#layne stein

~ - ~ - ~

Layne slowly opened his eyes. He wasn't sitting upright. No he was sideways, leaning to the left and a bit forwards, against the seat he'd strapped himself into. He loosened his death grip on the brace that pulled down from the back of the seat and glanced around the lifepod. It was dark, except for a couple dim lights, one of which was flashing, from the device on the wall to his right. Though he didn't need to wait for his eyes to adjust to know that the pod was tilted. If he wasn't careful he was going to fall from his seat when he freed himself from it. And that was only the lesser of his problems. The worst one was that he was underwater. He wasn't sure how deep underwater the pod dropped. The screen that would have probably told him that clearly wasn't working.

He let out a breath. Well, he was alive. Uncomfortable but alive. That was something at least. The only thing he could do now was wait for rescue. Which was highly recommended when evacuating ship. Or at least for civilians it was. But... how were they going to find him? Layne glanced back over to the blinking light to his right. If that wasn't sending out an S.O.S. then he was going to be in trouble. He could try to check it out, but reaching it might be difficult. Whether he did, or could, he would first have to get out of this seat.

Bracing himself for the possibility of sliding out and falling to the now bottom of the lifepod, Layne pressed where he thought the release button was. Nothing happened. Okay maybe it was the wrong spot. He tried pressing a few different spots on the emergency pad on the armrest of the seat. Nothing. “This would not be a good time to learn I'm claustrophobic,” he muttered. Being trapped in here was going to be bad enough, but being stuck sitting here because there was no power going to the emergency release was not something he was looking forward to.

~ - ~

He couldn't take it anymore. Layne gripped onto the brace and pushed. The chance of it coming free was slim to none but enough was enough. It had to have been hours and he just couldn't handle sitting, uncomfortably, here any longer. When just pushing on it didn't work, he tried to shake it. The next thing he knew it gave with a slight scraping and he lurched forward. Tightening his grip and pushing his feet down, he managed to keep himself mostly upright. His shoes, however, didn't have a lot of grip and he felt them slip. He glanced about, searching for options. It was either the sideways ladder or accept his fate and drop down to the now bottom of the pod.

Layne tried to shift his grip and push the brace up to get out from under it. But he just ended up sliding down. He decided against trying to prevent his fall and let go. The thud of his landing was dulled by about half a foot of water he fell in. Wait, water? How could there be water in the lifepod? Did it get damaged in the crash? Concern settled in his stomach. That's... that's not good. What should he do? His eyes searched the darkness of the pod, hoping, somehow, he'd find the source. Then he spotted the blinking light again and froze for just a moment. If it is sending out an S.O.S then someone could still find him. Layne let out a breath as his mind started to move out of the momentary panic. There wasn't a lot of water yet so it wasn't coming in quickly. Maybe just a crack. He still had time to figure out what to do. He was okay, for now.

Okay. He looked around as he tried to remember where everything was. There was a fabricator against the wall there. Though it wasn't usable. There was a first aid unit on that wall. He didn't need that right now. The screen that would have told him the information that would have been useful right now, he was actually standing on and submerged underwater. There's the ladder right above him and the device that was blinking well above that. He didn't actually know what it was with certainty, but the more he thought about it the more confident he was that it was sending out an S.O.S. So, all in all, not much that he could count as useable. He'll have to either wait it out or try for an escape.

He concluded to wait. Give potential rescuers a chance to find him. After all, how long could that take? Unfortunately that question caused Layne to think about the state the Aurora was in when he evacuated. The fire. Alarms going off. He'd been sent to the lifepods by one of the crew members when everything started happening. But he couldn't bring himself to leave. Not without his friends. Layne hadn't known where they were. They had all been doing their own thing at the time. So, he'd waited. But when more people started to evacuate, and telling him he should too. It would be safer to leave and be collected later, then wind up getting injured if the ship crashed. And so, he ended up evacuating. Alone.

But... what if the Aurora did crash. It was in bad shape with all the smoke and fire he saw for that moment before his pod plunged under the surface of the water. Layne looked out the glass of the hatch. He'd fallen for awhile. He had no idea how deep down he really was. His thoughts went quiet as he stared out at the water. Then slumped his back against the wall of the pod as he then thought of his friends; worried about their safety. His family; who had not joined him thankfully. Cyndi had been reluctant to let him go. She was going to be so worried when he missed his regular calls home...

Time passed and Layne started to pace about the pod, water sloshing in his soaked shoes. He was worried. Stressed. How long should he wait? And now that he thought about it, how long had he been down here already? Awhile he assumed. The water had made its way up to his knees. What if help wasn't coming? What if there weren't enough survivors to send on rescue trips? Or any survivors... Layne shook his head. He didn't know that. There were plenty of people who evacuated the ship. Not everyone would have landed in the water. Maybe he was just one of the furthest away lifepods and they were working their way out to him. That could take awhile. He still had time.

Turning on one of his many loops around the pod, he looked over towards the hatch. Then froze. Heart pounding. “What was that?” he whispered. He took a hesitant step closer as he stared out and waited. Maybe... Layne tried to laugh it off. “My nerves are just shot,” he tried to convince himself. But he barely finished the statement when he saw movement again. He staggered back away from the hatch. The shark, or whatever it was, seemed to linger for just a moment. Like it was looking inside. Watching him. Then it was gone. He stood there for awhile watching. He was safe in here right? It couldn't break the glass could it?

Slowly, Layne moved back against the wall and crouched down, soaking his pants the rest of the way. He was trapped in here. Unless it leaves. Or he gets rescued. Anxiously, he stared out waiting. Hoping for some kind of sign of safety.

He had no idea how long he waited for. But he hadn't seen anymore movement outside. Maybe it was a fluke. He was going to have to decide soon what to do. Was he going to risk leaving or keep waiting? The water level was rising faster than he had expected; and hoped that it would. Either that or he had been waiting there longer then he thought. So he didn't have long to figure it out. After a moment longer of debating, Layne trudged through the waist deep water to the hatch and peered out. Nothing. Maybe it is safe now. Should he try to get out? Swim to the surface? He hesitated and looked around the pod again. Then turned back to the hatch. He really didn't want to. But did he really have another option? If he waited much longer he could drown in this cage. Heart pounding, nerves spiked, he reached out for the handle to open the hatch. Hand on the handle, he stopped, let out a breath, then turned it and proceeded to push it open.

Water rushed in the pod, pushing Layne slightly off balance. He held his breath at the last moment before the water flooded over him, then pulled himself out into open waters. His eyes searched for a threat, for just a second, before pushing himself up. He didn't get far when he heard, something. Looking back, he spotted that sea creature. Fear and panic grabbed hold of him and held tightly. His eyes darted around, searching for a way to evade it. He shifted and moved towards an arch. The shark, if it even was considered one on this planet, barely missed biting into him as he pulled himself around the arch and pushed off of it to head more towards the surface.

His heart pounded as he swam toward another land form to push himself off of. Just before he did he glanced back. Where was it? Did it give up the chase? He pushed himself along, hoping that it did. Then, to his relief, he saw land above him. He was almost there. Though his sense of safety was only temporarily. It came at him from the side. Layne barely held back a scream as it clamped onto his leg. Just as he was about to look back, he was lurched around for a second before it let him go. Only to bite him again. Pain flared even worse than the first time. Then, suddenly, the added weight of the creature was gone and Layne pushed himself upwards towards land. His lungs burned. His leg throbbed. And the surface was within sight. He was almost there. He sent a quick look back. And immediately regretted it.

Dragging himself onto the shore, he coughed. Wheezed. Then collapsed on the sand. His body hurt from both his injury and strain. And, despite knowing he needed to, hopefully, find help, Layne had no energy left to move. He had nothing left in him. As he felt himself slipping, he thought he heard someone shout before nothing.

Cesar left the old run down shelter he'd found. He brought the first aid container with him. Though he might not need it, he didn't want to risk something happening and not be prepared. Ever since he crashed on the island he's been stuck. And alone. The only thing he could see, far in the distance, was the Aurora. And he'd already tried sending up a flare. All he could do now was to look around the island. And find ways to get food. And freshwater. And... and...

He paused and looked back up the slope towards his shelter. Maybe he should... Cesar shook his head, then continued down the path. No, he had to see if there was anything else on the island. If there was even one thing he could use the better. He could start at the shoreline. Maybe travel along the shore then work his way up?

As he walked down a path towards the shoreline, Cesar thought on his options. Anything to keep himself occupied. Maybe, due to the Aurora crash, something could have washed up on shore that he could use. He wasn't counting on finding food of course. Though if he found a way to catch fish... Since he wasn't sure how safe or edible the food he'd found in the makeshift garden would be, eating fish would be his only source of food. He'd have to make a fire...

The shoreline came into view. Cesar paused and stared, wary, out to the ocean. Then let out a sigh and started walking again. Worry dug into the pit of his stomach as his fears started creeping up on him again. Stranded. Unknown planet. Alone. Will he even be able to go home? He swallowed and tried not to think about that. Then he got a distraction. Movement. Startled, he lifted his head to see what it was. It took just a second before he saw it. He felt a flood of relief as he realized it was a person. They practically dragged themselves onto the beach, coughing, before they collapsed. Then the relief Cesar had felt was gone. He called out as he rushed down to the shore. There wasn't any response or movement.

When he got closer, he realized he knew who it was. “Layne!” But then he froze. His friend laid, unconscious, in front of him; his right leg, from just below his knee, was gone. And his blood streaming into the ocean.

Cesar stood, staring, in shock and horror as a cold fear dug its claws into him. What... what can he do? He's never seen- Never had to- What can he do? The sound of the first aid kit thudding to the ground startled him. His eyes went to the container. He stared at it for a second before slumping down and quickly opened it and dug through it. Maybe... Hopefully there was something he could do. Something he could use to help his friend. As he searched the large kit, he noticed something. -and if the bleeding is extreme or you don't have the proper equipment to take care of a life-threatening injury, take the tourniquet and apply it to the limb two to three inches above the wound. His hands shook slightly as he picked up the tourniquet and looked back to his friend as he remembered the briefing everyone who had been on the Aurora had to attend. Staff or not. He really hoped he would be able to get this right. That he could save Layne.

~ - ~

Slowly, Layne opened his eyes. It wasn't something he had expected to do again. He isn't generally pessimistic, but when you're missing part of a limb, bleeding out on the beach, with no one around, your hope of survival slims considerably. He allowed himself a moment to feel relieved at still being alive before worrying about where he was. As he stared up at the ceiling of the shelter he realized that he must not have imagined hearing someone call out to him. He blinked and turned his head. Someone was sitting on the floor, head and arms on the make-shift bed, gripping his hand, asleep. Then he realized who it was. “... Cesar,” he rasped. He slowly pulled his hand out from under Cesar's and lightly rested it on his head. Then his friend finally stirred awake.

As Cesar woke, the first thing he realized was he wasn't holding Layne's hand anymore. Then just as he was about to sit upright, he felt something resting on his head. Lifting his head, it slid, his hand- “Layne...” Layne offered him a smile. “You're awake.” Then he jolted upright, fully processing that he was actually awake. “Oh my god, Layne you're awake!” He threw himself over him and hugged him but then quickly pulled back. “I'm sorry, are you okay?”

“I'm okay. You didn't hurt me.” Cesar stared at him, tears stinging his eyes. He swallowed. “I was so scared. You were out for two days. I didn't-”

“Hey.” Layne motioned him over. “Come here.” As Cesar laid down against him again, Layne wrapped his arm around him. “You did your best. I'm alive.” Cesar sniffed. Layne paused for a moment before he continued. “You saved my life, Cesar.” Layne could feel him shaking slightly. Hear him start to cry. “Thank you.” Layne tightened his hold as much as his strength could allow at the moment. “Thank you.”

~~~

And that's all there is (probably will be). Though there is some random info I came up with:

-Geoff essentially takes the role as 'the player character' in the game. -Geoff had learned a bit on how to fix the fabricators (and a bit on how they work in the process) while on the Aurora by a staff member on the ship. -They all get reunited via the signal from Layne's lifepod. -And lastly, this exchange between Cesar and Layne: "How'd you get away?”

Layne shrugged. “Don't know. Maybe I don't taste good.” Cesar was quiet. He couldn't bring himself to find humor given their situation. After a moment of silence, Layne spoke up again. “Sorry, was the joke in bad taste?” he asked with a smile. And Cesar broke.

First of all, I like the "expanding circle" opening transition for the start of the video - it subtly alludes to how this is predominantly a storytelling song/video.

Second of all, hello J None! He is of course the "guest collaborator" for this cover, and it continues the trend of J None returning for almost every single one of VoicePlay's Halloween releases! (Other than Ding Dong/Hide And Seek in 2022, which featured Lauren Paley).

"Hang on guys, something's up!"

I honeestly really love the composition of this shot. I love how there's blue lighting over Eli, J, and Cesar, as our backing vocals trio (or the "American Country Greek Chorus, as I kind of described them in my musical thoughts/commentary post), and then there's gold lighting over Layne and Geoff, as our instrumentalist/protagnist and narrator, respectively. And then you have the grey-white space between the trees in the background (or, well, on the background, really), which is lined up almost perfectly with the tree stump in the midground where the five of them are!

Also as I was first watching this, I got some Classical Chaos vibes from the straw/hay on the ground, and the actual trees used as setpieces, but we'll touch on that some more in a bit. ;)

This partially-obcured shot is a nice touch - it's meant to be a POV shot, like you're looking through the eyes of someone/something spying on VoicePlay while hiding in some bushes. It helps to add a bit of extra suspense! The video even throws in some growls as well (which the audio track doesn't have) (if I had to guess, I'd say it's Geoff or Layne with a bit of extra audio processing, but I can't be sure - it could be a stock sound effect for all I know).

How cool are these star designs? They were created by Angie Woollard, a VoicePlay Patron who makes some incredible artwork using a spirograph - here's her Instagram if you wanna go show her some love! VoicePlay commissioned her to make some designs specifically for their video, and a couple of them even got used for some VoicePlay merch! (I used to have a spirograph myself when I was younger, but it was a basic kids version, and though I still did some cool art with it, none of it was anywhere near as layered and as detailed as what Angie makes!)

Truly a face only a mother could love /lh

Presenting Matthew "Bucky" Buckner, playing The Devil for this video! Bucky is of course no stranger to VoicePlay - he was once briefly a proper member I believe? It might've been back when they were still 4:2:Five? Regardless, in more recent years he's showed up in a couple of Minis (the Candy Crush one, and I'm Gonna Be (500 Miles)), and was the titular Drunken Sailor in VoicePlay's video for it. He's also assisted Geoff behind the scenes for a couple of videos (helped with choreography for Monster Mash, and was a "consultant" for Unshaken, as somebody quite familiar with Red Dead Redemption II. He's even been in a Pattycake Productions video! (Played Prince Charming in Cinderswift).

Kudos as always (or almost always, anyway) to Rick Underwood for the phenomenal work with the makeup prosthetics! It's very awesome that he's still able to find time away from his work at Universal Studios to still help with VoicePlay/Geoff videos from time to time! The things he can do with an airbrush are honestly mind-blowing!

BOY LEMME TELL YOU WHAT

(Also I've only just noticed right now that The Devil also appears to have cloven hooves for feet).

"Who me?" (is what I'm assuming those two violin-string-like noises translated to, lol)

(Also this is at least the second video we've got where Layne is "fear-beatboxing", pfft)

Also also, I of course noticed the star necklace that Layne wears in the video, which has gotta be deliberate, since he's never worn it before and only wears necklaces in videos if its part of a specifically-chosen outfit. I'm guessing it's just meant to symbolise how Layne is on The Good Side, having a right-side-up star, as opposed to The Devil being on The Bad Side, with his upside-down star (i.e. pentagram).

"Johnny" (Layne, kinda) starts by saying "it might be a sin...", and The Devil responds with this hand-wavey gesture, because like, c'mon, this is The Devil you're talking to! There's really no need to apologise for any potential sins of yours in this conversation! (Shoutout to one of the VoicePlay Patrons for pointing this out yesterday in the Discord server)

Love a good fire effect in a video!

Violin rosin is indeed highly flammable, so I've heard. There's some interesting chemical reaction that happens with rosin, I think (or the powdered form, at least), but idk, I've never played any string instrument and I'm not a total chemistry expert. And I digress!

Me too, Geoff, me too

(Also I love how Geoff is kind of an "involved narrator", or whatever the proper term may be (if there is one at all). Like he's narrating the story, but he's also in the story at the same time! Gives me a bit of musical theatre vibes ngl (there's a couple specifically I'm thinking of, one very well known, and one that's more niche).

The callback to In The Hall Of The Mountain King! I talked about it in my musical thoughts/commentary, and I said I'd talk more about it in my Voiceplay Visuals post, and so here I am!

A great reason why it works so well is that anyone who's decently familiar with VoicePlay's Mountain King and Classical Chaos videos would've likely already have been getting those sort of vibes from this video! Not just in the background/set design (like I mentioned a bit further up in this post), but also in the appearance of The Devil Himself. The bright red skin, the large, clawed hands, the fur, the horns, the prosthetics on the ears, nose, and chin - all of it screams "Grundel" (well, to me, anyway - I haven't gotten around to watching any reaction videos for this yet).

While I'm here, the necklace that Cesar is wearing is the same one that he wore for the Party Of Your Lifetime video, and he also wore it in the For The Longest Time "biggie" video!

(Oh and if I had a dollar for every time the VoicePlay guys had makeup applied to their faces/hands/clothing to make them look dirtier, I'd have enough money to up my Patreon tier /lh )

"Bro you good?"

(Not even the narrator is safe from demonic possession! But hey, it gives us a pretty sick bassline!)

I haven't stopped to talk specifically about Geoff's appearance yet (shocker I know), but I haven't found a good-enough closeup frame yet! Regardless, he's got buttons unbuttoned, and the necklace chain is visible, so not much new here, but he did get a haircut recently! The hair is as great as ever of course <3

Bucky does not know how to play the violin (I don't think the gold violin was even properly functional (or at least the bow wasn't) during the filming, iirc from the BTS? Probably for the best, honestly. But hey, Bucky still seemed to have a lot of fun with his performance!

"What was that? 😨"

(In the previous shot, you can see Geoff rubbing the back of his head and patting himself down as he also snaps out of it)

Some fans have suggested that instead of this being Violayne, it's actually 😝

Either way, this is the 4th time we've seen Layne playing the violin/fiddle in a VoicePlay video, so I'll absolutely be making a little photo compilation for it at some point! (Soon, hopefully).

Party time!

(It's very hard to get good screencaps, but Cesar especially is FULLY vibing and going hard on the knee-slapping and it's great)

He's so pretty!!! (It's been too long since I've been able to throw that line into a Voiceplay Visuals post)

If I had a nickel for every time Layne kicked something away and out-of-shot in a VoicePlay Halloween video, I'd have two nickels, which isn't a lot, but it's funny that it's happened twice (in two consecutive years, no less!) (Also lol at how shocked Geoff looks in that third screencap 😂)

If you were wondering how the violin managed to spin and turn so much while flying through the air, the answer is strings! Fishing wire or something like that; when The Devil holds up the golden fiddle, offering it to Johnny, you can see one of the thin translucent strings hanging down from the left side of it, down past The Devil's fingers.

Pfft, not even The Devil Himself is immune to the awesomeness of VoicePlay's music! (And he is Mad About It, though screencaps can't really do it justice)

"Take that!"

I love how The Devil mutters "stupid VoicePlay" as he walks off (also not in the MP3 audio track), which implies that he's heard of them before, or perhaps has even had dealings with them before?! (But also that kind of implies that this is a universe/timeline where they live in Georgia, not Florida, and that Layne is called Johnny. But anyway...)

And we finish the same way we started, but in reverse, with a circle closing to black on the screen towards the centre!

And that's The Devil Went Down To Georgia - VoicePlay style! I actually included 28 images all up, not 30, but with all my yapping, I think I still made a pretty thorough post!

TDWDTG doesn't beat Hunt The Sky for me in terms of favourite VoicePlay song/video for the year, but this absolutely still makes the top 3.