Game Theory: Don’t Feed The M̶̂͂̑̀͆̏͝U̴̠̿͒̂̏s̸̽̐̏͒͒̐̚Ḛ̴̜͙̠̘͌̽̎̕͝ (Alex Bale ARG)

vent, the same black liquid we see appear in the black goo in Alex's fifth Spongebob

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that it comes from a muse. So it would seem that the cynical critic also has a muse deep down. And he waits, wasn't Mark also one of Happy Meat Farm's sponsored creators? Now you start to see how these pieces of the puzzle come together. During Cynical Critics' video "Responding to Hate Comments," we see a brief flash of his Gmail account. Based on the subject lines and email previews, we get basically the entire backstory of this character. He explains that his mother has lost her health insurance and she can't afford to pay for it.

He also appears to have had a falling out with his business partner, Anthony, because he began resorting heavily to clickbait and aggressively negative videos. It's almost as if someone or something gave him advice on how to make his channel more successful. And wouldn't you know? One email later, he's a receipt for a bunch of raw meat. It seems someone ignored the warnings and fed the muse. Shortly after, we see a notice that Anthony is missing. Before finally, the important thing. Emails from Happy Meat Farm, wanting a sponsorship. Forget the premature disappearance of your best friend. It's all about that money, baby! #SPON The story becomes even more explicit with its final upload. "Why 1313 Paradox Street is an instant classic?".

Here Mark reviews a short film produced by, who knew? HMF Entertainment. Happy Meat Farm is at it again. In this video, we see the cynical critic trying to escape the Muse only for the Muse to see him. A tentacle emerges from the darkness and grabs him. We cut to a cynical, smiling critic who ends the video of him with black liquid dripping from his nose. And, although I could tell you what you're seeing here. I might as well show you. If you stop the video at minute 7:09, you will find the answer. Hidden text that reads: "Phase Three, full host assimilated, digestion begins, awaiting reconnection." And you see, this is Project Nightmare, hosts are attacked and manipulated by these Muses, who then manipulate other hosts.

Mark, the cynical critic, is broken by the pressure of making money while his mother struggles with medical bills. He kills his partner in a disagreement. The guilt and pressure he feels finally pushes him to voluntarily surrender to the monster. And in the end, they leave him there before the camera as a smiling, posing corpse responsible for producing new content. It's exactly the same thing we saw happen with Ramona Bynes, original founder of HMF. They are consumed, digested, assimilated and cloned, turned into a smiling, talking head on camera, a smiling head that then directs the attack at another person.

That's why Mark's criticism openly attacks and antagonizes Alex Bale. It is a psychological war. The Muse is trying to bring Alex down, make him succumb. It's Project Nightmare. And despite resisting for a long time, even Alex succumbs. In his ninth SpongeBob conspiracy

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, the final shot is of him being consumed, literally eaten by a replica of himself. Except what we know about Alex is gone. Only SpongeBob boy remains. Now, these types of messages and mini-mysteries are hidden in Alex and Cynical Critics' videos, of course, but also in other channels. Carl Conspiracy, Paradox 1313, Sonic the Blue Rat.

The list goes on and on. Some of them require encryption. Others require you to match the words in the script with the numbers that appear on the screen. But they all refer to these phases; make guests comply with the rules, plant spores and eventually do digestion, as we read on the Happy Meat Farms website. And speaking of that website, if you still weren't convinced that these two ARGs were connected, I decided to check out the Happy Meat Farms website banner, just like I did with Alex Bale's channel. And guess what I found. Behind where the text box usually is, there was a mutant cow and the word MUSE written on it, clear as day.

Boom! Case closed Theorists. These YouTubers are being digested 100% by mom's sons: the Muses. So, knowing what we know now, I ask again: what exactly is being digested? I guess it's passion? creativity? Maybe some level of ethics? These creators, for various reasons, sought fame and fortune, but ended up resorting to creatively unsatisfying clickbait content. They achieved their success, but the routine of audiences only being interested in a specific type of content has caused them to become lost, replaced by a soulless clone that is successful but is really just a shadow of their former selves. Making lifeless videos not because they want to, but because it's the only thing that anyone else seems to care about.

All of this in the service of a much more powerful monster: the YouTube algorithm... I mean, mother. With a final charge in 2023 to end the new saga, I suspect it will be a bittersweet conclusion. Of course, Alex will manage to overcome his muse and regain control of the channel. But that doesn't mean it's going to be a happy ending. YouTube and the algorithm will continue to exist. Happy Meat Farm and Mother will still be there looking for new hosts, new creators who will create the content they want to push on the platform, things where they can place higher-paying ads to satisfy their insatiable appetite.

Will viewers still see the content he wants to create, defying the algorithm? That's the question he's going to ask. And that is the answer we will have to see. So theorists, if there's one thing we can take away from this episode, it's that we all have our own role to play in this. Sure, we can point the finger at YouTube and the algorithm by blaming them for empty, lifeless content. But those systems

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on us, the viewers. We tell those programs what we see. Unless we're talking about shorts, in which case they imposed it on us.

Anyway, if one of your favorite creators tries something new, try it, watch it, and support it. The first time will be a little difficult, but by supporting them, we allow them to continue refining that idea until it becomes something incredible. Do you want proof? It's right here in these two ARGs. I mean, it's been a wild ride. The riddles, the story, the message. All of it absolutely fantastic. But it's very different from what people expect from Alex's usual content. However, as time has passed and support has been given, you can literally see the quality, puzzles, and story improve.

So do your part and at least try to support the creators you love, no matter what they decide to do, because you never know what amazing story you might get out of it. And Alex, go win this one for humanity, buddy. I'm looking forward to the big conclusion to all of this here. I'm sure there will be plenty of bone-in meat to chew on. Or, you know, if you get bored, you can always do more SpongeBob theories here. But hey, that's just a theory, A GAME THEORY! Thanks for watching. If you are already subscribed to the channel.

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