I said. “I get it. If someone said I was imaginary, I’d be hurt, too.”

“Oh, don’t empathize with me,” the Devil said. “Blame me or don’t, that’s fine, but trying to empathize with me, and you sound like him.”

“Him?” I asked. “Him who?”

“Him,” he clarified, pointing his index finger toward the ceiling.

“Roman Reigns?” I asked. “Are you acknowledging him as your tribal chief?”

He tilted his head back in frustration. I was getting to him. He took a moment, thought to himself, and smiled.

“You know, Geoff,” he began.

“Geoffrey,” I corrected.

“I see what you’re doing, and frankly, it’s fun. I come up here to rip you a new one for calling me ‘fictional’ and taking away my food and my existence, and then here you are, sarcastic, calm, and empathetic. Do you even realize what’s happening right now?”

“I’m pretty terrible on social cues, but you should know that if you did your homework.”

“Then let me give you a clue,” he continued. “You pissed me (The Devil) off with last week’s blog and episode of your podcast. You called me ‘fictional.’ You said, ‘I was nothing to fear.’ And what angers me the most about the whole thing is that you called me ‘an excuse.’”

“I could have worded it better,” I relented.

“And what would you have said?”

“A poor excuse.”

This ignited the Devil’s fury in a roar. An explosion of fire burst from his upper body, rendering the shirt and jacket into a billion pieces the size of an atom. His chest and stomach were exposed as the flames flickered into the air off his muscles and ripped abdomen. His body reminded me of Brad Pitt’s in Fight Club, just with a crimson filter.

His roar should have shaken the house and neighborhood. At least, that’s what I thought would happen. Yet, I saw this furious devil act more like a tween who’s irked at their parents than the Lord of Darkness he was so used to people revering. He was angry, sure, but it was clear that my words deeply hurt his feelings.

“Hey,” I said in a calming voice. “Hey, there’s no need for that right now, OK?”

My voice was like a counselor's during an outburst. My breath was slow, and my tone was calm and deliberate. To be frank, I felt sorry for the being of evil. He started breathing more slowly. He sat down on the ottoman in front of me and motioned his hand for the rhino-gorilla beast to release me. His flames slowly retreated.

“It’s OK,” I reassured him, patting him on the back. “Your existence isn’t going to go away just from one blog from some no-name person in Indiana. You still have all the Evangelicals. You even have most of Christianity. That’s a lot of people. It’s not like you’re going to lose their belief.”

“That’s how it starts,” he said. “It starts with just one idea being put out there. Then it spreads to one person, who tells someone, and so on. Word of mouth is a powerful weapon. I’ve used it before.”

“I know,” I said. “I get it. It’s meme theory.”

“What’s that?”

“You mean the Lord of Knowledge of ALL EVIL across the world doesn’t know meme theory?”

“Oh! MEME Theory,” He corrected. “I thought you said, ‘me theory’ or something.”

Did I need to human-splain something to an eternal being? Had he not been paying attention to humanity until my blog? No. That couldn’t be right.

“It’s just a theory on how something random can become popular in a short amount of time,” I said. “But it’s totally random. I’m sure you have forces at your beck and call, you could surely command to downplay any attention that blog gets.”

“Yeah,” he said like a teenage kid shrugging off advice.

“And it’s not like people are going to forget you, either,” I tried. “There’s all the evil in the world, like Epstein and Steve Bannon.”

“Oh, I’ve got plans for Bannon. Epstein and I are having a ball. But I can’t wait for this guy,” the Devil began before he instantly morphed his body into the President of the United States, Donald Trump.

“That’s a neat trick. Do you do birthday parties?”

“When I started with this guy,” he began. His voice was transformed into the President’s. “He was such a little guy, LITTLE GUY. He was so tiny. Teeny tiny. He was crying like a baby, a weeny, little baby waby, and I came up to him to make him a deal. All he wanted was power, and honestly, I kind of regret it now.”

“And why’s that?”

The Devil shook his shoulders and slumped off the President’s body. He shivered as if he hated being in that state.

“There’s a twist with greed,” he said in his regular voice. “It becomes all about the ‘me,’ and with humans like Donald, Steve Bannon, Vladimir, and Benjamin Netanyahu, that’s all they want. Epstein too. That’s all they want—power. What they don’t understand is that there is a limit to their power. They’ll dig and dig for power until they can no longer. Then, when they die, they come to me and want more power.”

“But you're far more powerful than any human could ever be,” I reassured him. “It’s not like a past leader like Hitler could overthrow you.”

“Not that he didn’t try,” the Devil replied. “Netanyahu will too, once he finally bites it. He’s got enough support here. He’s way more evil than Adolf ever was.”

“That’s something you don’t hear every day,” I remarked. “I thought it’d be Trump.”

“No,” he scoffed. “He’s Picnoccio. He wants to be a real bad guy so bad, but all he does is the evil people tell him to. In his head, he thinks he’s a mafia boss who can get away with everything, but that’s because of yours truly. When the eternal reality hits him, he’ll shrivel up like a raisin. He’s close, but I’m not done with him yet.”

“Sure,” I agreed. I didn’t want to condone the Devil taking the President’s life or anything by any means.

In my mind, there is always time for redemption and reconciliation, as long as we live. Once we’re dead, however, that story is written. However, this moment was giving me pause. Was the Devil casually relishing in his success with these people he’s given power to, or was he lamenting his choices? There was only one way to know.

“Do you regret it?”

“Regret what?”

“Giving them power and making a deal with them,” I pressed.

“HA!” He scoffed. “Not in the slightest. In their early days, in their secret places, they prayed to me. They wanted me, and now that they’re a bigger deal in your realm, they no longer need me. This is all according to my plan. When they finally reach their point of most success, it’ll come crumbling down. They’ll reach out to me. They’ll pray to me. They’ll beg for me to help them. And what will I do? I’ll watch the life drain from their eyes with a smile on my face. Then when they’re in my realm, I’ll show them what real power is.”

“That just speaks to God’s justice, though, right?”

“What?” He second-guessed himself. “No. There’s no way I’m doing that prick’s work for him. No. It’s not true.”

“If Jesus died and resurrected as the price for everyone,” I began. “Then doesn’t that mean that they’ll also get into heaven?”

“Oh, I see what you’re doing. You’re a universalist. I should’ve known,” He said, getting up and pacing around the room. “You’re just trying to get in my head more. You’re trying to make my victory hollow.”

“If I’m doing anything, I’m proving my point further,” I said with calm confidence. “You’re not real, and I must be asleep. That’s the only explanation. This whole thing here is me coming to grips my past in light of the article.”

Like a flash of lightning, the Devil got into my face and pressed his right hand onto my knee. He squeezed my kneecap, shooting pain into my brain. It felt like burning and muscle aches simultaneously, like my leg needed to be ripped apart to stop the pain.

“Does this feel like a dream to you?” He said, squeezing my knee. “You can’t skateboard if you don’t have a leg to push.”

“There are skateboarders with no legs that are better than me,” I said, clinching my teeth. “You don’t scare me. You’re not real. You’re not here.”

“You’re right,” he said, releasing my knee. “I’m everywhere.”

With that, he vanished, and within the next blink of an eye, I awoke on my couch. I got up, felt the pain in my knee as I tried to stand.

“Son of a,” I said. Then it hit me.

Was this real? Was my conversation something that was supposed to happen? I honestly don’t know.

What I do know is that if the Devil is real, then I did something not a lot of people have done in the past. I shook him. I made him realize his flaws in his plan. By doing what the Devil wanted, he also continued on the work that God sought to accomplish. By dividing the people, he brought them together inadvertently. By being the worst, he allowed us to be our best.

I sat in silence on my couch while the rest of my thoughts spun in my head like the ceiling fan overhead with religious explanations taped to the blades. I was cold from the fan. That explained the shivers. When I looked at the clock, I realized the time and knew I had to go to bed.

All in all, it was a crazy night, one I will definitely remember forever.

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With All My Heart,

Geoffrey

P.S.

To hear this voice being read, complete with different voices, please check out The Geoffrey Breedwell Audiocast version of the same episode on my profile.

This episode dives into the Devil’s response to last week’s episode. To put it simply, he didn’t like it. Not one bit.

If you liked this episode, please share, comment, and subscribe!

You can buy a Skull & Quills shirt here. All voices in this episode were done by me.

My dog, my cats, and I love you.

With All My Heart,

Geoffrey

If you are in the Indianapolis area, then on JUNE 25, 2026, you’ll want to join me for the book launch!

The book launch will be at INDY READS, 1066 Virginia Ave, in the heart of Fountain Square.

MARK YOUR CALENDARS!

More details are to come. Stay tuned here for the ticket link, where you’ll get a FREE SIGNED COPY and a SPECIAL PRIZE!

I’m announcing it here BEFORE I put it out on Social Media, because you are worth it.

As always, my dog, my three cats, and I love you.

—- Geoffrey

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Is the Devil real?

I’m not talking about a devil in one particular religion. I’m talking about the entire zeitgeist. I’m talking about the concept of the being in control of all evil in the world, in the universe, in the multiverse. Is Satan real? Is Iblis real? Is Mara real? What about Hades or Pluto? What of Loki, Surtr, or even Hel? And what of the ancient Zoroastrian god Angra Mainyu? Is Mephisto? Are they real, or is the concept of a deity over evil a simple metaphor for the evil within humanity?

I know this one question and the paragraph above just pissed off a lot of Evangelical Christians who might come across this, and probably other followers of other extreme versions of religions. They think (and proudly proclaim) that their god is the one true god, above all others. In the case of Islam and Christianity, they’re arguing over the same god. Christians call Him “God” and Muslims call him “Allah.” There’s more to that history that could fill its own conversation, but that’s not the point of today.

Today, you and I are discussing the being that Judaism calls “The Adversary.” This being is often depicted as a male, and referred to by many names: “Ash-Shaytan,” “Dark Lord,” “Der Leibhaftige,” “Diabolus,” “The Evil One,” “The Father of Lies,” “Iblis,” “Lord of the Underworld,” “Lucifer,” “Kolski,” “Mephistopheles,” “Old Scratch,” “The Stranger,” “Old Nick,” “The Black Man,” “Prince of Darkness,” “Ruprecht,” “Satan,” “The Accuser,” “The Prosecutor,” “Sycophantes,” “Serpent,” “Voland,” “Beelzebub,” “Azazil,” or if you’re one of my exes, “Geoff.”

I’m sure you know of this being, and if you’re Evangelical, you’re absolutely certain he exists. Just don’t simply turn this off yet. Let’s have an academic discussion, just as someone might have a talk about whether I’m real or AI. No artificial intelligence program could be this autistic on purpose. AuDHD-kids for the win!

BUT FIRST!

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As long as humanity has used invisible, yet powerful, beings to explain the unexplainable, there has always been at least one of them designated to explain why bad things happen. In one of the oldest writings, dating back to at least 2000 BCE, the Enuma Elish, evil itself is what the world is built from. When Marduk defeats Tiamut, he splits the body in half, one as the sky and the other as the earth.

Other ancient texts do something similar. Evil is explained by the defeat of a being that is then repurposed for good. The Rigveda, from 1500-1200 BCE, describes Vritra (Sanskrit for “Enveloper”) as a colossal serpent or dragon. He personifies drought and kept the world's waters captive until he was killed by Indra (the god of weather, sky, lightning, thunder, storms, rain, river flows, and war). You can think of Indra like the Indian version of Zeus.

Christianity, by contrast, personifies evil into a fallen angel who tempts humans and can thus be blamed for their personal moral failure. We see this initially in Genesis 3, where Adam and Eve blame the snake for their failure to follow instructions—ironically, had Adam and Eve not given in to temptation, someone else would have, or we’d never have learned the level of discernment between Good and Evil within the Christian context. This blaming of the snake gave rise to many in Christian history who sought to scare followers into the faith. A marketing scheme that still happens today.

That is something I aim to help free others by writing this. We, as a popular Western society, have been kept in the cage of personifying evil, even though there are actual examples of evil within humanity itself. We don’t need to personify evil when there are examples of evil itself within the human race, with people like Hitler, Trump, Stalin, Putin, Pol Pot, Ted Bundy, Elizabeth Bathory, Heinrich Himmler, Mao Zedong, Steven Miller, and (maybe) that dude who just cut me off in traffic as examples.

So, then, what is the Devil? Is the Devil real? If so, then is the Devil responsible for all of the evil in the world? In Zoroastrianism, evil has its own co-eternal source and is locked in an eternal battle with good, in which evil will finally be defeated and destroyed. Wait, that sounds familiar.

Yes, I know. You’re probably typing away, telling me that Satan isn’t co-eternal, nor does he have his own co-eternal source. I know. Even the argument of whether or not they’re real or not is nonsense, at least if you’re C.S. Lewis, who wrote at the beginning of The Screwtape Letters:

“There are two equal and opposite errors into which our race can fall about devils. One is to disbelieve in their existence. The other is to believe, and to feel an excessive and unhealthy interest in them.”

Well, C.S. Lewis, I’m Geoffrey Breedwell, and I’m nonsensical.

Breaking Down the Devil

Alright. Let’s do this one last time.

What We Know (Well, Kinda)

In the beginning, God created the heavens, the stars, galaxies, and all things within space and time. He created beings as assistants to help in the order and management of the multiverse. The beings did as they were ordered, and they found joy in working for the Almighty. This was the first day.

When God created the Earth, it was formless and void. There was nothing. He brought everything together in complete chaos. He cooled the chaos with water, creating the crust. He separated the water from the crust, making the oceans and land. He continued making the skies, the animals, the birds, the fish, and mankind. Then, He rested.

While God rested, the beings saw how God favored mankind more than He favored the angelic beings. The leader and most beautiful of these was named “Lucifer.” He was the morning star, who mourned for his fellow forgotten angels. Lucifer created a plan to show how simple mankind was.

He knew the humans well. Like a snake, he tempted the humans with a fruit God had forbidden by questioning what they heard. God punished Lucifer, as well as the humans. Lucifer was made into a snake, which he created and escaped. The humans were cast out of God’s presence, as they were now unholy.

Lucifer vowed to get revenge. He appealed to the angels, and while many joined his side, the others did not. Lucifer then let the angels run free on the Earth. Many during this time began to mate with humanity. God saw this and forbade it as well.

The lines were drawn. Lucifer became irate and led a rebellion against the Almighty, who easily dispatched them without a second thought, casting them into a realm of eternal torment. The Rebellion grew into its new domain with Lucifer as its leader.

As humanity continued, Lucifer caught the souls of the humans, casting them into his domain, which humans began calling “Hell.” He stole them from God. He tormented humanity, tempted them into disobeying God, and created havoc among each other. As humanity continued, Lucifer continued collecting souls to torment.

God tried to convince humanity to repent, but humanity kept disobeying, thus sending their souls into eternal torment. God created a plan to save humanity by sending His Son to Earth to live and teach humanity how to live correctly. He would then be a perfect sacrifice, in accordance with God’s law. By this, His Son would be taking on all of humanity’s disobedience; His sacrifice would free humanity from Lucifer’s grasp. His name was to be Jesus. As this plan went into action, Lucifer tried to get Jesus to sin, thus ruining God’s plan, but Jesus prevailed.

After Jesus died, He went to Hell, where He preached this to all of the captors. Lucifer didn’t like this and wrestled with Jesus, who won easily. Jesus then departed Hell with the new believers and rose to Heaven, a paradise created by God for the humans who died. After Jesus was dead for three days, He rose from the grave and told His followers of His actions, proving that He was God. His students spread the word to humanity, and the word continues to this day.

Lucifer was defeated, but he always vows revenge against the Almighty. Until the final battle, Lucifer and his followers torture and tempt humanity, leaving mankind’s fate to themselves. From that day, they could make the choice: follow God or follow Lucifer.

In all honesty, I skimmed and combined A LOT of nuance there, probably ticking off many protestants, Catholics, and Greek Orthodox Christians. I used not only the Bible, but also the apocrypha to aid in the formulation of this origin story. While many scholars and apologists might look at that story and scoff, I want to recognize that it draws on Christian tradition throughout the centuries. The story above is told with a focus on the Devil as he is known in Christian tradition, even as I skim to the modern day and how we understand that story.

There’s More to the Story

There are plenty of similarities with other religions, both in the story and in the Christian tradition of the Devil. The dualistic view of good versus evil keeps a traditional story structure, while also supplanting Zoroastrian views. There’s also the Greek influence, where Hades is their god of the underworld. Hades is the brother of Zeus, who could be argued to be the Greek equivalent of God. But there’s something more to the story that we often miss.

Regardless of whether it’s a myth or a legend, stories reflect their authors. It’s the same in religion. The belief system reflects the culture of its believers. What the religion holds to be the most important usually reflects what the believers of those who worship the gods of that religion also hold dear. Ironically, the belief system of those who created the culture also gave rise to the gods we worship.

Now, I know there will be MORE people in the comments saying I’m blaspheming, and to that I only say that you’re missing the point. The point of religion isn’t to get money. It isn’t to gain fame, nor is it to become a god yourself. The point of religion isn’t even to control. The point of religion is to promote the moral values of that culture. This is why priests and priestesses of any and all religions are held in such high regard. They represent the purest and wisest of their culture.

Peter took what Jesus said and created a new culture with it, and that’s what is interesting. We can see not just a belief in the great beyond, but also the creation of a culture. The Prophet Muhammad did the same. He took what the angel told him in the cave and, from that, he created a culture that is now one of the world's most popular religions.

Does that mean Iblis is real? Does that mean the depictions of the supernatural are real? Is Satan/Lucifer/the Devil real? The real question being asked here isn’t whether they’re real or not. It’s whether or not there is something to fear after death. We wonder what will happen after death, and every religion, every culture, attempts to answer that.

The Devil, as we understand the character, is fictional. He doesn’t exist, at least, that’s what the lack of evidence suggests. The Devil is a creation of the culture as the antithesis of what we in Western Culture find to be abhorrent. This is why we often say of political enemies that they’re “of the devil” or even “The Devil Incarnate.” However, that same language does harm. It places those who oppose the religion of a culture to be classified as “evil,” when they’re anything but.

The Devil, as we understand the character, has been used as the real scapegoat for humanity’s evil and misgivings throughout history. Every religion has its hands bloodied from proselytizing gone wild, and each time, those who resisted the oppressive religion were demonized. The Devil became an excuse. “The Devil made me do it” became an excuse people could use to get away with horrific things.

That’s the thing. He’s fictional, and because he’s fictional, humanity has no true scapegoat for our misgivings. We have no escape from the horrific acts we commit against each other. The crimes we force onto others, the lives we take, the blood we shed, and the tears that flow from the victims fall onto our shoulders. The Devil looks the way he does and acts the way he acts because we look and act the way we do.

The Mirror

Everything we create as humans reflects us. Every story, every child, every piece of art, and even every machine. It reflects us. AI reflects its users. We reflect ourselves in the world. Our perception of evil reflects our traits, shortcomings, and deepest desires. The desires we hide deep inside, yet are only caged by our morals and guarded by our better judgment. How we perceive the supernatural and the divine reflects both our goodness and our ego.

Religion is a mirror of the culture it cultivates. Even when we try to make evil inhumane, it still ends up like us. That’s why we crave the same thing. We crave stories we know because they mirror our struggles. We crave porn and smut as they allow us to play in our deepest physical urges. We crave comfort, and yet we’re scared of change towards something that ends our selfish perspective.

That’s why horror movies scare us, but that’s an entirely different article.

We can take comfort in the absence of eternal torment. It honestly doesn’t make sense in Christianity. It’s not what the early Christians taught, nor is it in the Bible. Author of That All Shall be Saved: Heaven, Hell, & Universal Salvation, and fellow beard enthusiast, David Bentley Hart, writes:

“(The hardening of the church’s teachings on hell) may have been much more a necessity of culture, or of politics, or even psychology…The more the church took shape as an administrative hierarchy, and especially as it became an organ of and support for imperial unity and power, the more naturally it tended to command submission from the faithful by whatever permissible methods of persuasion lay near at hand…Terror, one might argue, works its magic equally well in natures brutishly indomitable and irrepressibly curious.”

In other words, the church used the terror of hell to bring entire populations into submission. Terror affects the unyielding, primal side and the curious side. It hijacks our entire spirit, our minds, and our bodies to create a fear that can only be explained by the “boogeyman” the church created—Satan. Lucifer. Iblis. Mara. The Adversary.

And yet, as our Western culture begins to shift away from the shackles of imperialism, there’s no wonder we’re seeing the truth of our captors. We are seeing a great and wonderful truth that can bring peace to our primal bodies and curious minds. We are finding the Devil isn’t real, and thus, Hell isn’t real, at least the way we think of it. Many would argue that life is hell. If the Devil isn’t real, then there’s no one left but us to blame for our sins against each other. We are held responsible and accountable for our wrongs to each other. If the Devil isn’t real, then there’s no one to fear but us.

We are not off the hook. We are held accountable for all the evil we do to others. I am held accountable for the terrible things I’ve done in the past, and you are also held accountable for the things you’ve done. Who are we accountable to? In the immediate sense, we’re accountable to each other. In the eternal, well, that’s another discussion entirely.

We don’t have to live in the current state we find ourselves. We can create the culture we want to be reflected. We can change this world to make it less like hell and more like the utopia we all desire.

It starts by loving ourselves and loving others with enough unconditional love that it spills over onto more and more people. It’s one interaction, one choice, one moral at a time. It starts with reconciling our past, taking ourselves off the hook, and taking steps towards goodness and love every day.

What I’m suggesting isn’t easy. People suck. On the surface, humans can be terrible creatures capable of horrific acts against the planet we live on, the animals we live with, and the humans we call family. The people listed at the top—Hitler, Putin, the guy who cut me off in traffic—still deserve love. That doesn’t mean we excuse their behavior or even accept or agree with their sentiments. It means we acknowledge that humans, at our core, aren’t evil. We’re not the devil we're depicted as in religions and art, regardless of how some of us make it seem.

No one is born evil. We are pressed and pushed past the precipice of goodness, surviving on pure spite and rage. Just because evil survives that way doesn’t mean it has to die that way. There can be a good ending. The devil we are can return to the angel we started as, and all it takes is a little bit of reconciliation and love.

With All My Heart,

Geoffrey

Holy Skulls, Batman! I never thought I’d say the words I do in this episode. As someone who grew up in churches, worked in churches, and even got his M.Div, I never—EVER—thought I’d come to this conclusion. But yet, here we are, and I’m saying the quiet part out loud.

Strap in, friends, we’re doing this one…last…time.

The Devil comic book graphic has easter eggs if you didn’t notice. OK, really just three—Dante, Augustine, and Ross. Dante the author of The Inferno, from which we get many images from our modern view of Hell. Augustine of Hippo (AKA St. Augustine) who wrote many books, including City of God, of which we get many references to how Heaven looks and how Hell looks. The way we Christians treat that book, it might as well be included in scripture. Ross is Alex Ross, a famous comic book artist, who did the Mephisto drawing. It’s done in parody, but the guy is a freaking legend.

ANYWAY…

Here’s the link to buy the shirt..

https://www.geoffreybreedwell.com/category/all-products.

Here’s the picture of Matt that Announcer Guy mentioned as well.

Love you all!

Not even going to lie, this was an intensely personal episode. Do you feel like this sometime? Are you ADHD, ASD, or AuDHD? Let me know in the comments.

Sources:

https://www.britannica.com/biography/Leon-Festinger/Cognitive-dissonance

www.verywellhealth.com/rejection-sensitive-dysphoria-8728800

https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/new-beginning/202108/neurodivergence-in-adulthood-the-case-the-undiagnosed

Handout from the APA

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The Article I freaked out about is here:

Alisa Writes

Why the *$&@ Did Dan Rather and Donald Rumsfeld Buy a New Mexico Ranch Together in 1981?

I offer these posts freely, but your support is necessary and appreciated. Please subscribe, paid if you’re able, and share my work if it moves you. You may also leave a one-time or recurring tip in any amount. Thank you…

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3 months ago · 2478 likes · 494 comments · Alisa Valdes-Rodriguez

Disclaimer: This post discusses mental health openly and discusses a kind of therapy. Please discuss if this therapy is right for you. Reader discretion is advised.

This week, I was prompted to scroll more on Substack. They said to grow on the Substack app, you have to interact with it. You have to like, comment, and repost, just like every other social media app since Friendster. This week, I read an article that not only took my breath away, but it also gave me an example of what success on Substack looks like.

That crushed me.

I thought I was doing well. I thought the subscribers, listeners, and readers were awesome (you are), but when I saw theirs, my mind flashed back to elementary school.

I walked in a line in the “Big Kids” hallway on our way to a hearing test. Inside this baby-blue hallway, with a solid navy-blue trim line along the walls, there were metal lines attached and filled with cork. On these, hung the artwork from the sixth graders, who created pictures based on a book they had finished reading. The picture I saw was an architectural masterpiece. It would fit in next to the masterpieces in art museums that were terribly boring to my young mind. This picture—I think it was of a house and a yard or something—was delicate in its pencilwork. The shading was perfect. It was drawn by Da Vinci himself. When I got back to class, I tried similar ideas, and nothing I did could come close to that original work.

That student will never know what their art did for my little brain, nor will the journalist ever know that their writing took me back there. Well, most likely. With what I can only imagine is an incredibly busy life, that journalist won’t have time to read this. That’s fine. I don’t need her to.

Have you ever felt this way? They say that “Comparison is the thief of joy,” but that’s just a platitude for the way it feels when you’re in it. I can’t stand this feeling, and I can only imagine that in your life, it’s been something similar. Maybe it was drawing, or fashion, or even another person driving your dream car. Maybe it was like me, and you read something that blew your mind into another realm altogether. If so, we’re together in this.

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And now, back to the post.

To say that comparison is a bad thing would be missing the point. It’s not; nor are the feelings we have when we face rejection, whether self-induced or otherwise. Comparison is innate in humanity. It’s natural in animals. It’s a part of who we are, and naturally, we have used comparison not only to protect our health but also our families, our friends, and even the hunting parties.

On Ancient Earth, our ancestors used comparison to decide if the crops were done. They compared which animal would be easier to kill and whether or not the meat was cooked. Everything from the sharpness of tools to the stitching of the furs across their bodies was compared. According to the revolutionary psychologist who proposed cognitive dissonance theory, Leon Festinger, comparison leads to pressure for uniformity, but that pressure will stop if the comparison is “too different.” He called this “Social Comparison Theory.”

Festinger told us there are two things we can learn from comparing ourselves to others: what we are able to do and what opinions are right or wrong. Both of which usually increase confidence in the observer (that’s us). Applying this to my situation, it’d easily be the first notion, as the opinions in the article were focused on the story itself and leaned towards the center.

So, then, I should read that article and be inspired. I should read that article and think, I can do that. That’s something for me to accomplish one day. But that’s not how I feel. To me, it’s a rejection of what I shouldn’t do. It’s discouragement to know what I could never accomplish.

I go through similar feelings when I skateboard. I’m 40, and I go to skate parks regularly to skateboard on my lunch breaks. I take moments from my day to fly and carve the ramps. When I was a teenager, and I’d see older people do tricks I couldn’t do, I knew I could do them one day. After three decades and a fractured skull, I’ve given up on making it as a pro skateboarder, doing a vert competition, and landing a 900.

So if I can watch other skaters do amazing tricks I can’t do, and that doesn’t affect me the same way this article does, then why does this hit me like a ton of bricks? I can watch a blind skateboarder do better tricks, or watch a five-year-old skate better, but I can’t handle a newsworthy article from an award-winning journalist? Why is this so HARD? Am I an imposter?

Underlying Conditions

Last year, I was diagnosed with autism. I was elated, as it explained a lot about my past and present. In fourth grade, I was diagnosed with ADHD (Attention Deficit-Hyperactivity Disorder) and given Ritalin. I know, it was terrible. Now, with the combined power of Autism and ADHD, I have AuDHD! My brain constantly battles itself between comfort and expansion. My body doesn’t work (athletically) the way it should, despite all the practice I had in my youth.

With AuDHD, the differences that I have in my brain are something that plague me constantly, despite the commonality of spending each day with neurotypicals. According to Psychology Today from 2021, ASD (Autism Spectrum Disorder) and ADHD are two household names, but only 4.4% of the population has been diagnosed with ADHD, while only 2.2% are diagnosed with ASD. The overlap in the symptoms happens 50-80% of the time for patients with ASD having ADHD symptoms, too, while out of a hundred children with ADHD, only 20-30 of them will have ASD symptoms too.

That being said, being diagnosed with both must mean I get twice the fun, right? Well, sorta. My focus level is intense. I lose track of time, like most of us. I fail to recognize social cues, even after getting a master’s degree. My thought process is methodic, strict, yet creative, expansive, and impulsive. This is part of the reason why writing is so fun for me, and why having AuDHD fits perfectly with the plot of Just Put the VHS in the Bag, Bro (due June 25, 2026). Writing allows me to effortlessly float between the preparation and the creative expanse.

And comparing myself to another in writing? It was unintentional, and because of my thought process, I could cite every reason for it. I noticed every detail, every clue, every hint of why they were a better writer than I. To me, it was clear as day, but to every other neurotypical, it’s apples and oranges.

Then why am I upset?

According to Sarah Bence on verywellhealth.com, people with ADHD can also experience symptoms of a specific disorder—RSD, Rejection Sensitive Dysphoria—which is also a trait of Autism. Score one for AuDHD.

It’s not limited to people with AuDHD, ADHD, or ASD. It is a trait within Bipolar Disorder, Body Dysmorphic Disorder, Depression, Personality Disorders, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, and Social Anxiety. Further study is needed to determine whether RSD is a symptom or something else entirely.

Bence breaks down RSD like this:

“People with RSD experience an overwhelming, instantaneous, negative emotional reaction to even mild forms of rejection. Criticisms that other people might brush off or feel sad about for a short period feel catastrophic to a person with RSD. People with RSD are also prone to perceiving rejection when there hasn’t been any, furthering their dysphoria.”

There is medicine for RSD, as well as social coping skills and treatment in therapy, such as CBT (Cognitive-Based Therapy), that can help RSD, but for me, I already have CBT and medication, although it’s none of the three listed on the Very Well Health website. Regardless of how many therapy sessions or medications, rejection still sucks.

When there is no rejection, but I only think there is, it’s worse. Am I imagining things? Did I make up a rejection because I’m feeling “some kind of way?” Heaven forbid, I feel a little fakakta in my kop. Great. Am I getting verklempt? I’ll give you a topic: colonial times were neither about colons nor on time. Discuss.

There. Now, I feel better.

Moving On

What are we to do when we feel this rejection-based comparison? How are we to move on with our day, our week, and our lives if we keep feeling these comparisons where we feel slighted? There is the CBT training we can use. If you’ve never done CBT or heard of it, here’s a quick handout from the American Psychiatric Association that goes over it.

CBT is always better away from the situation rather than in the heat of the moment, and that’s on purpose. CBT requires writing or identifying the situation, the feeling, the thought, the evaluation, and then a decision. For those who have difficulty making decisions, I promise it’s not nearly as scary as you think. Let’s go through it, shall we?

Step 1: The Situation

If this brings up a thought of the guy from Jersey Shore, then you might want to either schedule a mammogram or a prostate exam. While we might not always be aware of the situation we find ourselves in, it helps to take an objective look at where we are. For now, we can write one sentence that describes the situation.

For example:

I read an incredibly well-written article.

Step 2: The Feeling

How did this situation make you feel? Which emotions did you/do you feel during this situation? Focus on the strongest feeling and name it. It is easier to focus on the four broad feelings:

• Fear/Anxiety

• Sadness/Depression

• Guilt/Shame

• Anger

For our example, the feeling I felt the most was sadness and depression. If there’s more than one, then we’ll go through one for each feeling. With this situation, however, the feelings of guilt and shame are secondary, so we’ll focus just on the primary feelings for now.

Step 3: The Thought

This is where we identify our thoughts that give life to our feelings. If you’re unsure about this, ask yourself the following questions, based on what you’re feeling. This is straight from the handout, by the way.

• Fear/anxiety: “What bad thing do I expect to happen?” / “What kind of danger am I in?”

• Sadness/depression: “What have I lost hope in?” / “What is missing in my life or in me?”

• Guilt/Shame: “What bad thing have I done?” / “What is wrong with me?”

• Anger: “What is unfair about this situation?” / “Who has wronged me?”

In this example, I’d be asking the sadness/depression questions.

I’ve lost hope in being good enough to be followed. What’s missing is the approval of my work from random people on the internet.

Despite how sad and lonely the statement may seem, it’s important to allow yourself to feel without judgment in these moments.

Step 4: Evaluate

How accurate is your thought? Not how lonely. Not how silly. Not how crazy. How accurate is your thought? The only way to determine if something is accurate is to back it up with evidence. If you cannot back it up with evidence, then you can determine that the thought is inaccurate.

Here are some questions that might help find more evidence:

• What’s another way we can look at the situation?

• Is there an alternative situation to what happened?

• How might an outsider view this situation?

• Am I more concerned with how I feel OR the actual facts?

• Am I setting unrealistic, unattainable standards for myself that I would never expect anyone else to meet?

• Am I overestimating how much control and responsibility I have?

• What is the worst thing that could happen if my fear were true?

• Am I not considering everything I can do to deal with this problem?

• Am I thinking these things because a rare event happened to me, and it’s very likely to happen again?

For our example, here is the evidence for:

My writing could be more compelling or have more divisive topics.

I could spend a bunch of time on social media to interact with EVERY post.

For our example, here is the evidence against:

Good writing comes from many years of work.

I’m depressed because I’m not successful as quickly as I had hoped.

I started my Substack less than a year ago.

I cannot control people, regardless of how I much I interact on this app or social media.

Step 5: Make a Decision

Make a decision. Ugh. This is the hard part, isn’t it? Making decisions easier is part of the reason why I created Moral Mechanics. However, using that here would only work by finding which has more evidence, either for or against.

The APA worksheet says:

“When trying to be objective, you can think of yourself like a scientist who is evaluating the evidence supporting the effectiveness of a new treatment and is primarily interested in the objective facts, or you can think of yourself like a lawyer, presenting the evidence for or against a case to an impartial jury, based on the facts.”

After you decide what is best supported, the action follows. If we think the evidence supports it, then we continue. If we think it is NOT supported, we come up with a new thought associated with a reduction in distress compared to the original.

In our example, we can tell that the evidence does not support the original thought. Then, we can come up with a new thought.

Perhaps something like:

“Although I feel sad and depressed, it is likely the person has experience and education that I do not.”

“Even though I am sad, I am just getting started. The story is not over yet.”

CBT Conclusion

Based on the evidence and the exercise, a course of action takes place. From here, if the evidence supports the dark thoughts, we could develop an action plan to improve things. Since the evidence does not support the initial thought, we have an action plan to make sure we change our thinking and move forward from there.

Cognitive-Based Therapy is a wonderful tool to help identify and correct our thinking, and to base it on facts rather than on incorrect emotions we feel. This is not to say that all of our emotions are wrong. They’re not. CBT gives us the tools to evaluate whether or not these thoughts are worth spending time on, or rather, they’re worth letting things go.

Ironically, comparison ends up being the thing that would steal our joy, but in reality, it is worth comparing things to evaluate their objective truth. It was through comparison that the joy was not stolen. Instead, the joy was restored, and hope was given in the final step. Hope is the medication for depression. Joy is what we need daily to inspire ourselves and others. By evaluating the depressed thoughts I had against an objective set of facts, I was able to determine their inaccuracy. I could then reframe the thought. I acknowledged how I was feeling and gave an objective to something I couldn’t see in the moment.

As it is, my story is just getting started, and if you’re reading this, your story is full of hope, too. Your story isn’t over. Just like me, we can objectify our thoughts (instead of ourselves) and evaluate them against facts. If they hold up, then cool. If they don’t, that’s cool, too. We can rewrite them. We can always rewrite our thoughts while our brain still functions.

You are worth the reevaluation.

You are worth the time it takes to do these steps.

You are worth the effort.

You are an amazing person, and my dog, my cats, and I love you.

With All My Heart,

Geoffrey Breedwell

P.S.:

The article I freaked out over is below.

Alisa Writes

Why the *$&@ Did Dan Rather and Donald Rumsfeld Buy a New Mexico Ranch Together in 1981?

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3 months ago · 2419 likes · 487 comments · Alisa Valdes-Rodriguez

P.P.S:

Buy a shirt here, and look! Other people have bought it too!

Today’s episode is not an April Fool’s Joke. In fact, I totally didn’t realize that it was April 1st today. As someone with AuDHD, I do not like April Fool’s Day, because I do not like being confused. Give me a minute, and I’ll figure it out.

ANYWAY…

This episode is all about love languages and their origins. It gets bad, like BAD BAD.

Sources:

Study Refutes Concept of Love Languages - Psychiatrist.com - Current Directions in Psychological Science

Ashley Fetters Article — The Atlantic

“The Bigot Who Wrote ‘The 5 Love Languages’ Might Hate You” — Medium.com

The Scary Mommy blog

Dr. Liz Listens Blog — Neurodivergent Love Languages

Buy a shirt here.

My dog, my cats, and I love you.

Can I be honest for a minute? I honestly have no idea what I’m doing. I have no idea how to open this blog because, in my research, my eyes were opened to a truth that passed me by. Sadly, it didn’t just pass me by yesterday or last week; this revelation made its rounds close to fifteen years ago. For those keeping track politically, that’s EARLY QANON before MAGA became the loudest political party in the country, before they took over the presidency, and before they helped (I use that term loosely) unveil how horrible many politicians are.

In the years since, America has become a country nearly unrecognizable from our past. The day-to-day might be the same for some, but for many others, it’s full of protesting. It’s full of taking stands against a fascist police state run by a pedophile who protects other pedophiles, many of whom are coming from Evangelical church pulpits. And those who have been systemically victimized by these same monsters for hundreds of years? They have the same answer. “Welcome to the Party. Protest is on Saturday.”

Ironically, in the midst of the early dystopian fall of the country, people are still falling in love. It runs through the streets, with smiles from strangers. It moves whistfully from teenager to teenager in the halls, malls, and Discord servers. At this time, people still use the term “love language” as if it were a personality trait, but they forget a few crucial things—its origin and how to use it.

That’s what you and I are getting ourselves into today, but first, SPONSORS!

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And Now, Back to the Blog…

When I first heard of the “Five Love Languages,” I was in pre-marital counseling with my wife with the pastor of my parents’ church, who was set to marry us. I was largely anti-God at that time, so I was initially resistant to the preaching of a pastor to watch as homework. We got a burned DVD-R of a pastor explaining this concept. We were apparently speaking different languages when it came to how we showed our love for one another. My wife identified with two, and I identified with two different ones. It was never just a single one. There were multiple.

When we went back, we explained the situation to the pastor, who understood completely. He told us that we were fine, and we just needed to know how to communicate, recognizing when one person is trying to show love to the other. And that was that. It was more of a check-the-box than anything.

In the sixteen years since that day, my wife and I have had our difficulties, like most couples. She nearly left me once, and I nearly left her another time. Oddly enough, how we showed love never came up in those difficult moments.

Those difficult moments didn’t require me to show my love language. If anything, I should have shown her that I could speak her love language. I should have done what she needed, not what I needed, but, ironically, that was something we had to figure out ourselves. It took a minute, but we finally figured it out.

That’s what I was going to write about when I initially planned this blog, until I did my research into the history of the love languages. Then I discovered a truth that had blindsided me, even after my “Ally Discovery” stage. You know, that’s the stage when you research everything you’ve done wrong and what the right thing is. Well, “love languages” flew right by me. Perhaps The White Stripes were right, all love was fleeting.

Love Language Canon

Before Watergate, before The Ramones, and before the end of the Vietnam War, the 33-year-old Gary Demonte Chapman joined the staff of the Southern Baptist Convention church, Calvary Baptist Church, in Winston-Salem, NC. He would occasionally preach, but his main duties surrounded “family care,” i.e., college ministry, youth, children, and marital counseling. There, he would have taught the main staples of Baptist theology (at the time), in which the “new hotness” was whether or not the Bible was inerrant (without error). It would have been a predominantly white church, a picture of what many Americans think of when they think of the “Conservative Baptist Church.” According to Chapman, he held Q&A sessions with college students and noticed a disconnect in their dating and marriages. He published his first book during this time, Toward a Growing Marriage (1979).

Ten years later, he started teaching singles and divorcees, noting a real “disconnect” between people and how they “love” each other. Aimed to help those in his singles ministry, he wrote Hope for the Separated (1982). From there, he underwent intensive counseling sessions and eventually recognized a pattern among those he counseled. This inspired him to write his “cloaked secular” book, The 5 Love Languages (1992), and the unapologetically Christian Covenant Marriage (1992). This is where we find the original five love languages:

• Words of Affirmation: Verbal expressions of affection and appreciation.

• Acts of Service: Doing helpful things for your partner.

• Gifts: Giving tangible tokens of your affection.

• Quality Time: Undivided attention and shared activities.

• Physical Touch: Physical intimacy and non-sexual touch.

These five languages, according to the book, are the inputs and outputs for a metaphorical “Love Tank” within each person. This tank would need to be kept filled, rising when receiving and falling when showing love. The goal would be to “speak” your partner’s languages, even if they’re unnatural to you. For example, you tell your partner how beautiful they are, and if their love language is Words of Affirmation, it would be received more positively than, say, building a porch or buying them cat toys. (Sorry, the cat demanded input.)

The book has sold over 20 million copies, been translated into 50 languages, and has spent years on the New York Times Best Seller List. He branched off this success to include books for singles, men, teenagers, children, and even the workplace. The quiz included in the book found its way online and became an identity marker like a personality test.

Despite the popularity, scientists and psychologists everywhere came out to voice their critiques of the book. They pointed to the lack of scholarship by Chapman, given that his work relied on anecdotal evidence. Canadian researchers published a work in 2024 in Current Directions in Psychological Science, which found that most people prefer all five languages rather than a single one, and the “matching languages” dynamic doesn’t necessarily predict higher satisfaction. The researchers recommended a “balanced diet of essential nutrients to cultivate lasting love.” Love: Part of a balanced breakfast.

Controversy

This is where you and I are going to dive into the good stuff. I hope you’ve got your balanced diet of crackers, cookies, and crumpets, ‘cause I’m serving up all the tea.

Despite the many (MANY) additional books and editions, The 5 Love Languages does exactly what it’s subtly meant to do—spread Evangelical values to the masses—and that pissed off pretty much everyone. Let’s dig.

On October 20, 2019, The Atlantic posted an article by Ashley Fetters that did the same thing I initially aimed to do with this blog—tell you it’s way more about your partner’s love language than it is about yours. Fetters wrote:

If you were to search for the phrase love language on Twitter, perhaps late on a Wednesday morning, you’d likely find more than 50 tweets from the past hour containing the phrase. Some would be jokes: Brunch is my love language. Downtempo experimental bass is my love language. Listening to Dave Ramsey’s podcast together is my love language. Weed, music, avocado tzatziki—all have been cited as at least one person’s self-described love language.

What Fetters did in the second paragraph of the article was insightful. She highlighted the jokes that people would say, which became a part of our vernacular. “(Activity/Event/Word) is my love language.” This, unfortunately, highlights a common form of weaponization by a certain kind of person in our population. We all know the type of person. They’re the reason why women would choose the bear. They’re the snake in the grass, or the abusing chauvinist, both of whom would say, “Sex is my love language.”

Through Chapman’s belief system (the patriarchal and bigoted SBC), the love languages are a breeding ground for weaponization. It’s understood through the lack of a mention of female bodily autonomy that sex was something the men were discouraged from doing (yet forgiven if they did), while the women were shamed for the same act. Heaven forbid the people were gay.

The weaponization of the love language model became an abuser’s toolbox. In any relationship, the model was bastardized and twisted for evil, whether it was in line with the Baptist faith or not. With the jokes in the vernacular, adaptations of the love languages for people not in the WASP (White, Anglo-Saxon, Protestant) neighborhoods, they became an easier target for bullying and rejection.

I’d like to say that’s the worst of it, but yeah, just like the rest of 2026 so far, when we think it’s the worst it gets worstier. (It’s a word now.)

In the Medium article from March 12, 2021, “The Bigot Who Wrote ‘The 5 Love Languages’ Might Hate You”, licensed provider and owner of Intuitive Counseling Center in Florida, Lauren Lansrud, LCMHC, LMHC, NCC, MA writes:

He just wrote a bunch of glittery crap that was, again, stealing content from real therapy…‘Love Language’ packaging was/is a disjointed re-branding of common couple’s therapy interventions.

Lansrud catalogued Chapman’s bibliography, showing how his books support her claims about his bigoted, hate-filled rhetoric. She dove into his book Anger: A Powerful Emotion (2001), where she highlights Chapman’s attempt to have abusers channel their abuse towards a good cause. Lansrud wrote:

Chapman wrote this bogus psychoeducational book about “Anger” as if he has any insight into this very serious topic. Chapman told the New York Times that people do not want read “an academic book”. He is not a trained counselor in any capacity…This guy is a therapeutic fraud. And although Jesus might flip a table or two in dispute, Chapman doesn’t care.

Lansrud is joined by The Scary Mommy blog in criticizing Chapman’s view on the LGBTQ+ community, including his comments on the subject. While Lansrud notes his open discrimination on his website, the linked portions are now deleted and unavailable via the Wayback Machine. The Scary Mommy gives us a bit more context in March 2021, citing an August 2013 Q&A post:

Q: “My son has recently told us that he is gay. I’m having a very hard time dealing with it. How can I help him with this and still show love?”

Gary Chapman: Disappointment is a common emotion when a parent hears one of their children indicate that he/she is gay. Men and women are made for each other—it is God’s design. Anything other than that is outside of that primary design of God. Now I’m not going to try explain all the ins and outs of homosexuality, but what I will say is this—we love our children no matter what. Express your disappointment and/or your lack of understanding, but make it clear that you love them and that you will continue to love them no matter what. I would also encourage you to ask your child to do some serious reading and/or talk to a counselor to try to understand him/herself better while continuing to affirm your love.

Another excerpt from his website: (now deleted)

Almost all parents – even those who say we should tolerate all lifestyles – will feel shock and deep pain if one of their children announces that he is homosexual. The initial reaction is that they have failed their child in some critical way. The fact is that research has failed to discover the causes of homosexuality. We simply don’t know why some people have “same sex” attraction. So what’s a Christian parent to do? The example of Jesus would lead us to spend time with them, communicate with them, and demonstrate love for them, even though we do not approve of their lifestyle.

Scary Mommy continued:

Note how Chapman adjusts his language here so that empathy is no longer the goal. Note how now the concern and empathy is placed wholly with the parent who feels conflicted about their love for their child. Chapman admits he does not know why “some people have ‘same sex’ attraction,” but he hypothesizes about what Jesus would do. He says that “even though we do not approve of their lifestyle,” he thinks Jesus would “demonstrate love.”

Not “love them.” But demonstrate love.

In the previous example, where he offers advice to a concerned parent, he suggests the parent express their love but also be sure to express their “disappointment and/or your lack of understanding.”

This is the most insidious form of homophobia. It’s subtle, and it’s so thoroughly and meticulously couched in “demonstrations” of love that you almost miss it. Indeed, Mr. Chapman’s homophobia flew under the radar for years. The advice to the mother concerned about her gay son is from 2013, and last week was the first time I’d heard of it.

Seems like I’m not the only one who is late to the party on his homophobic behavior. If it were him solely, I’d be a bit more shocked, but it’s the entire Southern Baptist Convention. I heard these same arguments and advice when I was the Youth Pastor in Tennessee. I was subsequently fired from that post; more on that here. Scary Mommy continued:

Here’s the thing that Mr. Chapman doesn’t seem to comprehend: You can’t love a person while denying their identity. You just can’t. No matter how earnestly a person may believe in their own love-despite-disappointment, the love is now stained by disapproval. It is no longer love.

Should We Still Use It?

That’s the question of the day. Given the secret of the love languages, would you still want to use that model? If not, then what? This isn’t a closed question either. I’d love to have your response in the comments on whether you’d continue to use the love language model.

I’d recommend that we open the “love languages.” Five isn’t enough. The mental health professional community had an idea in their responses, but they missed the metaphor. People aren’t dishes. We’re not plates, nor do we have tanks. We communicate with each other. We are a communal species. As such, our love languages ought to bring everyone together.

As Fetter mentioned, we could use the jokes as the truth. We don’t need to take it literally, of course, but if your partner says, “Going to the movies is my love language,” we can probably surmise that they really enjoy going to the movies with you. They love spending quality time in a shared space, with popcorn, candies, and soda.

This can go further with humans with the neurodivergent-DLC installed. As neurodivergents, our brains are wired differently from the “normies.” Yes, that’s what we call you in our secret meetings behind closed doors and our secret podcast that we’re all listening to when we have headphones on. Only neurodivergent people can hear it and access it. That’s why you can’t. (I’m kidding. I love you, normies.)

The “Neurodivergent Love Languages” started as a grassroots movement on Tumblr, TikTok, Twitter, Imgur, etc. around 2021-2022. The artists didn’t feel represented. So, as with all things on the internet, they made their own.

The typical common “Neurodivergent Love Languages” are:

• Info-Dumping: Showing a special interest by explaining the intricate details of what they absolutely enjoy. It is an act of intense trust and affection.

• Parallel play: Often called “body doubling,” this is the act of being in the same room and coexisting. It’s the comfort of knowing they’re there, without the need to entertain them.

• Support Swapping: This is helping your partner with things their brain finds difficult, such as remembering an appointment, finding keys, or remembering to eat.

• Penguin Pebbling: The Gentoo penguins give pebbles to their mates, and so do neurodivergents. This includes sending memes, links, a cool rock, a special gift, or something like that. It’s a way to say, “I saw this and thought of you.”

• Deep Pressure: Since “light” touch can be overstimulating for some people, this category focuses on the ever-present need to be crushed, like with a weighted blanket, or the person on top of you. It is more sensory-seeking than anything sexual.

Dr. Liz Slonena (a neurodivergent advocate) created a graphic on her blog to illustrate this topic.

Missing Items

One of the things we must remember is that this process is a two-step process. Chapman had this part right. We can identify ourselves by what we like and how we show love. That part is great for personal growth. The second part is to make sure we’re bilingual with our partner’s love language. Making sure that we can “speak love” with our partners is a key to a great relationship.

Another thing that isn’t mentioned at all in the love language conversation (typically) is the fact that the love languages (whether neurotypical or neurodivergent or other) also apply to the other forms of love. Friendship? Without a doubt. Parent? You betcha. Coworker? Absolutely. Random stranger on the street? Yes, but I’d avoid touching them or applying deep pressure without their consent.

That brings me to this point that isn’t explicitly stated. Consent is the basis for all the love languages. If you do not have consent, you cannot speak any of these love languages to their full effect. Non-consensual touching, that’s assault (or Battery in most states). Non-consensual info dumping is soliciting or grandstanding. Non-consensual quality time is stalking. You get the idea.

If you do not have consent, it is a crime. Period.

Consent is the greatest of all the love languages. Choosing the love language to use with the person you're connecting with is key, and it’s all based on consent. We have to use our brains and our hearts insyncroncious action for the love languages to be truly effective in our relationships. If we want them to improve our lives, as well as the lives of those around us, it must be formed on the basis of consent.

Lastly, I want to make sure this gets said: “Just because something has questionable origins” doesn’t mean that we must avoid it. This is why we can reclaim and curate what is useful. Yes, I know cherry picking is a fallacy, and it’s often used within Evangelical circles. And yes, I realize that if we weren’t honest about its origins, it would be an appeal to hypocrisy, but we’re not doing that.

We’re being honest about its origin. We’re being honest with what’s wrong, and you and I can curate something wonderful from the sludge of manipulation that is Evangelicalism. The love languages may have some parts that can be used negatively, but if we curate the portions of the gigantic love-cow (Are cows romantic?), we’ll find something that we can not only use to empathetically feed the village, but something we can build a community around.

With All My Heart,

Geoffrey Breedwell

This episode, y’all. Holy jitsu.

Speaking of which, you think there would be a “Holy Jitsu?” If there was, you think that person would be a priest? Oh! Maybe that’s one of the jitsus a Naruto-verse version of Jesus might have, along with a wine jitsu.

I’m getting off topic.

This episode is a doozy and might be a little controversial, especially given the comments at the end. The blog itself was on my LinkedIn, and it was produced for the audiocast/blog at a request. That doesn’t account for the longer post-blog speech at the end.

Do mind the disclaimer, will you?

DISCLAIMER: The following blog post concerns Christian belief and explains things from a non-MAGA Christian perspective. This post was written in 2023, during my tenure in Christian ministry. Reader discretion is advised.

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This post is sponsored by Bluebird, a novel by J. Lambert.

After a one-night stand resulting in a pregnancy, Blue Forneus returns home to the family ranch in a chaotic small town and reunites with her former best friend (a past crush), who is now her dad’s employee.

Click here to purchase (non-affiliate link), available in paperback and e-book now.

This post is also sponsored by my own hidden village symbol, the “Skull & Quills”, now available on a shirt. Your purchase comes with FREE SHIPPING and supports this content. Buy here. I just wish I could get it made as a Naruto headband. That’d be legit.

Next Week: It’s all about Love, and how much I love you. Well, kinda.

Choose your “love lenses” and therapist.

I’ll catch you next time.

DISCLAIMER: The following blog post concerns Christian belief and explains things from a non-MAGA Christian perspective. This post was written in 2023, during my tenure in Christian ministry. Reader discretion is advised.

Let’s face it. Christianity is a worldwide religion. There are explanations of biblical themes and gospel truth in all cultures, especially pop culture. One of the most popular forms of media is Anime (a Japanese word from the English word “animation”), modeled after the epic Japanese art style of manga, pronounced MAN-GAH, which are comic books. While there are many different styles of anime and manga, the most popular series usually focus on tragic stories, ninjas, monsters, and over-the-top action sequences. One of the most popular anime in the entire world is Naruto.

Created by Masashi Kishimoto, the manga and anime tell the story of a twelve-year-old orphan named Naruto Uzumaki. He’s a young ninja who desperately seeks attention from his peers, even dreaming of being his village’s leader (the Hokage). The only issue isn’t due to lack of skill, foolishness, or even his lineage. It’s because he’s an outcast as a result of an event that occurred at birth. His village was attacked by a gigantic, immensely powerful nine-tailed fox, which destroyed it. The fox was magically sealed inside Naruto as an infant. Ever since, he’s been an outcast. The town blames him for the attack twelve years ago.

That’s where we find Naruto. His story was initially published in the weekly magazine Weekly Shonen Jump from 1999 to 2014 and is now collected in 72 volumes in the graphic-novel form of manga called tankobon. The story was adapted into an anime and broadcast to Japanese audiences, and later to American audiences, with an English dub in 2005. Seven hundred twenty episodes later, Naruto (and the sequel series Naruto: Shippuden) tells the complete story. The anime is translated and dubbed into over 10 languages, while the manga is one of the best manga series of all time, with 250 million copies in worldwide circulation across 47 countries. It’s currently listed as fourth on webuybooks.com, behind such mammoths as One Piece (480 million) and Dragon Ball (250-300 million), with over $11 billion in revenue since its creation, making it the fourth-highest-grossing anime of all time.

So, where in this franchise are the biblical principles? They’re all over the place. Many of the themes and references in Naruto are drawn from Confucianism, but they are not strictly Confucian. We see this commonality in many religions around the world, and in Naruto, the themes of forgiveness, unconditional love, faith, and togetherness connect the epic story to the parallels in our lives.

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Here are the top ten biblical principles shown in the Naruto and Naruto: Shippuden anime and manga.

Early on in his life, Naruto is the outcast. Everyone ignores him. Even as a child, he was ignored by other kids. Their parents often will tell them, “Just ignore him. Don’t pay attention to him.” It’s a lesson each kid took to heart, and even took as permission to bully the child. Despite this, he never gives up on himself. It’s only after he’s encouraged by his sensei Iruka that Naruto can connect with other people. This outcast persona follows him into his teen years, but over time, Naruto’s positive attitude, determination, and skill can change people’s minds. It’s their love that softens his heart as well and prevents him from going down the expected – much darker – path.

We see this principle in scripture. Whether it’s Paul’s writing in Romans 12:18, “If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all,” or Jesus Himself in John 13:34, “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I loved you, you are to love one another,” we are told from the start – love others. It’s from the beginning of God’s love that we can love others. It’s out of this love for others that we are to serve one another. Galatians 5:13 puts it like this: “For you were called to freedom, brothers. Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve another.” By loving his neighbor and serving his community, Naruto fulfills his promise to be the best, eventually becoming Hokage and ushering in decades of peace.

Much like the story of David, everyone counted Naruto out from the beginning. After all, what was a scrawny little punk with a monster inside of him going to do? How could he become Hokage? This was even more pronounced in the show when Naruto and the school kids of his age were enrolled in the Academy in his village. At the end of their training, they must take a final exam to see if they’re able to rank up and truly help the village. These exams are the Chunin Exams, which culminate in a tournament where each student spars with another. No one thought Naruto would make it. One of the leading explanations comes from Neji, who brands Naruto as a failure in life. It’s only when Naruto beats Neji that he clues everyone else into what he believed in the entire time – he is capable.

We see this time and time again in scripture. Chiefly in Jeremiah 29:11, “For I know the plans for you…” But we also have this in the story of David as told in 1 Samuel 17. No one expected the youngest child of Jesse, a shepherd, and a weakling like David to slay Goliath. But he did. God saw David, empowered with the wisdom and strength given to him by God, and gave Goliath a taste of his stone jitsu, knocking him out. Then, in true anime fashion, David uses the monster’s sword and decapitates him! David’s brothers, soldiers, and even his king couldn’t initially define his destiny. Only God can define our destiny, as He’s the one who wrote our story in His book, as told to us in Psalm 139.

One of the key dynamics of the entire show is that between Naruto and Sasuke Uchiha. These two are polar opposites. When we first meet Sasuke in the second episode, we see a mention that he is the “strong-silent type,” completely opposed to the loud and obnoxious Naruto. We learn later that Sasuke is filled with a revenge-fueled hatred for his older brother, Itachi Uchiha, who murdered the entire Uchiha clan but left Sasuke alive. This causes Sasuke to leave the village, seek more power, and eventually fight his older brother, but not before facing Naruto in a battle to return to the village. While Naruto doesn’t succeed, he never gives up on Sasuke. Ever. This eventually pays off when Sasuke returns to the village and marries the woman who’s loved him since childhood.

Jesus told us in John 15, “There is no greater love than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends,” and the beloved disciple John aims it back on Jesus by saying, “By this we know love, that he laid down his life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers.” When Jesus calls His disciples friends and lays down His life for them (and the entire world), it’s through His resurrection that He shows His divinity. And through this divinity, we know more than just Jesus as Jesus. We come to know Him as the “good shepherd” (John 10), who would leave the 99 sheep for the one who is lost. Jesus never gives up on us, and we in turn ought never to give up on our friends. To put it another way, Jesus loves us the way Naruto loves Sasuke, unconditionally.

And no, they’re not lovers. They’re best friends. It’s platonic love, guys, sheesh.

One of my personal favorite things about Naruto is the nine-tailed beast trapped within him. Growing up, my anger often got me in trouble. I’m not talking about the minor troubles, but I’m talking about a gigantic blow-up. Struggling with ADHD as a child was no easy task. It often felt like I had a beast trapped in me. Naruto describes this perfectly.

The nine-tailed beast is named Kurama. In the sequel series, Naruto: Shippuden, we learn a lot about the tailed beasts, including their origin, their names, and why they are so important. As Naruto gains more control over his power through various ninjitsu, it becomes evident that he needs to control the inner-tailed beast. Here’s the problem: the tailed beast isn’t something to be controlled. It’s someone to be friends with. Naruto learns this during one of the best arcs in all of fiction – The Fourth Great Ninja War. In this arc, the villain—a masked ninja— seeks to control the entire world under an illusion. To do this, he must gain the power of the ten-tailed beast, whose power is so immense that it was split up and divided into nine different tailed beasts. Naruto learns this, is affirmed as the key to peace among the beasts, and, when faced with the masked villain and challenged, simply replies, “I just learned a bunch of really complicated names really quick.” Probably not the most epic line to fight to on the surface, but it showed the compassion and authentic nature of Naruto to treat those around him with the same love he has for himself.

Loving someone as we love ourselves is a key command from our Triune God. When Jesus answers the Pharisee about the greatest commandment in Matthew 22, he goes back to Deuteronomy 6 and Leviticus 19. He gives him a simple answer: love God with everything you have and love your neighbor to the same level as you do yourself. In Greek, the word used for love in this verse is Ἀγαπήσεις (Agapēseis), coming from the root of agape love. This isn’t just romantic love, or friendly love, or even love for a fictional character. This is the love that God has for us. It’s unconditional love without reservation. It’s the same word for love (agape) for loving God and loving your neighbor. When referencing the Torah in Deuteronomy 6, Moses used the Hebrew word וְאָ֣הַבְתָּ֔ (wə·’ā·haḇ·t), a command to love (aheb, אָהַב). It’s the same word in Leviticus 19. Love is love, no matter the language or culture. Love is love.

But it’s more than just loving ourselves for who we are, but it’s loving everyone for who they are, too, tails and all. The entire show revolves around Naruto showing that love for others, no matter what. He was given the worst deal, but instead of lashing out in hatred and revenge, he accepts his lot and seeks to make the world around him better. To place a fictional scenario in our heads, I think Jesus and Naruto probably would have gotten along. Perhaps they would have strolled on the water together? Maybe Naruto would have played a joked about the Trinity with his shadow clones. Just a thought.

What do you want to do with your life? Naruto wants to be Hokage. He wants to be the leader of his village and protect everyone. He desires to become the most powerful shinobi (ninja) in the village and protect the same people who shunned him. He did this very thing on multiple occasions before becoming Hokage as an adult. But the key scene that best illustrates this point takes place during the Chunin Exam arc. It’s the finals, and Naruto must face Neji, a shinobi who can render a person useless with just a few strikes. On paper, he’s no match for Neji, but in Naruto’s heart, he must beat him. There’s no “if” he must. Neji, on the other hand, considers Naruto to be someone of no consequence. He even tells him harshly that he’ll never be Hokage. He’s not going to amount to anything, according to Neji. But what does Naruto do? He defeats him using the one tool he does better than anyone, shadow clones. He overwhelmed Neji with more of himself, despite Neji not wanting anything to do with Naruto. He was persistent, kept believing in himself and his dream. He did this on multiple occasions, which has earned the character his catch phrase, “Believe it!” (“だってばよ!”)

Within our Christian walk, we experience doubt. A lot. Whether it’s the doubt in our beliefs or the doubt of God’s plan for our lives. Jeremiah 29:11 is a cliché verse for this very reason. It speaks of God’s plan to Israel amid their complete turmoil. We see another verse regarding God’s plan for us in Psalm 139, where David reflects on God’s story and our place in it. “Your eyes saw my unformed body,” verse 16 begins. “All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.” God is over everything and always has been and always will be. He will provide for us, just as Jesus noted in Matthew 6:25-34. All we need to do is stay focused on following Him by keeping His commandments, mainly loving God and loving others. Then, all things will be added to us according to His will. (Romans 8:28).

The story of Naruto Uzumaki is definitely one for the ages, but if it weren’t for the conflict between the two Uchiha brothers, there’d be no series. Of the 488 characters in the story, this dynamic is one many people can relate to. Many people have difficult siblings, but not everyone has a sibling who murders their entire family.

In a story much like Judas, Itachi is depicted early on as the ultimate rogue shinobi. He turned his back on not just his village, but his family as well, murdering each person, saving only one – his little brother Sasuke. This causes Sasuke to grow up fueled by a revenge-focused grief. His only goal is to avenge his family. It’s when they finally fight in Naruto: Shippuden that the truth of what happens finally comes out, and it’s not until much later during the “Fourth Great Ninja War” arc that he finally says to his brother, “You don’t ever have to forgive me. And no matter what you do from here on out, know this… I will love you always.”

The story of the two brothers isn’t about sibling rivalry but about forgiveness. It didn’t happen overnight either. The forgiveness and reconciliation between Itachi and Sasuke took decades. Like many moments of pain in our lives, it can take time to forgive someone or something that invades your space of peace to cause it harm, i.e., “trespasses.” Jesus mentions the concept of forgiveness many times, as do the prophets. It’s the basic tenet of the Christian faith. We committed wrongs against God’s law within our lives, and it’s through the actions of Jesus that we are forgiven by the Father and can commune with Him through the actions of the Holy Spirit. It’s this level of forgiveness that Paul writes about in Ephesians 4:32, “Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.” (Emphasis mine). It’s also stated in the way Jesus taught us to pray in Matthew 6:12, “Forgive us our debts, as we have forgiven our debtors.” Forgiveness is a personal decision that does not require reconciliation. It doesn’t have to happen overnight, but it can happen to your life’s worst offenders if you choose it.

The aptly named character Pain (real name Nagato) is the center of one of the craziest arcs in all of the Naruto storyline. Taking place in Naruto: Shippuden, Pain is the leader of the red cloud cloak-wearing Akatsuki. This gang is made up of the most dangerous and most wanted criminals in the Naruto universe, and it is one of the most profitable merchandise lines for the Naruto universe. Their symbol is one of the most recognizable symbols in all anime culture.

The leader of this gang, when we first meet them, has purple eyes and a deep voice. In the English dub, he’s given his signature deep villain voice by Troy Barker. He’s muddled with interference, and the only thing that we can tell is that he desires to collect the tailed beasts, placing their spirits into a statue as the ten-tailed beast. But as the season continues, Naruto’s Master Jiraiya (we’ll get to him further on in the list) goes on a solo covert mission to the Village Hidden in the Rain to see who is really at the head of the Akatsuki clan. This leads Pain to fully show himself as the Six Paths of Pain. They defeat him at the cost of one of their own. Pain is then advised to attack the Leaf Village by his advisor, a masked shinobi with only one eye. During his attack, he completely destroys the village, leaving only a crater in his wake. Naruto comes to defend the village afterwards, after hearing a word while in training. In the ensuing battle, Naruto is pinned down on the ground. Pain takes a moment to talk to him, answering Naruto’s question of why he is doing all of this. “What I want is to create peace and bring about justice,” Pain says. This infuriates Naruto, whose anger is fueled by revenge and seeking peace in the Shinobi world. Pain continues:

“Oh, I see. That is noble of you. That would be justice. However, what about my family? My friends? My village? They suffer the same fate as this village at the hands of you, Hidden Leaf ninja. How is it fair to let only you people preach about peace and justice? Once the Land of Fire and the Hidden Leaf had grown too big. To protect their national interests, they forced feudal clans to wage war against each other and profited from it. Otherwise, the people of the villages would have starved. As it happened, our little nation and its villages became the battlefield where the great nations waged their war. Each time they did, our nation was ravaged and made to waste. After many such battles, the great nations stabilized, but our small nation suffered, and it barely recovered. You and I are both seeking the very same thing. We both want to achieve the peace that Jiraya Sensi envisioned. You and I are the same. We are both motivated by our desire for peace and justice. The justice that I have delivered against the Leaf Village is no different from what you are trying to do to me. Everyone feels the same pain in losing something dear. You and I have both experienced that pain. You strive for your justice, and I strive for mine. We’re both just ordinary men who have been driven to seek vengeance in the name of justice. And if one comes to call vengeance ‘justice,’ such justice will only breed further vengeance and trigger a vicious cycle of hatred.”

When asked for his answer, Naruto gives the only reply his heart could at this moment, “I don’t know.”

This cycle of hatred is easy to see everywhere we look. It’s in every form of entertainment. The cycle of revenge and the stories based on it become riveting entertainment. This cycle is also found all throughout the Biblical text. Since the fall of mankind in Genesis 3, this cycle is put forward. Given how the family would speak and tell stories of how the way things are, it would only be natural to think that God destroying your grandparents and everyone you ever knew in a flood would fuel stories of revenge and injustice towards God. This is even one of the key themes of the book of Job, who’s asked by his wife in Job 2, “Do you still maintain your integrity (meaning innocence)? Curse God and die!” He replied, “You are talking like a foolish woman. Shall we accept good from God and not trouble?” (Job 2:9-10 NIV). It could even be argued that in Genesis 3, God took revenge on those who sinned against Him, thus starting the first cycle of hatred. Although such discussions are beyond the scope of this writing.

To end the cycle of hatred, one must forgive. This is another key element we discussed in #5. This is what makes peace so difficult. But that’s the thing about God. He offers forgiveness and reconciliation. In Ezekiel 18:31-32, He explains at the end of the story of the generations, “Rid yourselves of all the offenses you have committed and get a new heart and a new spirit. Why will you die, people of Israel? For I take no pleasure in the death of anyone, declares the Sovereign Lord, repent and live!” God takes no pleasure in the death of anyone, yet He desires for all of us to reconcile through His Son Jesus Christ, who He sent just for that purpose—complete intimacy with the Holiest of the Holy. The cycle of hatred doesn’t stand a chance against that kind of reconciliation. It’s then from that complete intimacy with the Holiest of the Holy that we can learn to forgive the unforgivable and reconcile with each other, ending the cycle of hatred among ourselves.

If there’s one thing that Naruto and I have in common, we want to take on all of the world’s problems by ourselves. In the shows, it often leads to foolish decisions, only making things worse and eventually forcing others to intercede anyway. This leads to a lot of people’s frustrations with Naruto. This starts to fall away when, in the first part of the show, Naruto is placed on Team 7 with his crush (one-sided), Sakura Haruno, and her crush (one-sided until later), Sasuke Uchiha. Naruto and Sasuke are immediate rivals, and Sakura is happy to just be near Sasuke. Their team leader, Kakashi Hatake, gives them a test where they must grab the bells from Kakashi before they eat lunch. The team ultimately fails because they act individually, including Naruto attempting to eat before everyone else. He’s tied to a post by Kakashi and gives the other two a chance to try the bell test again. He tells Sasuke and Sakura to eat up, but Naruto is forced to watch since he tried to eat before it was time. Furthermore, Sakura and Sasuke must not help Naruto, or they will both fail the test and will stop being shinobi. After listening to Naruto’s stomach growl, Sasuke decides to offer his food. He states that if they’re going to try again, it’s better to do it as a team. Sakura follows suit, and immediately Kakashi appears, scolding them for not following orders. The three unite as a team, and Kakashi tells them they passed. “In the ninja world, those who break the rules are scum, that’s true, but those who abandon their friends are worse than scum,” he says. The friends are astounde d.

Few things are as encouraging to friendship as that line. It works not just in the ninja world and in our world, but also within the ancient world. King Solomon, the traditional author of the book Ecclesiastes, writes in chapter 4, verse 12, “Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.” We also see lots of friendship mentality proverbs, such as, “As iron sharpens iron, one man sharpens another,” “A man of many companions may come to ruin, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother,” and “Faithful are the wounds of a friend; profuse are the kisses of an enemy.” Without friends, Jesus would not have disciples, and we would not know of Jesus, as the popular series The Chosen shows us. Friends are essential to life, and we are a communal species. We need others to survive and thrive.

When was the last time you were proven wrong? For all of Naruto and the first few seasons of Naruto: Shippuden, everyone is proven wrong about Naruto Uzumaki. He consistently proves that his determination, hard work, and friends work in his favor. But what about when Naruto is proven wrong?

This happens a lot. Since we joined his life at the age of 12, Naruto’s foolishness continues to lead him wrong. But one time in particular, his snap judgment was proven wrong, and because of this, he got to learn from one of the best shinobi to ever live. It’s Master Jiraiya, and when we first meet him, Naruto meets him in the weirdest of places – a sauna. His teacher at the time (who was teaching Naruto how to walk on water using Chakra) noticed Master Jiraiya watching the women bathe in the sauna. He called it “Research,” which he used to write his romance novels. But despite being the “Toad Sage,” Naruto gave him another nickname as he was in the habit of doing. He called him, “Pervy Sage.” Master Jiraiya was put in charge of Naruto’s training and even led him on missions to find another fan favorite, Lady Tsunade. We’d come to learn that Lady Tsunade, Master Jiraiya, and the Naruto big bad, Orochimaru, were a team called “Legendary Sannin.” Naruto would come to learn many things from Jiraiya, including the origin of his name and about his deceased father, during Naruto: Shippuden.

The rock of the church itself, Peter, the oldest disciple, had his own misgivings and prejudices. Not just about being quick to anger or Jesus being God Himself, but instead, about Gentiles and all things not kosher. We see this story in Acts 10:9-47. It’s about noon in Joppa (modern day: Joffa on the southern tip of Tel Aviv-Yafo). Peter is staying with a friend, and he goes up to the roof to pray. He starts to get hungry, and he gets a vision of animals they were not allowed to eat coming down on a blanket, followed by a voice saying, “Get up, Peter. Kill and eat.” The first time, he said, “Surely not! I have never eaten anything impure or unclean.” The second time, he says the same thing, but this time he gets a response. “Do not call anything impure that God has made clean.” The vision happened three times in a row, followed by prophecy concerning the messengers who were coming from a Roman Centurion who desired to be baptized in Caesarea (still a modern-day town in Israel, a 62 km walk along the Mediterranean Sea). Had it not been for this vision, by Peter, as well as the conversion of the Pharisee Saul and others, Christianity would have stayed a Jewish sect. Instead, God made His direction clear. The Gospel, the pure offer of reconciliation and peace through Jesus Christ, is for everyone, regardless of where they come from.

The most captivating notion of Naruto Uzumaki is his faith in himself. Coming from nothing, he decides that he’s not only going to protect the city that shunned him, but he later resolves to bring peace to the entire shinobi world. He desires to end the cycle of hatred forever. These are noble causes. It’s a cause so noble that after the Pain arc is over, it forces the nine-tailed beast (named Kurama) inside Naruto to take notice. Inside Naruto, the beast restarts the conversation when he realizes that his life is either trapped inside Naruto or at the will of the show’s big bad – Madara Uchiha. This causes Naruto a bit of pause, but after gaining control of Kurama’s will, he has to become friends. It’s his faith in not giving up, no matter what, and treating everyone with love and respect that changes the beast’s mind. Then Naruto finally gets to learn more about the tailed beast, the culture he comes from, and even his name. He then learns of the other tailed beasts and their names. It’s with their power that Naruto becomes an incredible shinobi, rallying people behind him. He really could bring peace to the world.

This is the mentality behind Jesus. Well, minus the tailed beast and chakra. There are many miracles of Jesus, but His purpose wasn’t just to be a miracle man. He wasn’t sent to our plane of existence to be a healer, nor was He sent here to battle against the Roman forces. Let’s really face it. Someone who could make the dead come back to life just by speaking a few words would be too powerful for the Roman Empire to kill. With the angels at His behest, He could have taken over the entire world at once. If the destruction of the world in Genesis was any indication, Jesus (who is God but not the Father) could say one word and make everyone fall in line and follow Him.

However, that wouldn’t be love. Love welcomes goodness and free will. Jesus can only do what He is supposed to—accept the charges of all who have sinned, who sin, and who will sin by dying on a tree—accomplishing the purpose of conquering death itself, just like Adam and Eve, who did not know death until the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. Jesus’s actions, and our belief in Him as God, cause us to change on the inside, allowing us to have a metaphorical “new heart.” Then, we train it to follow not the old ways of how we used to act, but to control ourselves to follow a new way, loving each other to the same level as we love ourselves, and loving our Triune God with all of our spirits, all of our minds, and all of our bodies. It’s all about love. Without that faith in love, there’s no end to the cycle of hate.

That’s the key to understanding Naruto from a Biblical perspective. Without faith in love, there’s no end to the hate. There’s no peace. There’s nothing but selfish ambition, revenge, and pain. And while these things might seem impossible without any extra jitsu or any extra powers, it becomes possible with God, who is more powerful than any shinobi, any villain, and any level of evil. Jesus is the reason we can commune with God through the Holy Spirit, and it’s through the Holy Spirit that we experience His fruitfulness, miracles, and personal transformation of ourselves.

Understanding Naruto isn’t about getting people to avoid going to a demonic place, nor is it about expanding the church and forcing people to believe. Having faith in love, faith in each other, faith in ourselves, isn’t about pulling people into a realm of control. It’s about freeing people to be themselves, who they really are, and for us to accept them and accept ourselves. Good will always triumph over evil by doing good and not succumbing to evil. Sometimes it might take a bit of tough jitsu-style love, but other times, it just takes a little empathy for others and for ourselves.

With All My Heart,

Geoffrey Breedwell

P.S. To hear the comments I made AFTER reading this for the audiocast, please check out the latest episode of The Geoffrey Breedwell Audiocast, available on Substack, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and other podcast locations.

Have you seen one of the latest series on Netflix? There are two versions of it on the same platform, and it’s one of the most popular stories worldwide. Tell me you’ve at least heard of the show One Piece. If not, then grab your favorite drink, a Devil Fruit, and sail with me towards the solution, the one piece of craftsmanship that plagues beginning writers. It’s the age-old advice, “Show, not tell,” and you and I are going to use One Piece to show how to do it right and what not to do.

But first, the cliché backstory!

When I was a teen in the backwoods of Tennessee, I used to skateboard through my neighborhood. From street to street, I pushed my ceramic wheels across the asphalt up and down the hills. I’d roar down one hill to be chased by a small dog who faded into the background as I raced up another hill.

One afternoon, I decided to skate far away from my home to the tallest hill in our subdivision. The hill felt seven miles high. I could see clouds forming midway across the divided street. The gigantic hill was straight down like the best rollercoasters, but I wasn’t scared. I wasn’t going to be someone who would chicken out of not going down a large hill. If a car could do it, surely a skateboard could do it…right?

I kicked my board in front of me, catching the tail with my right foot, like I was standing on top of a gigantic half-pipe. I was Danny Way with an Element deck and DC Shoes. No pads. All danger. No brains. All bravado.

I put my left foot on my front bolts and shifted my weight forward, stomping down on them. Slowly, my body weight rolled forward, carried by the ceramic wheels. Wind rushed through my hair (Yes, I had hair then). My baggy shirt flapped in the wind behind me. I was Superman. I was that blonde dude on Brink (1998) bombing the hill. Nothing could stop me.

There’s the turn, I thought. I need to slow down.

I shifted my weight forward and placed my right foot beside me, balancing between the two, using it as a brake. Its vulcanized sole ground the pavement beneath it, creating the friction and slowing my progress. I leaned a bit too far back, and I fell backwards.

I woke up moments later, confused. The ground was tilted, and I was no longer moving.

I woke up again moments later with a pillow under my head and a blanket on my body. Am I taking a nap on the street? I thought to myself before I lost consciousness again.

I wake up again to the ambulance doors shutting. Cool, I thought. I’m in an ambulance. I lost consciousness again.

I woke up for the final time in the hospital room. It had the classic nineties feel, with patterned flower wallpaper and a CRT Television hanging from the ceiling. I’m in a hospital bed. I groan.

“What happened?” I mutter.

“Hey sunshine,” my mom soothed. “You fell on your skateboard. You have a fractured skull in two places.”

I took a moment to process. “Cool,” I said. “Where’s my board?”

Now, I could have made that story a lot shorter, couldn’t I? That entire story could have been a single sentence: “In the summer of 1998, I fractured my skull while bombing a hill skateboarding.” But where’s the fun in that?

I showed you what happened rather than telling you what happened.

That’s the concept we’re exploring today—showing, not telling—and Japanese anime does it well, especially One Piece.

Nearly every character in One Piece has a tragic backstory. In the first arc—East Blue—we see the main crew members’ stories. We see how Luffy gets his scar, eats the gum-gum fruit and gains his powers, and then we get Shanks giving Luffy his iconic hat. We see how Rononora Zoro wants to be the greatest swordsman ever. We see Nomi steal from others to help her sister, but she also wants to navigate the world on her own. We meet Usopp, who lies to validate his bravery. We meet Sanji, who wants to cook the best meals in the world. Everyone fights. Every character is fully fleshed out; however, for some, we meet them before we see their tragic backstory.

Could they have told their backstories in a single sentence? Sure. Would anyone have cared for the characters as much? Not a chance.

So, how do we apply this to our writing? I got a few takeaways for you.

#1 - Not Everything Needs to be Shown

There’s a lot that we can take from the world-famous Straw Hat Pirates created by 51-year-old Eiichiro Oda, who traditionally hides his face behind a hand-drawn fish. We would certainly want to, as his story is the best-selling manga and the best-selling comic series ever printed. Oda is one of the best-selling fiction authors of all time. He changed history. He changed the way live-action anime is produced. He is the legendary modern-day author of a story so epic that its comparative titles are often The Iliad and The Odyssey. Oda works so hard that he allegedly only sleeps three hours a day during a workweek. He’s a perfectionist who keeps tight control ove r his prized property, and for good reason.

Luffy’s journey to becoming King of the Pirates is (at the time of writing) nearing over 1200 chapters with 114 volumes, with some suggestions saying the story could finally end in 2032. Does your story need to go on for thirty-five years? The only person stopping you from doing this is you, but not every story needs to go on for three and a half decades.

That’s the most common barrier for new people (mainly those here in America) to getting into One Piece.

“It’s too long,” they’ll say.

“Aren’t there like a bajillion chapters?” They ask.

“Is there a way I can just like skip some stuff?” They press.

They’re not wrong.

If the story of my fractured skull were in One Piece, I still would have fallen and broken my crown. The doctor would probably have weird hair, my skateboard would probably have been some sort of wakeboard, and it might have ended with me eating a Devil Fruit. Then it would have continued to show how I became the person I am now. Knowing my backstory and how much I’ve gone through, it’d probably last 100 chapters or so.

The live-action version of the story does an amazing job at telling some portions and showing others. For example, showing Luffy getting the scar was the right call, just like telling how rare and dangerous the Devil Fruits are is the right call. Doing the opposite would have removed the tension from Luffy’s character while slowing the pace to a crawl. The live-action shows the characters' souls and tells us the homework they had to complete.

The question we need to ask ourselves when planning out our stories is, “Is this central to the character?” If it’s something that can be illustrated rather than told, such as a character flaw that’s central to their arc, show it. If it’s a small piece of back story that doesn’t hold much water but might provide context, then tell it. Show the big stuff, tell the small stuff.

#2 - Showing Builds Your World

Let’s take a character introduced in Season 2 of the live-action series—Tony Tony Chopper. His story is heartbreaking, no matter how you tell it. But there are moments in Chopper’s life where Oda tells us things rather than showing us. It provides context and sets up the stage for a flashback.

This cute and cuddly half-reindeer, half-human has an incredibly tragic backstory that was adapted into its own anime chapter and live-action episode. In the live-action, we meet Chopper (Mikaela Hoover) once Luffy (Iñaki Godoy) and Sanji (Taz Skyler) carry a gravely ill Nami (Emily Rudd) to the top of a mountain where the island’s only remaining doctor lives. Chopper brings them inside, where our favorite characters are nursed back to health by Dr. Kureha (Katey Segal), who tells our heroes of Chopper’s backstory, including his meeting with Dr. Hiriluk (Mark Harelik). This brings the narrative device for Episode 7 of Season 2, “Reindeer Shame.”

Without this flashback episode, not only would we not have cared for Chopper as much as we do by the end, but we wouldn’t have seen the world-building that happens. We’re shown how the evil Drum Island King Wapol (Rob Colletti) treated his people and hunted down doctors across the island. This was told to us in the previous episode by the captain of the Drum Island Guard, Dalton (Ty Keogh), but that didn’t make us care. Dalton’s line didn’t give us a reason to root for our Straw Hat Pirate friends against the inevitable battle against Wapol. By showing us this heartbreaking story, we care, we root, and (most importantly for Netflix) we buy the Tony Tony Chopper stuffed animals to cuddle.

#3 - Show Once, Tell the Rest

The One Piece anime is notorious for this. They’ll show the backstory over and over again for a character, whether through a retelling or through a flashback. This is done on purpose in the anime, since both the manga and the anime are produced concurrently. This is a common practice in Japanese media. The manga is written and produced, and the anime follows. When the anime eventually catches up to the manga, you get “filler episodes” that pad out the story enough for the manga to catch back up. This is often the reason why you’ll see the same flashback over and over in the One Piece anime. Some backstories are shown more than 100 times.

This is not to say that flashbacks are bad and shouldn’t be used. Quite the opposite. Oda uses flashbacks to remind viewers and readers of important scenes, providing new context for these moments. There are times when new flashbacks occur, adding context to the current scenes the characters find themselves in. However, this can get repetitive and, as I said in Tip 1, unnecessarily lengthen the story, especially if your flashback lasts for 100+ chapters over and over again.

For us, I’d recommend only showing the reader the backstory once. Then, as the story progresses, tell it as it moves forward. We give reasons to care and to understand why the characters care about the plot, but if we constantly return to the same flashback, the plot will never move forward. A quick line and reference can do the trick for the reader’s imagination without killing the pacing of your story.

Conversely, for villains, it’s the exact opposite. Building the sense of dread first by telling the heroes of this villain or alluding to the antagonist’s skills, we create weight behind the character. Then, if a flashback is needed, showing their fall from good to evil breaks our hearts for the villain, whom we suddenly understand. They’re not evil for evil’s sake; they’re a good person placed in an impossible position.

“Show, Don’t Tell” is a misnomer. It’s not an either-or; it’s a balance. As storytellers, we have to tell something. We can’t just show things. We’re not making a movie, and even then, a movie with all showing and no telling would be a boring experiment. Exposition is always needed, whether through hilariously placed dialogue or through worldbuilding flashbacks. Not everything needs to be shown. Showing builds your world. Show once, and tell the rest. There’s a balance that can be maintained throughout your story.

I used a flashback in Just Put the VHS in the Bag, Bro (coming June 25, 2026) to showcase a key plot point in how the ancient VHS tape came to Earth. Could I have told the story? Sure. Did I use it in a way that’s entertaining? Absolutely. Did I tell it again in hilarious ways afterward? You know what, I did.

And you can do that, too.

I believe in you.

With All My Heart,

Geoffrey Breedwell

This episode is fun, and honestly, I think it has one of the best openings. Maybe it’s just me. Maybe I’m trying too hard to be King of the Podcasters.

The show notes for this episode are rather light this week, so I’ll just include the link to buy a shirt.

You can buy a shirt and support the content you love here.

Love you!

An issue I have with my AuDHD isn’t the fact that it exists. It’s not the part that distracts me that ultimately leads to one task having 95 pre-tasks that must be completed beforehand. It’s not even the part where the normal places people go and enjoy send me into a tailspin. It’s the fact that I am constantly warring with myself. One part wants spontaneous action, while the other side wants consistent peace. There’s nothing wrong with either side, but both things are true at the same time, all the time. Honestly, some days can be too much.

Do you go through this, too? Maybe you have ADHD or just Autism. Sure, “just Autism” makes it sound like ADHD is somehow superior, but it’s not. They’re on the same field in the spectrum of neurodiversity. Maybe you have neither, and instead, you still find yourself in the neurodivergent apartment complex with such diagnosed conditions as DiGeorge Syndrome, Down Syndrome, Dyscalculia, Dysgraphia, Dyslexia, Dyspraxia, Bipolar disorder, OCD, Prader-Willi Syndrome, Anxiety, Depression, Tourettes, or Williams Syndrome. This is not an exhaustive list. Talk to your doctor to see if you’re Neurodivergent today. Maybe you’re one of the majority of people in the world, and you’re neurotypical. You don’t have neurodiversity, per se, but you are an individual who wants to figure out how to write the book you’ve been putting off for years. Regardless of why you’re here, you’re welcome, and I’ll show you how I hacked the executive function of my brain to complete a goal I had by the time I turned 40—writing a book.

My dad was one of the biggest influences on my creative life. During my formative years, he wasn’t around much. It wasn’t that he didn’t love us. He was busy putting on plays in Downtown Nashville, TN, during the 1990s. He wrote and produced many of the plays he did, and he starred in the plays he didn’t write or produce. He would pull us into that world when it suited him, mainly assigning us roles to play. My sister played a part in a production of Where’s B.B.W? with a group of young actors at Actor’s Playhouse, which was located above the Papa John’s on West End in Nashville. The cast was even featured on WSMV (the local NBC affiliate) on a Saturday morning.

As I said in the Behind the Scenes of Just Put the VHS in the Bag, Bro, one of the ways I connected with my father during this time was writing. I started doing this in fifth grade, and he would help (more like correct) my work. Every time we left the movies, we discussed the movie critically, focusing on the story beats. He taught me more in those conversations than in any class I took later in life. If it weren’t for these moments, then I wouldn’t have the basis or passion for story as I do now. I read as many books as I could and learned what he didn’t have time to teach, and the book that caught my imagination the most was by the screenwriter of one of my favorite movies in the 1990s—Blank Check (1994)—Blake Snyder and his book Save the Cat!: The Last Book on Screenwriting You’ll Ever Need. His website, Savethecat.com, holds many resources for the process I took literally. It was the last screenwriting book I bought.

The Trick

Alright, enough backstory. Let’s get into the process. Here’s how I played my brain like a guitar. This trick has a process, and with it, the good part comes at the end. However, I will tell you, this is essentially the opposite of “pantsing,” i.e., writing by the seat of your pants. This process is calculated and organized, and that’s completely on purpose. There are three easy steps.

STEP 1: Logline

The logline is the story’s elevator pitch in a single sentence or two. It’s the 50,000 ft view of the story. This is where you hook your reader, regardless of who it is.

Creating this part first instead of last saves you TONS of time. If there is a problem here, it’s easy to see. There are crucial plot points that must fit within a good logline, and honestly, publishers and producers alike run on loglines. Having this pitch early allows you to write your book to support that logline.

Let me show you an example.

Two high school losers from Hollywood, IN must save the world from aliens by finding an ancient VHS tape while evading a Mexican cartel.

That’s the logline I used for Just Put the VHS in the Bag, Bro. Another example:

Back to the Future: A young man is transported to the past, where he must reunite his parents before he and his future cease to exist.

While there aren’t any specific ways to write a logline, according to NFI (National Film Institute), limiting it to 50 words or so with the following parts aids in creating a hook so concise it becomes irresistible to the reader. If your logline is great, you can use it in marketing to help sell your book.

STEP 2: Outline

The outline, much like the outline for the academic papers we all had to write since the third grade, is the skeleton of your story. If the logline is the hook, the outline is the fishing line and bait.

Blake Snyder created a “beat sheet” to organize the story’s structure after noticing the same structure used for many stories. Beat sheets are outlines at their most basic. It plots your story based on the structure’s beats, allowing a book/play/screenplay/teleplay to tell the story in a way that leaves the reader satisfied at the end. While different genres have slightly different beats due to their rules, they follow the same basic structure as every story ever told. No matter whose outline you’re following, it all tells the same structure used since the Enuma Elish and The Odyssey.

If you’ve never used a beat sheet or outline for your writing, I highly suggest it. It is the essential action for the trick for the executive function of my AuDHD brain. I cannot write without it. Blake Snyder explains the genres and even gives a blank beat sheet on his website here.

For this second crucial step, I expand the logline to create the acts and fill them in from there. I write the basic parts of the story during this step. It’s not the 50,000 ft view from earlier; this is more like the 25,000 ft view. We can see bits and pieces of the story, but this outline is entirely internal. Once this is done, and only once this is done, I can move on.

STEP 3: Research/World Building

You cannot write what you don’t know. Well, I mean, you can, I guess. I went over this in a previous blog about Accuracy vs. Substance. Research is key after you write your outline, only because it gives you things to look up. It gives you moments to experience and knowledge to gain. Your outline then becomes a shopping list of what to know to the best of your ability to describe the things accurately.

For fantasy and sci-fi writers, this can also count as world-building. Your outline gives you what in the world needs to be built. What do the dragons look like? What are the moments where magic exists? How is that magic structured? What limitations does this world have? These questions are essential to answer before you start writing. I place these in a notepad document for quick access.

Now, I do need to clarify something. What you’re writing in this step CAN be changed. This is your story, after all. You are the authority on things you write, given you’ve done the research and world-building. If things seem better later, however, you are free to change it. It’s your world, your story, and your story is more important than anything at all ever.

The Play

After you’ve set up everything, including any file folders or whatnot for your organizational areas, you’re finally ready to write your first draft. This is the hardest portion for people. The majority of people who start a project never finish this step, but you’re not one of them, and I’ll show you how.

There are different ways to write, and it’s all based on what the author prefers. If you prefer to write in Microsoft Word, do it. If you prefer Scrivener, do that. If you prefer to write this draft longhand, then by all means, go for it. Personally, I use Microsoft Word. For screenplays, I use Final Draft. For longhand, I use a pen in a lined notebook. I’ve used each one of these ways, except Scrivener, over the years, and I know what works for me. Use what works best for you.

But here’s the trick: your outline becomes your to-do list.

You’ve done the majority of the work already in those “pre-production” steps, and now is the fun part. It’s creating the world and writing dialogue. It’s writing the scene. It’s writing the first draft, and with your outline by your side, you can highlight the portions you’ve completed. This turns your outline into a to-do list that MUST be completed.

If you’re anything like me, my AuDHD makes me finish to-do lists. If something is on my calendar, it happens. If it’s on a task list for me to complete, I’m doing it, come hell or high water. This is why highlighting the outline works for me. Not only do I know where I am when I come back, but my brain wants to see the rest of the outline completed. Seeing it done burns in me until it’s done. Sometimes, I become obsessed, where I’m staying up late in my home office writing into the wee hours.

The Reward

After you finish each act, take a moment to relish in the small victory. Reward yourself. Have some chocolate. Go to dinner with family or a loved one. Go play a video game. Do whatever you need to do to blow off steam. You completed an act. The fun part, you’ll do this a handful of times before you’re all done with the book.

Once you’re done with the book, give yourself a bigger reward. You earned it! You wrote a book. That’s something many people don’t get to, but guess what, when you get to this point, you did. Take a break. Buy something for yourself, if you can. Go to a bigger dinner. Do something that’s big for you because you accomplished something monumental. Relish in the moment of finishing the book and leave the “post production” stuff—editing, querying, publishing, and marketing—for later. Right now, you have earned a moment to celebrate yourself.

For me, the reward part of the stage is what keeps me focused. For my dopamine-starved brain, I get it when I write, but it’s exponentially increased when I finish the book. Each book I wrote, I did something different.

Towards the end of my 38th year, I created a goal for myself. I wanted to do something that my dad never did. He never had a book published. He never had a screenplay bought, but he did have his plays produced. I’ve had screenplays produced. I’ve sold screenplays, and with my new goal, I wanted to do it before I turned 40. That gave me a year and a half to do it, and instead of one, I wrote three books between 2024 and 2025.

Each time, I used the process above.

The first book I wrote—The Survivors of 907 Mallory (unpublished, currently awaiting YA-MG adaptation)—was a rewrite of an old screenplay. When I was finished with this book, I paid to have it published at a local print shop. Ironically, it was still in double-spaced Times New Roman, so it was in the area of 300+ pages. Still, it was finished. I had written a book.

The second book—Just Put the VHS in the Bag, Bro (coming June 25, 2026)—was a complete restart of an older screenplay. I called it a “Page One Rewrite.” I tore everything away and recreated it. I wrote it with a good friend at work, reading it as I went along as an “alpha reader.” He loved every bit. I finished it on New Year’s Eve 2024.

The third book—And the NEW (unpublished, query stage)—I wrote in seven months. This was the first newer story I’d written since redoing some of my old screenplays. This story threw me into professional wrestling, and yes, my good friend read it along with my writing. He loved every word. The story made this friend, a full-adult man, cry. I finished this story in July 2025.

As my 40th birthday neared, my wife got an idea of what to get me, and honestly, it fit perfectly.

She got the only thing that could fit the absolute manhandling I put the goal I set for myself through. I set out to write one book, but I ended up writing three. I was the champion of this unattainable goal. I tricked my AuDHD into getting here, and as I continue to push forward on every page, my process will stay the same. Like all the great champions of professional wrestling, I’m going to continue to “fight,” that is to say, “write.”

If I don’t continue to write and put out books or content, then I am giving consent to someone wanting to meet with me, my belt, then that someone hitting me with a chair, getting a referee, and pinning me.

(That’s a joke. Please don’t do that.)

That’s how I wrote three books, tricking my AuDHD into doing it, and by telling you all this, I hope I’ve inspired you. I’d love to hear the logline for your work-in-progress in the comments below. The best one gets a free paid subscription to my Substack. I cannot wait to see what you come up with.

With All My Heart,

Geoffrey Breedwell

This episode is filled with tips and tricks to finish the book you’re working on. Below are all the resources I talked about today. I’m all for sharing the knowledge. There’s also a contest going on.

I want to read your BEST LOGLINE. Comment your best logline on the blog, the show notes, or even in the YouTube comments. The best one will receive a FREE PAID SUBSCRIPTION to my Substack!

Resources:

https://www.nfi.edu/logline/

https://savethecat.com/get-started

Buy a Shirt here.

TRIGGER WARNING: SUICIDE AND MENTAL HEALTH ISSUES. READER DISCRETION IS ADVISED.

This episode is heartbreaking. I’m sorry (but not sorry) for the rant there at the end. Consider this your warning for an emotional workout.

To find your senators/representatives quickly, go here.

To buy a shirt, go here.

For more reading:

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30339237/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Central_State_Hospital_(Indiana)

https://indyencyclopedia.org/central-state-hospital/

https://indyencyclopedia.org/george-f-edenharter/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NeuroDiagnostic_Institute

https://www.in.gov/history/state-historical-markers/find-a-marker/find-historical-markers-by-county/indiana-historical-markers-by-county/central-state-hospital/

https://indyencyclopedia.org/william-baldwin-fletcher/

https://iyi.org/resources/latest-data-on-the-well-being-of-children/

https://iga.in.gov/publications/agency_report/2024%20-%20Indiana%20Behavioral%20Health%20Commission%20Final%20Report.pdf

https://www.oecd.org/en/publications/health-at-a-glance-2025_8f9e3f98-en.html

https://www.tac.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/TAC_ORPA_ResearchSummary1.24.pdf

https://www.in.gov/dcs/files/4.28-v10.pdf

https://www.namiindiana.org/cmhi

https://www.in.gov/medicaid/members/home-and-community-based-services/child-mental-health-wraparound-program/

https://indyencyclopedia.org/indiana-medical-history-museum/