recursal/Fanatic-Fandom huggingface dataset:
Conner Paulsen

Conner Paulsen is an artist for Live Free. He operates as one half of QUINTOKOS, a musical group including himself and Mike Barkhoff. He discussed the concept for Live Free early on with Barkhoff. He has also been active in efforts from the group, including INFINITE., Doppelgang, Timeline (2013), and more.

Paulsen is confirmed for directing an episode of an upcoming web series in the 2022 slate (see Mortal Man/Catholic School Girls Rule). He was in talks to direct an episode of Chapters. (Season 3) but got overly busy and had to drop out of his role, which then went to Nakota Conrad. Paulsen initially was part of a group entitled Hip Hop Anonymous, alongside Barkhoff and Jarrod Van Hauen, but it never came to fruition. Nonetheless, an album was complete and remains unreleased.

Notably, Paulsen was there when Barkhoff began to create films, having part in some of Barkhoff's earliest work. He helped Barkhoff craft the script for Timeline (2013) and was supposed to feature in the 2015 variant (see Timeline (2015)) but couldn't due to scheduling conflicts. Nonetheless, he received credit as a co-creator of the story. He added the element of Harry Young being depressed when unable to catch the group of criminals, something Barkhoff hadn't considered. Barkhoff enjoyed the idea because it added another element to the story.

Paulsen coached Barkhoff during the editing stages of Windfall and was one of few people that knew about the project. During this time period, Van Hauen was overtly busy, so Paulsen watched the film and gave tips on editing prior to its release.

In 2021, Paulsen came up with an idea for a web series and is working on it alongside Barkhoff. It is in early developmental stages.
Mortal Man/Catholic School Girls Rule

*Mortal Man/Catholic School Girls Rule* is the ninth episode of the second season of Living Free. Written by Mike Barkhoff, it is the directorial debut of Conner Paulsen, who also appears in the episode.

## Plot

Mike gets off the phone with Dylan, informing him he's "on his way". The duo meet in a parking lot and sit in Mike's parked car. Mike asks what Dylan is hectic about, and Dylan reveals that he is being accused of creeping in the girl's locker room at school. Mike asks if there's validity to the statement, and Dylan emits an awkward smile.

The duo have a conversation about what happened - Dylan was shadowing the school janitor and was tasked with making a list, with pictures, of items needing repaired throughout the building. Having heard about the girl's locker room drain, Dylan went to take a picture but wasn't expecting anyone to be in there, the deaf girl was, however, and screamed upon seeing him. Mike suggests Dylan listen to Kendrick Lamar's "To Pimp A Butterfly" and tells him nobody is perfect and everybody is prone to make mistakes. When Dylan says he doesn't feel bad, Mike tells him he should and grows angry with Dylan.

Mike talks to Conner and tells him about the Red Hot Chili Peppers song "Catholic School Girls Rule", telling Conner sometimes it's just about admitting things on your own time. Conner suggests Mike give Dylan the proper time to acknowledge what he's done. Mike comes to acceptance with the situation and thanks Conner. After the call, Mike writes a thank you credit to Conner and Dylan in his finished novel he began in Bully.

## Production

This episode is named after Kendrick Lamar's song of the same name for the first half, and Red Hot Chili Pepper's song of the same name for the second half.

Barkhoff was inspired to the write the episode following rumors that circulated years before in his hometown, a concept he previously touched on the Season 1 finale, The Interview.

## Reception

The episode received laud from an online community. Alfred Clarke declared it the "best episode yet". Due to this, the episode was marketed stronger than the preceding episodes. This caused the episode to say a massive uptick in viewership, becoming the highest viewed episode of the series yet, garnering 1,000 views in it's initial broadcast day alone. On IMDb, the episode managed to score a 9.8 out of 10 from 23 scores.
Into the Wild

*Into The Wild* is a trailer for the novel of the same name, done by Mike Barkhoff and Jarrod Van Hauen in Junior Year for English 11 Class. This was a followup to their The Moderate Gatsby trailer, which saw them in after school detention. The results with this were the opposite.

## Release

The film gained acclaim from teachers and classmates and received an above A score. It was chosen as the best in the class, which saw the two go to their local theater to play the film in front of the respective classes, family, and friends (who were invited). This film also gained the attention of Blayke "Pokey" Spears to the duo, an accomplished and award winning filmmaker who used to be babysat by Van Hauen's mother. Since then, Pokey has been a major part of the duo's steps in the industry.
The New 8 Mil3

*The New 8 Mil3* is a song from Norff off Overmorrow.

## Production

This song was made to showcase how Norff has a deeper wanting for his legacy in the rap game, suggesting that Mike Barkhoff one day make him an "8 Mile" similar to how Eminem had a film of that name made for him at this point in his career.

## Reception

The song was met with positive reviews, with some criticizing it's subject matter falling flat after the first verse, but nonetheless reacting positively to the beat.

## Notes

This song was removed from Overmorrow on streaming platforms briefly in March 2022. It is still available on all other variants, such as YouTube and more.
Bayden Records

Bayden Records is a duo of beat makers in the Live Free collective. They have produced several songs for impending releases by Norff, Gee Mak, Mcee Detox, Square Lee, and Era. They reached out to collaborate following the release of Norff's 2021 song "Sanitize Your Hands".

## Produced Songs

"Too Loud" by Norff, ft. Era, Gee Mak, Square Lee

"Shorty" by Norff, ft. Era
INFINITE. (OST)

*INFINITE.* featured two "OST"s, one done by Mike Barkhoff and one done by Ashtun O'Rourke, each carrying three songs.

## Barkhoff's OST

Barkhoff's OST was designed to be long fragments of serious pieces for INFINITE., and two of the songs were featured in the Bonus Track Edition, while one was featured in the original version of the film.

### Tracklist

1. INFINITE.
2. Losing My Mind
3. FINITE.

## O'Rourke's OST

O'Rourke's OST was designed to be a more uptempo version of songs curated for the film.

### Tracklist

1. Mission
2. Neverending Nights
3. Tired
Body bag

The fifth and final album from Norff titled Body Bag was released in May 2023. It features many of the South African outlet of rappers signed to Live Free across five new songs from Norff, as well as a unique track made by UGK David, and four hosted freestyle segments done by Mediator. The album was executive produced by Mike Barkhoff and began as an EP before it was collectively decided to release it as a full length project. At times, it has been called an album, but has also been described as a tape of sorts.

It received lukewarm reviews from listeners who felt it was the "most uninspired" collection of songs from Norff yet. Some, however, enjoyed it and compared it favorably to his debut album Life Is Rough.

In September 2023, Norff put in a request for his music to be taken off of streaming, ending his music career and signage to Live Free altogether.
Bond P Batman

*Bond P Batman* is the unfinished sequel to Bond V Batman: Age Of Vengeance. It was released in 2016 and contains the same genre as its predecessor. The film went unfinished due to Barkhoff's creative hiatus, though aspects of all seven parts were filmed, many of which remain vaulted.

Initially, the idea was to film and release per usual. As an "excuse", he admits, Barkhoff delayed the film's release (due to it's unfinished aspects) by saying the prospect of it was to show the audience the company's growth with each installment.
Parts 1 and 2 released as planned. Part 3 was released under the guise of Part 3 as "SANDSTORM". Part 4, named Part 3, was released with short notice, just as a "James Bond's Day Off" comedy short. Part 5 released, showing many unfinished clips in raw form. With Part 5, it was announced they had given up on the project.
However, before Part 5's release, Barkhoff confirmed his hopes to continue the role of James Bond in a new project that was being formed by him and Zach Delfs, which still remains in work.

## Plot

Bond obtains a man who he is targeting, before meeting up with Wayne. The duo discuss Wayne leaving Gotham and the mantel open and get into another shuffle before apologizing to one another.
Bond gets a second target and traces him down, trying to stop him, along with help of Barry Allen, before realizing he is going to need Wayne's help. He asks Wayne, and Wayne obliges to help him one more time. Bond then meets Edward Nygma, who traps him in a building.
The story takes a break to show a flashback of one of Bond's earlier cases, trying to stop someone from thievery ("SANDSTORM") and showing how he performs on a day to himself ("Bond's Day Off").
Part 5, unfinished, is a presentation of plot points that were being built. It includes a scene of thieves going through the woods and Bond saying goodbye to Batman, declaring him a "brother".

## Cast

Mike Barkhoff as James Bond

Grant R Weldon as Bruce Wayne/Batman

Parker Delfs as Opponent

Zach Delfs as Edward Nygma

Jarrod Van Hauen as Barry Allen

Ashtun O'Rourke as Thief

## Episodes

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3 - "Bond's Day Off"

Part 4 - "SANDSTORM" [Initially released with no affiliation, then inserted into the episodes]

Part 5 [Incomplete; Released]

Part 6 [Incomplete; Lost]

Part 7 [Incomplete; Vaulted]
Laney Gardner

Laney Gardner is a member of the Live Free collective. She is married to Jarrod Van Hauen and has expierence of make-up effects, writing, and directing. She is also a painter and drawer.

Gardner has thus far helped in creating Unscripted during it's 2019 year. She originally was going to do a poster for an episode in Chapters. (Season 2) but ultimately ended up not doing it due to the episode getting scrapped, due to COVID disabling it's filming.

In 2021, Gardner has taken a break from content creating due to having a baby.
The End Of The Tunnel

*The End Of The Tunnel* is the seventh episode of Chapters.' second season, subtitled **Atrocity Exhibitions**. Written and directed by Mike Barkhoff, it stars himself as a drug user who takes acid and then experiences a bad trip.

## Opening Poetry

"just as appearances lie - so do deceptions,"

## Plot

A drug user takes an acid tab and ends up feeling awry. Upon standing up, he collapses onto his back and begins to see things through a tunnel vision. In his effort to overcome this "bad trip", he stands up yet again, but the tunnel vision continues. Panicking, he suffers a heart attack and dies. In the afterlife, he sees a cigar, seated on a tabletop, and raises it to his lips to light it. With the lighter's ignite, a fiery hell makes its presence around him.

## Production

This episode makes frequent use of a carpet roll around the camera to show "the end of the tunnel" that is referred to in the title. Barkhoff had the idea for the episode after gathering said prop.

## Themes

This episode features nicotine and LSD as the central addiction. The theme is taking accountability for what you do wrong and not repeating what is bad for you (i.e. cigarettes).

## Trivia

- The carpet roll that Barkhoff used to film would later become a hangout for one of the bats that wound up in Barkhoff's basement.

- Barkhoff had to visit his parents to obtain a monopod he had stored over there to film the scene where he fell. He offered to climb though a window to grab it to avoid unnecessary contact.

## Reception

The episode received positive reviews for its double examination on acid - the one where it should be slightly more welcomed, but the one where people need to be safe and smart using it. The acting and camerawork were also highly regarded, but the flames at the end were criticized for their "cartoonish" appearance. It is considered one of the weaker episodes of Chapters.' second season.
KidGrip

**KidGrip** is a former musician attached to Barking Vans Music. He was introduced to Mike Barkhoff via Ali3nated. Ali3nated, and himself, we're both removed from the company's lineup when KidGrip tried to purchase Barking Vans from Barkhoff and, upon Barkhoff's objection, began to torment Barkhoff.

Due to this, KidGrip never officially distributed a release through the label. KidGrip and Ali3nated wound up at odds with the label.
Fire

*Fire* is a 2020 song by Norff, the first released upon his signing to Live Free, after his hiatus from 2018 to 2019 due to Barkhoff's own hiatus.

## Premise

Fire discusses Norff's newfound success and level up as a rapper, since he has changed his style massively since his last single, Fact Diss, Volume One. He discusses his enemies trying to take all that he has, but says even if they do they'll never take it all because he's the only one holding the true "fire".

## Reception

The track was seen as a welcome return for the rapper formerly named Ab Ceffi Gilburn. Many declared his new style very much better than his previous, and welcomed more singles.
Stalkers

*Stalkers* is an upcoming film from Mike Barkhoff, adapted from a script written by Ron Gomes. This marks the duo's third collaboration. Barkhoff intends to begin filming this project after Monster At Home and some projects in the 2022 lineup, with the hopes of it releasing in the fourth quarter of 2022.
Missing You

*Missing You* is a single from 12Digits featuring Female WE2 released February 11th, 2022. It serves as a Valentine's Day themed song, and, due to this, was promoted as part of a holiday themed EP alongside Gee Mak's Dear Crush and 69ERRAS' Give Me Your Love. This collected all of the primary rappers from Live Free's South African cut into one EP for the same holiday, the only exclusion being Mcee Detox (Norff features on both of the aforementioned songs).

## Production

12Digits' wanted to make a track with a female artist dating back to his debut album Rising. Pressed for time, he decided against it, and instead waited for the moment for his second project.

This was the third single after 12Digits' debut album, and is expected to be one of - if not *the* last single before 12Digits' second effort, He Survived.

The cover art was released on the Live Free Instagram before its release for promotion. The actual cover used, however, is not reflected on Instagram's initial post, as it bears no words.

## Reception

Missing You was met with critical acclaim, for 12Digits' ability to blend his voice with Female WE2. Female WE2's debut to an online presence was also met with acclaim, with many considering Live Free sign her.

The song managed to gain 1,700 views in its first month of release - more than 12Digits' single BLOG, but less than STRUGGLES.
Ready Or Not

*Ready Or Not* is a 2018 horror short film written by and directed by Mike Barkhoff. It was released on April 13th, 2018, and stars Ashtun O'Rourke, who was also in Candlelight.

## Production

The film was made on January 1st, 2018, and released on April 13th, 2018. It was Barkhoff's first "Friday the 13th" release, a trope he followed with in Friday The 13th in 2019 and Norff's "Fact Diss EP" in 2020. It was his second of three horror short films, following Candlelight and preceding Breathe.

The idea came to him during an actual scare he encountered while playing a game of hide-and-seek with his cousins.

## Reception

The reception was positive to the film, but not as much as Candlelight. Barkhoff considers it better.
12 Interlude

*12 Interlude* is a song off of Norff's second album Norf. An interlude for the song's twelfth track, it features solely 12Digits and was put on the album to showcase his upcoming EP, "Rising". This song is considered a snippet, but, as Producer Mike Barkhoff calls it, is actually "an alternate version" of one of the EP's songs.

## Overview

Upon receiving this track, Barkhoff was confused due to it sounding the same - save for lyrics - as another in his email. After reaching out to 12Digits, he got informed this was meant for promotion, and decided to use it for that by purposing it into the album Norf. At first, he doubted the idea, but when the album was 17 tracks and he needed 18, he more than welcomed it.

## Reception

The song has received attention for unveiling a flow unlike 12Digit's features. It has received very positive reviews, and was one of the album's most streamed on Spotify in the first week.
Business Call

*Business Call* is the third episode of the first season of Living Free. Written and Directed by star Mike Barkhoff, it features Zach Delfs over a computer screen. It is set to premiere October 1st, 2021.

## Plot

Mike Barkhoff and Zach Delfs exchange emails regarding business. Included in these is Mike's disdain for the podcast, as he feels like he's spoken to everyone who would be good on it, Zach's concern for Mike's negative attitude towards the company, Mike's lineup of upcoming works - including his fourth through sixth feature films, which he can't seem to pin conclusively, and Chapters.' fourth season, which he says he needs a gap before doing.

## Production

Barkhoff wanted to do an episode showcasing his and Zach's difference of opinions and ideals, and thought of this one. Initially, the two were set to film the scene face-to-face but obliged not to due to COVID advances.

Due to this, Barkhoff got inspired off the nature of films such as "Unfriended" for the concept and way of filming for the episode. The episode was prompted as a "Very Special Boring Episode".

### Variant

A variant version of this episode was released as one of the Bonus Features for the first season. The variant was the original edit of the episode, with no keyboard noises.

## Reception

The episode received moderate reviews. On IMDb, it holds a little over an 8/10. It was the lowest watched episode yet on YouTube, having only 40 days in a few days, a stark difference to Episode 1's 70 and Episode 2's 60.

The announcement of a fourth season of Chapters., however, was met with excitement. A positively reviewed portion of the episode was that it shows the inner business workings of the outlet, and answers a lot of questions for projects that have seemingly sat vacant, such as the Podcast.

The episode saw an uptick in positive compliments following the release of Episode 4, the next episode, as it allowed the audience and critics to see the change in pace was necessary to get from Point A to Point B, particularly in terms of character development for Mike's fictional self.
Anthems

**Anthems** (sometimes subtitled *The Power Of The Pen In The Palm Of My Hand*) is the debut album from Live Free musician Embiem. Comprosed of twenty-two tracks, it released February 24th, 2023 to critical acclaim.

It features singles "Ride Away", "I Quit", "Take Care", and "Unbreakable".

## Production

Following his October 2022 signing to Live Free and release of "Ride Away", Embiem sent Mike Barkhoff the project tracks the following month. Unlike a majority of the albums distributed by Live Free, Embiem had the tracklist aligned and cover completed. Barkhoff tinkered very lightly with the concept of the album, contributing the skit and adding previously released "Ride Away".

## Tracklist

1. Rambo (ft. Shaide)
2. Love Letter (ft. Roisey-Mazz)
3. Cry No More
4. Saw Scaled Vipor (ft. Vinny)
5. Touched
6. It Is What It Is (ft. Vinny)
7. What You Want
8. Vibes
9. Unbreakable (ft. Leeroy)
10. Thoughts
11. Ride Away [Interlude] (ft. Dove)
12. Bad, Worse, Horrible [Skit]
13. Things Are Bad (ft. Vinny)
14. Tales Of The Great (ft. Vinny)
15. Take Care
16. I Quit (ft. Reeh)
17. Remedy For The Broken, Pt. 1
18. G-Bounce!!! (ft. Vinny, Reneilwe, Dove)
19. Faze'd (ft. x3BOHO)
20. Ethereal Love (ft. Reeh)
21. Breaking My Heart (ft. Reeh)
22. Blur-Future (ft. Q-LYRICA)

All titles in cap fashion\*

## Reception

Upon release, the album was met with critical acclaim. Clarke Accloades lamented it an "instant classic", saying "it's range mimics other greats like College Dropout and Get Rich." Already having received attention for it's singles, other songs like "Things Are Bad" and "Saw Scaled Vipor" were singled as other potential singles with "grande scale". It has been considered by some admirerers as the best Live Free album yet.
Too Loud

*Too Loud* is an impending posse cut single from Norff, 69ERRAS, Gee Mak, and 12Digits, released on June 18th, 2021. It is a single off of Norf.

## Marketing

The song was first announced on April 30th, 2021, during the premiere of Death, My Darling, when Norff commented in the Live Chat:

> Bad time to announce Too Loud for June 18th?
>
>

The song was then promoted further on the Live Free instagram the following week, with the cover art being revealed. At this point, it was also revealed that the beat is produced by Bayden Records.

## Conception

The song began as the four rappers just trying to expierement with flows, according to Square Lee. Norff sent it in for label release consideration in late March.

## Reception

The track was met with positive reviews. Gee Mak and Norff's verses weren't as well explored as intended, due to it featuring 12Digits and 69ERRAS' debut verse deliveries.
Life Worth Living

The Second Album From Mcee Detox

*Life Worth Living* is the sophomoric album from Mcee Detox. Released on June 17th, 2022, just a little more than a month after his debut album, IMPL LP, it consists of seven tracks (six songs and one intro) and was executively produced by Mike Barkhoff. It contains features from Norff and 69ERRAS on the primary single, Holy Water, as well as up-and-coming rapper EyeWaz on another individual track. Like the album before it, Life Worth Living was a surprise release, with no prior announcement or marketing, only one single - the aforementioned Holy Water - was released, without any notice of it's relation to this album.

## Production

Sonically, the album differs from the prior projects from Detox. The stray from his past efforts began in Lord Make Way and carried over into recording sessions. Lord Make Way was absent from the album, however, as it could not be cleared for streaming services - it is included in the album's YouTube format, however (similarly to some tracks off Stage One).

Detox began making songs following the loss of content from IMPL LP and, alongside Barkhoff, initially intended for the songs to be included on that album. Following a night of light drinking, Barkhoff discovered that the songs were much better suited to be split into two albums, the first being IMPL LP, and the second being what Detox was conceiving for his second album. This didn't match the amount of tracks required for an album, however, so Barkhoff had to create an intro.

## Tracklist

1 - Frequency Scan - Intro

2. DreamLand

3. I Don't Mind

4. Always Busy (ft. Eyewaz)

5. Holy Water (ft. Norff and 69ERRAS)

6. Lord Make Way (ft. Gee Mak and BOMO) [YouTube Exclusive]

7. Reckless

8. Way I Am

## Reception

Life Worth Living was met with unanimous praise upon release. It was favorably compared to Norf and Rising and was considered a massive step forward for Detox following IMPL LP (which still managed to garner very positive reviews). It has been considered by many to be the best album released by Live Free in 2022 and has been suggested as an early contender for Detox's magnum opus.
Asstral

**Asstral** is the fourth episode of Living Free (Season 3). Written by Mike Barkhoff and directed (in two portions) by him for Part 1, and Jarrod Van Hauen for Part 2. This is Van Hauen's first directorial effort since his second feature film, Knock, which released roughly eight months before in November 2022. The episode's title and plot hear heavy similarity to the series' first season, Episode 2: Astral. The episode, meanwhile, is largely attached to the sixth episode of the series. It was released on May 12th, 2023, to largely positive reviews.

## Plot

### Part 1

A title card introduces the episode as being filmed in front of a live studio audience. Mike awakens one morning and, after an extensive period of urination, envisions a foreshadowing of his death, when he walks in a circle around his room and collapses, leaving the live studio audience in laughter after he falls on his back.

### Part 2

Mike awakens and relives a similar expierence but this time, after, he discusses the film moving forward with Dylan, and it appears they've had a dispute.

## Reception

The simplicity of the episode's first episode was met with positive reviews, but the episode's dim camerawork and at-times "over-examination of a simple thing" was met with some scrutiny. The introduction of a plot point that remains unexplained was also met with some concern, with some stating it felt unnecessary to make the series confusing.
Barkhoff

*Barkhoff* is the third album of Mike Barkhoff. Self titled, it consists of eleven instrumentals made to 'box a concept'. It was released July 16th, 2021.

### Background

Barkhoff had the idea when considering classical musicians, and wanted to make something similar but with new sounds. Originally, each track would be titled "Barkhoff #".

The final song is titled "Revoir", which translates to 'goodbye' in French. Barkhoff similarly opened up Live Free with a video hinting at a return entitled "Revenoir", which was French for "hello".

### Themes

Though an instrumental album, it contains themes, primarily by way of title, about a failing friendship and anxiety from people in Barkhoff's life.

Barkhoff similarly used title names to evoke concepts in his EP UnSymmetrical.

### Tracklist

1. Snakes Surround
2. Purple Piano Play
3. Accelerating Acceleration, Excelerating
4. Frequent Frequency
5. Smooth Sailing
6. Dugstuck
7. Dubstuff
8. Stuck Sorrow
9. Knowing Knock
10. Settling Scores
11. Revoir

The titles are all alliterations, save for three. Due to this, Tracks 6 and 7 act as a type of Interlude.

### Reception

The album was met with highly positive reviews. It performed better than Windfall (Soundtrack) on streaming night, but less than Death, My Darling (Soundtrack).
Science Labs

*Science Labs* is a beattape created by Mike Barkhoff and released June 8th, 2018.

Barkhoff jokingly released it on the same day as Kanye West's album "ye" to evoke competition and to mimick J. Cole's doing the same on the day of "Yeezus"' release.

## Production

Barkhoff was experimenting with instrumentals and spent a night putting the tape together, trying to be original and creative. He played around with left and right sounds - while the other is cut off from hearing - during the making of, which was one of the major inspirations behind why he began the EP.

Two covers exist for the project. Both are templatic in nature of the other but one features a colorful pattern at the bottom and the other is purely black and white. The color pattern was repurposed for the back cover on Barkhoff's instagram.

## Tracklist

1. Starting From Scratch
2. Listen 'Till The End
3. Revenge (ft. Jarrod Van Hauen)
4. Red Pill (the Sad Reality of Originality)
5. Blue Pill (The Culmination of Exhaustion in Life & in Creativity)

## Reception

Science Labs received positive reviews, with many considering it a fresh perspective of Barkhoff's creativity. It's latter two tracks have been called similar and "disattached" to the project as a whole, but it's first three tracks, notably tracks two and three, have found an audience favorable of.
Astral

*Astral* is the second episode of the first season of Living Free. Written and Directed by it's star, Mike Barkhoff, it also features Ron Gomes and Dylan Van Hauen. It is set to release on September 24th, 2021.

## Plot

Mike struggles to relax and turns to binge eating, and, in the midst of doing both actions, sits up in excitement. He quickly notifies Ron Gomes of this idea, to attempt to astral project to reconnect with his filmmaking roots and become heavily inspired.

Succeeding to do so, Mike exhibits a blue lit room where he sees himself struggling to be creative. He confronts his astral self and has a brief argument, before realizing he is ungrateful and a bad friend, taking much for granted. Mike exits the astral world.

## Production

With the rest of the series, Barkhoff wrote the script in two days. This episode was one of the first and last to be filmed due to Barkhoff's solo performance being the core of the episode. Barkhoff got inspired by the film "Insidious" for the plot.

This was the only episode to feature a deleted scene, save for production issues cutting scenes in Episodes 5 and 7. The deleted scene ties the episode's finale into Episode 4's plot. Barkhoff decided to cut it to make the episode feel more 'focused and crafted'.

## Reception

The episode was met with unanimous praise, and holds a 10/10 rating on IMDb from early reviewers, a total of 20 scores. Alfred Clarke called the episode 'a tribute to comedy and film blended brilliantly'. Ron Gomes, prior to filming his scene, complimented the script as being 'very funny'.
QUINTOKOS

**QUINTOKOS** is the musician duo by Mike Barkhoffand Conner Paulsen. Originally intended to be a rap duo, they have so far only released a beat based album.

## Conception

The origin of the name has been dismissed, as the duo conceived it while intoxicated. It essentially translates to "twin tokers" in drunken language.

## Production

The duo would solely make music under the influence, save for rare occasion, to try and make something unique and memorable.
Room 4

*Room 4* is the first episode of Chapters.' third season, subtitled **Bad Things Happen At Noon**. Written and directed by Mike Barkhoff, it was an unreleased episode intended for Season 2.

## Plot

A man hears screaming coming from across the hall and it drives him mad. After an endless amount of strategies to try and ignore it or look past it, he ends up killing himself.

## Production

This was filmed the same day that the nightmare sequence from INFINITE. was filmed. The end credits attribute this to Chapters.' second season. Barkhoff admitted his disinterest in removing it because he wanted all unreleased projects to feel "as raw as they can".

## Reception

Room 4 was met with positive reviews, but many felt it was a slow burning start for the third season, especially for the third season coming by surprise.
The Communicator

*The Communicator* is the twelfth episode in Chapters.' third season, subtitled **Bad Things Happen At Noon**. Acting as the directorial debut of Nakota Conrad, it is based off of a story by Mike Barkhoff, who was inspired to do something along the likes after having viewed the 2019 film "Doctor Sleep".

## Production

The episode was heavily inspired by the 2019 film Doctor Sleep. Like previous episodes of the season, due to COVID, Barkhoff would film and then send the clips over to the director to get their response.

After the Season 3 finale, Barkhoff confirmed this episode is a sequel set years after Vent Sess. He also noted that, due to the similarities in the next episode, Revisitor, you could see it as being a "fictional conclusion to a trilogy, in a mad man's head" or as a "alternative look at the same man, therapeutic and calmed".

## Plot

A man charges people money to speak to the dead, often times giving them answers that lie between what they want to hear and the actual truths. Everytime, it is apparent he is becoming more and more sick and closer to the world of which he communicates.

## Trivia

- Acts as the directorial debut of Nakota Conrad's.

- The filming for this episode was done to fit the 2019 film *Doctor Sleep*.

## Continuity

- The episode was, after release, teased to be a sequel to "Vent Sess" and a spiritual predecessor to "Revisitor".

## Reception

The episode was met with positive reviews. The camerawork was criticized for being "boring", but the spliced sequences, a homage to "The Shining" and "Doctor Sleep" were met favorably. Barkhoff's performance was again positively reviewed.
Young Cee RSA

**Young Cee RSA** is a South African rapper attached to the Live Free collective. All of his contemporary labelmates but one - UGK David - hail from his surrounding area.

RSA is the first signee to speak in his native Afrikaan tongue. His style is a slowed synth tempo with a more sing-song approach. Stylistically, he raps about real life encounters he has faced a majority of the time, furthering away from the braggadocio style that his teammates feature at times.

## Career

### 2022

Young Cee RSA's joining to the group was kept under wraps, with the only indication being found on his created webpage on CreateMore, where his page was disguised to look like a rapper trying to collaborate, as per the site's intention. A photograph of his debut single's cover was teased within the week before it's release, with the song name and artist name being cropped out.

On June 3rd, 2022, Young Cee RSA Tweeted "11PM CST" and, upon that time, shared a link to the release of his single, "Amanga", which featured 69ERRAS. The next day, he teased an imminent release with Norff the following month. His single was promoted by a share announcing his joining to the label as well as a lenticular photo of the song's cover, which saw flames realigning into their proper placement on the cover.

Following more than a month of teasing, on July 28th, RSA released Dlala Rough, a single featuring Norff. The next day, July 29th, he released his debut EP Young But Still A Hustler.

## Discography

### Singles:

2022 - Amanga (ft. 69ERRAS)

2022 - Dlala Rough (ft. Norff)
Gold Standard 0.5

*Gold Standard 0.5* is the debut studio album from Baby June. Released in 2018 by Barking Vans Music, it was executive produced by Mike Barkhoff.

## Production

June recorded off free online beats he found on YouTube and various songs. His intent was to make every song with the potential of being a single. A handful of tracks were recorded before meeting Barkhoff.

## Reception

The album was met with lukewarm reviews. It was criticized for being "overly stuffed" with filler content (various singles, too many hooks).
In The Mirror

In The Mirror is the second episode of the Living Free (Season 3) of Living Free. Directed by Dylan Van Hauen, it was written by him, Zach Delfs and series creator Mike Barkhoff. The episode sees the fictional Mike debating with his career after failing to memorize a script during a one-on-one runthrough with himself in the mirror. The episode's color scheme is yellow.

## Plot

Mike awakens in the middle of the night and walks over to his sink and mirror. He is having a type of midnight stress freakout. He begins to talk to himself angrily.

It is revealed these are lines for a script, which he has failed to remember. He becomes dissatisfied and angry with himself and begins to call himself names. After this, Mike returns to bed. He remains restless, however. After a period of this, he returns to the mirror to see his exhausted self and puts water on his face, leaving the towel he used to clean it off lying on the counter as he turns the lights off.

## Reception

The lighting and storyline were met with positive reviews, but some commentators felt as if the episode dragged out dialogue to meet time standards. Others also suggested Barkhoff's acting wasn't to par with his usual endeavors.
Squid.ink

*squid.ink* is an album by Jarrod Van Hauen, under the rap name DJ Squid.
It contains nine songs - eleven on it's rare CD - and was released on the proposed release date of Kanye West's second album of 2018 as competition. Notably, West fell through, not releasing anything, and Van Hauen did.

## Reception

The album was met with lukewarm reviews, with many calling it a rushed follow-up, noting the overusage of samples, and the only song Van Hauen performs on with effort being the single released, "H20". "H20" and "Tank" were the best reviewed songs.
Twisted Tracklist

*Twisted Tracklist* is a web series from Mike Barkhoff that sees him dissecting albums' tracklists in different orders to make it sound more appealing to him. Each episode ends with him letting the audience listen to his version of said album if they'd like by putting a link to his playlist.

Beginning in November 2019, the series is edited nearly once a month as a new installment releases. Sometimes, there will be two episodes in one month. Though rare, there has been up to four episodes in one month before. The series was originally going to be a segment on the Live Free Podcast but Barkhoff decided against it, citing Zach Delfs' different music taste.

In July 2021, Barkhoff revealed that he is working on a sister series aimed at 'fixing' specific elements of films or TV shows to make them better to him, entitled Redoing Reels.
Depressed

**Depressed** is the third album from Live Free South African rapper 12Digits. Released on February 12th, 2023, it contains eight songs, the first and last of which are instrumentals produced by Mike Barkhoff. The album was 12Digits' first to be released solely to YouTube. This follows his first two albums and all material being stripped from streaming platforms for unexplained reasons in October 2022. That same month, the lead single from this album "Suicide" was meant to release, as well as "two to three more songs" in an EP meant to promote the album.

## Background

The album sees 12Digits reflect his mental health and emotions while studying what his life has been going through. It strays from his first two albums in this sense, but also has a more upscaled production, with songs on the project sometimes settling near dubstep as a subgenre.

## Production

Alternatively titled "12.3", it featured three varied covers, all done by Mike Barkhoff. The album was also executively produced by Barkhoff, as he arranged the tracklist. He had the idea to surround the finalized songs with instrumentals he had made, explaining it as "a project that needs to breathe before and after it starts. It's like 12 is taking pause at start and end saying "You're about to hear me," and then "You heard me."

A week after the album's release, 12Digits clarified that his fourth album is underway and will be released on streaming, citing these songs as "hopeless vignettes" after the removal of his music off platforms. He also stated that the album was eyeing a January 2023 release with heavy promotion before this act, and stated that all tracks were complete but "felt incomplete because that's how I felt at the time".

## Reception

The album was met with very positive reviews, with many complimenting it's simplicity in comparison to the previous albums. Some listeners felt it made this project not as memorable as the preceeding two. It has been somewhat ironically remarked that the project holds some comparisons to that of Eminem's "Encore".
The Typewriter

*The Typewriter* is the sixth episode of Chapters.' first season. It is also the season finale. Written and Directed by Ashtun O'Rourke, it stars herself as a writer who uses a typewriter, and everything she writes comes true.

## Plot

An author works on her next novel, an anthology, which includes five segmented stories - Spree, Shrink, Silence, B&w, and TBD. Every single one comes to life.

## Production

This was originally intended to be Episode 4, but was delayed due to scheduling reasons. Rather, it ended up being Episode 6. Moments before filming, Mike Barkhoff and O'Rourke had the idea to tie everything in Season 1 together by having the author type out all of the stories.

## Trivia

- This episode and "$pree" were the only two planned in advance for Season 1 of Chapters.

## Continuity

- The typewriter briefly appears in Unscripted's Road Trip.

- All five prior episodes are threaded together.

## Reception

The episode received positive reception, notably for threading the story together. It's pacing was commented on by few, but those who did remarked it "not as important" due to the episode's goal. After this, Barkhoff announced Season 2 but also confirmed it would release in 2020, a year and seven months after the release of this.
Pica-Boo

*Pica-Boo* is a song by Gee Mak, featuring Norff and Kay-H. It was released February 5th, 2021, and amassed positive reviews and healthy streams. It followed the release of the primary duo's single Mirror, Mirror, which was released a mere two months prior.

## Conception

This was originally Norff's song, but was handed to Gee Mak to allow Gee Mak to release something in an attempt to build his fanbase stronger.

## Reception

The song was met with highly positive reviews, with many considering the beat, flow, and lyrics noteworthy and comparing it favorably to Norff's recent discography.
The Affair

*The Affair* is the fourth episode of Chapters.' second season, subtitled **Atrocity Exhibitions**. Written and directed by Mike Barkhoff like the whole season, this episode is the reverse of its predecessor, Every Decision Matters by reversing the roles of Boyfriend and Girlfriend.

## Plot

Boyfriend accuses Girlfriend of cheating on him when she gets off work, due to some text messages he has seen in her phone. She tries to defend herself, but he doesn't give her a chance to explain herself. A fight ensues between the two that ends with Boyfriend grabbing from a collection of knives and walking towards Girlfriend.
We cut to Girlfriend laying limp in a chair with closed eyes as Boyfriend takes a seat next to her. The final verse of Mac Miller's "Stay" plays as he sits next to her and lets out a devilish smile. Suddenly, her phone goes off, a message from the accused cheater, saying: "We can be extra cautious your boyfriend doesn't find out." The smile begins to slowly fade.

## Production

This and Every Decision Matters were done in the same day.

## Themes

The episode contains themes of unloyalty and distrust and the fights that follow in a relationship, just like the previous episode.

The addiction featured is alcohol, obsession to one's significant other, violence, and cell phone usage.

## Trivia

- Barkhoff intentionally wore the same clothes as the last episode, even though his character was intended to be seen differently here, to capitalize on the fact that the episodes were simply polar opposites.

- Barkhoff had the idea to incorporate Mac Miller's "Stay" while listening to the song shortly after writing this episode, imagining the ending to the song as darker than it is.

## Continuity

- Mac Miller's music was also featured in Barkhoff's alternate end credits to "Windfall", as well as early Live Free content. Also, the title of Live Free is derived from Mac Miller's song of the same name.

## Reception

The episode received acclaim for it's acting by Barkhoff, the camerawork - particularly during the "knife choosing" sequence, and for the inclusion of Mac Miller's "Stay", flipped to make the song more demonic, and the ending with Boyfriend discovering he acted on accusation.
Mediator

Mediator is a rapper signed to the Live Free collective. Mediator began writing album's at the age of sixteen before beginning to record at eighteen. Due to being a perfectionist, he held onto roughly five album's between 2018 and 2023. The album's have started to release at random and sporadic intervals. The first is 2019's I Attest.
Thus

**Thus** is the season finale of Chapters. (Season 4), released May 4th, 2023. The episode was written and directed by Mike Barkhoff and envisions the end of the world. This was Barkhoff's original idea for the series' finale, but he decided to make it earlier as not to "lose the vision". The episode's first draft writing came in 2017 after Barkhoff and his cousin had the idea. In 2019, Barkhoff had a more accurate vision of the episode. Initially, Moby's "The Dogs" was the song that played.

## Plot

A man writes his novel about the end of the world, and appears to be fighting a drunken and sad state. Isaiah Rashad's "HB2U" plays as the man types out his life learnings. After the fact, the world is hit by a meteorite, causing disturbance everywhere. This leads to some of the first footage captured in the world playing, then title cards reading "We're all born the same, we all die the same. Life, A continued project done by Us. Thus, we must stop all dispare and disputes, in favor, live side by side in Our home."

## Reception

The episode received very positive reviews. Clarke Accloades stated "This makes for a hell of a finale, whether Season 1, 2, 3, 4, or the end of the series. It's all interchangeable is the great part, so there is no right or wrong for where it goes."
Alone In The Circle

*Alone In The Circle* is the sixth episode of Chapters.' third season, subtitled **Bad Things Happen At Noon**. Directed by UGK David, in his directorial story debut, it was rewritten by and stars Mike Barkhoff and was initially set to release in Atrocity Exhibitions. The script and story were formed by Jarrod Van Hauen.

## Plot

A man is in an AA meeting and hears out his fellow attendees before coming to his time to talk and realizing aloud that he is metaphorically alone in a circle intended to include anyone, as everyone is experiencing their own problems and will not focus on him.

## Production

"Alone In The Circle" was originally filmed during Season 2 and intended to be released then. Barkhoff wanted to include other actors as guest roles for the remaining AA teammates, but found it problematic due to COVID-19 and the inability to work with actors in person or conquer their recorded parts successfully. Barkhoff decided to shelf the project, but returned to it due to wanting UGK David's short film to see the light of day.

## Reception

"Alone In The Circle" was met with critical acclaim, particularly for it's camerawork and Barkhoff's acting. It currently holds a 9.6/10 on IMDb.
Holy Water

*Holy Water* is a song from Mcee Detox, featuring Norff and 69ERRAS. It was released on October 8th, 2021, the same night as Mike Barkhoff's Esotic EP. This is Mcee Detox's second single of 2021 and fifth single altogether, and is expected to feature on his debut album IMPL LP.

## Production

Following a dispute in friendship for awhile, Detox and Norff made up and collaborated on this song. The recording of this song was the first time 69ERRAS and Mcee Detox met.

## Reception

The track was met with critical acclaim. It received a considerable amount of attention in comparison to Mcee Detox's prior 2021 single, Lord Make Way.
Double Feature

*Double Feature* is a 2020 EP by Norff, featuring his songs Fire and She Ma Lady. The sole creation of the EP was to allow the two songs to be released on streaming platforms in forms other than singles.

## Tracklist

Fire

She Ma Lady

## Reception

Double Feature was met with critical acclaim for Norff's reinvented style of rap. She Ma Lady especially has received attention for it's original flow and competitive booming beat.