I just realize the possibility of Kevin going to a Laundry mat to clean his robes every week and his fellow vampires probably never asked how he has clean clothes.
You have given me the horrific mental image of Kevin just standing there in his underwear while his clothes clean, as well as the even more repulsive alternative of him washing everything at once.
Fun trivia: there were a lot of people who wanted Houdini dead, and most of them claimed to be necromancers. (They wanted him dead because he kept proving they were not necromancers, just guys who got their side piece to wear something skimpy, put on a stupid voice, and say they were possessed by a ghost. you may wonder where the money in this was: answer, america is on on of its puritan jags at the time, this is a 'respectable' way to get a look at a titty, and also this is when ectoplasm gets invented as a thing. weird that after the lady wearing very little clothing is done putting on a show for a bunch of keyed-up weirdos there's all this strange white sticky stuff around, huh)
You know, I recently found out how Houdini died. Apparently he liked to boast about his high pain tolerance, and would often let fans punch him to demonstrate. So one day a fan meets him backstage, socks him in the gut without warning, and later that night he died from an untreated ruptured appendix. So my conclusion is that Big D's rather extreme reaction could be a sort of ptsd-like guilt over accidentally killing a man he was a fan of. Or maybe Houdini was an actual wizard in the World of Darkness universe, I dunno.
I love either of these ideas. Though considering the actual Houdini despised "spiritual mediums" and went out of his way to discredit them as predatory charlatans, I could also see him as a Hunter. Hell, Houdini being a skilled, paragon Hunter would just be more reason Big-D would be a fan.
I thought he died of the flu but that actually is an excuse that is used for celebrities that died in ways that don't really go well as newspaper titles if they are not gorey or cause a stir up. Like Michel Jackson or Bernie Mack they died in "Odd" ways but the world gets a "They passed away from flu.
Specifically it was a fan who punched him UNANNOUNCED. So he had no time to tense up and prepare for the punch like normal. That fan was a real asshole.
@@ElectromagNick Houdini could still be a mage. He'd just be with the Technocracy, actively undermining the public conception of magic as a real force. Maybe a Grey Man from the New World Order. But as others said, canonically Houdini was a Tremere. It's actually somewhat disappointing that nearly every historical figure is some form of supernatural oddity in the WoD. Except, oddly enough, Adolf Hitler; he smoozed with supernatural denizens (especially Nephandi) but wasn't one himself.
@@nalrashido well if it was not for the drugs in D's system he would have pulled a 1v4 against hunters, he seem to have a brain and we actually havent seen him use any bloodmagic, he surely have a trick or two up the book
@@MrLekorrigan He is a former Cammy. So I'd imagine him pretty versed in Blood Magick. But judging what we've seen thus far his specialization appears to be in Dominate.
This is such great characterization for Big D. Don’t just tell us he’s charismatic, actually show him being charismatic. He plays Kevin like a fiddle this entire time, giving and taking away, until he gets what he wants. Big D might be nuts but he’s very good at what he does. There’s something kingly about him. It’s curious.
I personally empathise more with the lines around it. “Spare me your optimism! It was stolen from me along with my life.” The feeling of certainty in hopelessness isn’t something so easily shifted with the platitudes and hollow words of others. “This story comes to no good end.” It’s a depressing certainty, to know that you aren’t and will never be part of the 1%. To know your life will never be easy, famed or acknowledged, that you will spend your life drudging along and merely enduring it. “Perhaps not. But it’s the only chance I have left.” A truly despairing thought. It’s one I felt I approached a few times. To give up on everything and hope there’s a release to all of *this*, not a good ending, merely an early and quick one. Kevin’s existential misery touches me more than D’s open wonder. He speaks so highly of something people like me cannot muster anymore. The wonder in the world just burned out.
@@rustkarl Did you watch Magia Record S3? Kuroe's fate comes to mind, by that point only divine intervention could save them. Magia Record game's on the other hand, shows what happens when a person decided not to give up hope even at the greatest cost of all, the entirety of what she was, is and will be. But then again, that's a price most humans unwittingly pay every single day of their lives.
You know, this puts Kevin yelling at Ape for 'overfeeding' into a new light - that's not the first time he's witnessed someone's unsustainable lifestyle of excessive exploitation attract unwanted attention...
So I figured out what Big D is offering Kevin. The "path" he's referring to is Golconda, and it's a "mystical state of enlightenment" where a vampire is no longer subject to the Beast, or alternatively the Beast and human aspects of a vampire are in balance. If Golconda is achieved, several suggested benefits are outlined in the lore; the most common ones are a lack of frenzy (total control over their Beast instincts), reduced blood consumption (down to mere drops per week), the ability to learn Disciplines without generational limits (which is to say Kevin could potentially learn the higher-tier vampire powers on par with an Antedeluvian, and become a _true_ sorcerer), and others not expounded upon here. Some say it is even possible for a Cainite in a state of Golconda to return to humanity and leave behind vampirism entirely. Kevin could choose to become mortal, walk in the sun again, and perhaps even join D's "family." The only way for a Cainite to start the path to Golconda is for someone to tell them of it, which Big D just did Kevin. And it's a long and arduous path to walk, where the Cainite must regain their humanity, feel remorse, resist the temptations of vampirism, and make amends for any crimes they've committed as much as possible. It's expected that the Cainite will have a 'guru' to guide them on their quest, which again is a role Big D seems poised to fill. There _is_ a catch: to achieve the state of Golconda, a vampire must undergo a sort of "vision quest" called a _suspire._ They "go inside themselves" and confront the Beast. If the Cainite succeeds, they gain control and achieve Golconda. If they fail, the Beast takes control of _them._ The vampire undergoes their "last frenzy," called _wassail,_ and completely loses their soul and humanity, turning into a Wight; a completely feral vampire who is the Beast within themselves and is utterly beyond saving.
I present you a list of crafts that would still fit this same joke: -Middle/Highschool teacher -Package delivery -Fast food worker -Janitor -Sociologist -Historian
@@Cernumospete Oh, 100%. I have to deal with my fair share of clients "thinking" something works a certain way and not "knowing." Retail folks just get completely walked all over by the masses. I'm glad I'm in accounting, and feel for those in retail.
@@theotherbaratheon1895 I don't really think Kevin is a parody of anybody from the original series. I think they just took the most popular and well fleshed out characters from TTS and are otherwise trying to tell an original story. Not everything needs to be a callback
A man of minor means, with small dreams, trying to claw out of the box of mediocrity, turned into monster, slave, and parasite because some ancient Methuselah CAN'T DO THEIR TAXES.
It’s a rather frank conclusion to a miserable and bitter life. He tried and failed to make something great of himself, stuck in a dead-end job with little more than pipe-dreams a nasty skin condition and a stressful life. But for all that he held onto hope, optimism and his dreams, far-fetched and out of reach as they may be. Only to have it all snatched cruelly from him. In a single night all his aspirations are dust, the drudgery he endured all for nought.
I love how Big D used actual interrogation tactics and controlled the narrative of their conversation very carefully to get what he wants. Very well written, pat yourselves on the back lads
@@seanp.3091 Firstly, bonding. Big D found the more human aspects of Kevin and related them to himself, it started with the cat, then Kevin's apartment, and related that to his own home life and the situation with Kitten's house. This builds recognition, comfort, and good will with the suspect, and is generally something you want to do as much as you can. Second, narrative control. Anytime Kevin tried to use a defensive mechanism, like chanting 'I am the great and mighty kevin' Big D would deflate that defense by refusing to respond to it, often by completing Kevin's sentence and simply dismissing it. Then he would say something Kevin wanted to hear to feed his ego a little. Whenever Kevin started talking about Caine and reciting rhetoric, Big D would remind him of his cat to tear down those defenses. Reminding Kevin of his victories in battle and complimenting his connection to human life as 'Radical' and 'Fighting the power'. That forces the suspect to be left without defenses eventually, so if you tread carefully and not push too hard, you can typically wrench out some good info before the suspect realizes what they're doing. Thirdly, themeing. Human nature (or vampire nature in this case) is to see and recognize patterns. Noticing the pattern of a leopard or lion in the tall grass is evolutionarily useful, and we as people often find it satisfying to recognize these patterns, that's essentially what cloud watching is. Stories play on our enjoyment of patterns by patterning the themes of their narrative. We tell ourselves stories a lot in our own heads. "Man, I'm on a winning streak! I should keep betting" "Girls never pay attention to me, I'm going to be lonely forever" etc. etc. you could probably think of a million more. These stories get constructed by our minds to help make sense of the world around us. Kevin had the story of 'Doomed Kevin' stuck in his head, he thinks wherever his life goes is going to be worse and worse, because things have been getting worse and worse since his youth. Now at the end, Big D managed to re-align the pattern of Kevin's life, using the info he picked up on him through the conversation about his time in the various vampire factions and him choosing to keep in touch with his human life, to a story more like 'Kevin the Redeemed' an underdog story about a survivor who can stick it out through anything and manages to always get ahead of what's after him. Tactics like this are common in spycraft when creating a double agent, or when turning someone into a witness in a police investigation. All this attention is REALLY nice to see from the writers, they deserve all the money in the world.
@@krusk3544 Holy crap. It's insane that they actually wrote this in so much detail. It's also insane that you wrote this in so much detail, especially to a response to a month-old comment! Thank you so much! That was incredibly fascinating and informative. I really appreciate it. I will probably give this video another listen with what you said in mind, you've definitely expanded my view.
@@seanp.3091 The really fun thing is, in the most recent audiolog, we see Big-D trying (and sometimes failing) to resist these same tactics from the investigator.
Sir D only had the fact the "Great and Mighty Kevin" had a fucking cat and he grasped onto that even being possible to prove Kevin despite being a vampire still clings onto some form of genuine humanity. That was well played.
...This whole exchange makes me wonder, if maybe Big-D might know of *Golconda* as well? Would make more sense to offer Kevin "a different PATH" if he did, you know?
The writing is excellent of course, but the "bad man has a cat/dog/iguana/former president richard nixon as a pet" is quite simple and im sure i have seen it plenty of time, its like the "bad man but is passionate about sawing", or the "bad man but loves his mom/grandmom and will obey them no matter what"
@@zaikolebolsh5724 It's not the fact that Kevin has a pet that's impressive or ground-breaking, or even an original idea, it's that Big D instantly knew the implications of such a thing and went for it.
Genuinely hope that Kevin becomes one of the gang. So far he's the most humanized out of all of the Vampires we've yet seen, and honestly it would be nice to see a "Happy ending" contrary to what he expects.
I love the insight we get into how hilariously dysfunctional the Camarilla is, which is absolutely in line with their characterization from the RPG. These 300+ year old vampires not only don't understand how the modern world works, they really CAN'T, because a vampire's personality and mentality are essentially frozen at the moment they become undead. So, the old vampires understand that they have a problem with existing in the modern world, and embrace a modern mortal to help them deal with it. But the elders are literally incapable of understanding that they can't just impose their lordly will upon their subjects anymore and expect everything to work out. So when their new progeny explain that their style of rulership is unsustainable now, the elders just get pissed off and punish the ones who they made undead to solve the problem for *trying to do the job they were created for*. And so what the Camarilla oligarchs end up doing is sabotaging the place they live and trying to turn it into a miserable, backwards, dysfunctional hellhole ruled by thuggish gangsters, venal politicians and mismanaged businesses full of yes-men... BECAUSE THAT'S THE ONLY THING THEY KNOW HOW TO RULE.
That is the failing of many in the clans at the higher generations- most believe that it is still acceptable to rip off their heads and mount them on a stake, or wear clothes more fitting of a noble, where as the younger generation know, that's likely to get you KILLED more than respected.
It has worked out in Kevin's favour: Tremere defectors have a habit of bursting into flames... just, poof - flame and death. Due to the fact he was more forgotten about, so they could turn back to squabbles they understand, he hasn't been given this retribution for abandoning the clan. It is the Personality Cult version of a bureaucratic error, so unlikable that they haven't realized he has disappeared entirely from their radar. It is a far better then being assumed Final Dead, for this way no one will even bother looking for the body just to be sure.... Oh, and I bet he could walk right back into the Chantry still.
Hell yes these audio logs really do it for me. They've got the same 5 star writing as the episodes but they get a lot of room to breath and set the tone. They are also just super fun.
“THE ECONOMY WAS MY MUSE! I stare at the monitor, the spreadsheets on my screen, and my eyeballs know calm like never else.” The delivery on this had the same energy as the Frenchman from Monty Python’s The Holy Grail
Ok but can we all agree there was TRUE FEAR and UNCERTAINTY when big D said "NO! YOU CANT BE! I **KILLED** HUDINI!!!" it was channeling Luke saying "NO! It's not TRUE! THATS IMPOSSIBLE!!!" Like he was legit terrified that his old foe had indeed *escaped* death once more
@@TheCreepyLantern ok but hear me out; Houdini is actually a white wolf Magus *pretending* to be a stage magician in order to "debunk" magic. To protect secret world. HOWEVER, World's greatest detective Sir Arthur Conan Doyle KNOWS about the world of magic and is constantly trying to prove it's existence to the world. Also this is now an enemies to lovers story and I'm afraid I'm going to have to write it
Can we just take a moment to appreciate what an amazing interrogator Big D is? The way he draws out Kevin's ties to humanity and gets him to reveal basically everything about himself, all while creating the illusion that he is just an oafish buffoon. Big D mentions a few anecdotes of his own but nothing relevant to current events, and nothing that could even be verified. Kevin doesn't even know that the other vampires were in the same building as him, while Big D got everyone's age, strengths, and motivations. The man is a genius!
In fairness, I don't actually think the other vampires *are* in the same building as him? One of the main episodes mentions a tunnel outside the house (and seemingly separate to it), so my bet would be Kevin and the mysterious creature are both imprisoned in there.
Honestly it will probably be like an off hand mention like "not to question your 'greater experience' But did we really need to get those vampire blokes from the cave all the way into my house, or go all the way back again to get a cat?" and maybe have a cat meow here and there every once in a while when they do another audio log set in the house
Big D’s speech at the end was really something. It says something, that even a person that has probably seen some of the worse vampire society can offer can still show empathy to some
I think the pieces that started that were signs he was holding onto his human life, he wasnt a beast, a chance still existed to maybe convince him to walk the other path.
We also got to remember that the anarchs haven't entered the picture yet. While some see humans as mere kine, the rest are more apt to see humans as comrades against all forms oppression. They are a faction far sighted hunters might be willing to work with. The Camarilla are rich parasites, whose status overlaps with the capitalists and politicians. The Sabbat are basically vampiric neo-Nazis... And come on, Bruva is practically advertising his political leanings here.
I love how Big D is "totally not Emprah" when he is a dark-maned muscular bisexual narcotics enjoyer with a knowledge of all of the secret threats poised towards humanity (as he mentioned being in TTS Episode 14) and makes allusions to being old enough to have killed Houdini and witness ancient vampire wars.
@@kaniho Houdini was a mage, I'm like 99% sure he was techno-order (the anti-BS magic mages who make magic disguised as technology to dodge the paradox effect) due to spending a lot of his time debunking fake psychics and mages. Fake in the eyes of consensus reality, therefore strengthening the paradox whiplash that happens when any mage does anything against the world's grain.
I love how Big-D laughs at Kevin saying the 1890's when I'm pretty sure he means.. The actual 90's, literal 90AD, which explains the philistines and necromancer freak out from the last audio log, lol
The fact you took a monster named Kevin the wizard and made him into this goofy character… And then peeled the veil back and showed what was once human is still there. Fighting to find a place in a world that’s sometimes not friendly to the little guy. You made him feel alive by giving him problems all too human. Bravo.
I mean, the fact that his name is Kevin, and he said it like it was supposed to be a super serious name to fear, kind of already made him a goofy character.
Kevin played the game the way he was told to as a human just to have it all stripped away from him and be cursed with a tortured life sadder than anything he could ever imagine. He found no power or freedom in the embrace. Only more rules and chains to bind him in place. It's a long shot but I hope D helps him realize Golconda. Kevin might be able to do it
Jesus, Kevin started as "funny crazy character" and now I feel genuinely BAD for him and what has happened to him and hope he survives to find peace. This truly is masterful writing.
Kevin is malcador so if this series continues he most likely will not get the good ending. Big d even said Kevin will carry his sigil. Malcador the sigilite
I love the bits of tragedy in most of the vampires shown so far. Kevin was just an accountant, a comment that got hearted in the second episode theorized about Biker Bro being an older man from America that moved to the UK for better education and was embraced in a country far away from home. The "beastly" one was over eager, but in a very human way, like a person trying to enjoy a Fandom or hyperfixation, being cringy about it but understandably so. Pyotr's about the only one without sympathy, and honestly that's to be expected from a nosferatu. Ugliness isn't just skin deep with that guy...
With the Nosferatu, they like to find people who are beautiful or handsome in life but truly ugly within and then embrace them to make their outsides match their inner qualities as a sort of "gotcha" moment. I wouldn't be surprised if Pyotr was such a person before his embrace.
@@ArmouredPriest8 To be fair, plenty of genuinely kind and good "Cleopatras" get embraced by Nosferatu purely out of spite over their beauty, so it's hardly a hard rule he was a terrible guy in life. Part of the cruel truth of vampirism is that no matter what you want to be, your very existence is incompatible with humanity. They all become monsters eventually, if only out of desperation to survive. Sabbat are oftentimes just completely embracing that to avoid being shattered by the reality of their undeath, that they're immortal parasites who have forever lost the ability to enjoy so many things humans take for granted more likely than not because they were forcibly turned to serve as utterly disposable cannon fodder for a war that has no chance of success. Rejection of humanity as worthless is necessary then to convince yourself you haven't lost anything.
@@TheAngryXenite kevin states that pyotor was a 12th generation which from my little understanding of lore thanks to this vid makes him the weakest. Kevin saw him as a tool and a buffoon so if he was just a pretty boy originally then whats to say he became this way due to the masquerade and joining the sabbat because of it. Similar to kevin but unlike him pyotor completely abandoned his humanity
Holy fuck. Now I understand how The Emperor of Big D himself can unite armies and conquer worlds. Guy has enough charisma and speech skills to convince a human to fist fight a werewolf.
@@John-Stark well we can extrapolate a bunch of info from their appearance. Larper Larry was obviously a Gangrel and Shitbeard was a Brrrrrrrruja member. Their appearances and demeanor kinda fit their respective clan cultures, so they could just be throwaway characters. What I'm curious about is, what Pyotor's game is going to be, because, as a Nosferatu, he's not really required to wear clothing, so he might hold onto his humanity as well, but also shows no signs of his clans Compulsion to obtain information, except that one time when he stopped everyone from attacking to let Kitten talk.
I went into this looking forwards to Kevin screaming: I got out of this feeling emotionally destroyed at hearing his story. That was some great character development since the last appearance of Kevin!
I hope he joins the Hunters, an acception to Big D's fight just like Malcador was to the Big E's, maybe he'll even turn out to be just as chummy as Malacdor was, all be it, Malacdor wasn't ever evil
"I am Houdini!" "No! You can't be! I *KILLED* HOUDINI!" This came so far out of left field that I laugh every time I hear it! Plus, Houdini being in this world setting some sort of weird otherworld creature or magic user makes way to much goddamn sense
He could be a mage or could very well be just a normal human being who does slight of hand tricks but Big D mistook him for an actual mage. Especially since in the kitten vlog he said you have to kill mages quick and out of sight in order to not get killed by their death curse.
@@mr.bluesky8554 Chicago By Night described him as a Tremere. The Ashes to Ashes campaign had a scene where he performs an escapology from a trunk after being staked. As an exhibition.
This was some pretty great characterization With WoD, a lot of writers sometimes focused on the benefits of vampirism without engaging in the people's former humanity and the drawbacks. Kevin who raves about being a great wizard and Cainite supremacy was just trying to cope with the reality of his situation of being a vampire in that world; Unable to accomplish his goals and must suffer under the Pyramid that wishes for the obliteration of his humanity - that feeling is really human tbh. Good shit Alfa and SpeakerD
Its really interesting since in most media they always go "vampire powers good. Kill humans." In turn have "humans kill evil vampires" I like this grey area. The drawbacks and the heavy cost of power that may not really solve much
Yeah, It's just like the thing with Star Wars and it's aspects of Light and Dark sides They aren't cool factions you take to be a reclusive space samaritan, or an edgy delinquent with lightning hands, they are paths led by circumstance and trauma, and either nurture others with understanding, or destroy irrationally and greatly with firey passion.
Nah, way more people obsess about the drawbacks. Especially online. To the setting's detriment. Not everything has to be all drama all the time. Personal horror grows stale very quickly. And the original game is way more versatile than that approach gives it credit for.
@@doncoyote68 tbh living forever but having most of the fun stuff taken away must suck, why would I want to live forever if things like sex and drugs are not in the equation? What pleasures can I get?
the series is set in the early 2000s if im not mistaken. from the sound of kevin and his love of economics here, likely just before the housing bubble burst in our real timeline. meaning that if your under the age of 45-50, odds are his story is highly relatable to you. two entire generations across the globe are, as a rule of thumb, grappling with this very existential issue in society. at least up untill the whole killed and turned to a vampire part. but for many, thats probably just gonna make it MORE relatable. kevin becomes their great fear, their great anxiety personified. the notion that they will scrape and scabble to change the world, to make a mark on it in some way, be foreced to settle for at best contented mediocrity, only to die with even that lowered bar unmet. be it by some injustice like kevin faced, their life stoen from them by unforeseen circumstance, or by the simply crushing grinder of time. for the majority of the audience here on youtube, kevin might well be one of the most mentally relatable characters one could possibly create in the current day.
@@Skywatcher16 Jesus Christ, that frames Kevin as even more of a tragic figure than he clearly is. It also shows Alfabusa and Speaker-D still are top notch writers and storytellers that deserve far more praise than they have.
For me that parable represents what I’m most afraid of. A boring dead-end job, barely making ends meet, no room for ambitions and only holding on by a thread of pipe dreams and wishful thinking.
The speech Big D gives at the end to Kevin is one of the most honest portrayals of what it's really like to be a Sabbat or any low humanity Kindred. "The sad quirks of circumstance will see you degenerate into a monster, and die as one." Some degrade slowly like Kevin and others trip in their fall and never manage to get back up like the old woman in a "life well lived". But he's doing something that no one has since Kevin became a Vampire: he's giving him a choice. Not a desperate act taken, a choice given to him. Its an important thing in the journey of Kevin... and I sincerely love the character BTW, he's brilliantly voice acted and written... but Big D really shows his mettle here as well and I don't want him overlooked.
@@GraveRobbinJake Dresden files the series or the actual city of Dresden because I haven’t been to Dresden but I have seen pictures and there don’t seem to be any forest people just Germans
As someone who believes Bigfoot has better odds of existing then not(even more so in the World of Darkness), I'm offended that he's calling gorillas 'forest people' when the Sasquatch, Yeti, and other related cryptic apes are far more people-like(not just in terms of appearance, but by many accounts intellectually as well)
@@RipOffProductionsLLC He means the Orangutans, I believe, who are literally called "Forest People" in Malay. Edits: The Orangutans are very chill, even compared to a chonky Gorilla or a homicidal Chimpanzee.
Big D and Door were in similar situations being confronted with a vampire's loss of humanity. Both Shtbeard and Kevin lamented what was taken from them and where Big D was sympathetic, Door was outright cruel. With Big D, you can see that despite all the years confronting the savage nature of what vampirism can produce, he still sees that they were once human and that doesn't just go away or is ever negligible. They suffer too. Door went through terrible circumstances himself with what he mentioned in the mines, but he doesn't see them as people anymore. "Blanks" and "can't kill what is already dead" being his stance on the matter. Door sees a beast that needs to be put down. Big D sees a tragic monster.
I love how you guys have basically managed to give what amounts to the “beginner” villains incredible character depth. From Kevin grasping on to what little humanity he has left to the old man (Shitbeard) seemingly valuing education in his past life. If this is what you guys do for these guys I can’t wait to see what y’all do with the main characters.
Pyotr is going to be a serious problem coz he was pretty skilled despite having the weakest blood possible and now he has Apes and Shitbeards 10th gen blood. Hoping for a maxed-out Pyotr and enlightened Kevin epic showdown
Pyotr is the perfect villain for what we've seen so far. We have two vampires (Shtbeard and Kevin) who valued their humanity and one who is on his way to redemption. But Pyotr has given up on all of it. He rejected his humanity and is perfectly fine being a monster
Oh no, I clicked on this the instant I saw it with unbound glee only to realise it premieres in a little over a days time. I guess this is a good opportunity to practice my patience.
I don't know if this is intentional, but after the 40K Voxcast of the Emprah vs. Uriah, I find it interesting that Big D loves humanity in the sense that attachments and imperfections are what makes us... us. A Vampire could get new powers, become a hunter, no longer be locked and powerless in a seemingly futile life... but a human could form relationships, love smaller beings than them, feel safe among people stronger than them without needing to raise their guard, and choose their own fate. This is why I love your work, Bruva. One moment it's gut-busting laughter and insanity parodying story and lore; the second it's a horrifying reminder of the dark world they are in; and third becomes a humanist and existentialist view of ourselves, and a show of why love is necessary in a cruel world.
This is a version of the Emperor who hasn't sawed off his compassion, and thus he can appreciate our flaws and weaknesses more than his 30th millenia counterpart ever could. The Big E refers to bringing his compassion back as "becoming human once again," implying that he himself acknowledges that without it he is NOT human anymore. In a strange way, he is a man who chose to embrace becoming a monster because he felt he had no other choice, not much different from Kindred here.
@@TheAngryXenite I love what alfabusa has injected into this setting, those with the original vision of 40k's true spirit would be proud, a far cry from the corrupted mainstream vision of this man baby's edgelord fantasy. 40k was a satire of cruelty, but now it is simply cruelty for cruelty's sake but Alfabusa hasn't forgotten how this franchise started. Tragic really, I hate capitalism and how it makes people into poopoo dumbdumb brains.
28:58 "You shall be my companion, bearer of my sigil, and Regent of a new paradigm shift, where such frivolities as the Masquerade shall no longer be necessary." ... *IS KEVIN GOING TO BE WoD MALCADOR?*
I love how basically noone but the main cast feel like copies of old characters. You took a dynamic that worked in the old show- that was basically made entirely of whole cloth, none of the source material- and just made it work in an entirely different context.
They took what they made on the basis of the previous setting without actually taking any of the setting into it. It's quite impressive from a writing standpoint.
While unlikely i can see them folding in other characters. A more fanatical hunter for Decius, an incompetent sheriff for the arbites leader... no clue who'd the custodes could be folded into tho. I wouldn't be disappointed if they kept only the characters shown so far either, this is great.
He did just get done eating two lower generation vampires and was already incredibly tough to begin with. He went from gen 11 to gen 10, got a shit load of vitae, and lowered his humanity by a lot assuming he wasn't already on a path of enlightenment (which, eh, maybe).
@@TheDeceptiveMoss maybe scarier, he was almost startved and now high on vitae, I think he might be in full on beast frenzy, wich isn't pretty with nosferaptus
After hearing Kevin's story...I don't want him to die. I want him to join Big D and his crew. Honestly. Kevin despite being a vampire wizard, has problems that are all too human. At first I wanted to laugh at his pain because he was set up as a joke but now? I feel sorry for him. Truly I do. Also I think Big D could beat Caine. He is the Man Emperor after all.
Didn't you hear that laugh at the end? Take that, and then harkon it back to D's attitude after we see him "finish" his interrogation at the end of the second episode. D played Kevin, and outsmarted/outwitted him by using false sympathy and playing on Kevin's need and want to feel human again. I'm sorry, but D's not letting him live. This is World of Darkness, not World of Wholesome Endings.
@@coyote4326 Maybe, maybe not. Though it is a world of darkness, there are a few glimmers of light. Alas I am all too aware Kevin's ultimate fate is to die but perhaps he can aid Big D's cause before that. I just feel Kevin deserves a chance to go out on his terms. Not Big Ds, not The Camerrla, Not The Canite, his. It is the least Big D can do. Besides with Pyotor loose at the end of the second episode, Kevin could prove handy.
@@coyote4326 I mean, the whole point of TTS was to see a powerful person try to unfuck a fucked world. So there is a good chance that carried over. Though Kevin might be dead, it is by far not as clear cut as you make it seem.
I'm an economist who does accounting. I get Kevin. Fortunately accounting does pay and can even be interesting when you get into the parts that mimic a forensic investigation. Accountants hold people *accountable* at the end of the day.
@@kristiankepley5944 No, I'm merely frustrated with them. Uneducated or differently educated people who think they know how national economies work or think that a "free market" means an unregulated market on the other hand...
According to big D, finances are the vampire hunter’s best friend. I wonder if there’s a special subset of accountants and economists who specifically teach others how to recognize vampire financial tricks and shell companies
@@AnIdiotsLantern That would be pretty clever. Unlike the classical methods for spreading awareness of vampires, spreading awareness of their financial habits from the perspective of a tax accountant would likely fly over the head of all but the most recently raised and financially educated vampires. And recently raised vampires are very rarely the ones in charge.
So, this episode confirmed to me that of the Pack, everyone except Pyotr is still on the Path of Humanity, and are getting close to changing their path, as is the Sabbat way. Pyotr sounds and acts like he's on the Path of Power and the Inner Voice,which would fit perfectly for him being a leader. Good shit, it threw me off that D was showing genuinely heartfelt compassion for Kevin. #FindSmerplesAForeverHome
Oh no. Just realized Pyotr the "tool" diablarized the biker which is 10th generation while he was 12th. He was waiting for this whole opportunity. With his experience he is going to be extremely dangerous. I guess Big D would be shocked who actually won the elimination match.
@@13loodCrow Considering the generation issue was the only thing holding him back and being 10th generation is considered an actual member of the Vampire club this turn of events is game-changing for him.
@@melgar432 "You shall be my Companion, bearer of my sigil and Regent of a new paradigm age." We have The Emperor, Malcador and the First Custodian This excites me to no ends
Eeeeeeehhhhh... This is Spiritual Man-peror of Mankind we're talking about. He'll either succeed or get thrown into a magical wheelchair at worst. He'll probably to become magic himself through that too, to be honest.
@@trollman_2345 More likely he would discover that Caine isnt really a bad guy. Not anymore anyway. The 3rd generation are where the true evil lies. Although not as much as one might think. Some of them are actually tolarable
Caine actually has a pretty high humanity and at his blood thickness can only gain sustenance eating vampires if he isn't roided out on so much blood that he doesn't need to eat at all. I very much doubt big D and Caine would fight if they where to meet as from what I recall caine is no longer into that. It is his ignorance more than a drive that leads him to want to kill caine. But even then caine's stats are based on if a vampire wanted to fight caine, if an angel from wod, a incredibly high ranking demon, or possibly a reckoning/mutation hunter of the right level challenged caine there is a decent chance someone would have to actually write up a character sheet, because not all pc factions are created equally and some of the books give you access to truly rediculously powerscaled magical species.
I honestly do not know if Big-D is playing Kevin, or genuinely giving him a chance here. That's how well this is done. On one hand, kill the parasites. On the other, if there is a _chance_ to restore their humanity, and they are worthy of it...
My prediction is that he fights and dies to pyotr(maybe not to protect the mortals but to avenge ape and bikerbro, probably mainly to style on pyotr's shitty 12th gen bloodline) but weakens the nosferatu enough for the D family to finish him, and kevin chooses them as Mr. Smurple's forever home. I think that's the best of both worlds, the meeting of optimism for Kevin's redemption and cooperation and the reality/pessimism of his affliction making him forever untrustworthy and unpredictable as an ally.
I would say Big-D is genuinely trying to see if they can restore their humanity. after all, kevin even after all that he suffered is still very much humane. he even told his story to big-D, and i doubt he did it to any of the other vampires, so there could be some form of trust. Maybe, just maybe, kevin will be the malcador to the Big-D
I mean, the Canon Emperor doesn't have that level of empathy, at least by the crusade era. TTS Emps might grow that back or be reunited with his better nature. Big D though, hard to say.
@@bthsr7113 Big D appears to be a version of the Emperor who lacks the crushing bitterness. He's still got the ego and the trust issues, but he's very compassionate and empathetic. I think this offer might be legitimate and he's at least understanding enough that Kevin is, fundamentally, a person who got fucked SUPER hard and has been desperately trying to claw some sort of existence back for who knows how long.
Please add to that the over-the-top voice-acting, two nutbars screaming at each other, then the direction of Kevin dropping to a defeated talk for the parable, and Big D's offer.
I feel so bad for Kevin too now, dude just still sorta kinda wants to be normal and make something of himself. After he got bit, life just kept biting him in the ass and didn't seem to stop.
Maybe he helps the hunters fight Pyoter, seeing how the Nos- "Sludge Lad" has escaped and is physically stronger than ever. After all, juggling dumpsters was on the list of powers they had.
@@Cha-Khia This is true, and he could probably juggle whole dump trucks right now with his increased strength. It would be cool to see him help fight against Pyoter! :D
@@cursedseagullgames He's even a Generation higher than Pyotr, and has Dominate with some Blood he can stop Pyotr dead in his tracks, and in super looking forward to it
@@Haloister He might actually be more than a gen above Pyotr. Diablerie isn't guaranteed to improve your generation unless the Kindred you're consuming is more than 2 generations above you. So while eating Shitbeard would definitely bring him up to Generation 11, his diablerization of the Gangrel wouldn't necessarily have done so, and neither would Shitbeard have brought him to 10. It can happen, but it's luck based since Pyotr is almost definitely too young to actually adopt any sort of Path that enhances his Diablerie.
Even worse! I just realised there's another reference to the Technocratic Union at the 5:32 mark when Big D calls Kevin a "Magic Man" for being an accountant. That's the Syndicate! They're the money guys and they call themselves "the magic men"! There are bits of skull and brain matter all over my room right now.
@@KirillTheBeast I'm fairly convinced Big D's continuous drug use and just... How much he knows, he must be a Sahijiya. However, the blue man, despite the fact I've written an over 40 pages essay on WoD still eludes me.
@@JoelRiter See, now that TheBurgerkrieg has made a reference to HtP in his HtR video, I'm kind of expecting Bruva and the boys to wink back by, say, showing Big D chilling on a bean bag chair while high out of his mind (Sahijiya CONFIRMED). Thing is, Bruva's gang is so good at misdirecting and subverting expectations that at this point I'm just here for the trip. Like, I know I'm being played and I'm not even going to bother doing anything about it xD Also, what in the Unholy Dark Mother of Fudge is up with the Blue Man? I know people who are neck-deep into WoD lore who also have no clue about that one...
@@JoelRiter my crackpot theory is that the blueman is Malkav,aka the first malkavian mostly due to the "laughs at the ignorance of man" thing and the 99 pound store seems like a malkavian level prank
@@lol-fc9kg interesting theory, certainly possible. I do think our favorite Swede is in fact a Malkavian (or at least a ghoul) and that's why, after drinking the only blood sufficient enough for a mighty wizard such as Kevin (and we all know what's in Big D's blood all the time), which is why the Kevin doll advertisement is possible. We also know very little about the Regent herself. With that being said, it does appear Big D was in Stygia due it being a reflection of our world, nearly a memory if you will, and being covered in shadows on the outside. I would like to guess Big D has some knowledge on Stygia and the Stygian hierarchy, but that may very well not be the case. I don't necessarily think the blue man is a wraith, after all Big D even assessed him as this and decided against it. The idea of growth does match Stygia in a sense as well.
This is why I love these. Vampire isn't about vampires. It is about holding onto your humanity. Kevin was taken advantage of by a group of "elites" and stolen away from his humanity and is now confronted by the inhumane eat or be eaten reality of both the Cainite but also the othering of humans. Vampires at the core are fairly victims, comparible to a homeless person that has been pushed out, just outside and that disconnect pushing them towards insanity. I know that there is more to it, but the actual logistics of it are fairly simple for the vampire to survive, blood donations does not kill the donor after all. This "Disease" that Big D fights against is not just the vampirism, or the awakened mages, the disease is the whole hearted acceptance of the in humanity, like Pyior who indoctorened the others into the Sabbat. Even now Big D maintains the acceptance of River Dolphins of Big E. They are still humans unless they are truely traitors towards humanity, and knows that the easiest way to prevent the latter is to remind them that they are still, even after all that has happened, they are indeed still human.
The fact Alfabusa pulled this trope so well without making the aforementioned vampire moe and female is all the more impressive, in fact this is one of the things I like the most about his animation style, while I do love my anime hottie it's a great break of phase to see a style which doesn't rely on the neoteny.
I, too, have had that look upon my face. The exacting of vengence upon the enemies of Man is as exciting as anything, and just as... what's another word for "marketable?"
Kevin: "If only God would forgive me!" Big D: "Alright you're forgiven." Either that's a not so subtle nod to the OG TTS series, that its a simple comedic moment or that will be a plot point later on lol. I'm not sure which, I wanna say option one is the answer though because of the series similarities. Still 10/10, awesome as always.
my headcanon /theory is that this is BIg E in the past and these people hews with are what inspired his templates for the characters we know from TTS. that or its Big E in a comma from 30part 2 rembering the past but with current trauma put in. or I'm very wrong and just coping anyways it makes me happy thinking this way s it gives me hope of a return.
@@jacobsmith4428 That'll be interesting. Cain appears as the Taxi Driver in LA during the events of Bloodlines, which took place in 2004. The Parenting takes place in 2006, so whether or not Cain decides to relocate to the UK and resume being a simple cabbie remains up in the air.
Big D, future Master of Mankind: "... Oh! Hello, uncle!" Just a friendly taxi driver unless you know: "Hello, nephew! How's things in the modern world?"
@@KingKazul400 I'm pretty sure Cain was just in LA temporarily to check out the rumors of a dug-up Antideluvian. He's The Wanderer after all, heading over to England for a while after the events of the game would not be far-fetched at all.
"Do you know how long I could have talked about something I actually know stuff about!?" As a US history nerd who loves giving impromptu history lessons, I feel that frustration deep in my soul.
Yeah but if he does attempt to kill Caine, then every Kindred will follow him into the grave. Source: Time of Judgement Fair is Foul, bad ending Lilith kills Caine and every Vampire who shares even a tiny fraction of his blood died with him.
@@nalrashido isn't that literally every vampire? At least every properly defined blood drinking vampire, so not the chinese ones that feed on bad omens.
@@bonogiamboni4830 No not them they ain't Vampires per say, more like walking corpses who feed on Chi (Ki). There's a lot of similarities and a couple of differences. The biggest one is that Kuei-Jin aren't made by another Kuei-Jin, but by events that happened in life which suddenly turned them into a Kuei-Jin waking up near their dead human body. They start off as a Chih-mei (meaning Demon in Chinese I believe) who will feast on human flesh to get their chi fix, up to and including the corpse of their old bodies. Usually after the cannibalistic temporary insanity, they regain consciousness and realize what happened.
My headcanon is still that Kitten is a vampire (evidenced by covering every centimetre of his body) and the reason Big Dee is so chummy with him is the same reason he extended that olive branch to Kevin. Because even in the turmoil of unlife Kitten still clings to his humanity
This was excellent! The dialog between two unhinged characters while avoiding decent into lolsorandom. Riposting around each other's remarks while converging on a similar wavelength. This is great writing. A+ metaphors, too. "Power and charisma like a premium radiator" had me rolling.
It sounds like Sir D is attempting to form his own small faction for the vampires who actually genuinely attempt to hold on to their humanity. which is surprising. Maybe i'm too used to monster hunters pulling "Van-Hellsing hatecrimes" (refer to TV tropes) in most media but this is genuinely an optimistic approach that I was not expecting in the slightest and I love how much it caught me off guard. This video makes me feel like D's plan (if he even has one) is to just sort of kill all the violent and monstrous vampires but if some of them want to just own an apartment and work a nightshift with a less murdery source of blood he would let them do so. Like if there was a way for them to live without causing harm and turning into monsters he would let them do it. And he's under no illusions that it would be easy to pull that off. Not in the slightest. He's not overly optimistic or naive. He's seen how bad the supernatural can get but still believes it to be possible to pull off. Which is kind of crazy to imagine in the WoD where secrecy of the supernatural is seemingly tantamount to a law of physics. If it's supernatural, then theres *some* reason they can't live a normal life in the open, completely honest about their true nature, it's just the rules. Mages are all about giving a sh*t and believing in what you believe so hard that they can alter reality but have paradox and the ascension war which keeps them from meaningfully changing the world for the better, which all of them want to do in their own way (except the Nephandi, for them making things better means making things *Worse* with a capital W). This is actually pretty similar to Kevin's situation, in that they have big dreams and should have the tools to achieve them but for a variety of reasons they are prone to spectacular failure. (because if a Mage gets too close to achieving any kind of utopia the frankly pessimistic consensus sort of just takes the wind from their sails with a helping of Paradox). Werewolves have the Veil and Delirium and their war with the Wyrm, its probably hard to just own an apartment and feed your cat like a guy like Kevin would want if you're a shapeshifting killing machine fueled by rage and you now have a duty to fight entropy-spirit-possessed Captain Planet villains who want to kill everybody and everything for the insane spirit personifying all entropy gone mad. Vampires have the masquerade and all the downsides that comes with their condition, which we went into great detail with in this video here, the least of which being that you are now a cog in the machine of an oppressive mind-r*apey power structure that uses supernaturally enhanced emotional manipulation to keep itself afloat. Never mind the fact that you're never going to be able to eat your favorite foods like Bagels or Creamed crackers, or do something as simple as see the sunrise and not immediately burn to ash in a horrible fiery death. Your old life is over, theres no going back, you have been irrevocably changed, not necessarily for better or worse but according to most, mostly for worse. Which is why its so deeply satisfying to hear D basically say "Yeah no F*ck that. F*ck secrecy, f*ck your new circumstances, f*ck the hand fate has dealt you. F*ck your new limitations. Freedom never comes from surrender, do what you want, don't let your sh*tty luck dictate who you are".
And that’s not even getting into the Chronicles Of Darkness races like the Changelings or the Prometheans. Nearly every Supernatural in the WoD/CoD had a fundamental aspect of their Humanity changed or destroyed (or in the case of the Prometheans, forced to learn it on their own).
Honestly if he was able to make himself and his ideology know a lot of super natural beings would probably coming flocking to this new way to achieve what they want.
@@Shark_Rock Yeah I mean which sounds better, having to constantly live a lie while enslaved mind and soul to someone dozens of centuries older than you, or working a nightshift and needing a card to pick up a bag from the blood bank every once in a while, but otherwise living a relatively normal life.
@@jtlego1 Heck not even old world of darkness changelings have it easy, on account of *boredom* literally being deadly to them. Being bored at your day job is one thing, but it's a whole other thing when said boredom is killing you in a less than metaphorical sense.
At first I was a bit curious on what Big D's Hunter creed could be but after seeing how he regularly refers to vampirism as a "disease" and how he interacted with Kevin I feel like he may in fact be a Redeemer of all things, which was definitely not something I was expecting from him.
@@tzaphkielconficturus7136 That could be the case but then again we haven't seen him displaying his full power yet. As well a lot of Edges usually have more subtle effects, such as again a lot of Redeemer Edges simply allowing them to talk and reason with supernatural beings a lot easier.
@@theodorehodbor5080 the things he talks about in this and other videos suggests to me that this is the god-emperor in this age and what he was doing back then, since the game of ur he mentions is thousands of years old, and some of the other things he speaks of with firsthand knowledge even a imbued human would not live long enough to see those events
@@geoffreypershouse70 that is pure speculation, and given Big D, i wouldn't put it past him to simply have learned of the thousand year old game for the lols and not actually be that old. and him being the god-emperor would break so much WOD lore I don't even know where to begin with how stupid a decision to make him that would be
the "Three points for Kevin" and "Confound thee Kevin" interaction Actually made me cough up a lung laughing and cry a bit Edit: Kevin made me cry again
Can we all appreciate that Big-D said "House of Tremere" instead of "Clan Tremere"? And that Kevin did not react in any way? That's some deep foreshadowing shit at play here if you ask me. That is NOT common knowledge in any part of the oWoD, and they found a way to let us know that Big-D _knows_ and Kevin _does not_ in what, five seconds? Kudos, bruva and team. KUDOS.
To be frank Kevin spat a lot of "unconventional vampire knowledge", but i should also mention that in the first episode he was talking about "Arcanum", which is basically a society which has the most knowledge about every unnatural subject, so he may have got this knowledge, and also knowledge of TRUE magic (magus dynamic magic) there
I also want to point out that Big D refers to Vampires as "Cainites", knows Cain exists like it's a matter of fact, and uses a title that is *not* common for him: The First Murderer. He also knows about shit that's ANCIENT even by Vampire standards. He also doesn't really appear to have great respect for God or most religion, and has an insane degree of resistance to mind control, being completely immune to the ravages of The Delirium which is almost unheard of, even among the Imbued. I think he's Fallen, perhaps even Lucifer himself or a similar entity who escaped imprisonment in the Abyss. The title of "First Murderer" wouldn't mean that much to a mortal, but would resonate at an extreme level with Fallen: Caine's murder of Abel changed the course of the Fallen's revolution and ushered in the Time of Atrocities; no Elohim nor Fallen had actually slain another unto that point. It would also give a good accounting for the "House of Tremere," as Fallen have Houses themselves: House of Namaru, House of Halaku, House of Neberu...
being a vampire is a pretty rough deal, being tremere is even worse everybody hates your existance for a crime your forefather comited and you probably know nothing about and you are a slave to the whims of your elders on top of your thirst, your mind and soul twisted against you kevin did far better than most even dared to, and that alone deserves credit great and mighty indeed hope he becomes a recurring character
Yes, although much of the reasons other vampires hate tremere isn't really the atrocities and gargoyles, because it's not like the Tzimisce really care what happened to their elders back then nor do the ventrue care what happened to those noses and gangrels. They hate the Tremere, because they have been inordinately successful in committing those atrocities, and it makes them feel jealous, and this amuses me greatly.
@@tzaphkielconficturus7136 Envy of success of a group of people, can't think where this has happened in real world history 🤔 Sorry, couldn't help but point that out, I didn't know that about the lore though so thank you :)
Kevin is a sad tale, though it would be nice to see him turn up in more episodes. Definitely a cool character. Soundtrack in the background is a blast as always.
Don’t worry. I think Kevin will be an indispensable part of this series. I think he was an indispensable part of the last one too but we simply didn’t recognize him. Also, I’m I the only one who thinks Kevin would be a more believable wizard if he had a hood and an eagle winged staff? He strikes me as a sort of mentor figure like Merlin. He’s the sort of person who would assemble a team of inquisitive people. I’d bet his employees would wear gray. The great wizards of fiction all have impregnable fortresses. Saroman had issenguard, Merlin has the crystal cave, Dumbledore had Hogwarts, etc. I’ll bet kevin would shoot higher. He’d probably create a fortress from an outer solar system moon….Titan for example.
Honestly after my past 10 years of life; Kevin's parable hits way too close to home for me. After trying in vain to get a stay on my own personal dreams in regards to writing and artistry, and having that fail and blow up in my face I'm now close to achieving a bachelors in ACCOUNTING. To be honest, Kevin's parable is what I fear most in life. Being forced out of a position to do something big, I fear I'll just relegate myself to something miserable and empty in a job i may have no passion and love for. I can still feel it too under the misery the past 10 years have brought me, that kind of artistic urge for something still persists and right now I'm trying to revive it before i'm further forced into a path presented as my only opportunity that may not be spiritually fulfilling.
I cannot emphasize how each of these "villains" are turning into victims of circumstance and their lives are appearing to be sad tragedies... behind the face of each monster is a story that makes them all to human. Let this be a warning to everyone, while it is easy to dehumanize those whom you passionately disagree with, maybe even hate, never let that hatred turn to making them appear less human. The moment you let those whom you oppose appear less human, you lose something in turn. A very human part of you withers, and with enough time, could very well die. Let this stand as a cautionary tale to us all. And not end up like Door.
Reminds me of this quote; "He who fights monsters should see to it that he himself does not become a monster. And if you gaze for long into an abyss, the abyss gazes also into you." - Friedrich Nietzsche
At the end of every gun barrel, is another human. No matter how monstrous they may seem. Every soldier has a story, a life behind him. The same goes for the supernatural in WoD. All of the humanoids who are turned, were humans. Most vampires never wanted to become vampires in the first place. They were murdered. They were kidnapped and forced into medieval serfdom. They were normal people forced into a survival of the fittest situation. Dont you just feel sympathy for them? Their lives?stolen. their human behaviors? Ruined.
Have a calm but fundamentally unstable conversation with Big D like the Great and Mighty Kevin, except they also keep arguing with the tv over whether tomatoes are fruit or veggies.
Can I just mention how good 30:37 and beyond is? The sheer emotions in it. To hear a fledgling vampire tell a story of his former life, and how tragicly dull it was, and how optimism died with his old self. There's still something strangely human in there, something beyond mere degerenate appearance. A man trying to escape slavery, only to fall into another bond of sorts. This whole series so far, is just excellent writing. Something I've never seen before in its quality. Good work, Bruva.
My god you really start to feel for every character even is some start at flat like the the Great and Mighty Kevin, you understand and sympathise and care even if you don't want to. Great job to everyone to contributed to this audiolog to actually bring HOPE to a world near as dark as 40k. Just a Great production and my love goes out for everyone to keep going on this incredible path.
Dayum. After listening to HTP for, no joke, 30th time, you really start to hear and notice all the details. The subtle voice cracks of the actors, nigh unnoticable yet wholesome are insane. Proper thanks for doing this, my friend, and I do hope to see more of these masterpieces!
Okay, Kevin’s account of being controlled by the Tremere is deeply, viscerally uncomfortable, especially if you’ve experienced abusive gaslighting. EDIT: Since I seem to have everyone’s attention, I’m gonna be honest: this episode made me tear up. I _relate_ to Kevin. I understand how it feels to be gaslit, I know how it feels to be stuck in a dead-end job, I completely get the feeling of having dreams and knowing that you’ll never be able to achieve them. I totally understand how _hopeless_ he feels.
Yes pretty much almost all blood bonds are like that honestly, they're used entirely for vampires to enforce obedience over each other. Depending on the canon they're arguably the primary reason for the Anarch War and why the Anarchs and Sabbat exist even.
“Why would I serve the First Murderer when I can kill him myself?” “You’re insane.” “You aren’t the first person to tell me that…” …I am legitimately questioning if this is a ridiculous statement or not. Because on one hand, it’s CAIN(E). On the other, Big D has clearly shown that he knows his limits and the limits of others around him. Just look back at his seriousness about werewolves. So the fact that he seems DEAD FUCKING SERIOUS about this is a pretty big deal.
yeah no, you CANT kill Caine, like the only rulebook where the creator gave him a stablock for GMs? His only stats were "you fucking lose" in all caps.
@@arthenosthefirst8176 he said he will kill the first murderer, not caine. now this may sound weird and maybe totally wrong, but maybe this specific wording means he will kill the *beast* within caine, the murderous tendencies of caine at the time of the act immortalized by god in the form of the beast could be considered the First Murderer. D is no dumbass, he probably knows caine is untouchable, and maybe the reason he is even attempting to redeem kevin is in an attempt to see if redemption even works on kindred, as a quality assurance test to see if redemption can truly be used to bludgeon Caine's Beast or as he said "The Disease" into submission.
@@Karatys I don’t think that works. “The Beast” comes with vampirism, but Cain murdered Abel before he became a vampire , so HE is the first murderer, not the monster within.
Funny theory would be that technically D is actually Abel reincarnated/resurrected/reborn is gradually making his way up the chain to finally face his brother, Caine, as D, the Dead man walking
@@RyoKasai25 So what? Is it not interesting to think of within the context of what we currently know about Big D? Wouldn't it make sense as to why he seems to hold such a deep seated hatred against Caine and his kindred? Do you not have curiosity over what he might be alluding to with some of outbursts? Isn't his vast knowledge much more in depth and meticulous than most other hunters? Does it not intrigue you to learn more of his secrets? All I'm saying is that it would make sense to me if that was the case, just because what I said lines up with another story doesn't mean that it has no merit in it, even if the originality isn't there but it's the characters, their journey, their interactions with the world around them and through their actions as well as how much you want to see them succeed is how a story can truly be defined and made special
Except... well, if the crew do intend to make more parallels between this and TTS, then available to them is the option of having the Master of Mankind be the son of Abel, who killed his uncle in a ritual that used Abel's skull to spell through sorcery An Eye For An Eye Is The End Of Empires.
It's official, this new series features significantly better characters and tone. Have to congratulate you guys on this, you all took that disaster and made it a miracle.
@@Ultrox007 I can see that. I actually prefer Big-D over Big-E so far, though. Big-E was great, but Big-D just seems like the perfect translation from "superhuman crusader against Chaos who has lost too much of his soul to be 'all there' in the head." to "(exceptional?Super?)Human crusader against the forces of darkness who has seen way too much in his life to be 'all there' in the head." Both are extraordinarily intelligent and capable but have some issues in the head that occasionally cause issues. Like Big-D's hints of insanity and Big-E's inability to debate a choas worshipper particularly well.
The more I listen to Kevin's story the more it resonates with me. For years I worked with survival as the main goal. Dreams still there but set aside to keep things stable. I found myself loosing parts of myself too slowly to take notice at the time. In retrospect it was a depression of sorts, at the time I thought of it as a natural hardening of emotion to circumstances beyond my control. I tried to escape it by saving and saving limiting myself and smoking as a way to cope to deaden myself to blows. Always the same thing happened I'd get to a point and then the car would die or some such and I was back to the start again. I thought not of love or of the future so found neither. It was when opportunities opened up for college I awoke. When I found love better than I thought possible that I awoke. When I realized I could do more with myself than what I was that I awoke. It is by the aid of others that we awake ourselves anew and move past just the beast working for survival and to the man feeling and connecting with others, and in connecting with ourselves. Damn this thing slaps keep the train going Alpha. Let Kevin have his freedom!
I'm currently forcing myself to change my path in life and it's a continuous struggle... But i know that if i let go, i will go back to the old road... And i prefer to crash and burn than going back...
No joke, this series gets across the pathos and uremitting darkness with only a faint glimmer of light of the World of Darkness better than just about anything I've seen from those gamelines. Kevin's final story about the man he was and who he ultimately failed to become due to nothing more than the cruelty of chance and circumstance really hits home for me, as someone who has similarly had opportunities closed off for himself due to nothing more than a twist of fate. I REALLY can't wait to see where this series goes from here, especially since I was a little trepidatious about it at the start. You all do fantastic work! Keep it up, you wonderful goofballs!
Always been a huge fan of TTS, but HTP is a masterpiece! This video in particular is my favorite, so many layers to the dialogue, Earndil and speaker D's deliveries in this are outgoing, but surprisingly natural, and that's saying nothing of the A tier script. I quote Kevins' "once a mighty and powerful accountant" segment at least once a week to my partner. I simply cannot get enough of this back and forth between D and Kevin! Not like this comment or my opinion matters, but Alfa if you read this, thank you. Your shows walk the beautiful lines between *HoRrId ClOwN wOrD* , whimsy, madness, brilliance, and can truly tug at any emotional strings . Thank you !
What's EVEN MORE impressive is that they've managed to sneak A BUNCH of easter eggs abd obscure references about the setting in the script, such as right after the line you quoted. At the 5:32 mark, Big D calls him "a real MAGIC MAN"; that's in reference to MtA, where the Syndicate (money guys of the Technocratic Union) call themselves "the magic men". I've given this video well over a dozen views and I just got that one. The writing in this series is unbelievably good.
I'm surprised to learn that Big D seems to be a follower of the Creed of Mercy. Being curious straight up trying to redeem the most human of the vampires he captured and seems to be making some genuine headway in it. Which is impressive considering how egotistical and insane Big D is. So I love the back and forth between Big D and Kevin because seriously these two are such big ego screaming nut jobs but if it weren't for the fact that one's a hunter and one's a vampire you get the two would be the best of buds in another life. Oh certainly loud screaming and fighting all the goddamn time as they rant and rave at one another over every little insane thing that crosses their mind but still the best of buds. I hope things work out with Kevin and he becomes an ally a Big D because I just want to see these two nut jobs continue having these insane rambling conversations. It would be a shame to see it end
Just because you're an egomaniacal madman who's constantly high and is probably suffering from minor radiation poisoning doesn't mean you can't have a little compassion^^
I just realize the possibility of Kevin going to a Laundry mat to clean his robes every week and his fellow vampires probably never asked how he has clean clothes.
If they did ask he would probably just respond "I AM A GREAT AND MIGHT WIZARD! REMOVING THE FILTH STAINING MY DRESS-WEAR IS A PAULTRY TASK!"
I clean them with blood magic! it is a ceremony unfit for your lowly eyes!
Oskar Bondesson this reads exactly like he does in the video. Good job!
@@davelife3324 Thank you
You have given me the horrific mental image of Kevin just standing there in his underwear while his clothes clean, as well as the even more repulsive alternative of him washing everything at once.
"I killed Houdini!"
"Wizards are nerds you can easily punch"
... oh my god, Big D was the guy who slugged Houdini in the gut and ruptured his spleen.
Big d is also over 100 years old because of this
appendix
Fun trivia: there were a lot of people who wanted Houdini dead, and most of them claimed to be necromancers.
(They wanted him dead because he kept proving they were not necromancers, just guys who got their side piece to wear something skimpy, put on a stupid voice, and say they were possessed by a ghost. you may wonder where the money in this was: answer, america is on on of its puritan jags at the time, this is a 'respectable' way to get a look at a titty, and also this is when ectoplasm gets invented as a thing. weird that after the lady wearing very little clothing is done putting on a show for a bunch of keyed-up weirdos there's all this strange white sticky stuff around, huh)
How many times did Markus get punched in episode one?
Suspicions grow. . .
It was Houdini's appendix that was ruptured though, not his spleen
You know, I recently found out how Houdini died. Apparently he liked to boast about his high pain tolerance, and would often let fans punch him to demonstrate. So one day a fan meets him backstage, socks him in the gut without warning, and later that night he died from an untreated ruptured appendix. So my conclusion is that Big D's rather extreme reaction could be a sort of ptsd-like guilt over accidentally killing a man he was a fan of. Or maybe Houdini was an actual wizard in the World of Darkness universe, I dunno.
I love either of these ideas.
Though considering the actual Houdini despised "spiritual mediums" and went out of his way to discredit them as predatory charlatans, I could also see him as a Hunter. Hell, Houdini being a skilled, paragon Hunter would just be more reason Big-D would be a fan.
I thought he died of the flu but that actually is an excuse that is used for celebrities that died in ways that don't really go well as newspaper titles if they are not gorey or cause a stir up. Like Michel Jackson or Bernie Mack they died in "Odd" ways but the world gets a "They passed away from flu.
Specifically it was a fan who punched him UNANNOUNCED. So he had no time to tense up and prepare for the punch like normal. That fan was a real asshole.
@@ElectromagNick Houdini could still be a mage. He'd just be with the Technocracy, actively undermining the public conception of magic as a real force. Maybe a Grey Man from the New World Order.
But as others said, canonically Houdini was a Tremere. It's actually somewhat disappointing that nearly every historical figure is some form of supernatural oddity in the WoD. Except, oddly enough, Adolf Hitler; he smoozed with supernatural denizens (especially Nephandi) but wasn't one himself.
@@ScreamingDoom hitler was too much of a loser to get supernatural powers
I love that Kevin has apparently survived multiple bloodhunts and keeps wandering around dropping truth bombs about the masquerade, what a gigachad.
What was the timestamp again?
@@ggefgtherobust4076 somewhere around just before the middle I think
The fact he survived the first bloodhunt is astonishing, the fact that he survived multiple bloodhunts is incredible/impossible.
@@nalrashido well if it was not for the drugs in D's system he would have pulled a 1v4 against hunters, he seem to have a brain and we actually havent seen him use any bloodmagic, he surely have a trick or two up the book
@@MrLekorrigan He is a former Cammy. So I'd imagine him pretty versed in Blood Magick. But judging what we've seen thus far his specialization appears to be in Dominate.
“Freedom never comes through surrender” is such a raw line. The writing is top notch
This is such great characterization for Big D. Don’t just tell us he’s charismatic, actually show him being charismatic. He plays Kevin like a fiddle this entire time, giving and taking away, until he gets what he wants.
Big D might be nuts but he’s very good at what he does. There’s something kingly about him. It’s curious.
@@AnIdiotsLantern He's clearly the Man-Emperor of Mankind.
Always love when Big D, who most of the time act like a total lunatic, gives us such VERY deep lines. Shows he's more complex as a character.
I personally empathise more with the lines around it.
“Spare me your optimism! It was stolen from me along with my life.”
The feeling of certainty in hopelessness isn’t something so easily shifted with the platitudes and hollow words of others.
“This story comes to no good end.”
It’s a depressing certainty, to know that you aren’t and will never be part of the 1%. To know your life will never be easy, famed or acknowledged, that you will spend your life drudging along and merely enduring it.
“Perhaps not. But it’s the only chance I have left.”
A truly despairing thought. It’s one I felt I approached a few times.
To give up on everything and hope there’s a release to all of *this*, not a good ending, merely an early and quick one.
Kevin’s existential misery touches me more than D’s open wonder. He speaks so highly of something people like me cannot muster anymore. The wonder in the world just burned out.
@@rustkarl Did you watch Magia Record S3? Kuroe's fate comes to mind, by that point only divine intervention could save them.
Magia Record game's on the other hand, shows what happens when a person decided not to give up hope even at the greatest cost of all, the entirety of what she was, is and will be. But then again, that's a price most humans unwittingly pay every single day of their lives.
You know, this puts Kevin yelling at Ape for 'overfeeding' into a new light - that's not the first time he's witnessed someone's unsustainable lifestyle of excessive exploitation attract unwanted attention...
"Why would I serve the First Murderer when I can kill him myself" is such a raw line and I love it
Yeh.
yeah holy hell that was rad to hear.
Aren’t the rules around fighting him that ‘You don’t?’
@@rustkarl >Big D
>Rules
"No witnesses, No crime" applies to universal laws of reality too
That's our Emperor!
"Everything must add up or you will be subtracted from the equation!"
Is a strangely threatening line to hear from an accountant.
It's a phrase that justifies any and all action so long as the desired outcome is achieved.
Why do you think the Joker is afraid of the IRS?
Accountants are like stealth lawyers, absolutely terrifying.
@@arklaw8306 yes. That was a subject if a comuc, i believe
@@draakgamer2366 Legal ninjas, if you will.
So I figured out what Big D is offering Kevin. The "path" he's referring to is Golconda, and it's a "mystical state of enlightenment" where a vampire is no longer subject to the Beast, or alternatively the Beast and human aspects of a vampire are in balance.
If Golconda is achieved, several suggested benefits are outlined in the lore; the most common ones are a lack of frenzy (total control over their Beast instincts), reduced blood consumption (down to mere drops per week), the ability to learn Disciplines without generational limits (which is to say Kevin could potentially learn the higher-tier vampire powers on par with an Antedeluvian, and become a _true_ sorcerer), and others not expounded upon here.
Some say it is even possible for a Cainite in a state of Golconda to return to humanity and leave behind vampirism entirely. Kevin could choose to become mortal, walk in the sun again, and perhaps even join D's "family."
The only way for a Cainite to start the path to Golconda is for someone to tell them of it, which Big D just did Kevin. And it's a long and arduous path to walk, where the Cainite must regain their humanity, feel remorse, resist the temptations of vampirism, and make amends for any crimes they've committed as much as possible. It's expected that the Cainite will have a 'guru' to guide them on their quest, which again is a role Big D seems poised to fill.
There _is_ a catch: to achieve the state of Golconda, a vampire must undergo a sort of "vision quest" called a _suspire._ They "go inside themselves" and confront the Beast. If the Cainite succeeds, they gain control and achieve Golconda.
If they fail, the Beast takes control of _them._ The vampire undergoes their "last frenzy," called _wassail,_ and completely loses their soul and humanity, turning into a Wight; a completely feral vampire who is the Beast within themselves and is utterly beyond saving.
Oh I don't like that last bit...Oh Kevin is in for some hard times for sure.
I think Kevin can pull it off...
He's determined enough to do it and Smurples is his strenght
I have never heard of this part of the lore and i honestly love it. Ggwp Kevin Golconda awaits.
A bit near the end of a recent ep seems to strongly imply this too
God that's so tense I can't wait
"I am an accountant, do you know how much i hate mankind?!?!" That absolutely got me.
That had my accountant GF laughing her ass off.
@@sanguiniusonvacation1803 You mean Celestine?
I present you a list of crafts that would still fit this same joke:
-Middle/Highschool teacher
-Package delivery
-Fast food worker
-Janitor
-Sociologist
-Historian
@@EduardoFlores-bt4fo Add retail workers to that list.
@@stephenkenney8290 Don't forget game developers.
As an accountant, Kevin's hatred toward mankind and existence itself is the most relatable thing ever.
rip
"UGH NO ! I don't handle your pay that's the HR !"
The Hunters and the Sabbath can be happy he wasn't in retail.
@@l33t9r0u93 I read that in Kevin's voice, lol.
@@Cernumospete Oh, 100%. I have to deal with my fair share of clients "thinking" something works a certain way and not "knowing." Retail folks just get completely walked all over by the masses. I'm glad I'm in accounting, and feel for those in retail.
"I FEAR NO GODS, BABY"
"THERE ARE NO GOD-BABIES HERE, WIZARD"
This shouldn't be so funny.
I fully expected it to be followed up with:
"Only god-men."
Would the Star Child count?
@@Lykyk or man-babies
@@horstherbert35 Marckus was a few rooms over
I can't be the only one who had horrible flashbacks to Drakengard.
I can’t believe Mr. Smerples is a foster failure. Kevin just can’t accept that yet.
He has already found Mr.Smerples a forever home.
Kevin and Smerples are bad guys. But that doesn't mean they are bad guys
Originally I believed Kevin to be a parody of Tzeech. But now I think he is malcador
@@theotherbaratheon1895 I think he is the paradoy of the tour guy that Emp decided to keep in the throne room because he found him funny.
@@michasalamon8315 maybe...
@@theotherbaratheon1895 I don't really think Kevin is a parody of anybody from the original series. I think they just took the most popular and well fleshed out characters from TTS and are otherwise trying to tell an original story. Not everything needs to be a callback
“And then Kevin died”
Damn… that part hit me really hard for some reason
A man of minor means, with small dreams, trying to claw out of the box of mediocrity, turned into monster, slave, and parasite because some ancient Methuselah CAN'T DO THEIR TAXES.
Not physically, no. But more so spiritually and mentally dead.
Kevin is Malcador.
It’s a rather frank conclusion to a miserable and bitter life.
He tried and failed to make something great of himself, stuck in a dead-end job with little more than pipe-dreams a nasty skin condition and a stressful life.
But for all that he held onto hope, optimism and his dreams, far-fetched and out of reach as they may be.
Only to have it all snatched cruelly from him. In a single night all his aspirations are dust, the drudgery he endured all for nought.
@@rustkarl World of Darkness in a nutshell. Where Warhammer is grimdark and over the top, TWoD is terrifyingly grounded in its horror.
I love how Big D used actual interrogation tactics and controlled the narrative of their conversation very carefully to get what he wants. Very well written, pat yourselves on the back lads
I know this comment is a month old, but what exactly are the tactics that Big D uses? This is really interesting to me.
@@seanp.3091 Firstly, bonding. Big D found the more human aspects of Kevin and related them to himself, it started with the cat, then Kevin's apartment, and related that to his own home life and the situation with Kitten's house. This builds recognition, comfort, and good will with the suspect, and is generally something you want to do as much as you can.
Second, narrative control. Anytime Kevin tried to use a defensive mechanism, like chanting 'I am the great and mighty kevin' Big D would deflate that defense by refusing to respond to it, often by completing Kevin's sentence and simply dismissing it. Then he would say something Kevin wanted to hear to feed his ego a little. Whenever Kevin started talking about Caine and reciting rhetoric, Big D would remind him of his cat to tear down those defenses. Reminding Kevin of his victories in battle and complimenting his connection to human life as 'Radical' and 'Fighting the power'. That forces the suspect to be left without defenses eventually, so if you tread carefully and not push too hard, you can typically wrench out some good info before the suspect realizes what they're doing.
Thirdly, themeing. Human nature (or vampire nature in this case) is to see and recognize patterns. Noticing the pattern of a leopard or lion in the tall grass is evolutionarily useful, and we as people often find it satisfying to recognize these patterns, that's essentially what cloud watching is. Stories play on our enjoyment of patterns by patterning the themes of their narrative. We tell ourselves stories a lot in our own heads. "Man, I'm on a winning streak! I should keep betting" "Girls never pay attention to me, I'm going to be lonely forever" etc. etc. you could probably think of a million more. These stories get constructed by our minds to help make sense of the world around us. Kevin had the story of 'Doomed Kevin' stuck in his head, he thinks wherever his life goes is going to be worse and worse, because things have been getting worse and worse since his youth. Now at the end, Big D managed to re-align the pattern of Kevin's life, using the info he picked up on him through the conversation about his time in the various vampire factions and him choosing to keep in touch with his human life, to a story more like 'Kevin the Redeemed' an underdog story about a survivor who can stick it out through anything and manages to always get ahead of what's after him. Tactics like this are common in spycraft when creating a double agent, or when turning someone into a witness in a police investigation.
All this attention is REALLY nice to see from the writers, they deserve all the money in the world.
@@krusk3544 Holy crap. It's insane that they actually wrote this in so much detail. It's also insane that you wrote this in so much detail, especially to a response to a month-old comment!
Thank you so much! That was incredibly fascinating and informative. I really appreciate it.
I will probably give this video another listen with what you said in mind, you've definitely expanded my view.
@@seanp.3091 The really fun thing is, in the most recent audiolog, we see Big-D trying (and sometimes failing) to resist these same tactics from the investigator.
@@krusk3544 how do you know this Im legitimately impressed.
Sir D only had the fact the "Great and Mighty Kevin" had a fucking cat and he grasped onto that even being possible to prove Kevin despite being a vampire still clings onto some form of genuine humanity.
That was well played.
...This whole exchange makes me wonder, if maybe Big-D might know of *Golconda* as well? Would make more sense to offer Kevin "a different PATH" if he did, you know?
The writing is excellent of course, but the "bad man has a cat/dog/iguana/former president richard nixon as a pet" is quite simple and im sure i have seen it plenty of time, its like the "bad man but is passionate about sawing", or the "bad man but loves his mom/grandmom and will obey them no matter what"
@@DerIrre1 probably he spoke of the saulot
@@zaikolebolsh5724 It's not the fact that Kevin has a pet that's impressive or ground-breaking, or even an original idea, it's that Big D instantly knew the implications of such a thing and went for it.
@@melanch0lycat5393 i know i know, its just that i dont see it that impressive or as a highlight, just my humble opinion
Kevin: “If only God would forgive me”
Big-D: “you are forgiven”
So this is either a reference to 40k, foreshadowing, or Big-D has a COLOSSAL ego.
The worst part is, it can very well be all three at once
@@gameridiotNOT *best part
Its all of it.
Yes
It is all three this a fact (read as a text to speech device output)
Genuinely hope that Kevin becomes one of the gang. So far he's the most humanized out of all of the Vampires we've yet seen, and honestly it would be nice to see a "Happy ending" contrary to what he expects.
Also, if they kill Kevin, what happens to Mr. Smerples?
@@ThePrimith He becomes Boy's pet
I'm BEGGING for a Kevin redemption arc
Big d's malcador
@@acedeci4560 that was my thought as well. Kevin would be this world's malcador.
I love the insight we get into how hilariously dysfunctional the Camarilla is, which is absolutely in line with their characterization from the RPG. These 300+ year old vampires not only don't understand how the modern world works, they really CAN'T, because a vampire's personality and mentality are essentially frozen at the moment they become undead. So, the old vampires understand that they have a problem with existing in the modern world, and embrace a modern mortal to help them deal with it. But the elders are literally incapable of understanding that they can't just impose their lordly will upon their subjects anymore and expect everything to work out. So when their new progeny explain that their style of rulership is unsustainable now, the elders just get pissed off and punish the ones who they made undead to solve the problem for *trying to do the job they were created for*. And so what the Camarilla oligarchs end up doing is sabotaging the place they live and trying to turn it into a miserable, backwards, dysfunctional hellhole ruled by thuggish gangsters, venal politicians and mismanaged businesses full of yes-men... BECAUSE THAT'S THE ONLY THING THEY KNOW HOW TO RULE.
That is the failing of many in the clans at the higher generations- most believe that it is still acceptable to rip off their heads and mount them on a stake, or wear clothes more fitting of a noble, where as the younger generation know, that's likely to get you KILLED more than respected.
So Camarilla rules our modern world then
@@jefferycrouse4652 explains why the powers that be always look ancient, pale, saggy and do weird and horrifying things to virgins in the woods.
NOOO YOU BREACHED THE MASQ
It has worked out in Kevin's favour:
Tremere defectors have a habit of bursting into flames... just, poof - flame and death.
Due to the fact he was more forgotten about, so they could turn back to squabbles they understand, he hasn't been given this retribution for abandoning the clan. It is the Personality Cult version of a bureaucratic error, so unlikable that they haven't realized he has disappeared entirely from their radar. It is a far better then being assumed Final Dead, for this way no one will even bother looking for the body just to be sure....
Oh, and I bet he could walk right back into the Chantry still.
Hell yes these audio logs really do it for me. They've got the same 5 star writing as the episodes but they get a lot of room to breath and set the tone. They are also just super fun.
Yeah they are amazing I love to just play them when I'm doing stuff arround the house
Plus easier to animate
@don't be surprised wtf did I see
Quality entertainment is so rare these days.
Kevin: If only god would forgive me
The-non-GOD-emperor-of-non-humanity: All right you're forgiven!
“THE ECONOMY WAS MY MUSE! I stare at the monitor, the spreadsheets on my screen, and my eyeballs know calm like never else.”
The delivery on this had the same energy as the Frenchman from Monty Python’s The Holy Grail
Ok but can we all agree there was TRUE FEAR and UNCERTAINTY when big D said "NO! YOU CANT BE! I **KILLED** HUDINI!!!" it was channeling Luke saying "NO! It's not TRUE! THATS IMPOSSIBLE!!!" Like he was legit terrified that his old foe had indeed *escaped* death once more
can we adore the fact that this setting is so fucking wild that it's not even *too* insane for him to be worried that's a possibility?
@@TheCreepyLantern ok but hear me out; Houdini is actually a white wolf Magus *pretending* to be a stage magician in order to "debunk" magic. To protect secret world. HOWEVER, World's greatest detective Sir Arthur Conan Doyle KNOWS about the world of magic and is constantly trying to prove it's existence to the world. Also this is now an enemies to lovers story and I'm afraid I'm going to have to write it
@@GraveRobbinJake Houdini/Arthur Conan Doyle slash fiction... Ah, internet. Never change.
@@GraveRobbinJake i adore this and beg you to follow through on such genius :D
15:12
Damn the ability to go from Saturday morning cartoon evil to tragically sympathetic is awesome.
The best kind of villains are the ones you oppose but understand their motives and goals. But it appears Kevin is a villain turned ally.
We talking about Kevin... or D?
Ice King
Can we just take a moment to appreciate what an amazing interrogator Big D is? The way he draws out Kevin's ties to humanity and gets him to reveal basically everything about himself, all while creating the illusion that he is just an oafish buffoon. Big D mentions a few anecdotes of his own but nothing relevant to current events, and nothing that could even be verified. Kevin doesn't even know that the other vampires were in the same building as him, while Big D got everyone's age, strengths, and motivations. The man is a genius!
At such times the Inquisition must feel a mixture of admiration and shame for being so incompetent and when God Imp-Big D does such a good job.
In fairness, I don't actually think the other vampires *are* in the same building as him? One of the main episodes mentions a tunnel outside the house (and seemingly separate to it), so my bet would be Kevin and the mysterious creature are both imprisoned in there.
That moment made me think about ai generated conversations, I just can't imagine it being uttered by a human.
If they won't save Kevin's cat in one episode I swear, I will riot.
Count me in.
#SaveSmerples
It’ll just appear in the bus at some point, hopefully.
Honestly it will probably be like an off hand mention like "not to question your 'greater experience' But did we really need to get those vampire blokes from the cave all the way into my house, or go all the way back again to get a cat?" and maybe have a cat meow here and there every once in a while when they do another audio log set in the house
if kevin doesent take up there offer and join the Big D club then as his next of kin the offer automatically goes to Smerples
Big D’s speech at the end was really something. It says something, that even a person that has probably seen some of the worse vampire society can offer can still show empathy to some
contrast that door's utter contempt of vampires going as far as to let pyotor commit cannibalism
Probably because no matter how monstrous the Vampires may appear, they were all once human, and still have some shred of humanity left in them.
I think the pieces that started that were signs he was holding onto his human life, he wasnt a beast, a chance still existed to maybe convince him to walk the other path.
We also got to remember that the anarchs haven't entered the picture yet. While some see humans as mere kine, the rest are more apt to see humans as comrades against all forms oppression. They are a faction far sighted hunters might be willing to work with. The Camarilla are rich parasites, whose status overlaps with the capitalists and politicians. The Sabbat are basically vampiric neo-Nazis...
And come on, Bruva is practically advertising his political leanings here.
It surprises me that I'd say this, but could it be that D is some sort of mercy hunter? Redeemer maybe?
I love how Big D is "totally not Emprah" when he is a dark-maned muscular bisexual narcotics enjoyer with a knowledge of all of the secret threats poised towards humanity (as he mentioned being in TTS Episode 14) and makes allusions to being old enough to have killed Houdini and witness ancient vampire wars.
Or houdini was a mage, and didn't actually die until much later then his reported death.
Big-D is a Scion or an Archmage.
Big D is the emprah in the future.
@@kaniho Houdini was a mage, I'm like 99% sure he was techno-order (the anti-BS magic mages who make magic disguised as technology to dodge the paradox effect) due to spending a lot of his time debunking fake psychics and mages.
Fake in the eyes of consensus reality, therefore strengthening the paradox whiplash that happens when any mage does anything against the world's grain.
@@korstmahlerActually he was a Tremere like Kevin in VtM.
I love how Big-D laughs at Kevin saying the 1890's when I'm pretty sure he means.. The actual 90's, literal 90AD, which explains the philistines and necromancer freak out from the last audio log, lol
He actually means the 1990s...BC
Unfortunately I'm pretty sure Big D may very well just be human at this point. Though the possibility of him being a Fay did cross my mind
@@irontemplar6222 I pretty sure he something else, something far more powerful and Golden
@@lostShadowLord your inoccance of the things in this setting is adorable.
No seriusly the Emperor from 40k wouldn't even rate as a threat in WOD
The Philistines are from the Bronze Age. "The game of Ur" also references the oldest actual city in human history.
The fact you took a monster named Kevin the wizard and made him into this goofy character…
And then peeled the veil back and showed what was once human is still there. Fighting to find a place in a world that’s sometimes not friendly to the little guy. You made him feel alive by giving him problems all too human.
Bravo.
I mean, the fact that his name is Kevin, and he said it like it was supposed to be a super serious name to fear, kind of already made him a goofy character.
@@samiamtheman7379 Pretty sure that's what OP was saying
Almost like monty piton and The Holy grail with The Wizard named Monty i think.@@samiamtheman7379
Kevin played the game the way he was told to as a human just to have it all stripped away from him and be cursed with a tortured life sadder than anything he could ever imagine. He found no power or freedom in the embrace. Only more rules and chains to bind him in place.
It's a long shot but I hope D helps him realize Golconda. Kevin might be able to do it
Jesus, Kevin started as "funny crazy character" and now I feel genuinely BAD for him and what has happened to him and hope he survives to find peace.
This truly is masterful writing.
Kevin is malcador so if this series continues he most likely will not get the good ending. Big d even said Kevin will carry his sigil. Malcador the sigilite
Shitbeard's got a hell of a sad story too
I love the bits of tragedy in most of the vampires shown so far. Kevin was just an accountant, a comment that got hearted in the second episode theorized about Biker Bro being an older man from America that moved to the UK for better education and was embraced in a country far away from home. The "beastly" one was over eager, but in a very human way, like a person trying to enjoy a Fandom or hyperfixation, being cringy about it but understandably so. Pyotr's about the only one without sympathy, and honestly that's to be expected from a nosferatu. Ugliness isn't just skin deep with that guy...
He also might be from the more Slavic side of Europe, so his human life probably wasn't all that great to begin with.
With the Nosferatu, they like to find people who are beautiful or handsome in life but truly ugly within and then embrace them to make their outsides match their inner qualities as a sort of "gotcha" moment. I wouldn't be surprised if Pyotr was such a person before his embrace.
@@ArmouredPriest8 To be fair, plenty of genuinely kind and good "Cleopatras" get embraced by Nosferatu purely out of spite over their beauty, so it's hardly a hard rule he was a terrible guy in life. Part of the cruel truth of vampirism is that no matter what you want to be, your very existence is incompatible with humanity. They all become monsters eventually, if only out of desperation to survive. Sabbat are oftentimes just completely embracing that to avoid being shattered by the reality of their undeath, that they're immortal parasites who have forever lost the ability to enjoy so many things humans take for granted more likely than not because they were forcibly turned to serve as utterly disposable cannon fodder for a war that has no chance of success. Rejection of humanity as worthless is necessary then to convince yourself you haven't lost anything.
@@TheAngryXenite kevin states that pyotor was a 12th generation which from my little understanding of lore thanks to this vid makes him the weakest. Kevin saw him as a tool and a buffoon so if he was just a pretty boy originally then whats to say he became this way due to the masquerade and joining the sabbat because of it. Similar to kevin but unlike him pyotor completely abandoned his humanity
I sympathized with Pyotr. Considering his situation, hes done a remarkably good job of sticking to the sabbats code of honor.
Holy fuck. Now I understand how The Emperor of Big D himself can unite armies and conquer worlds.
Guy has enough charisma and speech skills to convince a human to fist fight a werewolf.
Didn't he specifically say not to do that though
@@thewordywarlock7159 I mean yeah, but he didn't want that guy fistfighting a werewolf.
@@thewordywarlock7159 he COULD convince a human to fist fight a werewolf
doesn't mean he WILL convince a human to fist fight a werewolf
@@Slash0mega unless they are bankers.
@@taddad2641 Or politicians
I can't believe how much Kevin was just "generic zany gobliny wizard" and they went and fleshed him out into a full, well rounded character.
Kevin went from goblin to a “living” sympathetic character
Edit: oh my soul, my comment was displayed in an analysis video, praise be to space king
@John Calder I rather the other goblins. The short and stacked mommies.
Makes me wish we knew more about Beast and Shitbeard
@John Calder as a fan of warhammer that has to be both the most colorful and the most correct description of them ever
@@John-Stark well we can extrapolate a bunch of info from their appearance. Larper Larry was obviously a Gangrel and Shitbeard was a Brrrrrrrruja member. Their appearances and demeanor kinda fit their respective clan cultures, so they could just be throwaway characters. What I'm curious about is, what Pyotor's game is going to be, because, as a Nosferatu, he's not really required to wear clothing, so he might hold onto his humanity as well, but also shows no signs of his clans Compulsion to obtain information, except that one time when he stopped everyone from attacking to let Kitten talk.
I went into this looking forwards to Kevin screaming: I got out of this feeling emotionally destroyed at hearing his story.
That was some great character development since the last appearance of Kevin!
I hope he joins the Hunters, an acception to Big D's fight just like Malcador was to the Big E's, maybe he'll even turn out to be just as chummy as Malacdor was, all be it, Malacdor wasn't ever evil
@@anamericangrizzlybear8315 No, but he was very shady.
@@theonethesequel shady as fuck I say, the man literally preceded the Inquisition.
When you're a ruler, you need a left hand in the shadows while your honorable right hand handles things in the shining sun.
@@suacemanaquiatan9380 This is the Inquisition being done, only being done by the
Big boss.
"I am Houdini!"
"No! You can't be! I *KILLED* HOUDINI!"
This came so far out of left field that I laugh every time I hear it! Plus, Houdini being in this world setting some sort of weird otherworld creature or magic user makes way to much goddamn sense
He could be a mage or could very well be just a normal human being who does slight of hand tricks but Big D mistook him for an actual mage. Especially since in the kitten vlog he said you have to kill mages quick and out of sight in order to not get killed by their death curse.
According to the lore, he was a Vampire apparently so Big D may be right here
I'm betting he's a Ravnos vampire, a clan of thrillseekers and adrenaline junkies
@@mr.bluesky8554 Chicago By Night described him as a Tremere. The Ashes to Ashes campaign had a scene where he performs an escapology from a trunk after being staked. As an exhibition.
@@Zero_01084 ooooo that's neat
This was some pretty great characterization
With WoD, a lot of writers sometimes focused on the benefits of vampirism without engaging in the people's former humanity and the drawbacks.
Kevin who raves about being a great wizard and Cainite supremacy was just trying to cope with the reality of his situation of being a vampire in that world; Unable to accomplish his goals and must suffer under the Pyramid that wishes for the obliteration of his humanity - that feeling is really human tbh.
Good shit Alfa and SpeakerD
Its really interesting since in most media they always go "vampire powers good. Kill humans." In turn have "humans kill evil vampires"
I like this grey area. The drawbacks and the heavy cost of power that may not really solve much
Yeah,
It's just like the thing with Star Wars and it's aspects of Light and Dark sides
They aren't cool factions you take to be a reclusive space samaritan, or an edgy delinquent with lightning hands, they are paths led by circumstance and trauma, and either nurture others with understanding, or destroy irrationally and greatly with firey passion.
Nah, way more people obsess about the drawbacks. Especially online. To the setting's detriment. Not everything has to be all drama all the time. Personal horror grows stale very quickly. And the original game is way more versatile than that approach gives it credit for.
When he said that He almost got to buy the place he lives in and had that stolen from him it hit hard.
@@doncoyote68 tbh living forever but having most of the fun stuff taken away must suck, why would I want to live forever if things like sex and drugs are not in the equation? What pleasures can I get?
The “Kevin parable” was honestly tear jerkingly tragic (I actually almost cried) and shockingly relatable to me on a personal level.
Keep on going bro. You have the strength, I believe in you.
the series is set in the early 2000s if im not mistaken. from the sound of kevin and his love of economics here, likely just before the housing bubble burst in our real timeline. meaning that if your under the age of 45-50, odds are his story is highly relatable to you. two entire generations across the globe are, as a rule of thumb, grappling with this very existential issue in society. at least up untill the whole killed and turned to a vampire part. but for many, thats probably just gonna make it MORE relatable. kevin becomes their great fear, their great anxiety personified. the notion that they will scrape and scabble to change the world, to make a mark on it in some way, be foreced to settle for at best contented mediocrity, only to die with even that lowered bar unmet. be it by some injustice like kevin faced, their life stoen from them by unforeseen circumstance, or by the simply crushing grinder of time. for the majority of the audience here on youtube, kevin might well be one of the most mentally relatable characters one could possibly create in the current day.
@@Skywatcher16 Jesus Christ, that frames Kevin as even more of a tragic figure than he clearly is. It also shows Alfabusa and Speaker-D still are top notch writers and storytellers that deserve far more praise than they have.
We are all Kevin, Mighty and Great. But never great enough to break the shackles forced upon us
For me that parable represents what I’m most afraid of.
A boring dead-end job, barely making ends meet, no room for ambitions and only holding on by a thread of pipe dreams and wishful thinking.
The speech Big D gives at the end to Kevin is one of the most honest portrayals of what it's really like to be a Sabbat or any low humanity Kindred. "The sad quirks of circumstance will see you degenerate into a monster, and die as one." Some degrade slowly like Kevin and others trip in their fall and never manage to get back up like the old woman in a "life well lived". But he's doing something that no one has since Kevin became a Vampire: he's giving him a choice. Not a desperate act taken, a choice given to him. Its an important thing in the journey of Kevin... and I sincerely love the character BTW, he's brilliantly voice acted and written... but Big D really shows his mettle here as well and I don't want him overlooked.
Ok but the story of Kevin "MALCADOR 2 ELECTRIC BOOGALOO" was pretty heart breaking love that amount of depths bravo Alfa!
Oh shit I hadn't thought of Kevin as being the Malcador equivalent, this now makes me worry for his unlife in chapter 3
@@Haloister Well ol Malcador did sacrifice him self for big E
The Great Kevin should have been named the Great Malcolm or something.
Somebody give Kevin a eagle staff or something
@@nathanyi3981 Kitty kat scepter
“You know **NOTHING** of the Noble Forest People.” - AAAAaaaand I’m already wheezing. Well done all!
Spoken like a guy who knew actual real life Neanderthals and Cro Magnons back in the day
dunno if thats in WoD but it is in Dresden and i LOVE the reference
@@GraveRobbinJake Dresden files the series or the actual city of Dresden because I haven’t been to Dresden but I have seen pictures and there don’t seem to be any forest people just Germans
As someone who believes Bigfoot has better odds of existing then not(even more so in the World of Darkness), I'm offended that he's calling gorillas 'forest people' when the Sasquatch, Yeti, and other related cryptic apes are far more people-like(not just in terms of appearance, but by many accounts intellectually as well)
@@RipOffProductionsLLC He means the Orangutans, I believe, who are literally called "Forest People" in Malay.
Edits: The Orangutans are very chill, even compared to a chonky Gorilla or a homicidal Chimpanzee.
Big D and Door were in similar situations being confronted with a vampire's loss of humanity. Both Shtbeard and Kevin lamented what was taken from them and where Big D was sympathetic, Door was outright cruel. With Big D, you can see that despite all the years confronting the savage nature of what vampirism can produce, he still sees that they were once human and that doesn't just go away or is ever negligible. They suffer too. Door went through terrible circumstances himself with what he mentioned in the mines, but he doesn't see them as people anymore. "Blanks" and "can't kill what is already dead" being his stance on the matter.
Door sees a beast that needs to be put down. Big D sees a tragic monster.
Or he at least pretends to see more in them.
Door didn't do mining. He was LAYING mines/disabling them
@@hmmyou2544 How I understand he was in the EOD in the army. Different objective but the knowledge is more than enough to put down a minefield.
@@jasperzanovich2504 yea somethin like that
@@hmmyou2544 I think that was revealed after this comment was made
I love how you guys have basically managed to give what amounts to the “beginner” villains incredible character depth. From Kevin grasping on to what little humanity he has left to the old man (Shitbeard) seemingly valuing education in his past life. If this is what you guys do for these guys I can’t wait to see what y’all do with the main characters.
Bold of you to assume the current survivors are not main characters awaiting development.
I wouldn't consider Pyotr a beginner villain. He is pure nightmare fuel.
Pyotr is going to be a serious problem coz he was pretty skilled despite having the weakest blood possible and now he has Apes and Shitbeards 10th gen blood. Hoping for a maxed-out Pyotr and enlightened Kevin epic showdown
@@j.g.3293 I hope Pyotr sticks around for a while. He's an excellent villain for this show.
Pyotr is the perfect villain for what we've seen so far. We have two vampires (Shtbeard and Kevin) who valued their humanity and one who is on his way to redemption. But Pyotr has given up on all of it. He rejected his humanity and is perfectly fine being a monster
Oh no, I clicked on this the instant I saw it with unbound glee only to realise it premieres in a little over a days time. I guess this is a good opportunity to practice my patience.
Bro, it premiers in like 3 hours. Get hyped!
Alfa seems to have messed up the Premiere date a bit so it's been pulled forward! Only 2 hours until Kevin starts squealing like a schoolgirl!
How did practice go?
I don't know if this is intentional, but after the 40K Voxcast of the Emprah vs. Uriah, I find it interesting that Big D loves humanity in the sense that attachments and imperfections are what makes us... us.
A Vampire could get new powers, become a hunter, no longer be locked and powerless in a seemingly futile life... but a human could form relationships, love smaller beings than them, feel safe among people stronger than them without needing to raise their guard, and choose their own fate.
This is why I love your work, Bruva. One moment it's gut-busting laughter and insanity parodying story and lore; the second it's a horrifying reminder of the dark world they are in; and third becomes a humanist and existentialist view of ourselves, and a show of why love is necessary in a cruel world.
This is a version of the Emperor who hasn't sawed off his compassion, and thus he can appreciate our flaws and weaknesses more than his 30th millenia counterpart ever could. The Big E refers to bringing his compassion back as "becoming human once again," implying that he himself acknowledges that without it he is NOT human anymore. In a strange way, he is a man who chose to embrace becoming a monster because he felt he had no other choice, not much different from Kindred here.
@@TheAngryXenite I love what alfabusa has injected into this setting, those with the original vision of 40k's true spirit would be proud, a far cry from the corrupted mainstream vision of this man baby's edgelord fantasy.
40k was a satire of cruelty, but now it is simply cruelty for cruelty's sake but Alfabusa hasn't forgotten how this franchise started. Tragic really, I hate capitalism and how it makes people into poopoo dumbdumb brains.
Please for the love of God let Kevin into the group. They need an accountant and I need this character to not be prematurely freed or killed by Pyotr.
Tax loopholes are useful for allowing them to keep the house away from repomen too.
I have a feeling Kevin is going to be a lot more important. Considering that big D was offering to make him essentially the WoD version of *Malcador.*
Oh dear god no, That poor vampire wizard is in for some hell
KEVIN NOOOOOOO
KEVIN YEEEEEEEEEAAAAAHHHHHHHSSSSSS!!!!!
Too bad he isn't actually a mage...
@@blackhawk3975 Well... he is a Tremere. So... sorta.
"KEVIN GETS TO FUCK?!"
28:58 "You shall be my companion, bearer of my sigil, and Regent of a new paradigm shift, where such frivolities as the Masquerade shall no longer be necessary."
... *IS KEVIN GOING TO BE WoD MALCADOR?*
Kevin The Sigilate. If he hits Golconda he might actually turn into something like Malcador.
assuming pyotor doesn't murder him after he diablerized the other 2 vampires and got that good ass 10th gen sip
@@Thejigholeman Big D will find a way to beat him. He is the motherflipping Hunter of hunters
You son of a bitch, I hadn't made that connection
oh good that's what I thought too :D
I love how basically noone but the main cast feel like copies of old characters. You took a dynamic that worked in the old show- that was basically made entirely of whole cloth, none of the source material- and just made it work in an entirely different context.
Indeed, they are similar, but different.
They took what they made on the basis of the previous setting without actually taking any of the setting into it. It's quite impressive from a writing standpoint.
While unlikely i can see them folding in other characters. A more fanatical hunter for Decius, an incompetent sheriff for the arbites leader... no clue who'd the custodes could be folded into tho. I wouldn't be disappointed if they kept only the characters shown so far either, this is great.
@@thatoneguy9615 a group of highly professional vampire hunters that D ropes into his band.
@@thatoneguy9615 The custodes? Kitten's ex meathead gym rat ex boyfriends from college.
"I AM HOUDINI"
"NO! YOU CAN'T BE! I KILLED HOUDINI!"
"A TRUE MAGICIAN NEVER REVELAS THEIR SECRETS"
This is pure Chaotic energy and I'm all for it
Was looking for this. 🤣😭
how kevin says 'HOUDINI' is just rediculous, and after how aggressively D says his line is hilarious XDD
If we take this literally the BIG-D has been alive for at least 96 years
They’re the same kind of crazy and I love it
such a good fucking line, god damn it I love Big D
“He once peed on my rug,” is such a raw line. The writing is top notch.
And then I washed it then I took it out of the wash and he peed on it again.
very evil little boy!@@secondarytrollaccount666
@@secondarytrollaccount666 Honestly heartbreaking
"Luck and success are for TOOLS!"
"Pyotr is the leader sort, the TOOL."
...... Uh oh.
He did just get done eating two lower generation vampires and was already incredibly tough to begin with. He went from gen 11 to gen 10, got a shit load of vitae, and lowered his humanity by a lot assuming he wasn't already on a path of enlightenment (which, eh, maybe).
@@Detahramet
Gen 12 to Gen 11 to Gen 10
Dude was leapfrogging.
*P A R K O U R*
@@Detahramet and it looks like he immediately dumped everything into potence...
@@TheDeceptiveMoss maybe scarier, he was almost startved and now high on vitae, I think he might be in full on beast frenzy, wich isn't pretty with nosferaptus
After hearing Kevin's story...I don't want him to die. I want him to join Big D and his crew. Honestly. Kevin despite being a vampire wizard, has problems that are all too human. At first I wanted to laugh at his pain because he was set up as a joke but now? I feel sorry for him. Truly I do.
Also I think Big D could beat Caine. He is the Man Emperor after all.
Man Dadperor*
@@dj11o9er By the throne I just realized why he is called Big D
Didn't you hear that laugh at the end? Take that, and then harkon it back to D's attitude after we see him "finish" his interrogation at the end of the second episode.
D played Kevin, and outsmarted/outwitted him by using false sympathy and playing on Kevin's need and want to feel human again.
I'm sorry, but D's not letting him live. This is World of Darkness, not World of Wholesome Endings.
@@coyote4326 Maybe, maybe not. Though it is a world of darkness, there are a few glimmers of light. Alas I am all too aware Kevin's ultimate fate is to die but perhaps he can aid Big D's cause before that. I just feel Kevin deserves a chance to go out on his terms. Not Big Ds, not The Camerrla, Not The Canite, his.
It is the least Big D can do. Besides with Pyotor loose at the end of the second episode, Kevin could prove handy.
@@coyote4326 I mean, the whole point of TTS was to see a powerful person try to unfuck a fucked world. So there is a good chance that carried over. Though Kevin might be dead, it is by far not as clear cut as you make it seem.
I'm an economist who does accounting.
I get Kevin.
Fortunately accounting does pay and can even be interesting when you get into the parts that mimic a forensic investigation.
Accountants hold people *accountable* at the end of the day.
So, do you hate all humanity?
@@kristiankepley5944 No, I'm merely frustrated with them.
Uneducated or differently educated people who think they know how national economies work or think that a "free market" means an unregulated market on the other hand...
Do you hate all of humanity, I'm quite curious?
According to big D, finances are the vampire hunter’s best friend. I wonder if there’s a special subset of accountants and economists who specifically teach others how to recognize vampire financial tricks and shell companies
@@AnIdiotsLantern That would be pretty clever.
Unlike the classical methods for spreading awareness of vampires, spreading awareness of their financial habits from the perspective of a tax accountant would likely fly over the head of all but the most recently raised and financially educated vampires.
And recently raised vampires are very rarely the ones in charge.
So, this episode confirmed to me that of the Pack, everyone except Pyotr is still on the Path of Humanity, and are getting close to changing their path, as is the Sabbat way. Pyotr sounds and acts like he's on the Path of Power and the Inner Voice,which would fit perfectly for him being a leader.
Good shit, it threw me off that D was showing genuinely heartfelt compassion for Kevin.
#FindSmerplesAForeverHome
They need to adopt Smerples so Boy can have a pet
Oh no. Just realized Pyotr the "tool" diablarized the biker which is 10th generation while he was 12th. He was waiting for this whole opportunity. With his experience he is going to be extremely dangerous. I guess Big D would be shocked who actually won the elimination match.
@@zeppelincraft1443 also drank Ape, who was 11th. So, he dropped twice... And probably will drop more if he finds and drinks Kevin.
@@13loodCrow He could end up a 10th, maybe even 9th
@@13loodCrow Considering the generation issue was the only thing holding him back and being 10th generation is considered an actual member of the Vampire club this turn of events is game-changing for him.
Man these 2 have such chemistry together, You know it almost feels like one of them burned down the other's home and shot them repeatedly in the face.
im pretty sure kevin is the Hunter: The Parenting version of malcador
@@melgar432 "You shall be my Companion, bearer of my sigil and Regent of a new paradigm age."
We have The Emperor, Malcador and the First Custodian
This excites me to no ends
my first thought was, “yeah, I could see SpeakerD doing that”
(flashbacks to Earndil and Speaker in both WarHams at Rotgrind intensify)
@@mindwarp42
"Now pi brain we aren't going to seriously hurt our friends-"
"Captain I have a opportunity to set him on fire im taking it."
I hope Kevin's cat is ok.
Cats are important too even in this mad world of the Masquerade.
About the only thing that would keep some people sane in the insane world of the masquerade.
Oh wow, D plans to kill Caine, considering the rulebook says "if you fight Caine, you lose." I'm seeing this series ending in tragedy and bloodshed
Eeeeeeehhhhh... This is Spiritual Man-peror of Mankind we're talking about. He'll either succeed or get thrown into a magical wheelchair at worst. He'll probably to become magic himself through that too, to be honest.
@@trollman_2345 More likely he would discover that Caine isnt really a bad guy. Not anymore anyway. The 3rd generation are where the true evil lies. Although not as much as one might think. Some of them are actually tolarable
personally hoping Cain’s got the cabdriver persona from Vampire: the Masquerade
Caine actually has a pretty high humanity and at his blood thickness can only gain sustenance eating vampires if he isn't roided out on so much blood that he doesn't need to eat at all. I very much doubt big D and Caine would fight if they where to meet as from what I recall caine is no longer into that. It is his ignorance more than a drive that leads him to want to kill caine. But even then caine's stats are based on if a vampire wanted to fight caine, if an angel from wod, a incredibly high ranking demon, or possibly a reckoning/mutation hunter of the right level challenged caine there is a decent chance someone would have to actually write up a character sheet, because not all pc factions are created equally and some of the books give you access to truly rediculously powerscaled magical species.
Turns out Big D is actually Abel who decided to just get back up after getting bonked with a rock and is looking for some payback now
I honestly do not know if Big-D is playing Kevin, or genuinely giving him a chance here. That's how well this is done. On one hand, kill the parasites. On the other, if there is a _chance_ to restore their humanity, and they are worthy of it...
My prediction is that he fights and dies to pyotr(maybe not to protect the mortals but to avenge ape and bikerbro, probably mainly to style on pyotr's shitty 12th gen bloodline) but weakens the nosferatu enough for the D family to finish him, and kevin chooses them as Mr. Smurple's forever home.
I think that's the best of both worlds, the meeting of optimism for Kevin's redemption and cooperation and the reality/pessimism of his affliction making him forever untrustworthy and unpredictable as an ally.
I would say Big-D is genuinely trying to see if they can restore their humanity. after all, kevin even after all that he suffered is still very much humane. he even told his story to big-D, and i doubt he did it to any of the other vampires, so there could be some form of trust.
Maybe, just maybe, kevin will be the malcador to the Big-D
I mean, the Canon Emperor doesn't have that level of empathy, at least by the crusade era. TTS Emps might grow that back or be reunited with his better nature. Big D though, hard to say.
I think he's genuinely curious and is testing the feasibility of it.
@@bthsr7113 Big D appears to be a version of the Emperor who lacks the crushing bitterness. He's still got the ego and the trust issues, but he's very compassionate and empathetic. I think this offer might be legitimate and he's at least understanding enough that Kevin is, fundamentally, a person who got fucked SUPER hard and has been desperately trying to claw some sort of existence back for who knows how long.
"Sigh. I wish I was a bus."
"I totally get it."
"Vroom"
"Vroom. So true."
So true 😢
The Parable of Kevin Wettsworth is some of the best writing I've seen in a while.
It was shockingly tragic and surprisingly relatable.
Please add to that the over-the-top voice-acting, two nutbars screaming at each other, then the direction of Kevin dropping to a defeated talk for the parable, and Big D's offer.
I feel so bad for Kevin too now, dude just still sorta kinda wants to be normal and make something of himself. After he got bit, life just kept biting him in the ass and didn't seem to stop.
Maybe he helps the hunters fight Pyoter, seeing how the Nos- "Sludge Lad" has escaped and is physically stronger than ever.
After all, juggling dumpsters was on the list of powers they had.
@@Cha-Khia This is true, and he could probably juggle whole dump trucks right now with his increased strength.
It would be cool to see him help fight against Pyoter! :D
@@cursedseagullgames He's even a Generation higher than Pyotr, and has Dominate with some Blood he can stop Pyotr dead in his tracks, and in super looking forward to it
@@Haloister He might actually be more than a gen above Pyotr. Diablerie isn't guaranteed to improve your generation unless the Kindred you're consuming is more than 2 generations above you. So while eating Shitbeard would definitely bring him up to Generation 11, his diablerization of the Gangrel wouldn't necessarily have done so, and neither would Shitbeard have brought him to 10. It can happen, but it's luck based since Pyotr is almost definitely too young to actually adopt any sort of Path that enhances his Diablerie.
@@Cha-Khia when did it list juggling dumpsters?
"FIRST GAS STOVES AND NOW PLASMA TELEVISIONS!" Sir D knows about technocracy. What the hell.
Even worse! I just realised there's another reference to the Technocratic Union at the 5:32 mark when Big D calls Kevin a "Magic Man" for being an accountant. That's the Syndicate! They're the money guys and they call themselves "the magic men"! There are bits of skull and brain matter all over my room right now.
@@KirillTheBeast I'm fairly convinced Big D's continuous drug use and just... How much he knows, he must be a Sahijiya. However, the blue man, despite the fact I've written an over 40 pages essay on WoD still eludes me.
@@JoelRiter See, now that TheBurgerkrieg has made a reference to HtP in his HtR video, I'm kind of expecting Bruva and the boys to wink back by, say, showing Big D chilling on a bean bag chair while high out of his mind (Sahijiya CONFIRMED). Thing is, Bruva's gang is so good at misdirecting and subverting expectations that at this point I'm just here for the trip. Like, I know I'm being played and I'm not even going to bother doing anything about it xD
Also, what in the Unholy Dark Mother of Fudge is up with the Blue Man? I know people who are neck-deep into WoD lore who also have no clue about that one...
@@JoelRiter my crackpot theory is that the blueman is Malkav,aka the first malkavian mostly due to the "laughs at the ignorance of man" thing and the 99 pound store seems like a malkavian level prank
@@lol-fc9kg interesting theory, certainly possible. I do think our favorite Swede is in fact a Malkavian (or at least a ghoul) and that's why, after drinking the only blood sufficient enough for a mighty wizard such as Kevin (and we all know what's in Big D's blood all the time), which is why the Kevin doll advertisement is possible. We also know very little about the Regent herself.
With that being said, it does appear Big D was in Stygia due it being a reflection of our world, nearly a memory if you will, and being covered in shadows on the outside. I would like to guess Big D has some knowledge on Stygia and the Stygian hierarchy, but that may very well not be the case. I don't necessarily think the blue man is a wraith, after all Big D even assessed him as this and decided against it. The idea of growth does match Stygia in a sense as well.
This is why I love these. Vampire isn't about vampires. It is about holding onto your humanity. Kevin was taken advantage of by a group of "elites" and stolen away from his humanity and is now confronted by the inhumane eat or be eaten reality of both the Cainite but also the othering of humans.
Vampires at the core are fairly victims, comparible to a homeless person that has been pushed out, just outside and that disconnect pushing them towards insanity.
I know that there is more to it, but the actual logistics of it are fairly simple for the vampire to survive, blood donations does not kill the donor after all. This "Disease" that Big D fights against is not just the vampirism, or the awakened mages, the disease is the whole hearted acceptance of the in humanity, like Pyior who indoctorened the others into the Sabbat.
Even now Big D maintains the acceptance of River Dolphins of Big E. They are still humans unless they are truely traitors towards humanity, and knows that the easiest way to prevent the latter is to remind them that they are still, even after all that has happened, they are indeed still human.
Appreciate the voxcast reference
This is a good breakdown
Nice way to put it.
Flawless. No notes. This is exactly my interpretation of events.
The fact Alfabusa pulled this trope so well without making the aforementioned vampire moe and female is all the more impressive, in fact this is one of the things I like the most about his animation style, while I do love my anime hottie it's a great break of phase to see a style which doesn't rely on the neoteny.
I, too, have had that look upon my face. The exacting of vengence upon the enemies of Man is as exciting as anything, and just as... what's another word for "marketable?"
Tactically inept?
@@dionjaywoollaston1349 beat me to it
@@QuantemDeconstructor yeah by about two hours
@@dionjaywoollaston1349 fair enough
The way Kevin hesitates to say that he feels good, that he has had to kill repomen, that vampirism is a “gift”. Really hope Pyotr doesn’t kill him
Kevin: "If only God would forgive me!"
Big D: "Alright you're forgiven."
Either that's a not so subtle nod to the OG TTS series, that its a simple comedic moment or that will be a plot point later on lol. I'm not sure which, I wanna say option one is the answer though because of the series similarities. Still 10/10, awesome as always.
could also be a joke about his ego
Why not both
With this writing team? It’s often all three.
He could actually be God coming down to kill Caine, after all
my headcanon /theory
is that this is BIg E in the past and these people hews with are what inspired his templates for the characters we know from TTS. that or its Big E in a comma from 30part 2 rembering the past but with current trauma put in. or I'm very wrong and just coping anyways it makes me happy thinking this way s it gives me hope of a return.
Considering they had custodes playing card games with literal chaos gods, I think an encounter with the actual Cain would be pretty interesting!
Honestly we could have that exact scenario play out in this universe by having Big D hail a taxi, I shit you not.
Cain can play a children's card game with Big D and Kitten
@@jacobsmith4428 That'll be interesting. Cain appears as the Taxi Driver in LA during the events of Bloodlines, which took place in 2004. The Parenting takes place in 2006, so whether or not Cain decides to relocate to the UK and resume being a simple cabbie remains up in the air.
Big D, future Master of Mankind: "... Oh! Hello, uncle!"
Just a friendly taxi driver unless you know: "Hello, nephew! How's things in the modern world?"
@@KingKazul400 I'm pretty sure Cain was just in LA temporarily to check out the rumors of a dug-up Antideluvian. He's The Wanderer after all, heading over to England for a while after the events of the game would not be far-fetched at all.
"Do you know how long I could have talked about something I actually know stuff about!?"
As a US history nerd who loves giving impromptu history lessons, I feel that frustration deep in my soul.
"I am an evil vampire wizard, and i fear no god, baby!"
-The great and mighty Kevin
"There are no god-babies here, only men."
-Big-D
ONLY ZUUL
Big D is ambitious. Trying to recruit vampires to his own faction, which I assume, is largely made up of his own family members.
He's also optimistic. He's a crazy hunter but he still believes in redemption.
Yeah but if he does attempt to kill Caine, then every Kindred will follow him into the grave.
Source: Time of Judgement Fair is Foul, bad ending Lilith kills Caine and every Vampire who shares even a tiny fraction of his blood died with him.
@@nalrashido isn't that literally every vampire? At least every properly defined blood drinking vampire, so not the chinese ones that feed on bad omens.
@@bonogiamboni4830 No not them they ain't Vampires per say, more like walking corpses who feed on Chi (Ki).
There's a lot of similarities and a couple of differences. The biggest one is that Kuei-Jin aren't made by another Kuei-Jin, but by events that happened in life which suddenly turned them into a Kuei-Jin waking up near their dead human body.
They start off as a Chih-mei (meaning Demon in Chinese I believe) who will feast on human flesh to get their chi fix, up to and including the corpse of their old bodies. Usually after the cannibalistic temporary insanity, they regain consciousness and realize what happened.
My headcanon is still that Kitten is a vampire (evidenced by covering every centimetre of his body) and the reason Big Dee is so chummy with him is the same reason he extended that olive branch to Kevin. Because even in the turmoil of unlife Kitten still clings to his humanity
"I wish I was a bus"
"I WOULD HIGHLY RECOMMEND IT"
Honestly I'd listen to a whole tangent of episodes like this
Vroom...
@@joshp5563 Vroom! So true!
You mean a whole episode of tangents?
@@joshp5563 vroom.
This would be good
This was excellent! The dialog between two unhinged characters while avoiding decent into lolsorandom. Riposting around each other's remarks while converging on a similar wavelength. This is great writing. A+ metaphors, too.
"Power and charisma like a premium radiator" had me rolling.
It sounds like Sir D is attempting to form his own small faction for the vampires who actually genuinely attempt to hold on to their humanity. which is surprising. Maybe i'm too used to monster hunters pulling "Van-Hellsing hatecrimes" (refer to TV tropes) in most media but this is genuinely an optimistic approach that I was not expecting in the slightest and I love how much it caught me off guard. This video makes me feel like D's plan (if he even has one) is to just sort of kill all the violent and monstrous vampires but if some of them want to just own an apartment and work a nightshift with a less murdery source of blood he would let them do so. Like if there was a way for them to live without causing harm and turning into monsters he would let them do it. And he's under no illusions that it would be easy to pull that off. Not in the slightest. He's not overly optimistic or naive. He's seen how bad the supernatural can get but still believes it to be possible to pull off.
Which is kind of crazy to imagine in the WoD where secrecy of the supernatural is seemingly tantamount to a law of physics. If it's supernatural, then theres *some* reason they can't live a normal life in the open, completely honest about their true nature, it's just the rules.
Mages are all about giving a sh*t and believing in what you believe so hard that they can alter reality but have paradox and the ascension war which keeps them from meaningfully changing the world for the better, which all of them want to do in their own way (except the Nephandi, for them making things better means making things *Worse* with a capital W). This is actually pretty similar to Kevin's situation, in that they have big dreams and should have the tools to achieve them but for a variety of reasons they are prone to spectacular failure. (because if a Mage gets too close to achieving any kind of utopia the frankly pessimistic consensus sort of just takes the wind from their sails with a helping of Paradox).
Werewolves have the Veil and Delirium and their war with the Wyrm, its probably hard to just own an apartment and feed your cat like a guy like Kevin would want if you're a shapeshifting killing machine fueled by rage and you now have a duty to fight entropy-spirit-possessed Captain Planet villains who want to kill everybody and everything for the insane spirit personifying all entropy gone mad.
Vampires have the masquerade and all the downsides that comes with their condition, which we went into great detail with in this video here, the least of which being that you are now a cog in the machine of an oppressive mind-r*apey power structure that uses supernaturally enhanced emotional manipulation to keep itself afloat. Never mind the fact that you're never going to be able to eat your favorite foods like Bagels or Creamed crackers, or do something as simple as see the sunrise and not immediately burn to ash in a horrible fiery death.
Your old life is over, theres no going back, you have been irrevocably changed, not necessarily for better or worse but according to most, mostly for worse.
Which is why its so deeply satisfying to hear D basically say "Yeah no F*ck that. F*ck secrecy, f*ck your new circumstances, f*ck the hand fate has dealt you. F*ck your new limitations. Freedom never comes from surrender, do what you want, don't let your sh*tty luck dictate who you are".
And that’s not even getting into the Chronicles Of Darkness races like the Changelings or the Prometheans.
Nearly every Supernatural in the WoD/CoD had a fundamental aspect of their Humanity changed or destroyed (or in the case of the Prometheans, forced to learn it on their own).
Honestly if he was able to make himself and his ideology know a lot of super natural beings would probably coming flocking to this new way to achieve what they want.
@@Shark_Rock Yeah I mean which sounds better, having to constantly live a lie while enslaved mind and soul to someone dozens of centuries older than you, or working a nightshift and needing a card to pick up a bag from the blood bank every once in a while, but otherwise living a relatively normal life.
@@jtlego1 Heck not even old world of darkness changelings have it easy, on account of *boredom* literally being deadly to them. Being bored at your day job is one thing, but it's a whole other thing when said boredom is killing you in a less than metaphorical sense.
Vampires serving the Big-D? Bloody Angels?
"[Laughs in victory] I knew you'd see it my way... D5."
"- We're climbing slowly toward your two digit intellect."
This writing is gold.
"Social credit deducted" 😂
At first I was a bit curious on what Big D's Hunter creed could be but after seeing how he regularly refers to vampirism as a "disease" and how he interacted with Kevin I feel like he may in fact be a Redeemer of all things, which was definitely not something I was expecting from him.
Somewhere between Redeemer & Visionary it looks like.
He's not Imbued, as far as we can tell. He's a hunter with a lowercase h, not an uppercase, so no powers from the messengers.
@@tzaphkielconficturus7136 That could be the case but then again we haven't seen him displaying his full power yet.
As well a lot of Edges usually have more subtle effects, such as again a lot of Redeemer Edges simply allowing them to talk and reason with supernatural beings a lot easier.
@@theodorehodbor5080 the things he talks about in this and other videos suggests to me that this is the god-emperor in this age and what he was doing back then, since the game of ur he mentions is thousands of years old, and some of the other things he speaks of with firsthand knowledge even a imbued human would not live long enough to see those events
@@geoffreypershouse70 that is pure speculation, and given Big D, i wouldn't put it past him to simply have learned of the thousand year old game for the lols and not actually be that old. and him being the god-emperor would break so much WOD lore I don't even know where to begin with how stupid a decision to make him that would be
the "Three points for Kevin" and "Confound thee Kevin" interaction Actually made me cough up a lung laughing and cry a bit
Edit: Kevin made me cry again
His confession at the end is actually very moving like😩 x
Can we all appreciate that Big-D said "House of Tremere" instead of "Clan Tremere"? And that Kevin did not react in any way?
That's some deep foreshadowing shit at play here if you ask me. That is NOT common knowledge in any part of the oWoD, and they found a way to let us know that Big-D _knows_ and Kevin _does not_ in what, five seconds?
Kudos, bruva and team. KUDOS.
To be frank Kevin spat a lot of "unconventional vampire knowledge", but i should also mention that in the first episode he was talking about "Arcanum", which is basically a society which has the most knowledge about every unnatural subject, so he may have got this knowledge, and also knowledge of TRUE magic (magus dynamic magic) there
I also want to point out that Big D refers to Vampires as "Cainites", knows Cain exists like it's a matter of fact, and uses a title that is *not* common for him: The First Murderer. He also knows about shit that's ANCIENT even by Vampire standards. He also doesn't really appear to have great respect for God or most religion, and has an insane degree of resistance to mind control, being completely immune to the ravages of The Delirium which is almost unheard of, even among the Imbued.
I think he's Fallen, perhaps even Lucifer himself or a similar entity who escaped imprisonment in the Abyss. The title of "First Murderer" wouldn't mean that much to a mortal, but would resonate at an extreme level with Fallen: Caine's murder of Abel changed the course of the Fallen's revolution and ushered in the Time of Atrocities; no Elohim nor Fallen had actually slain another unto that point. It would also give a good accounting for the "House of Tremere," as Fallen have Houses themselves: House of Namaru, House of Halaku, House of Neberu...
Or, conversely, this is what The Emperor of Mankind (WH 40k) was doing around the 20th century. God knows I could totally see emps doing this
@@arueshalaetablebuildingsociety the idea of Lucifer doing this shit is funny but it be even funnier if it's just god himself doing this shit
@@theenderdestruction2362 Well Kevin did say "If only god would forgive me" and D replied. So foreshadowing, reference or BIIIIIIG ego
being a vampire is a pretty rough deal, being tremere is even worse
everybody hates your existance for a crime your forefather comited and you probably know nothing about and you are a slave to the whims of your elders on top of your thirst, your mind and soul twisted against you
kevin did far better than most even dared to, and that alone deserves credit
great and mighty indeed
hope he becomes a recurring character
I fully expect him to aid the Hunters against Pyotr so hopefully the collective intuition of the comments proves true.
They're just jelly, tremere can pull blood out of you at distance, maybe Kevin already knows this he just gets some kind of kick out of this dynamic
Yes, although much of the reasons other vampires hate tremere isn't really the atrocities and gargoyles, because it's not like the Tzimisce really care what happened to their elders back then nor do the ventrue care what happened to those noses and gangrels. They hate the Tremere, because they have been inordinately successful in committing those atrocities, and it makes them feel jealous, and this amuses me greatly.
@@blazednlovinit Assuming Kevin was on that Path, but yeah it's a common one
@@tzaphkielconficturus7136 Envy of success of a group of people, can't think where this has happened in real world history 🤔
Sorry, couldn't help but point that out, I didn't know that about the lore though so thank you :)
Kevin is a sad tale, though it would be nice to see him turn up in more episodes. Definitely a cool character. Soundtrack in the background is a blast as always.
Don’t worry. I think Kevin will be an indispensable part of this series. I think he was an indispensable part of the last one too but we simply didn’t recognize him. Also, I’m I the only one who thinks Kevin would be a more believable wizard if he had a hood and an eagle winged staff? He strikes me as a sort of mentor figure like Merlin. He’s the sort of person who would assemble a team of inquisitive people. I’d bet his employees would wear gray. The great wizards of fiction all have impregnable fortresses. Saroman had issenguard, Merlin has the crystal cave, Dumbledore had Hogwarts, etc. I’ll bet kevin would shoot higher. He’d probably create a fortress from an outer solar system moon….Titan for example.
Honestly after my past 10 years of life; Kevin's parable hits way too close to home for me. After trying in vain to get a stay on my own personal dreams in regards to writing and artistry, and having that fail and blow up in my face I'm now close to achieving a bachelors in ACCOUNTING.
To be honest, Kevin's parable is what I fear most in life. Being forced out of a position to do something big, I fear I'll just relegate myself to something miserable and empty in a job i may have no passion and love for. I can still feel it too under the misery the past 10 years have brought me, that kind of artistic urge for something still persists and right now I'm trying to revive it before i'm further forced into a path presented as my only opportunity that may not be spiritually fulfilling.
I cannot emphasize how each of these "villains" are turning into victims of circumstance and their lives are appearing to be sad tragedies... behind the face of each monster is a story that makes them all to human. Let this be a warning to everyone, while it is easy to dehumanize those whom you passionately disagree with, maybe even hate, never let that hatred turn to making them appear less human. The moment you let those whom you oppose appear less human, you lose something in turn. A very human part of you withers, and with enough time, could very well die. Let this stand as a cautionary tale to us all.
And not end up like Door.
Truer words have never been said.
Reminds me of this quote; "He who fights monsters should see to it that he himself does not become a monster. And if you gaze for long into an abyss, the abyss gazes also into you."
- Friedrich Nietzsche
At the end of every gun barrel, is another human. No matter how monstrous they may seem.
Every soldier has a story, a life behind him.
The same goes for the supernatural in WoD. All of the humanoids who are turned, were humans. Most vampires never wanted to become vampires in the first place. They were murdered. They were kidnapped and forced into medieval serfdom. They were normal people forced into a survival of the fittest situation.
Dont you just feel sympathy for them? Their lives?stolen. their human behaviors? Ruined.
If this is the baseline for sane characters, I can't imagine what they'll do when a Malkavian rocks up
yessssss
4th wall is gonna be nuked from orbit when a Malkavian shows up
XD yesssss
Have a calm but fundamentally unstable conversation with Big D like the Great and Mighty Kevin, except they also keep arguing with the tv over whether tomatoes are fruit or veggies.
... i smell fishmalk but with some Alpha sauce.
Can I just mention how good 30:37 and beyond is? The sheer emotions in it. To hear a fledgling vampire tell a story of his former life, and how tragicly dull it was, and how optimism died with his old self. There's still something strangely human in there, something beyond mere degerenate appearance. A man trying to escape slavery, only to fall into another bond of sorts.
This whole series so far, is just excellent writing. Something I've never seen before in its quality. Good work, Bruva.
Idk what kind of writer's sorcery they employ but it's brilliant.
If Kevin manages to survive in future arcs, I wonder if he'll figure out Golconda. Seems right for him tbh.
I mean, Big-D seems to be pushing him towards it, or at least hinting towards it as well.
My god you really start to feel for every character even is some start at flat like the the Great and Mighty Kevin, you understand and sympathise and care even if you don't want to. Great job to everyone to contributed to this audiolog to actually bring HOPE to a world near as dark as 40k. Just a Great production and my love goes out for everyone to keep going on this incredible path.
*HOW DARE YOU TO INSINIUATE THAT HE, GREAT AND MIGHTY KEVIN, HAS A FLAT PERSONALITY?!*
That’s how they pull you in. At first, it’s just jokes and ridiculousness. Then comes… more jokes, but also heartbreak.
Dayum. After listening to HTP for, no joke, 30th time, you really start to hear and notice all the details. The subtle voice cracks of the actors, nigh unnoticable yet wholesome are insane. Proper thanks for doing this, my friend, and I do hope to see more of these masterpieces!
I am wondering what the effects of D's SPECIAL OMELETTE will be!
What juicy secrets does Kevin have to spill I wonder.
definitely his guts, after a bite of that hellish concoction
Oh just some RBMK graphite for special spice
@@analyticCioccolata I bet we are all laughing like maniacs right now!
there is a whole bloody video about it. I dont recommend to watch it
Okay, Kevin’s account of being controlled by the Tremere is deeply, viscerally uncomfortable, especially if you’ve experienced abusive gaslighting.
EDIT: Since I seem to have everyone’s attention, I’m gonna be honest: this episode made me tear up. I _relate_ to Kevin. I understand how it feels to be gaslit, I know how it feels to be stuck in a dead-end job, I completely get the feeling of having dreams and knowing that you’ll never be able to achieve them. I totally understand how _hopeless_ he feels.
well at least he got out and became the great and mighty kevin
Yes pretty much almost all blood bonds are like that honestly, they're used entirely for vampires to enforce obedience over each other.
Depending on the canon they're arguably the primary reason for the Anarch War and why the Anarchs and Sabbat exist even.
That's Clan Tremere in a nutshell
Gaslighting: the official lighting of the Pyramid (sense 1037)
As an American being gaslit is just another day.
“Why would I serve the First Murderer when I can kill him myself?”
“You’re insane.”
“You aren’t the first person to tell me that…”
…I am legitimately questioning if this is a ridiculous statement or not. Because on one hand, it’s CAIN(E). On the other, Big D has clearly shown that he knows his limits and the limits of others around him. Just look back at his seriousness about werewolves. So the fact that he seems DEAD FUCKING SERIOUS about this is a pretty big deal.
Big D doesnt fight fair. That probably helps.
yeah no, you CANT kill Caine, like the only rulebook where the creator gave him a stablock for GMs? His only stats were "you fucking lose" in all caps.
@@arthenosthefirst8176 he said he will kill the first murderer, not caine.
now this may sound weird and maybe totally wrong, but maybe this specific wording means he will kill the *beast* within caine, the murderous tendencies of caine at the time of the act immortalized by god in the form of the beast could be considered the First Murderer.
D is no dumbass, he probably knows caine is untouchable, and maybe the reason he is even attempting to redeem kevin is in an attempt to see if redemption even works on kindred, as a quality assurance test to see if redemption can truly be used to bludgeon Caine's Beast or as he said "The Disease" into submission.
@@Karatys I don’t think that works. “The Beast” comes with vampirism, but Cain murdered Abel before he became a vampire , so HE is the first murderer, not the monster within.
Or D is Abel/Cain... or Dracula.... Dhampir or Dio/Dios/Dieu ...or DIO...or Dick...or Duck
Funny theory would be that technically D is actually Abel reincarnated/resurrected/reborn is gradually making his way up the chain to finally face his brother, Caine, as D, the Dead man walking
That would actually be really interesting.
It explains why he keeps having so many kids.
“Be fruitful” and all that
That's literally the plot of Devil Survivor.
@@RyoKasai25 So what? Is it not interesting to think of within the context of what we currently know about Big D? Wouldn't it make sense as to why he seems to hold such a deep seated hatred against Caine and his kindred? Do you not have curiosity over what he might be alluding to with some of outbursts? Isn't his vast knowledge much more in depth and meticulous than most other hunters? Does it not intrigue you to learn more of his secrets? All I'm saying is that it would make sense to me if that was the case, just because what I said lines up with another story doesn't mean that it has no merit in it, even if the originality isn't there but it's the characters, their journey, their interactions with the world around them and through their actions as well as how much you want to see them succeed is how a story can truly be defined and made special
Except... well, if the crew do intend to make more parallels between this and TTS, then available to them is the option of having the Master of Mankind be the son of Abel, who killed his uncle in a ritual that used Abel's skull to spell through sorcery An Eye For An Eye Is The End Of Empires.
It's official, this new series features significantly better characters and tone. Have to congratulate you guys on this, you all took that disaster and made it a miracle.
I still prefer emps and kitten over Big-D and [kitten]
But the rest of the adaptations are pretty improved.
I miss TTS, but I'm thoroughly enjoying World of Darkness.
@@Ultrox007 I can see that. I actually prefer Big-D over Big-E so far, though. Big-E was great, but Big-D just seems like the perfect translation from "superhuman crusader against Chaos who has lost too much of his soul to be 'all there' in the head." to "(exceptional?Super?)Human crusader against the forces of darkness who has seen way too much in his life to be 'all there' in the head."
Both are extraordinarily intelligent and capable but have some issues in the head that occasionally cause issues. Like Big-D's hints of insanity and Big-E's inability to debate a choas worshipper particularly well.
I hold out hope that TTS can continue one day. Maybe both being able to exist simultaneously.
The more I listen to Kevin's story the more it resonates with me. For years I worked with survival as the main goal. Dreams still there but set aside to keep things stable. I found myself loosing parts of myself too slowly to take notice at the time. In retrospect it was a depression of sorts, at the time I thought of it as a natural hardening of emotion to circumstances beyond my control. I tried to escape it by saving and saving limiting myself and smoking as a way to cope to deaden myself to blows. Always the same thing happened I'd get to a point and then the car would die or some such and I was back to the start again. I thought not of love or of the future so found neither. It was when opportunities opened up for college I awoke. When I found love better than I thought possible that I awoke. When I realized I could do more with myself than what I was that I awoke. It is by the aid of others that we awake ourselves anew and move past just the beast working for survival and to the man feeling and connecting with others, and in connecting with ourselves. Damn this thing slaps keep the train going Alpha. Let Kevin have his freedom!
I'm currently forcing myself to change my path in life and it's a continuous struggle...
But i know that if i let go, i will go back to the old road...
And i prefer to crash and burn than going back...
No joke, this series gets across the pathos and uremitting darkness with only a faint glimmer of light of the World of Darkness better than just about anything I've seen from those gamelines. Kevin's final story about the man he was and who he ultimately failed to become due to nothing more than the cruelty of chance and circumstance really hits home for me, as someone who has similarly had opportunities closed off for himself due to nothing more than a twist of fate. I REALLY can't wait to see where this series goes from here, especially since I was a little trepidatious about it at the start.
You all do fantastic work! Keep it up, you wonderful goofballs!
“A true magician never reveals his secrets!” Maybe Kevin can provide the Hams!
I eagerly await the reveal of what the swallowed checkov's ham means.
Always been a huge fan of TTS, but HTP is a masterpiece!
This video in particular is my favorite, so many layers to the dialogue, Earndil and speaker D's deliveries in this are outgoing, but surprisingly natural, and that's saying nothing of the A tier script.
I quote Kevins' "once a mighty and powerful accountant" segment at least once a week to my partner. I simply cannot get enough of this back and forth between D and Kevin!
Not like this comment or my opinion matters, but Alfa if you read this, thank you. Your shows walk the beautiful lines between *HoRrId ClOwN wOrD* , whimsy, madness, brilliance, and can truly tug at any emotional strings . Thank you !
I wholeheartedly agree!
What's EVEN MORE impressive is that they've managed to sneak A BUNCH of easter eggs abd obscure references about the setting in the script, such as right after the line you quoted. At the 5:32 mark, Big D calls him "a real MAGIC MAN"; that's in reference to MtA, where the Syndicate (money guys of the Technocratic Union) call themselves "the magic men". I've given this video well over a dozen views and I just got that one. The writing in this series is unbelievably good.
"I am not reasonable. I am an evil wizard." Is my favorite line now.
Ah yes, the funny wizard man is being interviewed. I have plenty of time to create my waffles to snack on during this voxcast. I shall return shortly.
Waffles are good!
Fortify the waffles with nutrients!
Yes
Please tell i wasn't the only one that read this with Rogal Dorn's voice in his head
@NP3GA No.
I'm surprised to learn that Big D seems to be a follower of the Creed of Mercy. Being curious straight up trying to redeem the most human of the vampires he captured and seems to be making some genuine headway in it. Which is impressive considering how egotistical and insane Big D is.
So I love the back and forth between Big D and Kevin because seriously these two are such big ego screaming nut jobs but if it weren't for the fact that one's a hunter and one's a vampire you get the two would be the best of buds in another life. Oh certainly loud screaming and fighting all the goddamn time as they rant and rave at one another over every little insane thing that crosses their mind but still the best of buds. I hope things work out with Kevin and he becomes an ally a Big D because I just want to see these two nut jobs continue having these insane rambling conversations. It would be a shame to see it end
Just because you're an egomaniacal madman who's constantly high and is probably suffering from minor radiation poisoning doesn't mean you can't have a little compassion^^
I came here expecting laughs.
I was not ready for feels.
Exceptionally well done.