Anyone Else Thirsting After Days Gone’s Deacon St. John?
I’d ride out the end of the world with him. Yes, that’s as much a sexual innuendo as it is a reference to his motorcycle.
SIE Bend Studio and Sony Interactive Entertainment’s April 2019 release, Days Gone, is certainly a game that’s worth the price of purchase. With over a hundred side quests and numerous encounters with cannibalistic hordes, the action-adventure survival-horror title has been a best seller around the world despite mixed reviews from critics. My husband has been playing Day’s Gone throughout his entire vacation, and with over twenty hours put into navigating the post-apocalyptic frontier, there’s still so much left to do and terrifying missions to pursue.
Days Gone fits right into the same realm as The Walking Dead and The Last of Us. And as a fan of both titles, Days Gone was alluring to me as someone who appreciates stories about man versus mutilated wild. It’s easy to put your trust and support into the men and women left to fend for themselves in a world that crumbled under the weight of zombie-like creatures; and you can’t help but to invest in their survival. The Freaker Outbreak may have decimated the world in Days Gone, but I was able to find one thing, one person that gave me hope…and butterflies in my stomach.
I’m talking about the game’s main protagonist, Deacon St. John (sometimes referred to as “Deek”). Prior to The Freaker Outbreak, Deacon grew up in Farewell, Oregon and suffered through a rough childhood thanks to a semi-abusive father. When he was of age, he joined the United States military and served a full tour of duty in Afghanistan; where his squad was attacked by the Taliban and he was forced to save eight people. After being medically discharged following the encounter, Deacon returned to Farewell and started up a job as a mechanic. Soon, he caught the attention of a biker gang – Mongrel MC – as well as the affection of a bio-chemist named Sarah. Following The Freaker Outbreak, Deacon works as a mercenary and bounty hunter in exchange for supplies and ammunition alongside his best friend, Boozer.
According to several sources, Deacon’s character was toned down after failing to impress test audiences. He was seen as too cold and uncaring and as a stereotype more than a relate-able character. I’m glad that this happened because I’m infatuated with Deacon St. John. It’s a combination of his overbearing masculinity and secret heart of gold that’s making me thirst for a (probably) dirty man in the end of the world. I mean, who doesn’t love a guy covered in tattoos who carries a large gun and sits atop an old school motorcycle? It makes me want to get kidnapped by a warring band of thieves just so Deacon has to save me. Oh, how could I ever repay you? Watching his love story with Sarah unfold on screen makes me narrow my eyes and think, “That should have been me.”
At one point in the game, we get long cut-scenes and game-play of Deacon without a shirt on. Luckily, my favorite bounty hunter still impresses with a toned body despite not having a gym membership because, well, there’s no gyms in the wilderness and Freakers would follow him there anyway. That point in the game only increases my thirst for Deacon because he’s easy on the eyes to begin with and now I’m wondering what else he’s hiding under his clothes. I’m sure some sort of fan fiction involving Deacon and Joel from The Last of Us will pop up on the internet and I cannot wait for that to happen. And, as always, someone will eventually draw some x-rated fan art of Deacon because it happens with almost every video game character. I can’t wait to discover that, too.
Have you played Days Gone yet? Are you thirsting after Deacon St. John, too? He’s definitely a welcomed character in a game that’s honestly fun and enjoyable, and if that isn’t the icing on the cake, I don’t know what else is. He’s a strong-willed warrior, a cunning crusader, a take no crap survivor with a heart of gold and damnit if he isn’t smoking hot.
About The Author
Considering “Deek” is the CGI version of Sam Witwer, then it’s easy to say that I’m thirsting after him. Of course I was thirsting after him back when “thirsting” wasn’t yet a thing when he was Galen “Starkiller” Marek in the “Star Wars: The Force Unleashed” series and the live version of him from the series, “Being Human.” His broodiness and struggle of being a vampire trying to do good in “Being Human” reminds me a bit of his “Deek” character in “Days Gone.”
Sam has been some amazingly memorable characters during his career, from an undead Tank Soldier in “The Walking Dead” (ironically the episode was called “Days Gone By”), to Davis Bloome/Doomsday in “Smallville.” from Crashdown in “Battlestar Galactica” to Ben Lockwood/Agent Liberty on “Supergirl.” Not to mention he has voiced Darth Maul and Emperor Palpatine in numerous video games since 2006. So for me it’s easier to say I’m “thirsting” after Sam Witwer moreso than all the many characters he’s portrayed during his career.