10 Tapes: E(X)it [Part 3 - Tapes 7 to End]

At the end of the long, winding track.
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Source music credited to Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License
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[@jeffiot]

I wasn't going to say anything on this one, but I didn't expect to hear some of the kindest things anyone has ever said to me/about my creative work. yesterday I had the embarrassing pleasure of watching this video on stream, not being prepared for that I would be softly crying by the end of it. thank you for the kind words, nick. thank you to everyone who has commented, watched, consumed or constructively critiqued me, 10 tapes and Nicks videos on it. another thanks go out to those of you who go out of your way to let me and other creators know how much you dislike what we do. You are entitled to your opinion, no one can take that away from you, and I do genuinely hope that one day you go out and create your own project to show how it can be done better. in that way I can at least rest easily, knowing I have contributed to someone else's creative process, even if its through being a "bad example". thank you, because despite being an "online creator" and knowing how the internet works and what to expect, I'd be lying if I said that the negative comments don't get to me, and every time I read one I get reminded that I want to create things and help/inspire/consume others creations, not the other way around. I hope to never make a creative person doubt their own ability. AJJ - We didn't come here to rock /jeff

[@FIatfoot]

Well done!

[@leviathan_is_me]

@Queen Aqua true. Too many times does an ending spoil the ride. Sometimes there is no way to end something (the old "paint yourself into a corner"). This wasn't one of those tbh. The only example I can think of that truly was a let down that spoiled the ride was "I Am Sophie". That ball dropped HARD. There have been numerous interviews etc explaining it, but on reality, there was no ending, there was no middle. It ended with Laura's last video. Sorry for rambling, point is that the creator stressed he owed us nothing, and he was right. The creator shouldn't create for others, if others enjoy what is created then yay. If not, or they don't like where it went..oh well. Create for yourself or for a purpose. Don't create to BE, create to explain or show what IS. IYKYK I guess.

[@ICountFrom0]

I love what you do. I'd love that you were out here doing it no matter if it was the least good thing that NightMind EVER put on the show. This isn't that. Yours is up there. I really have to respect puzzles that hard, that tricky, and that interactive. I absolutely agree that even the worst bad example would still be of use, and honestly better then anything I could do. So, I'm just going to encourage you to keep being awesome, and keep being you.

[@drewo.127]

I was hooked from the moment Nick began coverage on your series! I loved (and still love) everything about it! I will say though, the ending was…I don’t know how to put it. Like, to me, it wasn’t “bad” per say, even if it was technically the “bad ending”. It’s more so… Like felt equal parts intentionally hollow, due to the nature of both choices being punches to the gut, equal parts fitting…I think? Equal parts…unfinished? What I’m saying is… The big emotion I’m feeling from that ending…hollowness….sadness…like, it’s the tragedy of the trolley problem. I understand what Nick was feeling, about the ending being…somewhat selfish, but…I feel, even though with it being an ARG, making the ending all up to the audience, which does end up giving a story the potential for a very empty ending, especially with there being only two tragic choices….like… What I’m trying to say, and I’m sorry for rambling, I do feel sad, upset, conflicted about the ending, but in my opinion, I feel…it kind of works? Like in my head, it works by not quite working? Like my interpretation is: no matter what you try to do to get rid of it, darkness (or X in this case) will always be there. And no matter what you try to do to help someone, there’s always going to be those times where there is no “good” ending. You cannot save everyone. Darkness will exist for eternity, and that darkness can and does consume people you’re trying to help, despite your best efforts in everything. Not everything will have a happy ending. And there is nothing we can do about it. Except…that tip during tape 9: keep your sanity. Darkness (X) will never leave, and it will always persist indefinitely as long as life exists. But there is something we can do to mitigate, and even fight it, not to permanently delete it from existence, but to overcome it’s hold on us: just relax. Acknowledge it’s existence, understand that it’s a part of life, but make peace with it, calm down, don’t let it overwhelm you or drive you insane. Direct your focus to things that make you happy. Make you smile. Enjoy your life, and when darkness (or X) rears it’s ugly head, just deal with it in the most appropriate way in that moment, but try not to let it consume you. And I know, in reality that’s not as simple as it sounds. The ARG called “hi I’m Mary Mary” discusses the concept of being trapped in your own mind, being tormented by a bunch of horrors, personal horrors. And I know that arg was made by different people, but I like to think that that story can serve as a follow up to your story, in terms of concept. Like, your story ends with darkness overtaking someone and, in my interpretation, trapping them inside their mind, whilst finally losing themselves to the horrors! Hi, I’m Mary Mary, in my mind, shows the struggle of having to live with that darkness, and how it’s deteriorating the individual. But, (spoilers for hi I’m Mary Mary) they eventually overcome the darkness and fight back and break free! While it’s not a permanent fix, and nothing really is, whether you’re talking about personal darkness, or overall darkness, it is possible to mitigate it and live with it, and most importantly, to live a happy life! I’m aware Mary Mary is more on the personal, psychological, mental illness darkness type of story (at least from my interpretation) while 10 tapes seems more to be more the concept of general darkness and negativity that’s ingrained in the fabric of the universe. But to me personally, I feel both stories kind of compliment each other. Anyway, that’s my long ramble of my takeaway, and thoughts, and feelings of 10 tapes! Thank you both so so much! Jeff for making this masterpiece, and Nick for covering it! (You were PERFECT as the voice of X during that one bit btw!!!) Despite the ending, (which as I said, isn’t as bad to me, although I did feel kinda hollow initially,) 10 tapes was an experience and then some! I mostly watched NM’s coverage of it, but I plan on watching your new project organically, because you sir are so so talented!!! You’ve become an inspiration to me and I wanna thank you so so much!!! I wish both you, and Nick Nocturne the best in both your future endeavors!❤❤❤

[@TewiInabaChan]

Wholesome♡

[@afography]

Girl so true he just sat down, looked at a camera and said "plz figure ur shit out or I'm done" We need more of that energy in ARGs

[@ryngobrody1627]

The only time I remember a protagonist doing that in a major ARG was in Tribe Twelve

[@joshhale9355]

It felt real, just the clear frustration at all of this is pretty normal. Like “I was scared at first, now I’m just getting annoyed. Throw me a fucking bone please”.

[@aliveandwellinisrael2507]

Weird way to start a sentence, but yeah

[@sourgreendolly7685]

@@aliveandwellinisrael2507 Pretty common in certain circles actually. Just not yours nbd.

[@thequeenofcringe1585]

I was fully with him in that moment. It’s just like, “my dude, my boy, my pal. What the fuck do you want from me?” I was LIVING for it.

[@kyleh3227]

It's genius, really. The whole message of this ENTIRE thing has been NOT GIVING IN TO OBSESSION. It feeds the monster, it makes it stronger, it rips families apart, takes fathers away from their sons, turns innocent watchers into raving madmen and completely derails lives that could have been saved if everyone just walked away. X, both literally and thematically, feeds on obsession. And that lens got turned right back on the viewers to make the moral choice of letting H make his own choice and honouring what he WANTED... or giving into their own parasocial obsessions and saving him, even if it meant taking everything he was fighting for-- his only friend at the end-- away from him. Emotionally, it's a HAMMER BLOW, but it's an absolutely GENIUS move on Jeff's part to give us the choice knowing we'll fail it and watch us tie the entire metaphor up with a neat little bow FOR him. I can't think of a single other series that's achieved that level of pure galaxy-brained excellence, not even the big three.

[@troyjones1976]

I think that is right about the theme of the series being obsession. People complain about the sad ending, but that's the ending the audience chose, effectively overruling H's self-sacrifice due to their own "obsession" or attachment to H. Definitely a galaxy-brain move to set up the audience that way, though I am sure they had plans for the unlikely event that the audience chose J (as H wanted) or "both/neither" (as I suppose the SLC wanted) instead.

[@TheNinjaGirl64]

What are the big three?

[@kyleh3227]

@@TheNinjaGirl64 Marble Hornets, EverymanHYBRID, TribeTwelve! The original Slender Man web series that Nick covered way back in the beginning, and the ones that paved the way for most others in the field.

[@SausageLegs]

A lot of this, especially the leadup to receiving Tape 7, kind of read as an allegory for opioid addiction

[@cjhards]

Perception! That’s what it’s ALL about.

[@connerblank5069]

You know, honestly? It's kind of nice to just see a straight loss in one of these games. We pushed him into the wrong choice, to continue the game and feed the obsession, every step of the way, even when X made it abundantly apparent that engagement was always his end goal. We did what the monster wanted, facilitated evil, and then... We abandoned him. We took the only GOOD choice he made, and left him to live with his failure despite his decision to deny it. Bitter is the right word.

[@Christian-gr3gu]

Sure ok

[@omega2279]

I disagree in saying that taking the tenth tape was the right choice. How does becoming the embodiment of evil in any way constitute saving your innocent friend ? Any way you slice it, J was going to suffer for it. So yes, H was a dumbass, but that last choice was the worst one of all.

[@Zoopop13]

its like ranboos GenLoss, the buildup to a “failure”. i agree its very refreshing to see

[@ArcosOfBlack]

I have to give credit to the acting and the effort of this whole series. For all things considered, everything is pretty believable and it restrains it's supernatural elements just enough to maintain credibility. It sold the idea that it's just regular people playing/investigating a bizarre ARG, that I honestly for a few minutes forgot the entire thing IS the ARG. This one might be one of my favorite series you've covered. Edit: I was only 50 minutes in when I first wrote this, now I'm finished it sounds like Nick agrees! Seriously though, I want to add; this one brought me back to my younger years when I was immersed in the world and idea of things like Marble Hornets, fully believing the fantastical and fearing the supernatural. Thanks for covering this one, Nick. It was a fantastic experience!

[@youbetyourwrasse]

So cool to hear NightMind as an actor in the video we are watching!

[@chucklebutt4470]

Right? I was like... 🤨 "interesting voice..."

[@Demortixx]

Not really

[@v3nus059]

@@Demortixx to you

[@theonewithoutabrain5793]

I legit was peacefully sleeping (like I usually do cause Nick's voice calms me down) and I had awoken in the middle of the night to his "lillies". Gave me chills

[@ryanjones_rheios]

H's "what the fuck do you bastards want" is perhaps my favorite story development thus far. I fucking love how raw and real it is. Like beyond the fear, beyond the anger of privacy invasion, there's the very real human reaction of a frustrated need for clarity and "irritated with the management" intensity. There's an alternated completion of that cat idiom is "But satisfaction brought it back". Also the original phrase was "care killed the cat", care referring to paranoia or an overabundance of concern for others.

[@dwightgreene1361]

I have to admit that final choice was done masterfully it really was a no-win situation for the audience it was either go by h and let Jay die completely destroying his sacrifice or pick Jay and watch the person that we have been following and getting invested in and actually caring for die, it goes to show that this kind of choice can only be done in a series where you have made the main character so lovable and so followable that it makes the final choice that much harder

[@quenwallace448]

P

[@quenwallace448]

O

[@quenwallace448]

Oh Oh o

[@quenwallace448]

Let

[@pinkerhero]

[crying] "it's not fair! how could they do that ! you know how much suffering that causes ! why would you do that !" GOSH it broke me

[@phrastro7075]

the acting from everyone within this arg is seriously so good. the main character does such a good job with being clueless and its very refreshing to see this kind of stuff!!

[@ZeroZivan]

I agree, as soon as I saw J shed a tear in the final moments, I knew that the audience had made the wrong choice and opted for H's rescue, allowing X to take J. H had the opportunity to resist. but we had no reason to expect that J knew he could deny X whereas H could. X played the audience for fools and succeeded in his plan.

[@V3xxe]

For anyone not sure, that "Go up, baldy!" part is genuine scripture. I know the band Evil Scarecrow have referenced it in their song The Book Of Doom, and I believe the podcast Tell Em Steve-Dave also mentioned it in one of their Halloween shows.

[@ItsMeDoctorVibes]

I first heard about it on a Drawfee livestream…such an odd and incredibly specific little story.

[@blumiu2426]

Context behind it is that the "kids" were from the city. This is where understanding translations comes into play for anything put into another language, as we lose context. Qatan, na’ar is the word used for "little chidren", which is used to refer to grown men, objects and youth. It denotes immaturity, status, so it was talking about the character of those taunting Elisha. Their words "go up, bald head" had a cultural significance and they were taunting him to ascend like Elijah or even to die. The city in question, Bethel, at that time, was steeped in idol worship, so that further gives context to the state of the place and people. When Elisha cursed them, the translation is more suggesting he was warning them or making them aware of condemnation, as their words were against God, not him. And in biblical reasoning, once you are made aware of something, you are held accountable. God responding to this confirmed it, not that he was obeying Elisha. Baqa‘ is the word used when referring to the she-bears attacking the group. It is used when talking about breaking down mountains, the parting of the sea and other instances of dividing or separating. Given that, it doesn't seem to imply all were killed, if that, but they were attacked and scattered. It's hard to imagine 42 people being killed at one time by two bears.

[@GuyParson]

@@blumiu2426 so...they were manchildren from a city of pagans who bullied a monk for his religion?

[@blumiu2426]

@@GuyParson Pretty much, in the most simplest terms haha

[@WhaleMilk]

It is such a power move to just tell the big powerful entities to just get on with it Monty Python style because it is easy for a game to get lost in the larger conflict and forget that the main character, the person the audience actually cares about, exists. That’s something I don’t think I’ve ever seen before and I love it

[@Mr.G69420Bro]

I've been waiting for these dulcet tones to grace us again.

[@spyr0guy]

"You played right into his hands. You idiot. You absolute f@cking buffoon. You disgust me." -what NM probably wanted to say to the players after the finale Edit: I feel like more needs to be said about the choice not to show the contents of Tape 10. We, the players, pushed H to pursue the tapes. We were obsessed and fed his obsession in turn. We wanted, no, *had* to know what was on the tapes, to see it through to the end. H gave into temptation when presented with Tape 10 and gave X exactly what he wanted, and we condemned an innocent man in pursuit of the same goal despite the fact that H had clearly made his choice. And after all that, the contents of Tape 10 were denied to us. We didn't deserve to see what was on that tape. H made the wrong choice, we made the wrong choice, and nobody got what they wanted except X. And that is masterful execution of a bad ending.

[@holanderdontsk]

I don't think there is a real actual tape 10 to watch; The answer he was supposed to give was No; The Tapes were listed with roman numerals; Symbolically X handing a tape labeled X is asking if you will accept X;

[@dunno6161]

1:59:06 "...So. Lilies..." The darkness put behind your voice here, enduring throughout the condemnation of the crowd falling for the trap and making the emotional choice... It made me feel vindicated for sure - being that I agree, J should have been spared - but that was only after recovering from feeling a mild but primal terror from the weight behind the accusatory, 'boiling-rage-esque' tone. It's excellent voicework, fitting for the final thoughts of a series now finished in just the right way to make us know, that the villain won two victories at once, because we took bait after we'd already been caught.

[@TheDragonVA]

1:59:04 That was the most elegant, sorrowful, velvety, and down right emotional way of saying "Fuck you"

[@caseymckenna7111]

“Thanks for all the fish.” I think I just shuddered everything off my skeleton. Also, you’re a sneaky snake. I’d recognize that voice anywhere. 💚

[@Wanderingsage7]

44:03 until proved otherwise, I choose to believe that X possessed this random guy to give hints and just have a civil conversation with H. Which is something I wish more eldritch and or supernatural beings would do with their prey honestly. Yes it cuts down on the creepy factor a bit but it makes the being in question seem more... Iunno, personable. Like, just because I'm going to turn you inside out slowly figuratively and probably literally, doesn't mean we can't have a civil conversation. Iunno, I'm probably weird. 1:07:09 props on the creative side of things, though the music tends to drown out the speaker. 1:25:19 okay, so. Saying an Other being can't kill you isn't necessarily a good thing. To paraphrase, you'd be surprised what you can live through.

[@aliveandwellinisrael2507]

No, I don't think so. The SLC tapes implied that Simeon (the guy) works for them. Plus, in the conversation between SLC members, #5 says something like, "but... I met the guy, you know?" - perhaps implying that Simeon is this SLC member, who met H and so felt a bit of a connection to him.

[@jeffiot]

I'm not going to say that there is a right or wrong interpretation, i very much believe in death of the author, but the simeon storyline is specifically one of my favourite parts of 10t, and there is actually quite the "logical" explanation to his presence and way of being. For anyone curious, I'd suggest looking into the episodes featuring Simeon in their full (since Nick understandably has had to cut some of it out) and then researching the name Simeon to put the pieces together. /jeff

[@hilotakenaka]

@@jeffiot Simeon: Leah's belief of God knows that Jacob preferring Rachel. Shama oni - "he has heard my suffering."

[@Kamisokei]

@@aliveandwellinisrael2507 the guy who did the time orientation after H got out of the nothingness said he was #5

[@dracorex426]

What a mysterious and handsome voice X had.

[@atthepartycheers]

What’s SO interesting is that “saving” H just lets X win. For the rest of H’s days, he will think of X and likely obsess over him forever. This will just make X stronger. I ultimately think the audience was foolish. People think, “Well, duh, I love H. I’m choosing him!” but then ignore H’s final wishes and let X win overwhelmingly. Can’t decide though if I don’t love a “disappointing” and sad ending. Gotta love the tragedy of it.

[@RealKeetz]

I'm more scared of the human thought process... 😳

[@NutellaRLZ]

It's crazy seeing this develop. I've spent so long in preproduction for an interactive unfiction narrative that i kinda get into this headspace of seeing all the same tropes over and over, using some of them for certain narrative progression, knowing full well that I'm always going to be compared to, and never living up to, the likes of marble hornets, local58, DAD, gemini home entertainment, the Mandela catalog, and the monument mythos. It has almost killed my enthusiasm many times, and seeing my own ideas appear in other projects over the years but done better than i could has nearly stopped me too. Watching 10 tapes unfold, however, is one of those things that shows me that you can still be innovative using these classic tropes if your story is solid and you give it it's own personality and originality. 10 tapes will go down in unfiction history as one of the greatest interactive narratives of it's time, and rightfully so

[@camstersonofmerrill6687]

I did not expect that ending, no more than I expected to be softly leaking from my eyes at the audience's decision. This entire project was so well-crafted and executed, the acting so natural and engaging. Kudos to Jeff, and my thanks yet again to you Nick for your analysis. Poor H... and poor J.

[@terrencekuhns4498]

THANK YOU. Choosing to save H was a selfish, thoughtless choice on the part of the audience. H chose to do exactly what the SLC told him was X's hope this whole time, and the audience awarded his giving in to that choice by sacrificing an innocent. There's always the possibility that the creator never intended there to be an actual choice and was going to sacrifice J either way, but if I had been a part of that community as it went down I would have gone absolutely BALLISTIC on every last one of them when that finale came out. One of those things that really gives you little hope for humanity... And yeah, reeeeeeally weird that choice of voice for X, huh? ;)

[@GuyParson]

Tbh, NightMind seems like the kind of guy to say lovely Little Lillies, so its pretty fitting

[@Cr3zant]

I mean, picking H is the objectively correct choice if you go by the rules as stated within the story. Within those rules, X would not have been able to get Jay's body, since he didn't subject Jay to 9 months worth of asinine puzzles to systematically break him down in the specific way he needed to get consent to inhabit a body. But then at the end the rules changed and X can just get a body however he wants.

[@Buglin_Burger7878]

Ignoring the fact SLC established X needs to win people over with obsession being ignored for J breaking the rules once... the community was also solving puzzles once they were explicitly told this gives X power. J shouldn't have been able to be a vessel for X, so it is possible picking J could've resulted in J and H being vessels.

[@dragomaster2422]

One thing I still don’t understand is why people didn’t just say “none” or not give a response. Despite X’s comment that none would be both, we know X needs consent to enter the physical world and be able to interact thanks to SLC. Why would we consent to giving either? If you deny the consent, then he would be destroyed and have neither body. I feel like making a decision is the wrong decision.

[@sornyeilevente973]

You know acting like a child wouldn't really have helped with anything

[@xIncisions]

Jeff is definitely getting a follow after watching the whole of 10 Tapes - by far the most satisfying ARG I've watched since Marble Hornets in terms of quality, storyline and execution. Thank you for your always incredible coverage of these projects, and honestly - when I heard the "familiar" voice when X spoke, I was absolutely screaming at my TV when it clicked. Well played, sir. ❤️

[@stan8479]

I really love this protagonist. He's committed, but also just skeptical and no-nonsense enough to not feel like a cookie-cutter RPG protagonist. He's got layers.

[@gren8te319]

The ending really shows how hard it is for someone playing a game to accept responsibility for their actions. like blaming chara for the monsters you went out of your way to fight and kill. That's why people dislike this ending, because they can't take responsibility for playing into x's plans. knowing we'd value the original protagonist who was as obsessed as we are more than the far more innocent 2nd. even when h wanted us to let him risk his life to save j, we made the clearly wrong choice, and we deserve the bad ending we got.

[@silverflight01]

I like Night Mind's commentary on the final choice. Either you take the route of saving J like H wanted to do before the confrontation with Heritage (and later X), or you take the route of saving H and leaving J to die in the hands of X. I kinda like how the difference is described as between either just or emotion. It's easy for choice to be overwhelmed by emotion, and I can see how Nick views it. Perhaps fans really wanted to see what was on that last tape, or just to see the main character live, but in the end, Tape X was never shown.

[@XaeDae]

Why do i feel tape X was just a rerun of the entire show. Like this is…tape X. Split into peices

[@GuyParson]

Eh, i dont like it tbh, probably because i genuinely forgot who J was, so to me it just seems like the common sense choice to save the MC instead of this one character i forgot about awhile ago

[@tenacityxl]

Incredibly late to the party and just finished the series for myself, but the theme of “obsession” is handled so well in this series through pretty much every major character. “H” was *obsessed* with finding all the tapes and completing the journey. His obsession led to X growing in power and ruining his life. “SLC” was *obsessed* with putting a stop to X’s plans. Seeing him as pure evil and trying and failing to stop him over and over again. Their obsession led them to lose their grandparents and for their parents to give up entirely. “X”’s obsession was to return to our world and put forth whatever plans he wanted. He’s all-powerful and *obsessed* with obtaining a suitable vessel. And in the end…he’s the only one who gets what he wants. “Heritage” represents the *obsession* that “H” has readily given into taken to a dangerous extreme. He offers up an innocent, “J”, because he is *obsessed* with wanting to see this through to the end, just like “H”. However, he’s willing to do much more dangerous things to finish the puzzle. And then there’s…us. The “Lillies.” Who have *obsessed* over this series for about a year at this point. Who have *obsessed* over “H” and his story and have *obsessed* over obtained “X”’s tapes. And we’re presented with a choice: Remain *obsessed* or free ourselves of it. And the Lillies chose to remain. Our *obsession* led to the death of an innocent person. And now, “H”, the person we have *obsessed* over for MONTHS, has to live with the consequences of *our* actions, *our obsession.* It’s a brilliantly executed series and bad ending, even if I got to it really late :)

[@ElodieCunningham]

Aw man, poor J. Dude had already had everything taken from him by X as a kid and then was sacrificed by strangers

[@pontiusthepilot]

It’s been a rough week, and this was exactly what I needed. Thanks, Nick ❤

[@shnazzy474]

Nothing makes for better late night chills and thrills than your content, really appreciate you!

[@NightMind]

Thank you so much!

[@victhefoxygamer_6180]

I didnt get to see thrle project live. However seeing H just appear on the tracks and the distress I knew the end was not prefered. What a piece of art. Even skipping ahead and seeing the end give me displeasure in the result, shows how powerful and well delivered the project was.

[@pleasegoawaydude]

Hearing such a familiar voice in the project at the end made me suddenly very amused.

[@happyclam1266]

Yes, and he seemed to slip so very comfortably into the role, heehee

[@MSonnyday]

I am so glad I wasn't alone in thinking choosing Jay to survive was the right choice and was disappointed with the collective answer the community gave to get the ending we got. The ending is done immensely well and I'm not knocking it. I honestly think its nice not to have a victory in every story or even to have an ambiguously open ending with the possibility for hope but like you said NM it is very bittersweet.

[@RealKeetz]

Yup. I, too, would have gone for J. It hurt. It cut deep. 😩

[@lux.illuminaughty]

Aww Nick! I was not expecting to hear your dulcet tones - so identifiable even inside the distortion - but it was a brilliant touch! I tip my virtual hat to everybody involved in that decision.

[@CrystalFier]

Uh huh. Yep. Deeefinitely a mix of H&J's voices.......... Heckin demon cats lol. Well done, good sir. 💜💚🖤💚💜

[@unclejoeljoestar988]

yoyoyo I finished the original series by myself and I'm SUPER excited to see it to the end with your commentary

[@NightMind]

Now THAT'S what I love to see! Thank you!

[@postbunnie]

Oooof there's the JoJo reference

[@Klarpimier]

That weird encounter with Simeon gave me all sorts of stranger danger anxiety

[@rockko]

The horror and the comedy bits go so well together, it feels home-made but not amateurish. had a great time with this one

[@charredeggroll1967]

I'd like to take note that if you look at the outline of X in the previous episodes, you can see that he's clearly the outline of Jay. It's much more easy to see when H finds X at the swimming pool, you can see outline of the bottom of the coat that Jay's wearing in the end. So either X has been Jay the entire time, or this was foreshadowing to Jay's demise that could've prevented his death yet unfortunately people missed it and chose the wrong choice~

[@jblask2]

I do enjoy these longer episodes. A real deep dive. Kinda wish we got so see more of that alternate plane. I love how it kinda looked like an unfinished game level.

[@NightMind]

Thank you so much!

[@afography]

Sorry to live react in the comments but this guy did a GREAT job making X's plane or the void or whatever. It looks really cool.

[@TheWanderingLPer]

X calling the audience "my lilies" is made just a touch more gross when Lily is actually your name

[@Logos_Loki]

The ending of this is so fucking cool. More ARGs need failstates.

[@Kirbita22]

god this work is great. im only 40 minutes in but the Themes are exquisite. also "theres such a sense of danger in following this stranger" is there really? to me the fact that he kept pointing out random things and forcing H to really consider the beauty of everyday life and be in the moment instead of chasing an answer was the biggest sign that this is a beneficial figure in a story where the villain is a literal ARG gamemaster in universe

[@miyuiix]

I hadn't heard about this project till your first video on it so I did as you asked and watched the whole playlist before continuing on your video series. Can I just say but when I heard that familiar voice coming from X I freaked out! I enjoyed this so much

[@Sunshine-tu6cm]

You're so right Nick. I said it then, and I'll say it now: It's so cringe that J was picked over H. H came to terms with his sacrifice and was fully ready to go, yet everyone let their emotions just cloud so much. So annoying

[@lux.illuminaughty]

So annoying, but also so realistic for an audience to do. The audience identifies with H because of the journey taken together, but really we know nothing about H. We know more about J's life, but we didn't ride shotgun with him all this time, weren't the map-reading snack handling co-pilot for his roadtrip as we were with H. It is sad and unfair because, as you say, H had come to his decision and made some kind of peace with it, whereas J was double abducted and didn't know wth was going on.

[@mutanttepig4759]

Man! I went back through this entire series and you are able to see X's motivations from essentially the very beginning. Good on ya Jeff for making such an awesome series! And Night Mind? You're an awesome narrator and person who summarizes this stuff! Both of you guys did awesomely on this journey.

[@mme725]

1:24:50 I just wanted to take time to say that I really like the SLC and appreciate them laying out the stuff in that infomercial format.

[@casanovafunkenstein5090]

Yeah, they come across like a mix between a cult and a corporation trying to save face after dropping a bunch of dangerous chemicals into the water and destroying an ecosystem through obvious negligence.

[@-weep-8745]

I've been waiting for this! You're one of my favorite people, this is cool! I watch you in hard times and you always somehow cheer me up with the haunted corners you cover.

[@mx3fto]

I'd love to see the alternate ending to this. As you said it feels very hollow. The series on a whole was absolutely excellent though. Great acting all round and a story better than any modern hollywood movie

[@happyclam1266]

The story is actually strong enough for a video game version and then you could have alternative endings.

[@gggthsb]

Man this ARG was such a ride, and a magnificent one at that. The amount of planing must have been huge but it was a great story, was delivered in an interessting way and was incredibly engaging. The ending is heartbreaking. I don't know if it actually was a choice or if the creator always intended to end it this way, but letting J die is tragic and if the community actually is responsible I am suprised, they did what they did, since saving J and not letting J come to harm was one of the very motives of the storyline and H let us know that on many occasions. I understand that audiences wanted to save H since we got to know and like him, but man... Still a great ending since it is able to spark conversation and gives us something to think. All in all, I applaude Jeff for creating this wonderful story and bringing us on this adventure with him.

[@ashes405]

What really makes 10 Tapes fantastic is the real world settings. He's not just sitting in a room or around 1 house for 40 videos, he's going places. It does make everything feel a lot more real and exciting

[@snowpanther7076]

I still couldn't care any less about the story but I like H as a protagonist because he acts like a person and not a character in a story. I like that he gets annoyed with X and reacts in exactly the way that I wished more protagonists in these kinds of stories react. I'd love to see a behind the scenes of this series, especially with how he did the effects on the livestream and how he managed the tower light puzzle

[@jeffiot]

heyo, just popping in to say that there is an entire behind the scenes-series of behind the scenes-stuff over at my patreon :) I also talk about the production and effects work over at my twitch pretty frequently. thank you for watching! /jeff

[@brettoelschlager8249]

Can you imagine how long Os game must have taken? Like, it doesn't take very long to watch a video, but if you had to read a novel for every step, it could take quite a while.

[@NightMind]

10 Tapes Coverage Playlist: kzbin.info/aero/PLUtMdfebeaoe5UhVu87HiIwJdLicswqE8 10_Tapes Official TikTok: www.tiktok.com/@10_tapes?is_from_webapp=1&sender_device=pc 10_Tapes Official KZbin Playlist: kzbin.info/aero/PL5EYToqrmLG8NAod-r0oJl27kH8gHoG2W Jeffiot Official KZbin: kzbin.info

[@lotustheexplorer5897]

X told us "his consent it's not enough" "I need yours" so We could say no by not picking between them. X couldn't acces any body without our consent.

[@DocMadfox]

Sadly the logic doesn't work, as X also told us choosing none means choosing both.

[@chucklebutt4470]

@@DocMadfox Trolley problem. No intervention does not equal a lack of consent.

[@nikoiscreative]

Even not choosing is a choice.

[@ImInForAWuppin]

@@chucklebutt4470 That logic doesn't really work here. The reason the trolley problem works is because the trolley doesn't need our permission to keep moving, this is the difference between a starting and stopping action. X acting without a single vote would be akin to a vampire walking in after you slam the door in his face because you didn't explicitly tell him to stay out. X is the villain, an actual embodiment of evil, fear, and all things bad, who has been continually established to mislead and misdirect. It's more likely that X was lying than actually able to make good on his threat. He'd already been making plenty of empty threats after all, from as early as the bunker in tape 3 all the way up to the empty pool after tape 9.

[@ImInForAWuppin]

@@DocMadfox Yes, he did, which is why you shouldn't trust the threat. When a character gives you conflicting information like this, the only thing you can be entirely sure of is that they are lying somewhere. Given the need for permission was also established by other characters, however, we can pretty safely assume it to be true. If that is true, then the conflicting information (X's threat) has to be false.

[@creepersammyb2926]

i like the aesthetic of the void it's like the low detail, usually unreachable outer sections in video games

[@skylarkblue1]

I loved this whole journey, I wasn't able to participate live but watching these videos it was great fun. The only issue I had with this whole thing is just tapes 8 & 9, it's a massive exposition dump and complicated to follow especially with the really hard to read captions in the tape's videos.

[@lanagomisc.6005]

The stuff that gave me the most jumpscares were the ads that just popped up while watching your video. I know you can't do anything about it, but it was pure whiplash to go between solemn story analysis and bright, poppy commercials haha.

[@CloverlyArtist]

the SLC explaining why X is evil reminds me of the Distortion saying "Am I evil, Archivist? Is a thing evil when it simply obeys its own nature?" in the Magnus Archives. ngl

[@Eroxi3]

I'm so excited for this. Thank you for once again making my day brighter with a new upload 💕

[@TheRPGNerd]

the sulfur lake comittee really went "hey what if we made a company intro video" edit: smh even evil entities should have their pronouns respected

[@ladyfoxyfire]

this series is such a giant project bro, so well done too. reminds me of I am Sophie in the scale of effort put into it

[@MBoy2000_]

This guy really is a master of writing a believable first meeting of someone, it's so awkward and works so well

[@diddleysquin]

Exactly my thoughts on first seeing the audiences choice, you've chosen to "save" the familiar face who consented to their fate while sacrificing a bystander who's only error was offering to help. It leaves a hollow feeling and a disappointment in general humans. On the project as a whole, this is such an amazing undertaking done so well, and utilises so many tools we've seen abused before in such a perfect way. I can't think of anything, new or old, that has ever done this so well.

[@thequeenofcringe1585]

Referencing an obscure and hilarious Bible passage is definitely a way to keep me on board. With that and h telling x to stop being so fucking cryptic, I had packed my bags and was ready for the long haul. That is the shit I like to see.

[@fujosan9586]

Day made. Mood lifted. HP reset. Luck boosted. Mind satisfied NightMind videos hit differently (U-U) 👌✨

[@ratkinzluver33]

Excellent work on this series, and excellent work from you Nick as an actual actor in it! You did a great X!

[@Etanial]

Holy shit, this has been a wild ride. Like our boy Nick, I thought it was boring at the beginning. But wow, it was worth the wait to get to the later parts. An absolute masterpiece of story telling, editing, SFX, and talent. All of which were used on a platform that was not created for long-form content at all. Absolutely fantastic. It sucked me in like a Lilly in a whirlpool.

[@Wandergirl108]

I admit, I wanted H to be saved, because at this point I honestly couldn't remember who J even was. Given NM's response afterwards, though, I can't help but wonder…this plan SLC had…might it have still been possible to stop X if the community had chosen to save J? Was there a good ending that the community missed out on, and instead they chose the bad ending? I realize we'll never know, but…it makes me wonder, since none of the promised outs ever paid off. The story just doesn't really even feel like it had an ending, but that could be the fault of the viewers…I don't know. And I never will.

[@happyclam1266]

Maybe it would have been better to have a vote on whether or not H got to tape 10 or decided to stop and thwart X that way. Probably the vote would have been to go on, but then the audience would have had to feel less trapped into a bad decision--they would have to own it, because they wanted their adventure to continue. Nevertheless, it was a wonderful series in every way.

[@RealKeetz]

It gutted me, because although I chose J in my mind (since the series is over), I knew the votes would go for H. And now I feel...lost, almost? Like...damn. 😔

[@finalunusedname]

"X is the shadow in the corner of your eye. He is the form you imagine watching you in the shower. He is the terror that flaps in the night."

[@aeircrown7994]

What a nice entity, giving you time to have your consent as a bridge to our world, I wish there are more entities like him ❤.

[@trapmoneysquad]

wow this was refreshing, finally a good arg with a bitter sweet ending that as much as it was sad it was what i wanted, i hate good endings.

[@TheSwordofFlames]

It’s just kinda funny to me that this whole story ultimately amounted to a failed quicktime event

[@GuyParson]

It's like getting a bad ending in a visual novel, then decided that was satisfying enough of an ending and just never touching it again

[@bandgeekforlife406]

11:30 This gave me a good laugh 😄I once had a youth pastor who said something along the lines of, "We always paint our Sunday School walls with lambs, arcs, and tame version of Old Testament stories. But no one ever paints a mural of Elisha and the bears. That's what I want to see in Sunday School when I drop off my kids!" Obviously he was being facetious, but the way he said it was funny as heck 😁

[@mutanttepig4759]

It's always awesome to see a person tell off an overwhelming force to get them back on track. Talk about being extremely brave of H to take such a risk.

[@Dunkster74]

heritage is fucking amazing holy shit. CHEER UP SAD BOY YOU'RE GONNA MEET DADDY SOON! as a sidenote, it's surreal to see a series covered on this channel playing out in my neck of the woods. there's so many places that i recognize.

[@madmanszalinski]

Basically this was a Fallout New Vegas quest in an ARG, there is no walking away feeling like the hero

[@culwin]

The "acting" was the most refreshing part of this. At no time did I ever feel like the creator just grabbed a friend or acquaintance and had them read some lines. I can overlook amateur acting (unless it's really bad) in ARGs/unfiction because most people can't hire professional actors. But in this project, I didn't have to. Every single person played their part immersively.

[@badwolfgirl7848]

Oooh I've been waiting for this!!! I'm so into this story!! AND it's long as hell?! YESSSS thank you :)

[@wtficantgetaccname]

Thank you man... you seem to know when I need some company, almost every time. Thank you for your work.

[@somewhatdweeb5194]

There is something so intriguing and fascinating, yet unnerving and anxiety inducing about the character of Simeon.

[@TenKecel]

this series reminded me of explaining everymand hybrid and I can't wait for another one 10 Tapes was amazing

[@Triluux]

DAWG, you cant show me any form of the EMH ending and expect me NOT to shed a tear

[@ir6734]

Seeing H's despair on the tracks gave me genuine goosebumps and shivers. My god what an amazing series

[@simonghoul3602]

I like Simeon. It's just a great contrast between us and them, normal people vs people that are playing this game and are always overanalyzing everything. For some reason he found it important to talk to us about the world and how everyone is living their own lives. Probably wanted us not forget this. There's a lot more to life than what we are experiencing. At the same time, it's odd, it feels like a cult trying to recruit you. They show simple things as if they are special and make you feel welcome and comfortable, it makes it easier for you to join them 1:15:45 yep, knew it (step 6 mainly)

[@starlalalala4460]

I appreciate your coverage of args so much. I dont have the brainpower to follow along actively and it allows me to still get to enjoy the art in them.

[@scottwalker6658]

But the end does make the project. No neat ties...only real, hard choice. Loved it. Thanks for the explanation.

[@happyclam1266]

It was a real Sophie's Choice kind of thing (I wonder if Jeff was an I Am Sophie fan).

[@nottcaittlin]

I've been waiting for this one! What a great start to the week

[@LemurG]

I just finished watching your Marble Hornets series and wow has your voice gotten even deeper and silkier

[@zisaletter4602]

the AMV ending had me in stitches. WHAT. cool project! I agree they should've saved j. smh. really well done story jeff, good work!

[@pleasegoawaydude]

I have long awaited this continuation. A wonderful time it always manages to be.

[@ryanhiggins3477]

I think this video felt more like watching the series unfold than having your commentary.

[@-chippedstars-2889]

So Long and Thanks for All The Fish killed me

[@everythingisvibration]

Man, This was a ROLLER COASTER.... Excellent !!

[@BlastMagicianYGO]

In my view, and perhaps this is a tad unkind, I think the choice to save H is just in a karmic way. H had an opportunity to, if the SLC is to be believed, trap X back in the void by denying it a vessel at a crucial moment, and he didn't because it involved the death of someone he knew. As a result of that, the choice was given to the Lilies, who chose to keep him alive. While I'm sure their reasoning was much the same as his, I find it oddly fitting. He forsook the opportunity to end a great evil to save one man he hardly knew, and in the end, saved no one, and he now has to live with that. Whether or not his refusal at that moment would have actually trapped X is a valid question, but that's my view. I don't think it's appropriate to call either choice 'right' or 'wrong' no matter our choice, X won, all we got to do was choose the face of evil, and in an odd way, choose whether we wanted to save an innocent, or punish the guilty. At least, that's my take from a top-down view of things. Edit: Good stuff though, all around, this is one unfiction that made me wish I was more into participation than observing the aftermath, but I know stories like these are few and far between, so I'm thankful for this channel for allowing me to experience it.

[@artisdead4356]

god I was having a shitty day and this just made it, thank you so much NM, I needed this

[@Hoodwinkle]

That SLC reveal video has satisfied my need for quality content for the rest of the year

[@pleasegoawaydude]

This series is best experienced when you actually hold your conclusions until all the information is presented. Some people seem incapable of that.