recursal/Fanatic-Fandom huggingface dataset:
Interdisciplinary

*Interdisciplinary* is a 2018 single from Mcee Detox, which, in 2022, became the third track on his album IMPL LP.

The song sees Mcee Detox take aim at Gee Mak in hostile lyrics that lead to a hassle between the two, though Gee Mak's responses were never made public.

## Background

Barkhoff decided not to reveal the details of the two rappers beef publicly, but did grant them the ability to beef so long as they held true the values of the then label, Barking Vans (i.e., not diss the label or take it too far). Essentially, Barkhoff told them to "challenge each other competitively without hurting one another professionally".

## Artwork

Barkhoff designed the artwork. It features a chalkboard with the title and credits engraved on it. Barkhoff saw the image in his head as soon as he heard the track title.

## Reception

The song was met with very positive reviews, with many critics complimenting the passion behind Detox's delivery. The length of the track was met with some criticism, however, as well as the overall mixing of the sound.
Unscripted

*Unscripted* is a comedy web series created by the team from Barking Vans and Live Free.

The first three seasons aired on Barking Vans, and were divided amongst "Skits" and "Visual Podcasts". Season 4 has been on Live Free since 2019.

Primary contributors to the series have been Jarrod Van Hauen, Dylan Van Hauen, Mike Barkhoff, and Zach Delfs.

In 2020, a special series aired, subtitled "Workouts", with the intent to do more special series for the namebrand.
Timeline (2013)

*Timeline* is the debut feature film of Mike Barkhoff's, made in his seventh grade of High School. Intended to be a ninety minute film, it resulted in seven minutes. Barkhoff presented it to his tech teacher and got the project okayed by him. Co-written by Conner Paulsen, the duo got friends together to help them complete the film. The story, solely Barkhoff's, came from an idea he had at the age of twelve, due to being a fan of films such as Back To The Future and Goodfellas.
The duo completed the film in the course of three weeks during the winter months. During filming, they experimented with taping recording cell phones to the ceiling, fake fights, and more. The film was completed when everyone involved was 12 or 13 years old.

## Concept

Harry White, a Police Detective who becomes angered by a group of street criminals who have been committing fraudulent activities, especially when he can't find them. Upon finding one of their member's journals, and then being met by a strange man who introduces him to time travel via a remote, he goes back in time to try and corrupt their first crime pulled off. Unbeknownst to him until he arrives, this crime occurs during the first date of him and his wife. Now, he must try to stop the criminals and manage to do so without interfering with a past version of himself, disarranging the timeline.

## Aftermath

Barkhoff was dissatisfied with the film. During the filming of, he encountered a bad experience with someone close to him that knocked his esteem. Due to this, he saved up for a better camera and decided to focus even more strong on his love of the craft. Jarrod Van Hauen enjoyed the concept of making a film and became interested, offering his assistance for the next one. Barkhoff remade the film, with Van Hauen included, in 2015.
To this day, Barkhoff has the burnt DVD in his collection of collectibles, with the sharpie marking from 2013 on it, reading "Timeline: A Short Film by Mike and Conner".
Reconsider It

*Reconsider It* is the premiere episode of Living Free, a web series created by Mike Barkhoff. It is Written and Directed by Barkhoff, also starring him, as well as Ron Gomes and Dylan Van Hauen. It was released September 17th, 2021.

## Plot

Talking to his therapist, Mike Barkhoff reveals that he feels much less excitement in his career goals due to 'what has occured'. Through flashbacks, we reveal troubles on the set of INFINITE. with actors showing up on time, and, in present day, Mike furthers his mindset while speaking to Ron Gomes, saying that the film business desires no originality anymore. He also suggests they hire another director for Ron's next film, much to Ron's dismay.

Mike's conversation with his therapist continues once more, and reveals Mike's dream of winning a notable award for Best Feature Film, but he now is happy settling for just half of that. Mike meets Dylan Van Hauen, who asks Mike for help with his film project for a school class. Mike denies, stating his intentions to remain as a writer solely. Regardless of Dylan's efforts to talk Mike into it, Mike remains against the idea, and the two part ways.

## Production

Barkhoff wrote all seven episodes' scripts in two days, and filmed them about four months later.

This episode was finalized among the last, resulting in the show's delay, for obvious reasons. Similar to Windfall, the show was delayed due to Barkhoff wanting to rearrange two sequences within the episode.

## Reception

The episode has been met with praise from an online audience. It retains a 9.8/10 on IMDb as of September 17th, 2021, with 20 ratings total. Alfred Clarke, in his early review, called it 'a manifestation of Live Free' and 'a very thoughtful comedy'.

Following Living Free's syndicated release on Drakoloid Adult Zone on October 29th, 2021, the episode saw more positive reviews from a new audience. This also partook alongside Chapters.' debut on the program block, Episode 1 - Spree, and Horror Fest's first two episodes, Candlelight and Typo.
Candyman

*Candyman* is the fifth episode of the second season of Living Free. Written and Directed by Mike Barkhoff, it will release on April 15th, 2022.

## Plot

Struggling to sleep due to nightmares, Mike contacts Ron to get some advice. Ron suggests it is Candyman, a monstrous hooked man with a history for plaguing artists who are experiencing difficulties.

Doubtful, Mike states Candyman's name in the mirror five times before being stung by a wasp. He wraps his hand and tries to sleep to no avail, so turns to working on Dylan's script once more.

Dylan tries to figure out a date to film, but Mike exhibits little to no interest at the current moment to an art exhibit (someone else's!) before his lights shut off.

Upon returning, Mike sees a hook and runs from it, trying to hide. It follows him, however, before manifesting as a full person who attacks him, but only in reflections - Candyman.

Mike grabs a knife and tries to fight, but ends up finding little to no wiggle room. He ends up saying Candyman's name in his TV reflection five times after being hooked and pulled by his shirt.

Mike then awakens from the nightmare in his bed and sits up. Grabbing his shirt, he realizes it actually has a hole from where the hook grabbed him. "Candyman", the song, plays as Barkhoff sits and looks at his floor in a state of astonishment.

## Production

This was the only episode teased individually for Season 2, shortly thereafter the announcement that the season was a go-ahead. It is inspired by the horror film series of the same name. Barkhoff wrote the episode's plot after watching the 2021 remake in the series and feeling like the themes fit well into the series.

## Reception

The episode received critical acclaim, garnering a 10/10 on IMDb after it's initial release. Clarke Accloades complimented the season in entirety at this point, but pointed out that this episode showcases the series ability to "fit and find" a niche of viewers.
The Robbery

*The Robbery* is the fifth episode of the first season of Living Free. Written by star Mike Barkhoff, it features it's Director, Dylan Van Hauen and serves as a continuation of the episode prior, Film Scouting. It is set to debut on October 15th, 2021.

## Plot

Mike and Dylan chase after Mike's stolen car to no avail. Giving up, Dylan tries to convince Mike otherwise, and the two endulge in a shoving match due to Dylan deeming it 'a mishap of life'.

Dylan takes his anger out on trees and limbs while Mike continues to walk, out of breath, in search for it. Finally, Mike gets a call. He initially calls for Dylan to come along, then denies those advances. Nonetheless, Dylan, having heard Mike, rushes to the car.

Mike attempts to write more, and goes through a food binge. After he cleans the mess from the binge, he decides to email his therapist's office, asking to set up an appointment.

## Production

This episode was initially set to be a part of the prior one, but Barkhoff separated the two due to the excessive length of the script. Afterwards, Barkhoff found the scripts for both episodes to be easier and faster to film than thought. He considered making the episodes whole again but ultimately decided against it, as he thought that it served as a good two part episode.

Due to this, this episode is somewhat shorter than the others. This is also due to a filming technicality in which the microphone being used worked ineffective towards Barkhoff's goal. In editing, he realized the wind was picked up more than their vocals. He tried to separate the two to no avail and attempted to fix it via voiceover maneuver but couldn't on his co-stars behalf due to Van Hauen's busy schedule.

## Reception

The episode received very positive reviews, enlisting a 9.5/10 on IMDb. It fell behind in viewership for first 8 hours as compared to the previous episode.
The Wulf Of 3rd Street

*The Wulf Of 3rd Street* is a 2018 mixtape by UGK David. It was released on November 18th, 2018, when David was named Robert Larremore, and rereleased in late October 2021 on all streaming platforms to celebrate it's three year anniversary. The primary single for the rerelease was Damn Daddy!.

UGK David followed the mixtape with the release of The Lacey Lane EP.

## Production

The album was recorded in mid 2018. Several tracks were made upon Larremore meeting Mike Barkhoff. Barking Vans shared the release of the mixtape, marking the first partnership of the duo.

## Tracklist

1. The Wulf Of 3rd Street
2. Star Wulf Klan
3. Lacey Lane (Krimson & Klover)
4. Me & My Black Bitch
5. Tater Thot
6. nWo (Illuminati)
7. Hotel San Bernadino
8. Are You The One (Careless Whisper)
9. Ride on 40ez
10. Damn Daddy!
11. Bands Remix (Help Me Please Version)
12. Call Me Wu-Tang
13. Whole Lotta Gang Shit (Freezer Gang Anthem)

Bonus Track for 2021 Rerelease

1. E Is For Eriething

## Reception

The Wulf Of 3rd Street was met with critical acclaim, with many noting it as a massive improvement over Larremore's prior mixtape, Cero Mideo. This lead to David releasing The Ex Girlfriend Anthem, his highest streamed song to date, which was built off of the warm welcoming that came with this mixtape. Barkhoff, in particular, has noted this is his favorite project of David's thus far, singling out Damn Daddy! as his "likely" favorite David song.

## Aftermath

Barkhoff included some songs from this when creating $EX $ELLS, but tried to keep it to a minimum due to him wanting to release this project for it's three year anniversary. Barkhoff, using David's Soundcloud to gather songs during this process, didn't realize some of these were from this tape (for example - Barkhoff read "Krimson & Klover" and thought it was a new song, because he knew it under the title "Lacey Lane".)
Candlelight

*Candlelight* is a 2017 horror short film by Mike Barkhoff. Released months after Into The Wild, it received attention at a quick pace, amassing over 300 views in it's first forty-eight hours (the first feat for original content of theirs) and gaining acclaim from an online presence.
It is considered by many to be Barkhoff's magnum opus.

## Production

Upon receiving a new camera, Barkhoff wanted to try it out. He wrote the script for this and filmed it in a day. Halfway through, the camera battery died and they had to switch to the lesser camera.

## Reception

Due to it being shared, the film amassed over 300 streams in it's first two days, and received a large amount of acclaim from the online community, with Barkhoff's family enjoying it especially. Barkhoff entered the film into festivals and got nominated and won awards, for writing and directing, respectively.
It is widely considered to Barkhoff's best film yet.

## Aftermath

Barkhoff made comments on the hardships of trying to battle Candlelight from 2018 until 2020. In 2019, he released Candlelight II, an unrelated short film where he ponders aloud if anything will ever be as good, and, if not, if it's worth moving forward.
In 2020, Barkhoff admitted his interest in having the film removed from his category. Nonetheless, on the urge of family and friends, it was his first film submitted and approved for an Amazon Prime featuring. This was because, weeks prior, he had done a remastering for it's third year anniversary, which again sparked a life of it's own, gaining 500 views and over 60 comments reviewing the film positively, as well as boosting the Live Free channel's subscriber count.
Barkhoff admitted that one time someone offered to pay the production cost of a full length film, but he turned down the offer, wanting it to be a "one and done".
Monster At Home

*Monster At Home* is an upcoming film from Mike Barkhoff, adapted from a script written by Ron Gomes. Serving as their second collaboration together, Barkhoff started slowly filming it after Limbo. The film stars Barkhoff, Anessa Smith, Harry Scott, and Dylan Van Hauen.

## Production

The film has been handled in various filming periods since late 2021, with Barkhoff filming half of his scenes then and then the other half in early 2022 (due to having to wait for his hair to regrow after the first half). Barkhoff's explanation for the film taking long to wrap is that a primary character having to be handled by a Fiverr creator, and expressed his interest in finding someone "very reliable" because of the character's complexity.

Barkhoff originally wanted the film to release in February of 2022 before delaying it so he could have time to find a more suitable actor for the role. He has since been hoping it sees release in the fourth quarter of 2022.

## Future

Barkhoff intended to release another adapted project from a Gomes script, Stalkers in the fourth quarter of 2022, also. This became delayed to 2023 following Barkhoff's hectic schedule.
Lil Squid

**Squid** is a character by Jarrod Van Hauen, created for his rap career.

For Squid Thoughts, the prefix was "Lil" Squid, and for squid.ink, the prefix was "DJ" Squid. An intended third and fourth album would've seen him become "Doctor" Squid and "Mcee" Squid, respectively.

The character idea stemmed from Van Hauen purchasing a squid hat.

In 2021, Dylan Van Hauen was gifted the squid hats, leaving the mantle handed to him.
Repres

*Repres* is a 2019 short film from Mike Barkhoff, simply following him through his house in the morning until he reaches the 'editing bay', where he begins and ends his day.

This film was meant to capture depression through repetitive themes. For a moment, Live Free's slogan was "Repent. Repres. Recover. Repeat." It was the second installment in "104", a short-lived web series by Barkhoff that began with Candlelight II.
Love

*Love* is a 2022 single from South African rapper Gee Mak. The song serves as a posse cut, including a verse from most of his contemporaries, Norff, 12Digits, and 69ERRAS.

The song released exactly a month after Gee Mak's prior single, Dear Crush - in terms of day - on March 4th, 2022.

## Production

The song sees the four rappers discuss their love life over a repetitive strum of instruments. It is a yawning beat that becomes awake when the flow or verse calls for it.

## Reception

The song was met with positive reviews, but was declared by many to be insufficient in regards to other songs featuring the rappers, such as Too Loud, Do The Math, and White Noise.
Friday The 13th

*Friday The 13th* is a 2019 short film written by Mike Barkhoff and directed by Shelbey Coy, in her directorial debut. It starred Barkhoff and Jarrod Van Hauen and was based on the film series of the same name. Released on Friday, September 13th of 2019, it was the second time Barkhoff has released a project on Friday the 13th, following his 2018 short "Ready Or Not".

This was the first time Barkhoff and Van Hauen appeared together on screen since the 2019 hiatus and the fallout between them.
Epilogue

*Epilogue* is a 2018 horror-comedy short film written by Mike Barkhoff and Jarrod Van Hauen and directed by Van Hauen. It was made for Horror Fest Season 2 and acts as the season finale of that season and series finale of the show.

This was Van Hauen's final short film until 2020, when he released Season 3 Episode 2 of Chapters., Ebb, ten days before his debut feature film, Death, My Darling.

## Reception

The short film received critical acclaim for its merge of comedy and horror elements.
Windfall (Soundtrack)

*Windfall: The Original Soundtrack* is a composite instrumental album curated by Mike Barkhoff for his sophomoric full length film Windfall.

## Tracklist

1. Intro To Windfall
2. Lost & Found
3. Man Asking For Money
4. Strategic Survival
5. Driving & Dealing
6. Love, Pt. 1
7. Two Men Are Following You
8. Love, Pt. 2
9. Dark Vs Light

## Reception

The soundtrack received acclaim and was considered a highlight of the film by many. The Live Free roster also commended it - Conner Paulsen praised it, saying "The effort is heard." and UGK David showed it love commenting "You could sell select tracks for 80$." Dylan Van Hauen, also, asked Mike to score his debut film and Jarrod Van Hauen got excited upon hearing Mike was making the soundtrack for his debut, Death, My Darling.
Uddowomba

**Uddowomba** is an upcoming feature film written and directed by Mike Barkhoff. Though details are sparce, it is known that the film was pushed into production by an email Barkhoff received that suggested comedy was his strong suit. The film has also been revealed to be in tribute to Jim Varney, an actor who influenced Barkhoff at an early age due to his role as Ernest P. Worrell.
Scarecrow

*Scarecrow* is a short film announced by Mike Barkhoff, expected to be his fourth horror short, following Candlelight, Ready Or Not, and Breathe.

The initial idea came in 2018, when the project was first announced, during a shopping trip for fake blood that lead Barkhoff to finding a Scarecrow mask that spoke to him, which he immediately purchased.

Barkhoff announced filming for the project in 2019, but it seemingly fell through or was scrapped. In 2020, Barkhoff was working on a potential film series based around the character, with the plan to make a horror franchise that studies the others and avoids the cheesy installments that let the narrative crumble for fans' of those.

Barkhoff stated, in 2021, that the reason for the lengthy wait was to "avoid another Breathe scenario", his last horror short which he felt was a "great script but the product of us not having enough time to do great scripts."
Breathe

*Breathe* is a 2018 horror short from Mike Barkhoff starring Ashtun O'Rourke that follows a girl with an oxygen tank who collapses while trying to reach too high of a height.

## Production

Barkhoff concocted the idea after seeing the horror films of 2018 and took note of their cinematography. This was his third and finale installment in his trilogy of horror films, which began with Candlelight and continued with Ready Or Not.

## Reception

The film performed much worse than Barkhoff expected, and reception was lukewarm, with many considering it rushed. Barkhoff has also admitted the concept was better in his head.
Make Everyday Friday

*Make Everyday Friday* is a song off of Norff's second album Norf, featuring 69ERRAS. It was unveiled at the same time as the album, July 2nd, 2021.

## Overview

The song details a Friday night shared between the two rappers that ends with violence due to the excessive parties they are intervening with.

## Production

Like many songs off the album, the production is handled by Bayden Records. The song bears similar themes as album cuts "Striking Demon" and "Murda", which is why Mike Barkhoff put it right before the former, saying: "To have three songs that are similar interspersed might make the album a bit more loose and cohesive to some, but I felt putting this before "Demon" was a calling card because it leads right into why and what and where Norff is getting those demons - he's struggling in society. This song evokes that struggle."

## Reception

The song has been met with acclaim for it's merger of a radio hit with conscious lyrics, and has been cited as many listener's favorites. Barkhoff, too, considers it one of the best songs on the album.
Dear Crush

*Dear Crush* is a 2022 single from South African rapper Gee Mak, bearing an uncredited feature from Norff.

The song was released February 4th and placed in a Valentine's EP from Live Free, alongside 69ERRAS' Give Me Your Love and 12Digits' Missing You.

## Production

Unlike Gee Mak's traditional uptempo and 'trap fused' beats used, this song features a much more laid back string styled beat.

## Release

The song was teased with animated videos, which formed a visualizer for the song - a music video released for the song which also featured a second half uncredited that featured Lead The Way.

Mike Barkhoff suggested keeping Norff's feature uncredited, similarly to how Gee Mak had an uncredited appearance on Norff's prior album the month prior. He wanted the listener to be excited upon hearing Norff, as it was only Norff's second verse since his album (following STRUGGLES).

## Reception

The song was met with positive reviews, particularly for the difference in the beat as opposed to Gee Mak's traditional style.
16:35

*16:35* is the third episode of Chapters.' third season, subtitled **Bad Things Happen At Noon**. Written and directed by Mike Barkhoff, it is a short episode about him receiving a mysterious text at work.

## Premise

Barkhoff received an odd text, which was then elaborated as a text that sent "way later than intended" one day at work. The text gave him an odd feeling, and he decided to film it for Chapters.

## Plot

A man does duties at work before receiving a text asking if he is at work. The text comes from himself.

## Production

Due to the short runtime, this was done in a day. Barkhoff originally had the idea of making this a 'hold off' between seasons of Chapters but decided to make it Episode 3 to split up unreleased episodes, making it somewhat of a teaser for new material.

## Reception

The episode was met with positive reviews, with many calling it's scenery in the short runtime unique. It was criticized for it's lack of substance, quick pace, and short length, however.
Ms

**Ms** is the fourth episode of Chapters. (Season 4), subtitled C4, written and directed by Mike Barkhoff. It received positive reviews for it's original entry into the terror genre, as it features a plot twist over footage of a bare, bland wall. It also saw the season's highest debut numers. It released March 3rd, 2023.

## Production

Barkhoff had the idea for this episode's plot in 2018. At that point, he struggled to make it come off original and feared it would feel like "a copycat of Sixth Sense or something".

In 2020, very briefly, Barkhoff wanted to make this episode for Chapters. (Season 2), before he realized his idea for having the second season be based off thematic tissues. Barkhoff again wanted to film the episode for Chapters. (Season 3), but had to delay it due to his schedule, therefore releasing an unreleased episode in it's place.

Up until 2022, the idea for the episode was to make a dark sci-fi comedy about the man, finding the deceased woman, to try and revive her before cops arrived. This then formed into something more serious and less comedic, about the man trying to evade capture from the cops. In 2022, Barkhoff decided it needed "a twist" to fit the series better.

## Plot

A man enters his elderly patient's house to find her dead and is taken in by police. He talks himself out of the situation with the cops by suggesting he has PTSD and needs treatment via a therapist. At the therapist's meeting, the man admits that he killed the elderly woman and is planning on killing the therapist next.

## Reception

The episode received very positive reviews for Barkhoff's "original approach" for the camerawork used during the twist, which was seen as making the reveal more unsettling without primary focus on a man turning good to bad. Clarke Accloades lamented it was "a massive highlight". It also received the season's highest debut viewerships.
My Lane

My Lane is the sophomoric effort EP from Gee Mak. It was lead by the singles Lead The Way and Gang, and released on May 27th, 2022.

Following half a year of promotion and delays, the album consists of five tracks and was met with positive reviews.

## Production

Gee Mak handled the creation and mixing of this project in a much more personal manner as opposed to the debut EP he released in November 2021, Hustle Till Success. Mike Barkhoff again executive produces.

In 2021, Gee Mak teased releasing five EPs across 2022. Originally titled Hell's Trap, Barkhoff had configured a marketing plan that spanned January to May with the release on the aforementioned Friday the 13th date. The marketing plan began with the single releases of Lead The Way and Dear Crush before Gee Mak decided on the latter's inclusion in a different EP. Due to this, a music video for Dear Crush, featuring a mini-video for Lead The Way at the end, was released but taken from the EP's marketing.

The intended EP that would include Dear Crush became delayed due to a lack of inspiration, while this EP got delayed due to writer's block and power outages in Gee Mak's hometown. As many as three songs were recorded for the album that Gee Mak felt positive about releasing, which Barkhoff described as "having potential for single releases" that Gee Mak ordered Barkhoff not to release. Gee Mak informed his Twitter followers in early May that the EP was going to be delayed. He then announced that the title was being changed, and that he was waiting on Barkhoff to make the artwork.

The new date was confirmed to be May 27th by Mcee Detox when he was thanking listeners of his album IMPL LP which surprise released on Friday the 13th and took the intended date.

## Tracklist

1. Lead The Way
2. Gang
3. Bad Bitch
4. Opps
5. My Lane

## Reception

The EP was met with positive reviews. Online listeners reacted favorably to the release, albeit criticizing it's delays and lack of songs not released beforehand. Clarke Accloades in particular criticized the EP, declaring it as "a haste sizzle" when comparing it to Gee Mak's former debut EP Hustle Till Success, and commenting that it "reaches no heights near what came before it".
Till The Day I Die

*Till The Day I Die* is a 2022 song from South African rapper Norff. Notably, it is the first song from the rapper following a five month hiatus of solo releases.

The song follows his third album "Overmorrow" and is expected to be the first single off of Norff's fourth album, "Life Is Rough Pt II".

## Lyrical Themes

The song sees Norff discuss his addiction to drugs and alcohol, which stem from not being as highly recognized as he feels he should be. Regardless, Norff is bent on survival through thick and thin, and, even more so, on continuing to be loyal to his contemporaries.

The last verse sees Norff discuss a potential overdose, as he remains loyal - even then - to Barking Vans and Live Free.

## Production

Till The Day I Die was the second song Barkhoff received for Norff's fourth album.

The song sees a repetitive beat being used which focuses on synthetic tempos and minimal bass. It sees a beat change with a slower tempo as Norff delivers the final verse.

Norff mixed the song himself. He wanted the song to be released because of it's message.

## Release

Bearing silence for the first five months of 2022, Norff went absent. Live Free also minimally discussed him - aside from three features (one of which was uncredited) and two music videos for his precious album.

On May 27th, 2022, alongside the announcement of Gee Mak's second EP being available, it was announced Norff was due to return in two days.

## Reception

The song was met with laud from an online audience. Clarke Accloades described the song as being "the style of Weeknd as Norff combines his styles - old 2018 and new 2020" and comparing it to the discussed and accomplished rapper's debut series of mixtapes from the early 2010s, known collectively as the "Trilogy".
Down

*Down* is a 6 part mini web series created by Mike Barkhoff about the trials of a budding relationship with a depressed male in the mix.

Starring himself, Jarrod Van Hauen, Ashtun O'Rourke, and Sydney See, it was written after the Pilot episode was partially filmed, as Barkhoff just had the idea for a darkly comedic bit initially.

It received positive reception for it's dark humor. Barkhoff has since admitted the material he wrote, which covered three seasons after, has been taken from him.

## Production

Barkhoff intended to create a bit but found it had no ending, so decided to craft a story to give it a proper ending. During initial development, it wasn't intended as a miniseries, though it was always crafted for every season to follow it's own structural narrative so it could be enjoyed on it's own.

## Marketing

The series was initially teased for a March 2019 release, but became delayed due to Barkhoff's hiatus. It was then announced for release in Novemver 2019, a mere week before it began airing.
Crocodile

Crocodiles (subfamily ***crocodylinae***) or true crocodiles are large semiaquatic reptiles that live throughout the tropics in Africa, Asia, the Americas and Australia.

The word ***"crocodile"*** comes from middle English ***cocodrill*** which is loaned from French ***cocodril*** which is from Latin ***crocodilus***, which is from Ancient Greek ***κροκόδειλος krokódeilos*** which is a compound perhaps from ***κρόκη krókē*** which is of Proto-Indo-European origin and ***δρῖλος drîlos*** which is of unknown origin but it is most likely from a pre-Indo-European substrate language.

***Crocodylinae***, all of whose members are considered true crocodiles, is classified as a biological subfamily.

**Gallery:**

Crocodile Scientific Classification: Kingdom Animalia.
Squid Thoughts

*Squid Thoughts* is an album by Jarrod Van Hauen, under his debut rap name Lil Squid, released in 2018. It features the single "Hentai", which was acclaimed for it's comical spin on J. Cole's "Wet Dreamz", as well as it's video, helmed by Mike Barkhoff.

The album was written by Van Hauen and Barkhoff, and Barkhoff makes guest appearances throughout.

## Reception

The album received positive reviews for it's comical nature. It debuted with low streaming numbers, however, but the single "Hentai" especially has continued to grow.
STRUGGLES

*STRUGGLES* is the third single from Live Free musician 12Digits, released January 21st, 2022, and featuring Norff. The song precedes 12Digits' single "Grind" off of Rising and "Blog", an October 2021 single.

## Artwork

The artwork for "STRUGGLES" was created by Mike Barkhoff, with the intent of showcasing a chessboard centered between a duo of the colors red and blue, showcasing politics and street criminal associations.

Barkhoff also created the visualizers for the song. The first, released for promotion, sees the colors skimming by the screen until falling into place. The second, released as the music video, sees overlapping of an American flag and a chessboard pattern over the artwork, at first being fully visible before the opacity is dialed down. The superimposing nature of the images directly links to the context of the song having multiple layers.

## Meaning

The song is in regards to the artists having to maintain hope in the midst of everything seeming to be against them. This is in regards to minor issues, such as schooling, all the way to larger issues, such as police brutality, lack of democracy, and more.
Shrink

*Shrink* is the second episode of Chapters.' first season. Written and directed by Mike Barkhoff, it stars himself and Ashtun O'Rourke as a successful film star and a therapist, respectively, as the film star vents to his therapist about wrongful sexual allegations, but she refuses to believe he is innocent.
The film was made in response to the overwhelming amount of allegations made during the 2018 MeToo movement. As Barkhoff explained "It's not me saying they're innocent. It's just me saying that we don't know."

## Production

Barkhoff admitted that he was "extremely nervous" for the public to see the episode.

It remains one of Chapters.' few episodes with a political theme.

## Plot

A filmmaker meets his therapist to discuss recent sexual assault allegations made towards him. He tries to suggest they are lies, but the therapist shows doubt towards believing him. The therapist ultimately suggests he kill himself and chooses to believe that he is a rapist.

## Trivia

- Barkhoff conceived the idea after reading about all of the Me Too movement allegations and feeling as if someone were unwarranted to reach the conclusions they did due to lack of evidence.

## Continuity

- The same Ford Taurus is used that was shown in the Pilot episode. This clues the twist of "The Typewriter", that two characters used the same car.

## Reception

The episode has been met with positive reviews, with many positively reviewing the concept in the episode and the political nature without it being overt. Many have considered it a topic not discussed about enough.
Shoe Rack

Shoe Rack is the first episode of Chapters. (Season 4). Written and Directed by series creator Mike Barkhoff, it also stars him. The plot sees a man debate his choice of shoeware. The episode was released February 2nd, 2023. It was the first episode since 2021 in the series, following Barkhoff's goal to take a break in order to be more inspired and have more "original" episodes.

## Reception

It received critical acclaim for it's story, plot twist, and simplistic approach, with many considering it to feel like an episode from the series' first season. Clarke Accloades declared it "the best episode, possibly in years, for a series that has never felt more like what inspired it - Twilight Zone."
Life Is Rough Pt II

*Life Is Rough Pt II* is the fourth album from South African rapper Norff. Following his third album Overmorrow, it is the sequel to his debut album Life Is Rough.

## Production

A sequel for the album had been discussed as early as 2020, when a song recorded during the time period was "sonically incorrect" for the album. Norff suggested the idea, and Barkhoff took to making an album cover.

Barkhoff's idea to make the album cover in 2020 was to mimick the original album, which beared an album cover made two years prior, so he wanted to share the same descriptor.

## Release

The album has been discussed minimally. The first single from the album, Till The Day I Die released in May 2022.
Need

*Need* is the second episode of Chapters.' second season, subtitled **Atrocity Exhibitions**, written and directed by Mike Barkhoff. It stars Darla Barkhoff as a cop who finds cocaine at the site of a murder and begins to use it for personal reasons.
The episode was met with acclaim, particularly for it's light tone meeting the dark material in the middle, the acting, and the cinematography. Guest star Darla Barkhoff, Mike's grandmother, helped in the latter field, as she is a photographer.

## Plot

A cop discovers a murder scene. Inter-spliced with this scene is her talking to her doctor about her difficulty sleeping at night. There, she finds cocaine and a phone number.
Due to her overt exhaustion, she uses the cocaine to stay awake and complete her basic daily tasks. She calls the number to get more cocaine. She then begins to go into debt, and starts mixing the cocaine with all types of household items that share the color and texture to sell it on the street.
However, one day, after her daily tasks - which include being a cop and a cocaine abuser and seller - she walks into her basement to see a man waiting to kill her.

## Production

The episode was filmed in one day. Darla Barkhoff wore the prop uniform of a cop throughout the entire shoot. Mike Barkhoff would let her act natural and just change angles multiple times, before showing her and asking her to help him opine and make them better.

## Marketing

Barkhoff held a Chat With Creators segment for this episode, which guest starred Darla Barkhoff also. In that, they discussed the meaning of the film, and he let her come to her own conclusion. Barkhoff also announced that the episode featured a pivotal moment (in terms of camerawork) for the season, hidden in the form of the audio and it's diegetic sound.
This resulted in the showing of Outkast's first album, "Southernplayalisticadillacmuzik" on CD, in the cops possession. Meanwhile, Isaiah Rashad's song "West Savannah" plays (Outkast also had a song titled "West Savannah", which was intended for their first album). This reveals that, when watching the season as a whole, it is also occurring in a fictional world, created by Barkhoff (as if he personally is making the Season, up until Episodes 9 and 10) until Doppelgang, when it becomes him in reality and all of his addictions have caught up to him.

## Themes

The episode's addiction is cocaine and the themes that lie within are doing what you feel necessary to succeed in your day-to-day goals and admiration, which isn't always a good thing.

## Trivia

- Darla Barkhoff made use of her former police uniform from when she used to be a training officer on duty. The logos were taped over but the overall suit was used for nostalgiac looks.

- Due to her background in photography, Darla helped Mike fixate several camera angles.

## Continuity

- The baggie of cocaine was created in ways similar to the weed baggie in "Mixed Bags", a future episode in Season 3.

## Reception

The film was met with positive reviews from an online audience. It received more views that www.cell.society did in it's opening twenty-four hours.
Esotic

*Esotic* is the fifth EP from Mike Barkhoff, released October 8th, 2021. Barkhoff initially wanted to make an album in the steps of Barkhoff but found himself happy with the results of this he had finished as an EP and decided to release it as so.

## Production

Barkhoff began work on the EP immediately following his July album, intending for it to be a second album in the same vein. The earliest song done occurred in April 2021.

The first song features a vocal cameo from Ashton Kutcher, another Iowan native and actor known for That '70s Show and several other films and shows, who texted Barkhoff a voice message one day and inspired him to put into a song's context.
Okay!

*Okay!* is the third beattape EP by Mike Barkhoff, and the second released in 2020, not even a full month after Denitrify.

Okay! was actually created chronologically before it's former release, as Barkhoff, Jarrod Van Hauen, and Conner Paulsen - credited as Ritz Jesus - were creating instrumentals for a rap album and trying to record and get into rapping during the 2019 hiatus.
Barkhoff found the songs after months of believing them to be lost and went through, collecting what was "okay".

Initially, he was going to release an album but decided to divide it into two sections, this EP and for QUINTOKOS' TRIP. QUINTOKOS, being the music duo of Barkhoff and Paulsen, was invented to rap but he decided would work with a beattape as well. This was primarily due to the fact many were done by both him and Paulsen. To promote that album, he put a song on this project featuring Paulsen. Jarrod Van Hauen also has a production feature.

## Tracklist

1. PROGRAMMING (ft. Ritz Jesus)
2. THUD (ft. Ritz Jesus)
3. HYPE
4. NOONSHOW (ft. Jarrod Van Hauen)
5. MONTAGUE

## Reception

Okay! received acclaim from it's online audience, with many contributing Barkhoff's anger with the world and artistic endeavors being a bold drive for the rich sound. It has been considered, along with UnSymmetrical, as Barkhoff's best musical release.
Oz

**Oz** (alternatively titled **The Best Words When You Discover Your Imminent Death At The Hands Of Someone Else**) is the fourth episode of Chapters. (Season 4). Written and Directed by Mike Barkhoff, who appears on screen credited also as a "Present Day Scholar", it was released February 23rd, 2023.

## Plot

A man who has left mafia ties finds out that there is a string of men behind an operation to continue making his life miserable. Upon the discovery, and the sulking realization that he is on a hitlist, the only word he can muster is "fuck you".

## Production

Barkhoff's seed for this episode dates back to roughly 2019. It was filmed amongst the first episodes of C4 and sat on a hard drive for months, as well as it's cohort episodes of the same class. Like the majority of the rest of C4 and Living Free (Season 3), the episode had no script.

When Barkhoff went through to edit the episodes, he had forgotten his two line jab at the character's killer, and found it comical. Initially, he considered ridding the episode of the lineup before deciding to take it in the opposite direction and use it to poke fun at it's message and hype up a message that, as he states, "probably not many of our viewers relate to".

## Reception

The episode was met with praise and speculation for it's final scene, change in title, and Barkhoff's self proclaimed high regard credit. Clarke Accloades opined that "this episode is at the height of Barkhoff having fun and showcasing his ability to smoothly blend social commentary with trademark comedy. It continued a trend in which Chapters.' viewership took a steep drop in comparison to it's second and third seasons, however.
Skyler Neher

Skyler Neher is an American actress in the Live Free collective. She has appeared in INFINITE., Chapters. (Season 2), and I Give It A Year. Her directorial debut occurred in the third season of Chapters. In November 2021, her name was removed from the Live Free collective. This followed a report that she was written in to be an actor in a couple of episodes of Living Free, but remained absent from the episodes presented.
Get Back

*Get Back* is a song from Norff off his third album Overmorrow. This song and Side Peace are notable as they are the first forrays into storytelling rap for Norff.

## Plot

In Get Back, Norff discusses a man who is in love with a promiscuous girl that helps him commit robberies by sleeping with the men about to be robbed. Norff actually loves her, though, but she doesn't - she just uses him to gain money. Norff's character then deals with heartbreak and trying to come to terms with his actions.

## Reception

For it's melody and writing, Get Back has been declared one of the most notable songs off of Overmorrow, and is considered a turning point off the album, moving from more "singles" or attempts at singles to more open songs with deep meaning and layers. The song has been especially acclaimed for it's instrumental outro, which, based on the last words, seems to make the listener make the ending one they can deduce on their own. Notably, there is an outro after the instrumental outro, which frustrated some listeners.
Staff all shook up as 'monster' croc Elvis charges at them at reptile park

December 28, 2011 — 11.34am.

A worker at a reptile park has recovered a lawnmower that had been dragged into a lagoon by a huge crocodile.

Tim Faulkner went into the water while Elvis the ***"monster croc"*** was distracted with some kangaroo meat.

***"I didn’t mind jumping in the water, once the croc had fixed on a bit of food,"*** he said.

The five metre croc had charged staff at the Australian Reptile Park at Gosford after they went into its enclosure about 8am today.

The men who used their lawnmowers as a barrier when the beast lunged managed to escape unharmed.

***"He’s just won a big game, so when we get in there to feed him later in the day he’s going to be a different crocodile; he’s going to be the king."***

Mr Faulkner denied the incident was staged.

**"He [the crocodile] actually had the mower for about 10 seconds prior," he said.**

**"I just grabbed out my iphone and recorded it."**

Mr Faulkner said the crocodile attacked during routine maintenance of the park, and it was in the beast`s nature to do so.

A rescue mission was mounted a few hours later to retrieve the mower, which Elvis had dragged underwater.

***"Billy distracted him with ’roo meat and I just dove in and grabbed the mower,"*** Mr Faulkner said.

Mr Faulkner said it probably wouldn’t be the last time the 50 year old croc made a nuisance of himself.

Elvis who lost two teeth in the encounter with the mower was acquired by the park in 2008 after it had been causing a nuisance in Darwin harbour by climbing onto fishing boats.

***"He’s a monster.***

***He’s the unfriendliest crocodile you would ever have the pleasure of meeting,"*** said the park`s spokeswoman Libby Bain.

AAP and Alen Delic.

**Gallery:**

Keeping watch ... Elvis guards the lawnmower. CREDIT: AUSTRALIAN REPTILE PARK.Not his ... Elvis the crocodile stole the lawnmower.
Please No More Pain

*Please No More Pain* is the first episode of the second season of Living Free. Directed and Written by Mike Barkhoff, it aired on March 18th, 2022, only slightly more than five months after the first season's finale.

## Plot

Mike Barkhoff is dealing with alcoholic tendencies after severing ties with his therapist. During a period of increased cases in COVID-19, he spends large portions of his days in solitude and finds himself struggling to stay busy so he can keep his mentality clear and in a high position.

Mike considers retiring when he sees the lackluster numbers that his films and the music he helps artists distribute are pulling. He contemplates retiring from both actions, and begins to make a video announcing his decision to leave the industry. In the middle of recording, he gets a call from Zach, who informs him of the opportunity to make a music video for an artist named Give Me Water who has made a song of the same name.

## Production

Mike had the idea for this episode while struggling to fall back asleep early one morning, to the point he woke back up and wrote it all down. Almost the entirety of the first half of the episode all "played out" in Mike's head, up until roughly the point where the camera moves in a rectangle shape along Mike's laptop screen.

Barkhoff had an early draft of Season 2 written, which included two episodes based in solitude - these would end up becoming Episodes 3 and 4. Barkhoff then conceived the ending to this episode and decided to make a rounded four episodes based in solitude and, rather than divvy them up throughout the season, to plant them all back-to-back to get them out of the way at first. This made Barkhoff's early draft of Season 2 change entirely, but he decided to make that plot line the basis of a potential third season, favoring the themes and concept of Season 2 and attributing to them being "essential" if a third season were to happen, feeling the characters needed to grow some more.

Due to all of the aforementioned context, Barkhoff began filming Season 2 of Living Free *much* earlier than intended, and in a *much* faster time period than he assumed he would. Barkhoff has suggested Season 2's production to be "almost the complete opposite" of Season 1's, where he struggled to come up with plot lines and themes.

## Reception

The season premiere was met with critical acclaim, primarily for it's themes of solitude and self doubt. On IMDb, it carries a 9.5/10 from 21 ratings. The episode was also the fastest growing release in 2022, thus far, for Live Free, reaching close to 80 views in it's first day (Live Free had some releases achieve the same and even more, but they weren't original content - instead unboxings or digital copy giveaways).