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thisaintascenereviews · 17 days ago

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Third Quarter Check-In (with @jakeh2987)

Depending on where you’re at in the world, especially the United States, it’s finally fall. I live in the southern half of the country, and while it’s relatively chilly today as I write this, the temperature is supposed to go back up to the mid-70s, so it won’t necessarily feel like fall for awhile. I don’t terribly mind it, however, because I’m not too fond of the cold anymore, despite living it in for the first 26 years of my life. Nonetheless, there is something about the leaves changing color, a slight breeze in the air, all the while wearing a hoodie in the morning and a t-shirt during the afternoon. I do quite enjoy the fall, because it’s not too hot and not too cold at the same time, and I love spooky season, but I’ll be doing something separate for that, so keep a lookout for that piece in the near future. It’s gonna be a spooky old time, I promise.

In the meantime, however, it’s time to fanboy about random stuff again! Every few months, my buddy Jake and I have been getting together and talking about what we’ve been into for the last couple months, whether it comes to new releases of all kinds of media, or releases new to us, because you don’t always need to sink your teeth into new material. A lot of music fans, music YouTubers, and publications seem to place a lot of emphasis on listening to new stuff, but there’s no pressure. As much as I love new music, movies, and games, I also enjoy diving into stuff from yesteryear. So Jake, now that the summer has come to a close, and we’re moving into fall, let me start off this piece by simply asking you, how have been the last few months?

Honestly, the end of summer going into the fall season has been a bit of a whirlwind for me, especially mentally. I'm not quite sure if it's general burnout, or just one of those times where you're feeling a little down and out, but I feel like I haven't quite been able to take everything in and enjoy the summer as much as I would have liked to. That being said, the start of fall has been off to a better start for the most part and has been a nice reset of sorts, so I'm hoping I can carry that as we get further into the rest of the season and the year as a whole.

Now, as always, one thing that's comforted me through this rough patch has been the various forms of media that we love, whether it be music, movies, TV, games, and so on. I always love doing these things with you because it's a great opportunity to reflect on what particularly grabbed us and has been helping us through something or has been that really exciting thing we can't get enough of. I think to start off, I'll turn it back over to you, what have you been watching/playing/reading lately?

I’m sorry to hear that, man, but seasonal depression seems to be hitting people hard right now, so I can understand that. We’ve all had periods like that, where we just feel burned out in general. I’m glad to hear that the fall is doing you some good, though, and I’m happy that the weather is getting a bit chillier and mellower, versus being 90 degrees. Media, regardless of the type, has always comforted me, too, especially when we get together and do something like this. We can talk about what we’ve been into for the last few months, regardless of what it is, and what medium it’s on.

I’ve been into a lot of stuff, surprisingly, and I’m really excited this time around, because I got some stuff to talk about other than music, mainly some TV shows, movies, and video games. I still got some music to talk about, but only a few new releases, instead it’s a handful of stuff that’s either been new to me or that I’ve been revisiting. I think I’ll start with the new releases, because I only have a few of those, and I really wanted to highlight other stuff this time around. Not too much has come out the last couple of months that I’ve been extremely head over heels for, but the new Fame On Fire, Rain City Drive, The Black Dahlia Murder, and the debut album from a retro-leaning rock band called Brigitte Calls Me Baby have all been new albums that I’ve loved since our last check-in piece. What about you? What kinds of new stuff have you been into?

That new Rain City Drive album is really damn good, huh? That's one I've also been really into; it's one of those albums that kinda sneaks up on you for how good it is and how often you'll be revisiting it. But besides that, I wanna give a shout to the new Trash Boat album, Heaven Can Wait. Trash Boat is a band I've always liked and thought they were solid enough, but this album is the one that really won me over. They went for a grungy meets Deftones sound on this one, and I think it's really cool. Fever 333's new album, Darker White, is another super fun one, while also being very in your face and blunt about what it's trying to say, but in a very good way. And Void of Vision's new one, which you actually recommended to me, has been one I came back to quite a bit. Just really solid metalcore/Octanecore all around.

Oh, yeah, Things Are Different Now is a great album, despite its title being a misnomer, because it’s nothing different at all, ironically enough. It’s still a really solid album, easily the best thing they’ve done, because they honed their sound to be as refined as it can get. I’ve heard of Trash Boat, though, but that may persuade me to check it out! That sounds real interesting, honestly. The new Fever 333 album is really good, too; I wouldn’t say it’s one of my favorite albums of the year, but it’s a huge step up from their last album, although that was five years ago (not counting their last EP from 2022). Void Of Vision’s latest is great, too, and that’s also a big step from their last couple of albums, so I’m happy to recommend you that one! A lot of really good Octanecore has come out, huh? Still on the subject of music, though, what are some older bands / albums you’ve been into lately, or stuff that’s just new to you?

So, there have been two big deep dives I've been undertaking over the last couple months, so I wanted to mainly highlight those! First, Linkin Park really needs no introduction at this point, but after vocalist Chester Bennington tragically passed away in 2017, nobody was quite sure what the future held for the band. Fast-forward to last month, and we finally got that answer in the form of a new vocalist, a massive new tour, and a new album, From Zero, coming out in November. I've been enjoying the two new songs they've put out so far with new vocalist Emily Armstrong (who's from a band called Dead Sara, a pretty solid band, from the bits I've checked out), and I've been having so much fun watching all the footage from the live shows, hearing all these old songs again after a long while. Anyway, this prompted me to revisit Linkin Park's discograhy, more specifically their 2010s work, from A Thousand Suns to their final album with Bennington, One More Light, to see if I would feel differently about any of it now, years removed from their releases and Chester's passing. I have a more in-depth piece on this in the works that I hope to have out by the time From Zero comes out, but for now, I'll just say that it's been a really fascinating journey through these later albums. I'm not a fan of all of it, and in fact I'm still pretty bummed that One More Light was the last thing Chester did with them because I wish I liked it way more than I do, but I reaally do admire them for not ridiing on the cotails of their early 2000s sound and never really making the same album twice. I'm ultimately just happy to have them back, and I can't wait to see how this new era shakes out.

The other main thing I've been getting really into started from randomly scrolling on TikTok, as one does. I came across this account called Emo Social Club that's a podcast about, you guessed it, emo music and the whole subculture/community that surrounds it. The videos I kept getting recommended were the hosts reviewing albums that were going to be played in full at this year's When We Were Young festival (which I believe is happening this weekend as of writing this). I noticed a lot of the albums they were talking about were ones I hadn't heard yet, so I thought it would be fun to check out all of the ones that are new to me! I've gone through quite a few of them so far, and I found some really great albums I'm kinda kicking myself for not listening to sooner. A couple of highlights are Tonight Alive's The Other Side from 2013, which was a really cool pop-punk/pop-rock album that had moments where they kinda do the "heavy pop" thing before it was really a thing thanks to bands like Issues and The Home Team. I also really ended up enjoying The Used's In Love and Death; that album is pure 2000s post-hardcore/emo nostalgia, yet it doesn't feel all that dated or cringy like some of that stuff can feel by today's standards. One of the <most interesting albums of the bunch so far was The Forecast's In The Shadow of Two Gunmen. Think midwest emo with a sprinkle of southern rock and dual vocalists, and you have that album. I dug the hell out of this, and I had literally never heard of this band before. Emery's debut album, The Weak's End, might be my favorite of what I've checked out so far, though. It's the mix of that classic post-hardcore sound with a realy soulful clean vcoalist that hits me, and I'm excited to dive into their other albums at some point.

Turning it back to you, what are some things that you've been getting into that aren't necessarily new releases, but might be new to you?

You know, it’s cool to see Linkin Park after all these years, because they’ve just needed the right vocalist to keep them going, as well as come back at the right time. I’m curious for their new album, but all eyes (and ears) are sure to be on them when it does come out. As for When We Were Young, that’s a really cool rabbit hole to go down, because there are tons of albums in that vein, some of those I’ve never heard. I’ve had a few deep dives within the last couple months, and I’ve written some in-depth pieces on a few of these, but when we did our piece on Yellowcard’s Southern Air, I got into a bunch of 2010s pop-punk albums, including stuff from All Time Low, Broadside, and a bunch more stuff, so that was a fun journey revisiting a lot of that stuff and seeing if it holds up all these years later.

Shortly after that, I got into Green Day a bit for some reason; I listened to Dookie and American Idiot, just to see how I feel about those albums all these years later, but I also got into some of Billie Joe Armstrong’s side projects and I realized that I really like him as an artist, just not necessarily with Green Day, which is weird to say, but I really enjoyed his side projects. This wasn’t much of a deep dive, but I spent a few weeks also listening to the Hamilton soundtrack a lot, and I forgot how much I really enjoyed that soundtrack a lot. I read a bit of the Alexander Hamilton biography that inspired it, too, and it was really fascinating stuff. I never ended up writing about the soundtrack, but that’s something I’d like to do in the near future.

The final deep dive I’ve been taking is the one I’m currently in, where I’ve become enamored with jazz and traditional pop music from the 1940s and 1950s. I’ve also been listening to a few Halloween albums from the 1960s, and that inspired me to get into some artists and albums from around the same time again. I’ve been getting into jazz for the past few years, as well as music that you’d hear in the Fallout games, and despite being 70 years old and over, a lot of this music is very timeless. I’m specifically getting into a bunch of Frank Sinatra, whom I’ve always been a huge fan of, but really have been taking the plunge into his body of work the last few years. I just really love that 1940s and 1950s crooner sound that him and Dean Martin pioneered back in those days.

Enough about that, though, because let’s talk about some other media that we’ve been into, like TV shows and movies, for instance. What kinds of stuff have you been watching lately?

Because I've been having a bit of a down time the last couple months, I've been in the mood for a lot more lighter stuff for the most part. I've been slowly making my way through a rewatch of Community, a show I believe you introduced me to way back when we first met, and I forgot how great even that first season is basically right out the gate. It's been years since I've watched it all the way through, but with the buzz of the long-awaited movie finally gaining traction, it felt like a good time to revisit this. I also made it to the final season of Gotham that I've been watching with a couple friends of mine for over a year now, and that show continues to be a fun ride.It's got this nice blend of being a cop drama but also knowing when to lean into the campy nonsense that comes with some of Batman's villains, so it hits just what I'm looking for, a little more dramatic than a straight comedy, but not too heavy. That being said, I haven't been watching a ton of new stuff, either stuff that's just been released or new to me, and it's been nice to kind of hang back and revisit some old favorites or continue a show I've beeen enjoying a lot, in the case of Gotham. With Halloween season in full swing, though, I do plan on checking out some horror movies and possibly checking out some horror-adjacent shows, like maybe revisiting some particularly creepy episodes of Criminal Minds or starting a show like Fringe or The X-Files. Netflix also just added the 2018 Halloween, so that's one on my list for sure.

But what about you? Anything in particular that you've been watching that's really got its hooks in you?

Community is such a great show! I don’t think I told you, but I rewatched it a couple of years ago myself, and I also finished the rest that I never saw, especially that sixth season on Yahoo. While it wasn’t great, it wasn’t half bad, actually, so I’m excited for a movie. Speaking of Batman, I did watch the new Batman animated show on Prime Video when that dropped in August, and that was a real fun ride, especially if you love the 90s animated series. I haven’t watched a lot, either, but I’ve mainly been into two shows — That 90s Show, which unfortunately got canceled a couple of weeks ago, and Agatha All Along.

The former is a 90s-set sequel of That 70s Show, which is my favorite sitcom of all time, so I’ve been looking forward to it, and it’s a ton of fun. It’s very lighthearted, but it’s also got some bigger themes every now and again, at least without being heavy handed or preachy. The latter, however, is the newest MCU show that picks up where WandaVision left off a few years ago. As of writing this, there are two episodes left, but it’s been a fun and spooky ride. It’s more or less on the campier side of Halloween, which I really like, but it’s an interesting show about the more supernatural side of the MCU, right up there with Doctor Strange and stuff like that.

I haven’t watched a lot of movies lately, though, except for one — Terrifier 3. My wife and I just saw it this past weekend, and this movie has been the talk of the town for the past week, whether it’s for its gruesome and gratuitous violence, or for how well it’s doing as an independent horror movie. I’ve seen the other two as well, and I’m pretty mixed on them, although I’ve also come to look at those movies for what they are — purposely low budget and heavily reliant on practical effects that look like they’re straight out of the 1980s with a fun and terrifying (pun intended) killer that’s become a new horror icon over the last couple of years. They’re not for everyone, especially not for the faint of heart, but they’re impressive, at least. I’m more so mixed on the story, the characters, and its lore, but again, I can look at the movies for what they are, so those things are all secondary to what people really want to see. This new one takes place during Christmastime, and it doesn’t have a lot to do with Christmas, but it’s still a lot of fun (despite some of it does go a little too far with the level of violence it depicts).

I've been hearing a lot about Terrifier recently with the new movie coming out, and I'd like to at least check out the first one for myself ot finally see what the hype is all about, so maybe that's another one to add to the list!

I think the biggest thing for me over the last couple months has been games, though. For starters, after 197 hours, I finally finished Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth, and that was a really emotional and wild journey with a mindfuck of an ending. The wait for the third and final part of this remake trilogy is gonna be excruciating, but I'm feeling confident that they'll stick the landing. After that, though, I wanna give a particular shoutout to The Plucky Squire, the debut game from a team headed up by former designers on the Pokemon series. It's got this really cool storybook aesthetic and is very inspired by classic 2D adventure games like Zelda, but the neat twist is that you get, well, plucked out of the storybook and into the 3D world, and it's revealed that you're characters in a storybook, in a very meta way. It's one of my favorite games this year easily, and I'm not even finished with it yet. I did also finish The Evil Within 2 just a few days ago, and that was a wild survival horror experience perfect for this time of year. And currently, I'm bouncing between a couple things, mainly my first playthrough of Mass Effect 2 (which I'm enjoying a lot so far) and my replay of Alan Wake 2, my favorite game of last year, to get ready for the DLC that's dropping next week. So all in all, I've been having a great time with games recently, but how about you?

The new Terrifier movie has been the talk of the movie world right now, especially considering the other clown movie that came out didn’t do too hot. I was gonna see that, but after hearing the negative backlash it got, I’m gonna wait until it hits Max to give it a watch. I’d check out the first two Terrifier movies, though, but the second one is where the story really starts (although the first one still is kind of important, for reasons I won’t spoil). I also forgot to mention one other thing I’ve been watching, and that’s the drag competition show Dragula. I’ve loved that show for years now, especially because it’s a spookier alternative to something like Drag Race, but it’s also horror-themed, so it usually comes out around this time each year.

As for video games, it hasn’t been the thing I’ve been most sinking my teeth into the last few months, but I’ve played a couple of games for the last couple months, nonetheless, and I wanted to talk about them, because I really took my time with them and spent a lot of time with them. Those two games are Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus, and Jedi Survivor. The former has just been on my radar for the longest time after playing the first one in the rebooted franchise, and that was a fun time, especially being able to unleash hell on a bunch of Nazis. The story was fun, and poignant, but nothing beats plowing through Nazis like they’re mince meat.

Jedi Survivor, though, is what I was real excited about, especially after seeing that it was coming to the PlayStation 4, as it’s been a PS5 exclusive for the past year. I love the first one, even if the combat was a bit lacking in spots, and the game didn’t always tell you where to go, so a lot of its puzzles were really confusing. I felt the same way here, but the story is absolutely wonderful, heart wrenching, and genuinely surprising, but the combat is better and more varied this time, as well as being able to customize Cal Kestis is really cool. The game does feel slightly bloated, because after one of the main villain was defeated, I was wondering where we went next, but they cleverly had another villain that didn’t need to really be a villain, but I guess it sort of sets up the next game. Even then, I like that we only explore a few planets, versus quite a lot in the first game, so you get to spend more time in these few places and familiarize yourself there, versus having to adapt to a new place every little while. The game also looks utterly gorgeous throughout; the levels and worlds are massive, and everything just feels so huge and larger than life.

Oh man, I loved both of those games! I haven't played all of The New Colossus, but you nailed it, the feeling of running into a room and just wrecking an entire horde of Nazis is so satisfying, especially when you really get a groove for the flow of combat and unlock some of the stronger weapons and abilitites. And Jedi: Survivor was one of my other favorite games of last year; Cameron Monoghan is really great as Cal Kestis, and with the devs recently announcing that there's gonna be one final game in this series, I'm so excited to see where Cal's journey goes, because this one has some interesting setups for where it could potentially end up.

There is another game I forgot to mention earlier, but I wanted to give it a quick shoutout at least, and that's Resident Evil 6. I've been playing the co-op Resident Evil games with a friend of mine for the last few months, and it's been a great time. RE6 is far from my favorite game in the series, but this is the one where they kinda just saiid "fuck it" and went full-on silly action movie, and it's so ridiculous that you can't help but have a good laugh at it, and it's infinitely more enjoyable with a friend. Having Leon Kennedy do backflips and roundhouse kicking zombies while dual-wielding pistols just never gets old.

The ending of The New Colossus is so satisfying, although I will say that the next game in the series, Youngblood, is kind of a disappointment, despite having some cool ideas. I’ve played some of it, and I kind of like what they’re going for, but at the same time, it just doesn’t hit the same. I’m really excited for the final game in Cal’s journey, especially with how Survivor ended, there’s a lot they can explore. You know, I’ve only played part or Resident Evil 7, where it goes back to its survival horror roots, and I’ve always wanted to dive into those games, but I’ve never been good at survival horror games, although what I played was really cool.

Before we close out this piece, I had an idea to add one final “section,” so to speak, and I wanted to highlight some wild card pieces of media. Are there any podcasts, YouTubers, streamers, or anything like that you’ve been enjoying. Not even just recently, but throughout this whole year. I usually listen to a lot of podcasts and watch a handful of creators, so I was wondering who some of yours have been this year.

Ooh, this is a fun new addition, and I can absolutely highlight a few! First, YouTube channel Internet Today has been in heavy rotation leading up to the election and the surrounding shitshow. I've followed Ricky and Elliot for years across their various shows and channels, and while I haven't watched quite as regularly the last couple years, I came back around pretty hard this year. If you're looking for a news show on YouTube that isn't full of the same tired, corporate nonsense, Internet Today is always funny, always very blunt in calling out bullshit, and always just super entertaining (their Weekly Weird News show is a particular highlight for me). Next, I wanna highlight my favorite gaming podcast/YouTube channel, MinnMax. MinnMax was started by former Game Informer members (RIP GI, they were sadly completely shut down earlier this year by GameStop) after a round of layoffs, and I've been a big fan since. Their flagship show is the weekly podcast, where they cover what's happening in the industry, review games, your farily typical thing for a games podcast. But, they have two other big things that I think really sets them apart for me. The first is a show called New Show Plus, which is where random ideas for new shows are thrown out and voted on by Patreon supporters every week. These shows can range from simple multiplayer sessions with the hosts or veer into the most absurd thing that has very little to do with games at all. A one-off idea also has a shot to become an ongoing series if the community keeps voting for it. One fun series this year that ended up lasting a few weeks was two of the hosts going to a local bar and playing oversized versions of games like chess, Jenga, and scrabble. It's a super fun concept, and you never really know what you're gonna get every week. The other big one is called The Deepest Dive, which MinnMax founder Ben Hanson always introduces as "the best, most thorough discussions about games on the internet." Honestly, I'm hard-pressed to disagree! Think of it like a book club, but for games, where a panel of hosts and the community will play a game in chunks, and then there will be multiple deep dive videos covering those chunks where the community also asks questions and talks about their favorite moments. They did a Deepest Dive on Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth this year that ended up totaling a little over 18 hours across five videos. You have an infinite number of spoiler podcasts or deep dive lore videos all over the internet, but I don't think anyone else is having this level of discussion about games quite like this, and the community involvement makes it even better. Finally, I'm a part of so many wonderful communities on Twitch, and have been since 2020 at the height of the pandemic. It's kind of hard to highlight one or even a small handful, so I'm gonna drop some links for a bunch of creators I'm friends with and creators I greatly admire, and you won't be steered wrong by hopping into any of these streams. A recurring theme you'll find in all these places is being fiercly anti-gatekeeping and being loud and passionable about what you love, while also weeding out anyone who tries to disrupt that.

twitch.tv/sagemalloww

twitch.tv/ashiirosee

twitch.tv/lifewithkendal

twitch.tv/kaiielle

twitch.tv/jesscapricorn

twitch.tv/ohlindsey

twitch.tv/clairecurrently

twitch.tv/littleoneyouare

twitch.tv/smoisnow

twitch.tv/alaselizabeth

twitch.tv/marshmllodragon

twitch.tv/quantumbat

twitch.tv/amarisskye

twitch.tv/elliejoypanic

I'm so curious to hear about what creators or podcasts you've been into throughout the year, so fire away!

Oh man, Internet Today is a name I haven’t heard in years, but I used to watch them back about a decade ago! I used to watch them a lot, especially the Weekly Weird News episodes, but I stopped keeping up with after awhile. I think it was because of something I still regularly struggle with — there’s just too much to keep up with, whether it’s music, movies, TV, podcasts, or YouTubers. It’s just way too much, kinda because we have access to everything at our fingertips these days. I do have fond memories of watching them, though, but it’s cool to hear they’re still going! That other podcast / video network sounds really cool, though, especially when creators can offer something new. It’s so easy to make podcasts, stream, or make YouTube videos, because the bar to accessibility is so low, anyone can do it. That doesn’t mean just anyone should, though, so it’s cool to hear there’s something unique out there.

As for myself, I’ve been into a fair bit of both podcasts and YouTubers / video creators, but I’ll highlight a few here, first with some podcasts then some video creators. There are two podcasts I found within the last year that I’ve been a huge fan of: Too Much Information and Kermitment, both of which are pretty niche but a whole lot of fun. The former is basically a trivia podcast, where both hosts will dive into a certain piece of media and talk about every little tidbit of it. The hosts are both really entertaining, as well as both knowledgeable with a lot of pop culture, both having written for People Magazine, and various other music and media publications. They also talk a lot of different stuff, including different kinds of movies, TV shows, and music, versus one or two styles of each. The latter, however, is very niche and specific. Kermitment is a Muppets podcast where each episode is dedicated to a certain Muppets or Muppets-adjacent project, and it’s all in order. The podcast started a few years ago, but in the last few years, they’ve covered about 30 years worth of stuff, so they’re in the late 80s right now, right around at the dark times for the Muppets before Jim Henson passed. Funny thing is, too, this podcast was started by one of the hosts of Sci-Show Tangents (another podcast I like with Hank Green), and another employee of that company, who works on the YouTube channel. The hosts of Dragula, a show I talked about earlier, also have a podcast that they mainly utilize on the off season (but they use the podcast during each season to be a BTS look inside each episode), where they talk about horror of all kinds.

As for YouTubers, I wanted to highlight a few of those as well! Firstly, I wanted to highlight a channel that is pretty well known, but has had a “renaissance” in the last few years, if you will — Smosh. Known for sketch comedy in the early 00s, they’ve had a few eras over the years, and for the last handful of years, they’ve been in a weird spot, especially with new cast members and without founding member Anthony Padilla. Anthony ended up returning a little over a year ago, and even before then, they were riding high with a new found passion and creativity that I’ve been really loving. They got some new cast members, too, and they’re essentially a YouTube SNL now, only they don’t a lot of skits, but they all interact and have a lot of funny moments together. They’re just a fun lighthearted channel that’s gotten me through the last few years. A few other YouTubers I’ve been into for awhile now have been FunkyFrogbait, who are one of the new “commentary YouTubers” that aren’t a straight white guy, and Kaz Rowe, who talks about weird, niche, scandalous things throughout history. There are a handful more, too, but I wanted to specifically highlight a couple of my favorites that I’ve found recently. Same with podcasts, too, because there are a lot, but I wanted to talk about a specific few of them.

Oh man, it's so cool to hear that Smosh is still around and putting out quality stuff! I do remember hearing about Anthony coming back after some time away, but I haven't really kept up with them since, so maybe I should change that! That Muppets podcast also sounds super cool, especially going through the entire history, even stuff more casual fans like myself might not know about. Making a note to check that out as well.

Before we close this out, is there anything in particular you're looking forward to for the rest of this year? For me, it's gonna be the new State Champs album. They're one of my favorite bands in general and in pop-punk, and while they might have a generally consistent sound, they do it so well that you don't mind. I'm also really excited about the new Life Is Strange game, Double Exposure. The main protagonist from the original game, Max Caulfield, is back for this game, and I'm interested in seeing how her story evolves from that original game and how they weave in your choices from that.

Smosh is actually really good now, and they’re at their creative peak, especially having a large cast with a lot more personalities and diverse ideas and backgrounds, but they’re clearly having a lot of fun these days. Kermitment is seriously one of my favorite podcasts lately, because of how deep they go into the Muppets history. They talked a lot about obscure stuff from before The Muppet Show, including a lot of stuff I’ve never heard of, so it’s a really cool history lesson into Jim Henson and all of his work.

Anyhow, I can’t say I’m really looking forward to anything in particular, but I know there are things coming out that I’m excited about, for sure. I wish I had a PS5, because I’d love to play the new Life Is Strange. I’ve played a few others, and they’re a ton of fun, but I hate that a lot of new games are PS5 exclusive. I’m sure that the next couple weeks will have a lot, but it’ll be nice when things slow down, so we can enjoy a lot of what we loved this year, or catch up on stuff we missed. I also can’t wait to listen to some Christmas music, too. As I write this, Dan + Shay just dropped a new Christmas album, and it’s actually pretty good.

That is one good thing about this time of year, for sure, being able to take a step back and kinda chill out and catch up on stuff we may have missed, especially as year-end list season comes around. Which, you bet I'm down to get back together for the big year-end piece again! Last year was a blast, and I can't wait to do it again.

Ooh, we get to do this in another couple months, and I’m looking forward to it, because we can reflect on the whole year, and it’s gonna be a blast. Thanks again for jumping aboard to do this with me, Jake, you know I always appreciate it!

Thanks for having me on board again! These are always so fun to do, and I can't wait to see what the last bit of the year has in store.

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puella-1n-somn10 · 1 year ago

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🕊️Puella Magi Madoka Magica x Team Fortress 2: Medic and his Witch Form🕊️

word count w/o intro text: 10,651

(Over...two...months...of writing; thank FUCK I've managed to get this all down right on time for Halloween!)

This has been a long time consideration, and, according to one of my last few polls, ya'll really wanted to see how I would interpret Medic's witch form! Well, after a long-time wait, here's the rundown of how Medic's witch would look like in my mind!

Before we start, I highly recommend that you look at the list of trigger warnings present in the tags; the Team Fortress 2 universe, both in-game and outside of it, is no stranger to gruesome elements, so I strongly urge you to take a long look at them before proceeding. If any of the mentioned makes you uncomfortable in whatever form, look away now for the sake of your own health.

As expected, spoilers for Madoka Magica, Kazumi Magica, Tart Magica, Magia Record (especially the anime), and the Team Fortress 2 comics ahead! We are going to talk about one of the many stingers of the Puella Magi universe, after all! On top of that, there will be mentions of Heavy x Medic x Engineer, so if the ship doesn't sit right with you, I must sincerely apologize in advance; it is recommended to click away from this post if said ship is not your cup of tea at all.

With all that being said, let us begin with this mess of an analysis/ficlet post!

-The Wish, Possible Powers, and Soul Gem-

"Oh ho hoh! I have been in zhe wrong profession. I must learn zhis magic!"

Let's be blunt here for a second- he's already laid waste to whatever concept of "morals" present within the human consciousness that would prevent him from furthering his medical and experimental endeavors, and he's done so much without the use of an incubator's powers; from granting his teammates invincibility to bringing them back from the clutches of death. Ludwig's immoral, sickened mind, coupled with his medical skills and treatment of the human body as an art canvas, has allowed him to play God.

On the other hand, though he did align himself with the opposing Classic team for some time within the comics, he explained to the newly-resurrected Sniper that it was purely for financial reasons, and that he never harbored any ill-will towards his teammates. In fact, it would be safe for us to assume that he, in his mind, genuinely cares for his team, and made it one of his missions to turn them into unstoppable killing machines- into gods. He cherishes his fellow mercenaries...albeit in his own twisted, inhumane, and silly way.

Building upon the above, it is also clear that Ludwig is a responsible pet owner and genuinely cares for his doves, especially Archimedes. Yes, he does resort to using animal organs - especially the exotic kind - when fit in order to further his experiments and enhance his teammates' performances, but the contrast between that and his care for the birds is kind of a testament to how he treat other humans - especially the classic team - vs. how he treats the mercs and others close to him. For goodness' sake, he's put Classic Heavy's demands on a back burner and allowed Sniper to escape while he was too busy reviving Archimedes! Ludwig does have a heart and the capacity to care, but not much in terms of morals, if at all.

Wow, he would definitely get along with Alina Gray, huh?

So, right off the bat, it wouldn't be farfetched for Medic to be curious over Kyubey's wish-granting skills; he did make a deal with the Devil himself on two separate occasions within the official Team Fortress 2 comics (though the initial deal's conditions is still unknown to us), after all. How he came to figuring out the existence of the incubators is anyone's guess at this point due to his unpredictable nature, but, in my opinion, it can range from old folklore surrounding the species or simply finding out that one of the mercs had already contracted (my personal bets are either Heavy or Solly). I recommend going off the walls with this one; for all we know, he could have managed to detect spikes in magical activity around the base/island and forced himself into the world of Magi, Witches, and wishes- all the while a certain little bipedal fiend began to showcase an equal amount of interest in him for reasons we are going to dive into soon.

On to the main topic of his wish, it's quite simple, really; it would be related to his hunger for power/knowledge and furthering his research/scientific endeavors; promptly dissipating whatever is limiting his experimental pursuits (maybe even financial, as presented to us in the comics).

Another possible wish that he could have made might be rooted to the bonds he had formed with the mercenaries and the surprisingly deep respect he had shown to each one them on numerous occasions. Such fascination towards his teammates is even presented to us within the beta version of Meet the Medic, where he made his goal of enhancing them and turning them into beings akin to the divine as clear as daylight. I won't deny the fact that this man just keep on finding out new ways to break both the Hypocratic Oath and Geneva Conventions with each passing minute - and it's usually for his own amusement -, but he also seeks to sculpt each mercenary into the best versions of themselves not just as a testament to his own prowess, but also because of his fascination towards them; he just likes those goobers around him and sees the mercs as his fellow pals.

With all that being said, I personally don't believe that whatever power he gained as a result of these wishes would be on a similar caliber as his canonical healing skills; after all, even without Kyubey's interference, he has shown to be exceptionally skilled in his craft to the extent that he had deemed himself to be a god on multiple occasions- and none of them were without reason. Instead, I believe that the core theme of his new magical powers relate to limits- whatever barriers that prevented him from unlocking his and the rest's full potential, and fully dissipating them. Perhaps he can manifest organs, transfer them at high speeds, all the while making his surgeries a little easier for himself. The option of him being able to create little animated "familiars" of his own from the remains of both ally and enemy alike is also there. If you guys have better ideas, please don't hesitate to share; I'll have to admit that this coming up with wish-related powers is a personal weak point of mine, and I will be accepting any and all criticisms coming my way.

Finally, to close this section and move on to the next, I would also like to discuss the matter surrounding his soul gem, and how I would personally interpret it. I am unsure if what I am going to say next has been backed up by canon or not, but a nice detail that I have noticed whilst looking into the soul gems present in canon is that they often correspond with the eye colors of their respective magi; which brings to mind the idea of eyes being the windows to a person's soul. Even if it's not a mandatory rule for when it comes to designing a Magi (especially when we take Nagisa Momoe into account), we can still see this metaphor being at play on numerous occasions throughout the Madoka canons, and where else is it more evident than within Kazumi Magica and the Magia Record anime?

Putting it briefly, aside from just looking at their soul gem, another indicator of a magi's slip into witchhood is by looking into their eyes during their final moments; Michiru Kazusa's sclera turned completely dark as her pupils began to shift into scribbles, and Kuroe - poor, sweet Kuroe - had the same corruption her soul gem was undergoing being displayed from within, you guessed it, her eyes.

So, while I do believe that red could be a nice color for Ludwig's soul gem, as it would also correspond with him being on the RED team - as presented to us on the cover of Fight Songs -, I can also see that a striking blue could also fit our crazy bastard.

As for the emblems present on his soul gem's egg form and its shape upon transformation, I'm gonna be honest; this is gonna be a little more complex than the color part - especially with the soul gems of Tart Magica and Magia Record in mind -, but I will do my best to summarize it to the best of my abilities-

To make this easier for my sanity's sake, the red cross he is already associated with in-game will be present as the emblem on top of his soul gem, though the the one on the middle would probably be based on either his bonesaw, the Ubercharge, a realistic heart (as a tie-in to how the Ubercharge works), or his doves instead. The actual shape his soul gem take on upon transformation, on the other hand, would resemble a large, anatomical heart placed on the center of his chest - connected to the rest of it and his shoulders through glass arteries and veins - due to its sheer size; usually, a magi's soul gem is only large enough to fit within the palm of their hands, while Medic's could be as huge as his curled-up fist or even an ostrich's egg.

The cause behind this peculiarity will be thoroughly explained soon enough, but, for now, let us close this chapter up and move on to the next...

-Descent Into Despair-

Before we kick off this angst fest and start hypothesizing, we're gonna need to take a good look at the nature of the soul and how this ties into the existing similarities shared between Kyubey and Ludwig- yes, this will get wild, especially if you're in only one of those fandoms from the outside looking in, so it's best for you to buckle up, hon, 'cause we in for a fucking joyride.

According to multiple religious and philosophical texts, the soul is a vital, non-physical part of a human being; it is an individual's very core of existence. The soul isn't exactly abstract, per se, as it's believed to actually exist between the lines of this plane of reality and that of the intangible world, and that each person has a unique soul that is distinctly theirs; it is, by definition, metaphysical- that person is the soul, as much as the soul is them.

Despite the limitations placed upon us by the very nature of the soul, it can be treated as a tangible and even physical object within both the TF2 and PMMM canons; in the latter case, Kyubey was able to turn them into magical gems for the sake of both efficiency and "incubation" - the goal of turning his victims into despair-riddled witches that spread the very misery they are drowning in -, all the while, in the Team Fortress universe, they are treated as nothing more than organs that can be removed and then reapplied at will by the very hands of, you guessed it, our very own Ludwig Humboldt for the dual purpose of conning the Devil out of the ownership of his soul and, in turn, extending his own life span.

This brings us back to the very moment where Ludwig made his wish with Kyubey; as presented to us via both Sayaka Miki and Homura Akemi, the process of making a wish and establishing a contract with Kyubey is proven to be quite the painful procedure, as they were able to feel their souls being pulled right out of their bodies by Kyubey in order to remold the very cores of their whole existence into these magical jewels known as Soul Gems; shining with the wishes that bind them to the life of a Magi until they inevitably reach their grisly ends.

Medic, of all people, would absolutely be the first to know exactly how painful it would be to have one's soul be forcefully ripped out of one's own body; he had already done so to 8 other people before grafting the extracted essences into himself. As result of this forced amalgamation, the size of his soul gem would be, as already stated, much larger than average. As for Medic himself and his reaction to his accumulated souls being turned into this grand artifact of magical potential, he would be in a state of shock, awe, and perhaps even a tinge of conflict - from the pain alone, he knew that his souls were tampered with; extracted and reforged -, but they were miniscule when compared to the wave of amazement that washed over him as he held the newly formed symbol of his status as a magi in his hands, shining a brilliant red with the wish he made with the white devil before him.

If Medic had to be honest, he would say, without a shadow of a doubt, that the incubators sure knew what they were doing; despite the tinge of bitterness regarding his souls being torn out of him, it was undeniable that having his life essences be turned into an all-powerful jewel was rather efficient, especially when stranded within the chaotic, unforgiving battlefield. Besides, this deal not only granted him what he desired most in life, but it unlocked a whole new world for him to explore; the realm of the witches.

After his first witch hunt went off without a hitch, he looked at his soul gem...yes, it had dimmed a little, and, according to his newly-formed, four-legged acquaintance, its brightness reflected what magic he had left; the very power he had gained from their infernal deal. This knowledge, combined with the grief seed taking in the impurities he had accumulated, had sparked inspiration within him, and, inevitably, that little glimmer turned into a raging, uncontrollable wildfire.

As his lips curled into that deranged smile of his, he arrived to the conclusion that he needed to research both his soul gem and these otherworldly monsters. Oh, was he was ever-so excited; a whole new world of possibilities had unveiled before him! He knew he had to learn more about these witches, for they were prime candidates for new observations and experiments...

Besides, if things were to go awry, he would have his backup plans as safeguards. He looked at the large jewel on his desk, its light reflecting on his glasses, with a look of complete confidence- after all, he was Ludwig Humboldt, the RED team's medic; he had already played the classic team like the money-hungry fools they were, defied all known laws of life, death, and nature on the regular, and bested the Devil in his own game! What bases of morality and human decency were little more than etches on the wall to him, and he was willing to go above and beyond to ensure his own and the rest's survival.

He cackled; oh, there was no need for any worries, my friend! Whatever that may come to pass, he shall find a workaround. So, with his lips curling into that toothy smile of his, he went to work-

Just like clockwork, it didn't take long for his signature obsession to dig its talons; day by day, he would salvage what parts of these unfathomable creatures and bring them back to his infirmary- even going as far as to capture their familiars and the smaller witches to bring back. After all, killing these wicked creatures outright would just cause them and their barriers to fade away, so he had to think of workarounds in order to harvest as much useful parts of them as he could.

All that, and that is without even getting into the details of the bargain he had made with the little pale ferret- why, that rascal Kyubey could be considered a new good friend of his in his eyes! He had even experimented on the bipedal fiend, and the Incubator held no grudge towards the quack doctor (hence how he came into the knowledge of his entire species and the fact that they were a hivemind). Back on topic- yes, the contract in itself was agonizing, there was no denying that, but at least he had gained a myriad of benefits from their mutual agreement.

Yet, as the saying goes, the higher they soar, the harder they fall.

Within every enforced law and in every deal made, loopholes were an inevitability- Ludwig and Kyubey knew that all too well as the roles of the recipient and contractor respectively. Time and curiosity have worked hand-in-hand in order to nurture their individual experiences and wisdom surrounding this unwritten rule of the universe. As several blazing days turned into howling nights, Ludwig's intrigue towards the limitations set before him as both a mercenary and a Puer Magi grew; his souls being turned into a singular, portable trinket was effective, yes, especially with the magic he had gained and his more than impressive healing abilities making both jobs a lot more easier, but, of course, so much could go wrong in the long run-

Ah, and these witches- at this stage, he had accomplished what many had deemed to be either impossible or far too risky; lining up the walls of his laboratory, amongst the butchered appendages and organs of their kin, were the captured forms of smaller witches and familiars- some were still struggling to be set free, while the others have resigned themselves to their fates. Whenever Ludwig wasn't on either battlefields or experimenting on his teammates, he would be slicing and chopping these poor souls away- trying to see how they functioned, or even analyzing their individual reactions to his little tests. Each of these curse-driven monstrosities' very existence brought forth a cluster of enigmas that only Ludwig could unravel, and the answer to these riddles must be tied to the very core of these beings- whether we're talking about how they would function as a living organism...or their grief seeds.

Besides...in his mind, there was nothing wrong with getting a few more benefits for yourself, was there? So long as such a possibility could help him continue on with both his life and work without any worries over the unknown, he was willing to take that chance. He was more than willing to rise up in the face of these hindrances- even if it took nearly pushing his soul to its breaking point, or unleashing what horrors mankind is not ready for once he manages to crack open a grief seed, he was certain he would find his way through this maze.

Unfortunately, his trickery of the devil himself had rendered him too confident. This unassuming little creature was no devil.

The further he descended down the inferno, the more barricades he had encountered on his way; wounding and injuring him to no end. Even with his soul gem on the edge of shattering, the grief seeds he had gathered were torn apart, watching as his own teammates neared their own limits as he caught up with them during their own witch hunts- the result was the same; he needed to research this even further. The fact that the two objects were apparently made of the same material had led Ludwig to several hypotheses - even coming close to the truth himself -, but, let us be real here for a second- if he did manage to figure out the truth behind the witches, which, logically speaking, he would, would it even come close to bothering him?

In fact...who was to say that, by learning the origins behind these creatures, that he wouldn't embrace the corruption of his soul gem? That he wouldn't lay his old vessel to waste, and treat his ascension to a higher plane of existence as a new experience for him? If that wasn't the case, then wouldn't he also inadvertently boost the process by going through meaningless hoops in the attempt to prevent his pre-written fate?

When looking at a man like Ludwig, a man already too far gone, only cold insanity and sadism irradiated from him- possessing an uncaring glee over the prospect of being able to experiment on the less fortunate souls who got in his way. His insistence on carrying on with his research came to the shock of almost nobody; such was his habit, and the mercenaries got used to his antics over time- yet, as time passed, his grip on his frustrations, desperation, and ever-growing drive continued to waver; everything about this new perspective on life filled him with a sense of wonder, even the countless roadblocks he had encountered still gave him a sense of awe...

His soul gem was as large as it was powerful, yes; it would take a larger accumulation of filth in order to actually affect him in any way or manner, and the reserves of magic he had- oh, how brightly must his gem shine when at its peak! Yet, one must consider at what point will the accumulated filth become...irreversible- how, at a certain threshold, the process of gathering up enough grief seeds to make sure it stays at its brightest at all times will yield more drawbacks than prospects of restoration? That the net value of the magic restored will inevitably hit zero if not the negatives?

How many times must this cycle repeat itself in order for the magi to inevitably give up on keeping their own soul completely pure at all times?

Ludwig still managed to keep his magic reserves somewhat afloat; though his cheerful and friendly mannerisms haven't wavered a bit, he couldn't keep his attention away from the developments that were unfolding before him. The experiments he had conducted on both his soul gem and the grief seeds he had gathered up did not help at all; further damaging and tainting his core only to satiate his own curiosity. He saw no issues as darkness slowly consumed his soul gem- it was simply another phenomenon to experience and document, no? It wasn't like it was hurting him or anything- if anything grim were to occur, he had his backup plans...if he could find one that actually worked...

No matter what Ludwig did, it appeared that his core was strictly bound to this jewel; he wasn't able to separate the souls within it, and, no matter how many times he would place another soul within him, it would just fade away as soon as he reached for it- purifying his soul gem in the process and leaving Ludwig as hollow as he was before the tests.

...He needed to study this further.

Ludwig's worries and starvation for answers gnawed at him. Within his glass heart, shades of ebony and crimson danced around one another, with only a small glimmer of light flickering through the veins existing to provide any form of luminescence, and his eyes-

Mikhail felt a lump on his throat as he gazed into the medic's soul through them- his once bright, fear-inducing blue eyes were beyond bloodshot, and, by his life, he could have sworn he saw the particles of his overheals float amidst the chaos. Still, Misha gulped down his worries as he placed the sandwich on Ludwig's desk and expressed his concerns over his health- to which the doctor thanked him - for both the meal and his considerations -, and assured the Heavy Weapons Guy before him that it was really nothing to flutter his feathers over, in his own words.

It was all going to be worth it soon. He knew it.

Tensions within the RED base grew with every passing day, and nobody sensed it more than Mikhail and Dell Conagher; though Ludwig would insist that he was alright - that it was all a part of the usual routine - and how close he was to a breakthrough, the two couldn't help but look out for the well-being of their medic. For the last few weeks to come, the two would keep a close eye on him- checking on the guy every now and then - as much as they could -, and making sure he hadn't completely lost himself.

His answers were becoming more cryptic as time passed; no matter how much Dell would ask and express his concerns, Ludwig would still act nonchalant, even as his eyes continued to darken with and his health evidently took a nosedive. This was no need for the concern, my friend; he continued to promise the engineer that it was all working out fine, and that he'll be okay once it's all over. Dell still kept his guards up; worried that, one day, Ludwig's gonna go completely off the rails- his and Mikhail's resolution to keep that man safe grew with each conversation they had with him. Something just ain't completely sound here, and he'll have to be there for him when that time comes.

What a hollow vow.

Days blurred with one another in Ludwig's mind. Each passing second held little to no significance to him anymore. No, he had to continue on with his hunts- he needed to. His doves looked at him with worried expressions; the lab was a mess, with papers and feathers scattered everywhere, the lights burnt out, and Ludwig himself slouched on the chair- illuminated by moonlight, and still carrying that damned gem.

And...he was never as satisfied as he was right at this very moment.

He looked down at his beaten-down, darkening soul gem- it was all worth it, no? He gazed into the flickering crimsons as though he was in a daze. He was exhausted, unable to get up on his feet, but he didn't mind that at all. His team will understand soon enough...

The light within his soul gem went into a frenzy- he smiled from ear to ear, for it was finally time; the hour of revelation had dawned upon him. Like a grand supernova, it collapsed into itself.

Ludwig tilted his head backwards, still fascinated by what was happening before him even as all life escaped his eyes. He embraced the corruption consuming him, and, with a crack and a flash of bright light, the entire RED base was sent into chaos.

-The Witch's Nature-

In short, this is tied to the personality/aspect of a magi that did them in; what drove them to slip into despair with their skulls cracking wide open upon impact. To provide a few set examples; Homulilly's was Self-Sufficiency (closing herself off from others as both Moemura and Cool Homu), Oktavia's was to Fall in Love (the infatuation with both Kyosuke and the ideal of a Magical Girl marked poor Sayaka's end), and Candeloro's was inviting (Mami's coping mechanism to deal with her loneliness- and the irony of her dragging innocents into the life of a magi). It can also reflect the intent behind their wish (Sayaka and Madoka) or how they would cope with the life of a magi and the responsibilities that come with it moving forwards prior to their demise (Mami, Kyoko and Homura).

Unfortunately, it is rather....difficult to describe the traits and convictions that cause such complex characters to do what they have done in a single sentence, much less a word or two. For all anyone would know, any of the mentioned above - cause of their wishes, how they cope, and what finally marked their ends - could have been driven by a multitude of a magi's traits and goals, and Ludwig was no exception.

To make this easier on everyone, myself included, I have divided most of the traits that have pushed Lud over the edge into separate segments. The suggested natures listed below are in no particular order; one can fit the bill more than the other. Though I have chosen only one of them for the witch card, ya'll are free to reinterpret it with any of the other suggested natures.

Desperate

Cunning

Wonder

Sadistic

To Experiment

Observant

Curious

-The Witch's Appearance-

"I have a bird head! You're dominated! We're both having a bad day."

This might either be the most fun or the most agonizing segment of the entire thing. As a matter of fact, aside from his descent to despair, this part took me the longest to conceptualize, and it's still not 100% complete in my eyes, oh dear oh me-

Right off the bat- the witch has to be gruesome. I am not placing heavy emphasis on this one just because this is Medic we're talking about and how we're all aware of his...peculiar views on his job and the human body, but it's also due to the aforementioned souls he's surgically implanted into himself prior to contracting. Let me state this again- before managing to find and ensure a contract with Kyubey, the man had already managed to turn the abstract concept of a soul into nothing more than an organ that can be grafted into himself; that ferret's nifty trick is no longer special.

To showcase exactly why the topic of Lud having multiple souls is so integral here, we have to recall that, throughout the Puella Magi canon, we have witnessed witches fusing with one another via various means; it has been stated that Walpurgisnacht was a singular witch who fused with others over time, and Kazumi Magica's Hyades Daybreak was an artificially-created witch born from the fusion of multiple soul gems. You could argue that Madokami is another such example thanks to Homura's resets and wish having her as the main focus; thus binding her to multiple iterations of herself across numerous timelines (as is it made clear to us with Madokami's transformation sequence in Magia Record).

The point being is that not only is Medic's witch's stupidly powerful, but I doubt it would be pretty to the eyes; unlike Madoka, those souls weren't originally his, and the way that he fused himself with said souls is thanks to his, let's say, bizarre surgical skills, and not due to whatever logic is behind the witches' ability to fuse with one another. Think of the core of his very being as an amalgam; whether he's retained his original soul from the Devil's ownership upon contracting or not is up to you, but the idea still stands nonetheless. It wouldn't just be some Frankenstein-esque monstrosity with stitches, additional appendages, and mismatched skin, either; the organs representing the souls he had stolen are there for all to see just beneath his unassuming, reliable, and even charming exterior.

Now that we've gotten some key details written down, we are going to have to examine his role, self-image, history, and the impact his actions had on the rest of the team in order to actually, well, design the bastard's personification of obsession and despair; these four elements are crucial for when it comes to designing a decent witch that would not only fit in the world of Madoka Magica, but also drive home the idea that these witches were once Magi themselves- with their own dreams and goals.

We'll kick this off by looking at Ludwig's role in the canon of Team Fortress 2; he is the de-facto healer, but he's less interested in actually helping the ill and is more into the idea of tinkering with the human form- going as far as to use animal organs for his whack scientific endeavors for the goal of satisfying his curiosity. His healing abilities are also stated to be side-effects of his knowledge regarding human anatomy- even the Medigun wasn't initially supposed to be healing the mercs, according to the lore provided for us.

While on topic, I should also bring Medic's gameplay onto the table; though he is one of the weaker classes when speaking in terms of strength, making sure your team's medic stays on the map for as long as you could is crucial. Think of him as the king piece on a chess board; once your doc out of the picture, not only will your team start to drop like flies, but you'll lose some of that sweet, sweet Uber time. There is a reason as to why Medics tend to stay around the more resilient classes rather than glass cannons like Scout; survival and defenses.

Next up, we'll talk about his self-image and how he is perceived by the rest. As we can tell, he takes much delight in his work and his experiments on other human beings- he doesn't see anything to worry about his interests and the peculiar way he goes about it, no matter how extreme it is. Obviously, the man's not in-tune with the concept of human morality- going as far as to see these unwritten rules of humanity as nothing more than roadblocks on the way of his life.

In spite of his...screws being more than loose, as I already stated above, it isn't like he sees his fellow mercenaries as lesser beings when compared to himself; he does like them, albeit in his own amoral, gory way - he wouldn't have granted them the power of invincibility otherwise, among the other feats in modern science he had accomplished in order to save his team's asses -. Yeah, he does experiment on them, but, at this point, that's just how he says "hello"- and, when compared to what he did to the Classics, the adjustments made were for the active benefit of his team (...most of the time).

From all this, we can tell that his witch is on the more dangerous side (AS IF THE EXTRA SOULS DIDN'T DO THE JOB?)- with a dash of grace, of course; a reflection of his friendly exterior hiding away his twisted interests and "job"- and, fellas, he adores his work. He holds no regards for the safety of his patients and how outlandish his experiments are; he already kept an enemy Spy's head alive in a fridge, for corn's sake. Nonetheless, he is still a competent doctor- more than competent, in fact; when given the right tools, organs, time, and budget- death is no more than a small hurdle to him. He also genuinely cares for his fellow mercs, even going as far as to call them his friends; maybe that's how the witch will see his own familiars? What if he also tries to smile, joke around, and sing lullabies as he cuts open his human victims?

By looking at this being, only unfathomable, suffocating dread surrounded you- for you were in the presence of he who holds the thread between life and death. This creature before you- no, that isn't right...this deity looked down upon his next patient; surrounded by the lifeless husks of his familiars and their victims, he was rather annoyed over the prospect of having his work be interrupted, but he was also more glad that a living being had wandered into the operating room. Yes, he knew it now; a sadistic sense of glee beamed from the monster as he knew that the next medical trial will be a lot more interesting than he had expected.

Finally, to wrap things up, we glance at his history. Now, I am going to give you guys the heads-up in advance, because not only will this segment be composed of speculations for the most part, but we will be discussing themes of ethn1c gen0c1de. If this topic is in any way triggering, scroll down to the part where we talk about either the latter part of his design, his barrier- or just skip right to the Witch's Card. Clicking away from this post altogether is also highly encouraged.

Much of Ludwig's history is currently kept wrapped under shadows- we were told of Mikhail's, Tavish's, Jeremy's, Dell's, Mundy's, and even Jane's lives before they joined RED/BLU and partook in the Gravel Wars, but, aside from the enigmatic Pyro, Medic was the only one whose backstory was never clearly given to us. All we have to go off of are the bits and pieces peppered across the official website(s) and several official cosmetics-

We all know that he was native to and lived in Germany "during an era where the Hippocratic Oath had been downgraded to an optional Hippocratic suggestion" until he had escaped it by hijacking a catering van during a prime minister's wedding for reasons currently unclear to us - it has been speculated it was due to him having stolen a man's whole skeleton, but he had stated that he lost his medical license soon after the incident -. In the Two Cities update, one of the signs present in Rottenburg, his hometown, was that of a pharmacy advertising a number of...odd products, one of which being Baboon Hearts (leading to the speculation that his name has to be Humboldt- as it was the name of said pharmacy and the confirmation that Medic descended from a line of mad scientists like himself). We also know that he had found and then adopted his doves, namely Archimedes, as he escaped via grand theft catering van.

These should be all he scraps we were given in regards to Ludwig as a character outside of his job and the mercenary business, right? Weeeeeeelll....not quite. There is still one more jigsaw puzzle we should piece together, and, when combined with the time period TF2 takes place in, it does not paint a pretty picture of his life prior to becoming a mercenary. Folks...

We have to talk about Ludwig's Jewish coding, and the implications it has in regards to his backstory when combined with the timeline of the Team Fortress universe.

Though it was never explicitly stated to us, several aspects of Medic do shine a light towards this specific direction; to make this easier for us all, I'll just be listing down the evidence present across the canons of both the game and the comics-

The theme song of his bird, Archimedes, that plays during his surgery on Heavy in Meet the Medic is Klezmer music- Yiddish folk music

His pronunciation of "Danke Schon" is the Yiddish way

In the Gargoyles and Gravel comic, he was dressed up as the openly Jewish Albert Einstein for Halloween

The most damning of all, Valve's insistence that Medic is NOT a N-zi; especially with how fanmade cosmetics that portray him in such a way are often taken down almost immediately

Now, I do understand the fact that Ludwig is far from a saint, but...you have to understand the sheer, vile evil the N-zis and their ideology embody- and, unfortunately, he was also another target for their venomous rampage. Add in the fact that it was at full swing back when Lud was a young adult and he probably witnessed the rise of the heinous ideology when he was a little sap, and...there is no way I can say this lightly-

Ludwig had lived through dark, heinous years. Maybe he's always been this crazy, maybe what was left of his sanity had shattered to brittle pieces thanks to what he and countless others were forced to experience- perhaps he was already insane, but the slaughters and oppression were a whole other degree of evil to him; of course, until the writers at Valve say otherwise, all this falls upon how you personally interpret Medic as a character and how he coped with his backstory.

Though this is all just simple speculation based on what bits and pieces of the man's background we were given officially, it does bring into question what Lud had experienced outside of his medical endeavors. Besides, topics surrounding the second world war have already been explored in the world of TF2- Heavy's backstory is one example, where he and his family were sent to a gulag following the imprisonment and execution of his father, a counter-revolutionist; they only managed to escape once it had burnt down. The trauma of the experience still lingers within Mikhail, as was shown to us in A Cold Day in Hell, so such a backstory for Ludwig is not out of the realm of possibility.

With all that in mind, one must wonder about the kinds of thoughts that were running through Ludwig's mind during that time, and place his escape from Germany under a different light. I must, once again, repeat the statement that Ludwig is not a good man, but did that justify whatever he possibly went through? He even went as far as to crash a political figure's wedding in order to flee; was it because of the hilarity factor TF2 and Medic as a character are well-known for - namely after he stole that dude's skeleton -? Or was there another aspect at play- one of utmost urgency? After all, leaving one's home country for good has got to be a difficult decision- he didn't even return to Rottenburg when Grey Mann took over, implying that, unlike the rest, he didn't have anything waiting for him back home...

Ah, it wasn't like it mattered to him nowadays, anyway; nay, he dared not to think about it any further- all that mattered to him now were his research...his experiments...

So, with all the complicated stuff set on the table, let's move on to the simpler bits of a witch's design- the glue that tie all these bits and pieces together!

Where do we start? With the Magi's own design, of course! After all, Oktavia's knightly theme didn't just come from Sayaka's desire to become a hero/Kyosuke's knight in shining armor, and don't get me started on Homulilly's final form. I am certain that there are other witches that would also help get the point across, like Charlotte, but let's not extend this segment too much.

Upon taking a closer look, we can see that Ludwig's design invokes the imagery of a dove - just like how the little nubs on Nagisa's hat are reminiscent of mouse ears (and we all know how her witch form looks like) -, especially with the ends of his coat resembling a dove's tail feathers. Several cosmetics of his that are present in the game also boost this specific theme of his, especially the Blighted Beak mask, the Wings of Purity, and, of course, the infamous Medimedes bird head.

Of course, this might be a reference to the doves in his lab - there we go, simple as that -, but I don't think that's all there is to it; remember, for an amoral, crazed man like Medic, he is still represented by holy themes, much like any other healer in most media. When you think of a healer, you think of a person who swore under the oath of not doing any harm, and have devoted themselves to the life of pacifism...everything that Medic is not. In fact, Medic himself invokes the fear of being before the almighty; how small and utterly insignificant we are in his eyes, and that, to a being with a mind like Ludwig's, our lives are in the palms of his hands to toy with.

Ah, sacricore and holy themes- don't we just love them? The idea of a savior is definitely written down; a brilliant being with evidence of the slaughter staining his hands. Doves are also gonna be heavily referenced- what kind of Medic-related design are we working on if we didn't give him a pair of wings or two?

As a matter of fact, who is to say that the witch isn't a mad, humanoid-ish dove? With his crooked, bright smile and unfeeling red eyes being hidden by his aura and brilliant, white feathers? You think you might be in the presence of a god of hospitals and medicine, and he even approaches you with such a cheerful demeanor; happy to see a patient stumbling into his lab! That is, until you see how red the ends of his feathers are, how wide that smile is under that plague mask of his, and his eyes...

Hang on- is this a plague mask to begin with? As your eyes finally focus...you can see that it is jutting out of his skin- it's not a mask, but a part of his skull.

Next, we are going to focus on the magi's weapon and what powers they had prior to witchification; now, I am aware that their weapons and their powers are not always reflected in their witch designs - coughs coughs, Kriemhild and Homulilly -, but it does appear to be an "either/both/neither" case for when it comes to analyzing and designing them - I mean, just look at Ophelia -. Besides, Team Fortress 2 is a combat-oriented game, so it would be of great disservice to the game if I did NOT incorporate the main vessel in which you would use to bludgeon your enemies to smithereens with.

Once more, the Medic's main shtick is healing and granting your team a wide number of buffs depending on the medigun equipped; the Kritzkrieg grants a 100% crit chance upon activation, the Vaccinator provides immunity/reduced damage against several damage types, and don't get me started on the number of buffs a Medic can grant their team alone in the Mann vs. Machine mode. For now, we'll just be focusing on the classical Medigun, and how it grants invincibility to both himself and the person he is healing upon activation.

As seen in Meet the Medic, this was possible due to the adjustments made on each of the mercs' hearts- or, what replacements they have received in place of said organs, considering that even HEAVY'S had burst from the pressure caused by his medigun's rays. It is shown to us that the heart begins to pump at an accelerated rate upon activation, likely to spread the influence of the medigun at full power through the subject's veins; turning them into a bulletproof behemoths ready to turn the enemy team into a pile of mush.

From this alone, we can pinpoint the idea that hearts are an important motif in his witch's design. I'd also wager that he'd also possess powers that aren't unlike the functionalities of his medigun; allowing him to heal himself, his familiars, and even other witches at close proximity- bloodthirsty, erratic mercenary or not, he is still the team's doctor. Once the witch starts glowing red, you only have a few seconds to either find a weak point as soon as you could or make a break for it.

To further build upon this theme, attached to his back, not looking too dissimilar to how his medigun backpack, are vials filled with fluid that each resemble the lights of a soul gem at its limit. Within them, he stores his victim's souls, blood, guts, and organs for future usage. How did they get here? Why, with his other appendage hidden inside his forearm; resembling a combination between a saw and a needle. It is easy to use a surgical knife, yes, but some patients are...less than cooperative.

Before we unveil the finalized-ish idea for the witch, I should also take a second to talk about his hypothetical barrier and possible witch's kiss/warlock's whisper. It is true that the most powerful witches in-canon don't exactly need to hide in their barriers - case in point, Walpurgisnacht, Kriemhild Gretchen, Hyades and Shitori Egumo -, but, if we go by the concept art pertaining to Kriemhild Gretchen, we can see that they do have labyrinths they call their own. Even Walpurgisnacht has a pocket space she calls her home; it's the none other than the monochrome hallway Madoka was running through during episode 1, as confirmed by the PSP Game. If neither Walpurgis nor Kriemhild were exempt from this rule, then it shouldn't be surprising to see that this also applies to Ludwig's witch.

As stated in the January 2012 issue of Dengeki Playstation, a witch's labyrinth represents "the magical girl's mental landscape before they became a witch"; Oktavia's was a concert hall- resembling the one where she would watch Kyousuke play the violin, Candeloro's a tea party for one- representing how she would cope with her loneliness and the fact that she arranged her meetings with Madoka and Sayaka as tea parties -, and, according to the aforementioned concept art, Kriemhild's barrier is an obsidian and magenta void full of floating furniture- specifically those of her and her mother's rooms.

From these examples, we can assume that the barrier represent core memories of the magi before they fell into despair, and are either tied to the reason behind their wishes or how they coped with their lives after contracting:

Madoka had a healthy family life in comparison to the other members of the holy quintet, and it is thanks to the environment she was raised in that she ended up becoming the merciful, selfless girl that we all know today

Everything about Homulilly's barrier just represent how much Madoka meant to Homura, even if she didn't exactly see her perspective 1:1; as such, the rundown state of Mitakihara City not only represents her time loops and how it is the setting for all her time loops, but also how she failed to protect Madoka in the end and to grieve the normal life they could have had- had it not been for the universe and everything it stood for standing against them (it might also foreshadow the choice she had made at the end of Rebellion; trapping her team and the rest of the city in a gilded cage so that the incubators will not have a chance at hurting Madoka ever again)

Nagisa didn't have much of a social life outside of school, her run-down home, and visiting the hospital where her mother was at- and it is within that hospital that she proclaimed that she was done with being the perfect daughter to someone who barely deserved it; that it was her turn to take control

We can even tell that Sayaka watching Kyousuke's concerts was such a pivotal moment in her life because of how this specific memory was shown to us at least twice during the series; when she explained what happened to him and the cause behind her wish, and as soon as her soul gem had reached the point of no return- albeit for a split second.

Of course, this is not necessarily a strict rule to follow for when it comes to designing and deciphering witch labyrinths; H.N Elly's barrier resembles a snow globe in composition - according to production notes -, Charlotte is having a tea party with a doll in which both of them are unable to respond, and...I am not 100% sure on what to make of Ophelia's barrier- though I will come back to it later. Barriers don't have to be based on actual locations that are significant to the magi's life; rather, they can be manifestations of their desires prior to witching out- Elly wished to preserve a happy memory that gave her a shred of respite in the midst of the stressful life of an idol; and the tea party symbolizes the relationship Nagisa craved from her mother, that she was the timid one of both parties- silent as a doll, and how ultimately hollow that wish is- in the end, it's just a toy; it cannot respond to her even if she could speak, nor could it comfort her.

Unsurprisingly, I can see that Ludwig's barrier could be an infirmary...no, that can't be right; after all, Ludwig does what he does not out of compassion for the sick, but because he could. He seeks to change and perfect the mercs; turning them into unstoppable killing machines forged by his own hands and mind. He usually does all this to satisfy that itch in his mind and the excitement whatever results he gets from these surgeries bring him. It looks like a place of respite for one's health, but it is a death trap, first and foremost.

As a reference to his escape from Germany, maybe Ludwig's doves are still flying around the barrier; blood and feathers staining the floors and hallways, and themes of uprooted trees are peppered in as paintings and ruined potted plants. This represents the panic setting in and high speeds of the van, on top of how he came to discover and adopt these feathery companions of his, while the uprooted tree symbol suggests that he has nothing waiting for him back home in Germany; the other mercenaries went back home after the events of Rings of Fired (sans Pyro and Engie) except for Medic, after all. Maybe he was just lucky(?) enough to immediately land a job amongst the classic mercs, or perhaps...he just couldn't go back "home", not after everything.

Going back to the canonical barriers for a sec, one part of when it comes to designing a proper labyrinth is that, sometimes, a person can sway your heart so much they could change the trajectory of your ideals and influence the way you look at both your actions and the world around you.

This is most evident in Ophelia's barrier, as seen to us in Madoka Magica Portable; though it's hard for me personally to decipher exactly what it is, there's a fuck-ton of symbolic elements literally swimming around there, including musical notes floating from the ground and into the air. I don't think I need to specify exactly what said notes represent here.

Since there are multiple rooms within a barrier that can serve different functions, perhaps there's an outdoors segment where the magi first end up in; a frigid winter wonderland threatening to turn this labyrinth's visitors' limbs into unfeeling, darkened blocks of frozen meat falling off their bones. The only salvation from this bitter cold is to enter the interior segments of the barrier, and, even then, you are still not at all safe; his familiars are still on high alert- whenever they aren't "looking after" the other patients present -, and the infirmary in of itself is nothing more than the lure of an anglerfish- fooling the humans who have stumbled into it and punishing them to a fate worse than death.

The conveyor belt stretches through the halls of the labyrinth and leads right to the center; the operating room. There, the doctor awaits either his next batch of organs - human or otherwise - or a new patient. Ah, how everything runs smoothly; the bloodshed, the violence, the screaming- such fine melodies, they nearly compelled him go and play a tune on his "bone" saw at this very moment.

Another small detail that I want to pepper in is that there are the sounds and vibrations of a heart beat that echo through the halls of the labyrinth's interior sections. Perhaps there are slices of lavish wedding cakes (the van), pretzels (Germany), and all manners of bread (the mercs and that bread monster) that are being served in the canteen- and, before you ask, no, I would not recommend eating them. I know I already said that hearts are a core theme of the witch's design itself, and maybe the canteen thing is a bit too farfetched, but, hey, a nice detail is a nice detail.

Finally, so we can wrap this whole segment up already, we'll discuss the details of his witch's kiss/warlock's whisper. Now, Witch Kisses in-canon are...weird; they hold less consistencies than the witches themselves and their barriers, so it is hard to draw out the necessary similarities needed to create a decent design. Some witch's kisses are tied to the witch's type (Uhrmann, Homulilly), designs (Oktavia, Elly), and their grief seeds (Kriemhild). Sometimes, I have no idea on what they represent at all! (CANDELORO) I'm just gonna go on a limb here and just...wing it.

-BADUM TSS-

Okay, okay, that was horrible, I'm sorry. Indeed, wings will be a key theme- specifically 6 of them; not only are they reflective of him being a dove, but also to boost the holiness theme he has going on and to symbolize his earlier deal with the devil. In the middle of it, a clawed, red hand grabs on to an anatomical heart; whether he is handing it out or taking it for himself is unknown. Upon closer inspection, one can see that it is affecting the victim's veins, causing the area around the whisper to turn into a deep, glowing red; remember how the ubercharge works, people.

Finally, finally, after two months of hard work - two months of AGONY -, we have it; the moment we have all been waiting for...

-Witch Card-

Asclepius, the Warlock of Reconfiguration. His nature is wonder. A revolting, mad avian who conceals his sickened mind with the appearance of a plague doctor, and a charming, silver tongue. Upon gathering up those who would become the volunteers and patients for his latest medical trials, his very own ward begins to choir and hum with every slice and stitch made on his victims' bodies; readjusting and mutilating their forms to fit what piqued his mind at the hour.

The leftover organs are then either stored for his future endeavors, swallowed whole by the warlock in order to improve upon his own self, or are kept alive - perhaps even conscious - within his barrier as a testament to his prowess; eternally trapped and wailing for the liberation of death.

-Familiars-

Galatea. Servants of the Warlock of Reconfiguration. Their duty is to worship. The warlock's beautiful creations- the culminations of his medical curiosities. Right out of the operating tables, they would test out the enhancements blessed to them, and continue to be of good use to the warlock by defending his infirmary and the operating room. Those who cross paths with the Galateas will not see a hint of hesitation- they are willing to keep the bloodshed around the labyrinth ongoing for the sake of their doctor, even at the cost of their own lives.

Though the warlock prefers the blank slates that are the humans who get admitted to his infirmary, he would still pick apart at and experiment on his Galateas, whether in order to fix them, enhance them using the organs of his victims, or to salvage as much of their parts as he could- perhaps in order to rebuild them in the future.

(Familiars are said to be "projections of a magi's heart before they became a witch"; as result, their duties can range from directly serving the witch - the Holgers representing Sayaka's desire to be in the center of Kyousuke's attention, and the Anthonies are tasked to care for the roses Gertrud cherishes from the bottom of her heart -, to becoming obstacles to all, sometimes even to the witches themselves - the Klarissas' only task is to dance around Oktavia, Anja's stated to have been separated from Albertine, and dare I talk about how the Clara Dolls represent Homura's self-loathing over her inability to save Madoka? -. It isn't uncommon to see that a familiar can be based on significant key figures in the magi's life, especially if they were either related to the wish they made or the cause(s) behind their despair.

These buggers here symbolize Ludwig's love for not just mutilation, but also reinventing the way his teammates' organs function- and, as I mentioned before, his deep trust in the mercenaries. He also compared himself to the divine on numerous occasions and is followed by multiple holy motifs in spite of his little deal with the devil going on; he was even followed by a choir and his doves flying behind him as soon as he stepped into the battlefield in Meet the Medic.)

Hubris. Servants of the Warlock of Reconfiguration. Their duty is donation. Bound by their hauteur and the broken bones of their bounties, these pathetic prisoners of the warlock have been chained and are treated as nothing more than livestock by both their master and his other servants. Watching their own organs and other body parts be pulled apart from one another before regenerating once more for the continuation of this cycle has drained all hope of ever escaping their punishments from their eyes- not with these atrophied limbs and sore boils.

Their stringy, rotting flesh provide little to no sustenance for neither the warlock nor his other familiars, and are too fragile to use for his medical trials - hence the need for human patients -. Nonetheless, they are bound to these spare operating tables, awake at all times, as the claws of the other servants pick apart and toy with each and every one of their fibers. The warlock finds humor in their agonized howls.

(They resemble misshapen versions of the TFC team - barring their own medic -, since we are going with the assumption that he took their souls rather than those his own teammates. Why I went with the idea of the classics themselves becoming his familiars is and are not just projections of how Medic saw them during his time working with them is due to how both Walpurgisnacht and Hyades Daybreak had their respective original forms re-manifesting as their own familiars.

Yes, Cheavy gets the worst of it.)

Archimedes. An old friend of the Warlock of Reconfiguration. His duty is attendance. As he glides through the bloodstained halls of the infirmary, this dove, whose pristine feathers have long since been soaked with a deep crimson throughout his master's countless trials, would not only take part in the warlock's surgeries as the role of a willing audience, but he would also stand by and even assist (Asclepius) - all the while satisfying his own morbid, sickened curiosity -. Of all familiars, the warlock treats this one with the most respect, understanding, and fatherly affection.

(Not a familiar that looks like the bird, not a familiar that is inspired by the bird- it's the fucking bird itself.)

-Inspirations-

In-game:

His doves, and the fact that Archimedes was a WEDDING DOVE before Medic found him

Him hijacking the chancellor's van during his wedding in order to escape Germany (and eventually finding then adopting Archimedes who was within it)

His silver tongue clashing with or weirdly complementing his deranged personality and actions; would it translate into his witch looking more humanoid, among other traits? Well...

His usage of animal organs to compensate for the fragility of human organs might make the humanoid aspect of his witch sort of moot

His bonesaw and how he plays it like a violin (non-conventional musicals?)

The Vita-saw

Ubercharge

Him playing cosmic systems like a damn skipping rope to his advantage (reviving Sniper and having multiple souls sewn into himself in order to scam the Devil out of their deal). This does not work with Kyubey, like, sir, your surname ain't Kaname, if memory serves me right

The Blighted Beak cosmetic; its Vibrio Cholerae style specifically, as it would better fit Inu Curry's art style

Medic's gameplay in both the vanilla game and the V-Script Zombie Infection mode

"And no wonder! For even the devil disguises himself as a being of light." - His association with themes that are considered "holy" and "good" in Meet the Medic and several of his own cosmetics...yeah, no need for me to go into detail as to how ironic this all is

Outside Influences:

The Greatest Living Show by Itoki Hana and Toby Fox (wow, I have an addiction to Itoki Hana's songs, don't I?)- evident especially with the heart beats in his barrier

Repo! The Genetic Opera

German fairytales- especially with how some of them revolve around mortals dealing with otherworldly beings

-Closing Statements-

To be completely honest, I wish I was able to actually draw this shit and not make ya'll read through this drag of a document and leave the gist of it up to your imaginations. I also have to apologize for how rushed it is near each segment's ending; I initially wanted to publish this around the start of October, but it was far, FAR from finished by the time it rolled around.

This has been a wild 2 or so months; constantly looking up references and refining the concept time and time again along the way, and it is still not perfect (especially with how the description of the warlock's appearance), but, overall, I am very happy to have managed to deliver it during spooky season.

I should also give a huge thanks to @bluethepearldiver! Not only did they support me incredibly so throughout the process of writing this in ways I cannot write down so easily, but they've also helped me with the names of his familiars and that RAW line ("Unfortunately, his trickery of the devil himself had rendered him too confident. This unassuming little creature was no devil.")! So, please, do give them the support they deserve ;0;

Once more, I am more than willing to listen to suggestions and criticisms; I'm aiming to not just improve upon Asclepius, but also the other mercs' witch forms when the time comes (I even have a concept for Scout's)! Do not be afraid to send an ask or even tag me regarding the matter- I'll do my best to reply (if Tumblr gets its head outta its ass and does its job notifying me for once)!

Thank you all so, so much for reading all this! I appreciate any and all engagements and feedback coming my way.

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