Character Playlist: Vera Streiker (The Antichrist)

## Character Playlist: Vera Streiker

The first character playlist added to the wiki, purely for the hell of it. It was made by **Jacklyn Treuer**, for her character **Vera Streiker**, a member of the Antichrist.

## **Tracklist + Descriptions**

Here's a list of the songs in the playlist, along with a few words from the playlist's creator, Jacklyn.

### **1. 25** by The Pretty Reckless

First of all, Vera's 25. So I thought it fit right off the bat. However, I mostly chose it because it reflects the direction she thought her life was going in getting completely rerouted and thrown somewhere else - and marveling at how she's managed to survive up until now.

### **2. Aerials** by System of a Down

Aerials reflects the absolute depths Vera plunged to in her mind to be able to stomach her current line of work, to be able to detach herself from her targets - "Swimming through the void, we hear the word / We lose ourselves, but we find it all".

### **3. All I Know** by Five Finger Death Punch

Vera knows damn well that she isn't the hero of this story, much less her own. They say there's nothing more dangerous than someone with nothing to lose - except for someone who still has something to fight for.

### **4. Armed To The Teeth** by Annihilator

I mean, this one is pretty self-explanatory. Very few people go up against Vera and survive - what she can't do with her guns, she'll do with an assortment of blades and other weapons. A lot of the playlist is internal pain and suffering, so I figured I'd take at least one track to have a bit of fun.

### **5. As Above, So Below** by In This Moment

A prominent theme in this playlist is revenge. She's ready for Pekka Rollins to reap what he sowed all those years ago - "What you give, comes back three-fold / As above, so below".

### **6. Before I Forget** by Slipknot

Some see Vera's closed-offness as a trauma response she can work to overcome - when in reality, she's right at home within her sociopathic head. She will always remember what she fights for. Also, I couldn't NOT add Slipknot, are you kidding me?

### **7. Big Bad Wolf** by In This Moment

You don't want to see Vera angry. Yet another song that exemplifies her vengeance, she will be an angel of death for her enemies - however, she occasionally must remember her humanity. It's one thing to be angry, it's another to lose yourself entirely.

### **8. Carnival of Rust** by Poets of the Fall

Unlike her peers, Vera still has something to lose. Though she has a hard time showing it, she truly cares for her sister. Lilliana is her anchor, her grounding presence, the one who reminds her to be human - something she has trouble with these days. There would be no Vera without Lilliana.

### **9. Circle the Drain** by Wage War

A promise between Vera and Lilliana: "When Rollins is dead, it ends." Lilliana is ready to move on, but Vera is stuck in the past, hellbent on achieving vengeance for the death of her parents. We must learn from our mistakes and move on. Sure, you can't change the past, but is revenge really the answer?

### **10. Deceiver, Deceiver** by Arch Enemy

...yes, yes it is. At least, according to Vera. An anthem of her intense hatred of the man who murdered her family, one of my favourite Arch Enemy songs just had to be here. Everything leading up to the final confrontation is just practice.

### **11. Drilled A Wire Through My Cheek** by Blue October

I couldn't just make a playlist without adding at least one song from my most favourite album of all time. Blue October's *Foiled* carries a lot of weight in it - and with this song being the closest to metal the band has gotten (to my knowledge), it exemplifies Vera's self-loathing and her array of masks she puts on to hide it. Everyone has a wire on their sleeve - however Vera's is coming close to snapping.

### **12. Drop Dead Cynical** by Amaranthe

What started as a way to gain income to support her and her sister has become almost like an addiction. Vera craves the killing and the violence - something she finds scary when she realizes it. Murder has become a necessity - in all the wrong ways.

### **13. Enemy** by Imagine Dragons (feat. JID)

I mean, come on, Arcane is fuckin amazing. Aaaaand you can't deny that this song works for SO many D&D characters. Also I really like the version with JID (unpopular opinion, I know).

### **14. Gold Guns Girls** by Metric

I feel like this song is either Vera's younger self looking at what she's become, or her sister realizing that Vera has grown addicted to her career. It's never gonna be enough for her, and she's gotta stop gorging herself on it.

### **15. Gunman** by Orden Ogan

Once again - a song about vengeance. However, this one plays the angle of Vera bringing salvation to the Barrel by ridding it of Rollins. Savior or sinner, she can't tell anymore. All that matters is putting a bullet in the bastard's skull.

### **16. Hate Me** by Blue October

Another recurring theme in this playlist is Vera's overwhelming guilt. Guilt for her sister's condition, their living situation, having Lilliana make her weapons, the list goes on and on. And what better to represent guilt than the most self-loathing song on my favourite album? It's a peek into how damagingly selfish she believes she's been towards the relationship between her and her sister, and how she wishes she could go back on all of it.

### **17. Hell's Comin' With Me** by Poor Man's Poison

Come the fuck on, how could I not. Vera is the devil Pekka Rollins forgot, and one day she'll be back, you can guarantee.

### **18. Hound** by Chase Noseworthy

Vera and Percival De Rolo III are very similar. Originally written as a song for Percy, it works quite well for my gunslinger as well. Kind of a similar vibe to Hell's Comin' With Me, which is a vibe I oh so enjoy.

### **19. Hurts Like Hell** by New Years Day

Remember how Vera's kind of addicted to the pain she inflicts on others? Well, that addiction kind of goes both ways - she's become a little of a masochist recently, a side effect of her ever-growing sociopathy. Vera utterly hates that side of her, but she can't help herself.

### **20. I'm Sorry** by IRIS (feat. Lollia)

Another guilt-heavy song, Vera's apologizing for everything she's done or thinks she's done to her sister. You could interpret Lollia's parts as Vera and Lilliana doing a duet. A rather recent addition to the list, but it definitely works.

### **21. Keep Away** by Godsmack

If there's one thing Vera believes about herself, it's that she's irredeemable - thus, she tends to push people away from her when she gets the sense that they may actually care for her. She's beginning to believe that she's the monster some of her clients label her as. Healthy? No. Incredibly self-destructive? Yes. Does she care? Who knows...

### **22. Make Me Wanna Die** by The Pretty Reckless

Very rarely do I see songs that can combine vengeance and guilt in certain interpretations, but I believe I struck gold at this point. Perfect amount of self-loathing and hatred for the man who ruined her life. She doubts her abilities to make good on her conviction: "You make me wanna die, I'll never be good enough / You make me wanna die, and everything you love / Will burn up in your eyes".

### **23. Maleficent** by Halocene

Similar to Big Bad Wolf, Vera revels in her rage-fueled killing sprees. Though she keeps using the excuse that Rollins' treachery made her this way - at least from Lilliana's point of view. Deep down, she's always had this fury inside of her. Now, it has an outlet.

### **24. Masterpiece** by Motionless in White

Another guilt-trip? Don't mind if I do! If Vera could turn back time, she would not hesitate. The only thing she cares about is her sister, and she will do anything to protect her and make her life better. "So how do I apologize / And put the tears back in your eyes? / When every canvas that I paint / Is a masterpiece made of my mistakes"

### **25. Meet The Monster** by Five Finger Death Punch

That sweet moment when Rollins realizes everything that's coming to him. When his eyes plead for mercy before the bullet blinds them forever. Vera dreams of this moment constantly.

### **26. The Mirror** by Halocene

More guilt, more self-loathing, all wrapped up in a nice metaphor made by my favourite cover band. Sometimes she wonders why her sister hasn't stopped her, why she just watches on while Vera sheds blood across the streets of the Barrel to fuel her self-centered hate of the world.

### **27. Monster** by Skillet

When the rage bubbles up, it's hard to make it simmer down - as anyone with anger issues (including me) can attest. She fears that if she fully loses herself to the hate, she will lose everything. Vera must remain calm. If not for her sake, then for Lilliana's.

### **28. Monster Made of Memories** by Citizen Soldier

I love me some Citizen Soldier, and I figured the most relevant song of theirs was the one about PTSD - which her sister has, and she's trying to avoid. Yet the memories remain. Lilliana wants to forget, but Vera wants to remember. She HAS to remember. Otherwise none of it is justified.

### **29. Mr. Darkness** by Ozzy Osbourne (feat. Zakk Wylde)

When Lilliana reminds her to be human every now and again, she realizes that maybe her vengeance isn't the answer. Casting her hate aside for now - before inevitably falling back down the hole she just dug herself out of.

### **30. My Dark Disquiet** by Poets of the Fall

I see this as Vera and her sister fantasizing about the life they could have had - or the life they'll have eventually, when all is said and done. This track carries a fantasy-like quality to it with just enough edge that it made me think of Vera, so here it is.

### **31. Natural Born Killer** by Dynazty

Imma be real with you guys, I saw the song title and added it without listening to it first. To my surprise, it still works! It's the duality between Vera's pit of hopelessness she falls into while on the hunt and the shining spark in her life that is her sister when she returns home - an interesting combination of killer instincts and the lowering of her guard.

### **32. Nero Forte** by Slipknot

I mean, Slipknot is my favourite band, so I had to include some of their stuff. Vera's just unloading on her enemies, in more ways than one - with a barrage of words expressing her hate for everything her enemy stands for, and with a hail of bullets as she cuts them down.

### **33. Numb to Everything** by Citizen Soldier

Sometimes Vera forgets her humanity a little too hard. When she tries to reclaim it, it can be scary for her to realize she lost it in the first place. "Numb to everything, I feel so far away / Hate so much what I've become / Where did I go? How did I get so numb?"

### **34. One of Those Days** by Ozzy Osbourne (feat. Eric Clapton)

One of Vera's sociopathic tendencies: nihilism. It's dangerous for her to stop caring, given how much she doesn't care in the first place. But some days just drag on, and some days take massive pitfalls. It's a wonder she's still around to see them - sometimes she wish she wasn't.

### **35. Providence** by Poor Man's Poison

This one's more of an anthem against the Barrel - lashing out at how she has to live in one of the most crime-ridden parts of the world. Granted, it makes her work easier, but as our DM often says "I mean, it IS Ketterdam." It's not exactly the nicest place, and she's not exactly happy about it.

### **36. Psycho In My Head** by Skillet

An anthem of all of Vera's fears and thoughts and sociopathy screaming at each other in a vie for dominance all while Vera is caught in the middle. Gotta keep it locked up, gotta keep it hidden - 'cause it all ends when hell breaks loose.

### **37. Ready For Combat** by Icon For Hire

I think it's time for a fun song, right? Right? Cool, 'cause Ready For Combat mixes some of that revenge we like to hear with some fight-song lyrics for a great workout jam and song to lash out at someone with.

### **38. Rooster** by Alice In Chains

This one is an odd one, as I chose it for a general feel rather than specific lyrics - the feel that no matter what happens, nothing will be able to take her down. "No, no, no, you know he ain't gonna die". R.I.P. Layne Staley, he had an incredible voice.

### **39. Shadow** by Icon For Hire

When Vera puts her guns on the shelf for good, when her mission of revenge is complete, her shadow will be vanquished. I'll be real for a second, this one's just a really great pick-me-up song. Whenever this comes on, I make sure to belt it as loud as I can - and I can imagine Vera going through an incredible fight scene while this is playing. One last combat to destroy the demon.

### **40. Sharks** by Imagine Dragons

Another of Vera's issues: she doesn't trust easy. What do her allies do when they're not working together? Any of them could know or work for Pekka Rollins, and she can't be too careful. I also just really like this song, sue me.

### **41. Snuff** by Slipknot

A little bit of mournful, a little bit of guilt, and a little bit of hate, all for or at the same person. She hates that she's feeling any of this, but such emotions are natural and necessary parts of being human.

### **42. Steambreather** by Mastodon

It's terrifying to realize what you've done. Vera is scared of the person she's become, and is even more scared at the part of her that loves it - it's a psychedelic spiral into madness that she's not sure she can escape from. Insanity seems like the inevitable end point to the journey.

### **43. Sunset over the Empire** by Arch Enemy

Another vengeance song, with the titular empire being Pekka Rollins' gang. It will fall by her hands - it HAS to fall by her hands, lest it all be for nothing. The final titan to topple before she can rest for good. The injustices done by them will not go unpunished.

### **44. Whatever It Takes** by Imagine Dragons

The ends justify the means is a phrase Vera takes to heart. But when it's all done, will it ... no, she can't think about that right now. Whatever it takes to bring him down, she'll do it, no questions asked. All she wants to see is Rollins dead - she can worry about what comes after when it becomes relevant.

### **45. White Knuckles** by Five Finger Death Punch

Vera's rage at its peak. When she's put in front of the devil himself, she will not hold back, she will not back down - nothing will be able to stop her from taking her prize. Looking forward to it is the only thing keeping the demon in her sated. We can't have it raging through the Barrel, now can we?

### **46. White Whale** by Shadow Academy

Vera has gone over plan after plan to get at the big guy - with all of them having logical flaws or just no way of working. She HAS to figure something out, something HAS to work eventually. In a way, Pekka Rollins is Vera's white whale - the beast she'll never catch, but is hellbent on chasing.

### **47. Will The Sun Ever Rise** by Five Finger Death Punch

In contrast to the last one, this one wonders if she'll ever catch the beast she's hunting - sometimes she wonders if it's even worth it in the end, knowing full well that killing Rollins won't bring her family back, nor will anything else. Will she be at peace, or will ending the man who ruined her life leave her empty, without purpose? Only time will tell.

Listen to the playlist here: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/79BD7Td2hEEZ65z7vAT9F1?si=8bf688d92b9f4e74&pt=cd9bbcbd2c2b75d3cb84e29764929f53

## **Trivia**

* Vera is the first character Jacklyn made a playlist for, initially "just for fun", before she got invested in it.
* Some of the songs present could be considered to be from Vera's sister Lilliana's perspective.