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vestaclinicpod · 9 months

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Audio Drama Sunday - 30th July ✨

Another great week of audio drama has kept my brain busy while my data collection is less busy. Happy Audio Drama Sunday, please allow me to share my favourites!

SPOILERS!!

🌲 @hellofromthehallowoods (127) Oh NO Mrs Wicker get your children away from that Church!!!! I love to hear the J-sibs starting to push back against her, long may it continue! I'm also still obsessed with the Raven-Writing Desk dynamic and it's only going to get juicier when Mr Writing Desk actually wants to follow Penny’s demands… And Danielle!! I love that she still gets to be an active help in the mission to the North in a way that doesn’t feel like deus ex machina because it’s just her.

🎞 Tiny Terrors (022) this episode had me yelling ‘what’s the catch?!?!?’ internally and I’ve just seen that the wait is over to listen to the other side of the tape!! Angela, what are you??

🌍 @lastechoespod (7) As some of you may know. . . I am a huge fan of Drs in Space. This episode had me gripped, those poor people 😭 What a cruel scare tactic from the Collected for that to be played to the people trying to decide whether to join. I’m so tense to hear what the final archival selection is going to be!

🧛‍♂️ @re-dracula Things are TENSE aboard the Demeter. Even in <60s of audio, the creeping dread is so palpable. And Mina, sweet Mina! So thrilled to have her back! Listening rather than reading has makes it so much easier to parse the long, chunky sections describing Whitby!! I have high hopes that I'm going to stick with it to the very end this time.

💫 Wolf 359 (24-32) Oh fuck. I am so glad I have all the episodes to listen to at once. I could NOT have dealt with the wait between seasons. Ep 30, Mayday, is possibly one of the coolest things I’ve ever heard. I love that feeling of rooting for a character so hard that you forget that they don’t really exist and that you know they make it because there are another 30 eps of the show left. And the new characters - Kepler, Jacobi, Maxwell - wow, I LOVE to hate them. They’re fantastic in the worst way.

🎩 @ethicstownpod (5) Things got a little creepy on the emergency broadcast this week. Memory is created as it is recalled?? What?? My mind is boggled. I’m very excited to hear how this, and what seems to be a growing discomfort between January and Artemis, plays out in the next episodes!

🥾@doyoucopypod (3) Now. Hear me out. I know that being stuck up in a radio tower all day has got to be boring but I do think there might be a better time to flirt with your colleague than when 3 people are missing in a place called the ‘Dead Zone’ where strange ecological events are occurring . . . Just me?? Have I got the braincell here??? I’m so excited for these shenanigans to get even spookier.

🏴‍☠️ Yeah. I listened to @levianpod again. What are you going to do? Support their crowdfunder? Good. Do it.

🎧 Such an interesting episode of The First Episode Of with @wirelandranch! The wireland vibes have always been immaculate and it’s so interesting to learn about where it came from and why it’s an amalgamation rather than a straight-up audio drama.

🐬 Described as a weird mystery, @patterspod is exactly that. It’s batshit in the best possible way. Perhaps I hang out with strange people, but the main character is so normal in his weirdness, I feel like most people know a guy like Ryan even though Ryan is a liar ghostwriter trying to hunt down his thieving EX-boss with ?paranormal connections. It’s great stuff.

I hope everyone has a lovely weekend! My goal is to have season two of the show written by the start of August . . . So I should stop writing this and get to writing that . . . Right? Okay.

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unkledeath · 7 days

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Art of @j-l-kepler ‘s awesome tiefling siblings, Eckhart and Emerleigh Markolac, grabbing a drink with my tav Ezra! These two are such charming characters, I had to do a little something for them.

(They just saw Volo walk into the tavern and Ezra is spilling ALL the juiciest gossip about him, you wouldn’t believe that the wildest stories about him are the ones that are actually true.)

#my art #ocs: ezra deschain #baldur's gate 3 #bg3 #jlkepler

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crossguild · 1 year

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the really tragic thing about kepler is that he genuinely likes people. maybe not every individual person, but every long story short is at its core a story about people (including himself) being dumb (affectionate). his suspicion and wariness of the dear listeners is predicated entirely on the threat they might pose to the human race, something that's deeply important to him.

the reason he turns on cutter is because he at least genuinely believes that he's acting in service to humanity, unlike rachel young whose canonically stated motives were essentially 'was bored, thought it'd be funny to torture people on company dime'

the trust the si5 openly display for each other wouldn't have fallen apart so spectacularly if it wasn't sincere. he rarely if ever played mindgames with j&m because there was never a need to; they were always on the same page.

like, you don't buy 50lbs of fireworks for your friend/coworker and then take him on a ten-hour stakeout for a power trip. that would be an insane reading of the character that completely ignores everything the production crew have said, and the way kepler was written in the text of the podcast itself. you do it cause you wanna make your very whiny friend happy and it's funny to fuck with him a little bit before you give him his present.

he's poised as a threat because he's not some sadistic goon (you know... like riemann) and his professionalism is enabled by the ability to be genuinely empathetic and charming, both qualities you need to predict and manipulate other people. violence is consistently a last resort, especially when he can negotiate and persuade instead. this dude has a hard time emotionally connecting to people, but he consistently displays an awareness of and respect for the potential of other people, whether or not they're actually human.

i really get the impression that if he weren't working for goddard, and if he hadn't been under cutter's influence for so long, he'd have been pretty happy in any kind of job where he gets to regularly interact with and help other people in a high-pressure situation. it's just unfortunate that those are also the qualities cutter wanted out of his black ops guy

#warren kepler #wolf 359 #still thinking about cometverse thank u charlotte #takes a break from genshin to put the bastard man in a jar and shake him up a bit

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nammikisulora · 3 months

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#wolf 359 #kepcobi #warren kepler #daniel jacobi #polls

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lalalian · 27 days

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LITERALLY every single DR I have

I have not completed the scripts for most of them 😭😭

KEYS: 💭 = Non-Media / Not from a book, movie, or show DR

Sorry if the grammar is bad, I’m too lazy to look over this post 😭😭

Magical Girl DR 💭

heavily inspired by Precure bcccc it’s cute. Who doesn’t want to fight enemies with frilly dresses?

Regular School DR 💭

School but like filled with drama, I have some things written out 😭😭 it’s super 2015 Wattpad-y so idk if I’m gonna talk abt it

Fantasy Minecraft YouTuber DR 💭

I KNOW WHAT YOURE THINKING… I DO NOTTTT LIKE ANY MINECRAFT YOUTUBER OTHER THAN LDSHADOWLADY AND SNIFFERFISH. I MEAN THAT LITERALLY. don’t misunderstand, please and thank you 🫶

Dreamscape Station DR 💭

I had a vision, but I’ve yet to work on this script enough for me to post a lot about it 😞 I did post about it tho on my TikTok account! Essentially it’s like the backrooms but cute, ethereal, not dangerous (kinda), and full of shifters from other realities. You take a train to different parts of ‘Dreamscape’ and explore! I made tickets for this DR too 😭😭

K-Pop Stan Life DR 💭

Self explanatory. I’m gonna be a fansite, buy as many albums as I could possibly buy, and trade cards with ppl online + provide lots of freebies!

J-Pop Idol DR (💭 kinda)

This was a requested script from someone on my request form (I’ve just realized I didn’t link my request form here on tumblr… it should be up before anyone’s read this). I ended actually using this script for my love live DR cuz my old love live scripts were the ugliest thing on the planet

Obsidian Bride DR

Obsidian Bride is a manhwa that’s literally Singles Inferno but in an isekai otome manhwa world + everyone’s based off a gem, your gem is chosen based on your life and personality!

MHA DR

I was influenced to shift here bc of Priicklleshifts on TikTok 😭😭😭. I don’t really like the actual anime that much, but it seems like a really fun place to shift to! The script for this DR is 100% complete (I haven’t added anything to it for months now)

Wind Breaker DR

Wind Breaker’s a bike racing manhwa that you can read for free on Webtoon. Idk who I’m gonna date, but I literally CANNOT date Jay bc he reminds me of my brother 😭😭

Made of Stardust DR

I’m so mad that nobody’s shifting here 😭 if you like fantasy romance books, stars, enemies to lovers, magical forests, angst, etherealism, I bet your ass would want to shift here. I plan to be Kalisa, and so far I don’t want to change the plot

Futuristic K-Pop DR 💭

Also self explanatory. I do have a filled version of this DR up if anyone wants to use it (It’s not in my current format tho cuz the script is old asf😭). I scripted in a contestant show where the contestants would come from different planets (Mars, Earth, and Kepler smth… I don’t remember the numbers)

Better CR DR 💭

The place I’ll probably be permashifting to

Hallows Ball DR 💭

Okay so I started this script like 2 years ago or smth and I was supposed to finish it before Halloween (it’s a masquerade ball DR but with a twist) and I just haven’t finished it yet 😭 let’s hope I finish it this year

How to Get my Husband on my Side DR

Another manhwa DR!

TGCF DR

I bought the first book to read bc I absolutely loved the anime 😭😭 I haven’t read more than like 30 pgs… I just really don’t like it when books are in third person 😭😭

Fantasy Kpop DR 💭

I completely forgot about this DR until I went through my TikTok account to see how ugly my themes were 😭😭 Basically this DR is set in a fantasy world, each of the kpop groups I scripted in are of different species (fae, vampires, elves, etc…) and I’ve gotta gather certain groups to help me find artifacts in every single kingdom so that magic doesn’t disappear (so corny omfggg…)

Hogwarts DR

I only wanted to shift here bc everyone else wanted to 😭😭

Old Kpop DR 💭

Not gonna shift here anymore, but the script is complete 😭😭 I remade it for my Kpop contestant DR

Kpop Contestant DR 💭

Self explanatory, there’s filled and non filled versions on my linktree

My Own Kpop Group DR 💭

This script happens in the same reality as my Kpop contestant one, this is this group I’ll be in once my contestant group disbands. My own Kpop group is time and mythology themed!

Laurier Academy DR 💭

An actual idol school DR, you learn how to be a Kpop idol + a bunch of other stuff. I made a whole school website for this DR and there’s a four versions of this script:

Filled Co-Ed

Empty Co-Ed

Filled Girls Only

Empty Girls Only

(Co-ed is all genders in one school)

Elite School DR 💭

Idk why anyone uses this script bc not only is it ugly but the formatting is 😨😨 this was my first script that I posted to TikTok, and it has all the characters from my other DRs as students. Idk why, but I made everyone has an animal form. Mines a cat (kinda boring but I wanna be able to sneak around 😭)

Dragon Rider Academy (Aethergarde Academy DR) 💭

There’s also a filled version of this script in my linktree, don’t recommend it tho cuz it’s also poorly formatted and ugly. I think this was the second script I posted on my TikTok account

Shifting Library DR (Realmwalker Library) 💭

It’s a shifting library but better! All the books here are written by shifters. There’s different sections for world building, storytimes, quizzes, fanfics (of other ppls DRs), tips & methods, nsfw storytimes (adults only plz), philosophy related to shifting, and discussions about shifting (idk why I didn’t just merge discussions with philosophy..). Don’t be surprised if some or most of the shifters here aren’t human! I scripted that all non malevont beings that shift can come here; this does also mean that the books are automatically translated into the language you understand best. Oh and the authors aren’t always going to be human.

Love and Deepspace DR

My script for this one is pretty much complete, but I really want to know more about MC’s evol before shifting here 😭

Mental Health DR

I won’t talk about this DR at all on TikTok or on here (sorry) bc it’s super personal and I don’t want to seem like a damn baby 😭😭. I’m actually kind of scared of men irl, plus I didn’t have the best high school experience in my DR. My goal with this DR is to practice talking to people and get over my fear of men. This DR is my first ever DR; my original intent with shifting is to help get over my fear of men + people in general, especially taller people

Waiting Room

My waiting room is essentially an isekai manhwa mansion 😭😭 I scripted that there’s a serving cart with one of those 3 tiered afternoon snack things + milk tea, the milk tea has special properties that calm me down immediately when I drink it. My goal is to use the smell of the tea to know that I’ve shifted, and to drink the tea so I don’t fuck myself over and shift back to my OR 😭😭

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nobodysdaydreams · 3 months

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Doug and Hera need to have their own spin-off comedy space podcast/sudden therapy be a regular thing, because there's no other duo I'd rather see confront Cutter outside of his office documentary style with cameras and mics demanding an explanation for his many crimes🎙️

(Or my reaction to episodes 50-52 of Wolf359)

Welcome back dear readers! It's been a long day, and I know it's been a long time since I've reacted so I thought I'd sit down for a little Wolf359 this evening. Please enjoy!

Tagging the mutuals who got me invested in this, and if you want to be tagged or untagged from these posts, lmk, or you can follow my blog or simply follow the tag "#bods wolf359 reactions". Anyone who has followed me for a while knows my updates are inconsistent, so I apologize in advance for that and for any spelling/grammar mistakes in my posts.

@sophieswundergarten @oflightningandstars @acollectionofcuriousreblogs @herawell @commsroom

Episode 50: The Hiccups Method

I agree Minkowski. When will Kepler get it through his head?

👏 No. 👏 One. 👏 Cares. 👏 What. 👏 He. 👏 Thinks. 👏

With all of Jacobi's sarcasm, I think he and Doug would have been drinking buddies in another life where things were different.

Poor Lovelace. I can see why she doesn't want to take the risk. These aliens are interesting. They called out Kepler for his violence, but they themselves have been extremely violent and hostile. Do they genuinely not realize how fragile humans are? Do they think humans can regenerate like they can so they don't bother being careful? Are they just not used to being careful?

Oh right. Because Hera has been taken over before too. She knows what it's like.

Hera deserves her moment. I hope she gets it, whatever it looks like.

Maybe they could listen to the music. Maybe that will draw the aliens out. They did seem to enjoy the tunes. 🎶📻👽

I mean...the brain IS like a computer...but it's not exact. It's way more complicated. And a "part alien" brain? Let's see how this goes...

Ah the creepy background music. 🎶 That must mean it's working.

Eiffel! Oh dear. I guess Lovelace doesn't do well with creepy silence and breathing.

I know that sound. A treadmill. My old enemy. /j /treadmills are actually fine, it's the pacer that gets me.

Oh no this sounds terrible. I'd be out. Bods would not be a pretty sight. I'll spare you all the details.

Keep trying Eiffel, I believe in you!

And it's not your fault Lovelace. It's none of your faults.

Well except Kepler it is his fault for sure. And Jacobi.

Kepler's idea would probably involve chugging some whiskey.

Oh this is bad too. I should have figured. Kepler would have probably hoarded the whiskey for himself anyway. Not to drink, but just to enjoy the feel in his...well feet now I guess since he um...could use a hand right now.

The aliens did make Lovelace pretty indestructible... except for the one that killed itself that they heard about...oh maybe they can self-destruct.

As horrible as they were, it would be way more useful to have Maxwell or Hilbert around. I get why they had to die. If you have characters who can explain things, you lose the plot. But it would be strategic to trade Jacobi and Kepler for them.

Oh they don't sleep much? Interesting. What happens when she sleeps? Do they take the data from her brain?

Alien duplicates have a more complex brain stem? Interesting. A more complex life support and control system.

Norepinephrine. I struggled to pronounce it to Doug.

So that would mean she needs the opposite of alcohol.

DOUG WHAT IS THIS PLAN?

HERA CAN IMITATE THEIR VOICES? That's kind of cool. I hope she uses that later to trick Cutter and Pryce.

"Complete the process?"

Cliff notes? Key inside is outside? Enter in order to leave? Douglas must what?

Do they want them to fly into the star? Is that why they tried to drag them in before? Is that what the aliens mean by "Kalabunga"?

They know that doesn't work with humans right? They've seen human bodies, they know that can't work right? Are they trying to make more human clones? Why?

Good work, Doug. At least they know what the aliens want now. Sort of.

Episode 51: Shut Up and Listen

Sophie has really been hyping up this episode, so I'm excited to listen.

I love these intros. ✨Hera✨, Captain Isabelle Lovelace the Second, all the aliases for Hilbert 😂 "Boom-boom wow Jacobi" oh my gosh the Kepler one 😂

Professor D.F. Eiffel. What is his middle name? What is he a professor of?

The Hephaestus files! I love the intro theme. It's very drama. UF Overview is good too.

Again with the dramatic music. This is perfect. I love Doug and Hera together they're fantastic!

Please Minkowski being the mom. "You're not poisoning anyone on your radio show are you?"

Man, Doug is never living down this "you poisoned yourself" thing.

Oh right the radio signals. The ones that couldn't possibly from 8 years ago, because no radio station has ever played old music before. It’s not like we have whole stations dedicated to music from the 70’s and 80’s.

Why are we listening to Kepler's opinions on the aliens? They already made it clear they don't like violence. Kepler tried to get violent and they chopped his hands off and talked down to him. These aliens don't really even seem to talk normally. Do they even normally communicate with sound?

The lion speech actually makes sense. You don't know what "that's a nice scent there" means.

But Kepler. You are ASSUMING that you can't get where the dear listeners are technology wise without doing horrible things. And even if that is true, you are also assuming that's where you want to be. Why are these aliens taking such an interest in you? Maybe they're desperate. You literally just said you don’t know anything about how they work, and now you’re claiming to know everything. Whatever fits your worldview I guess.

"Finish the process quickly" sure sounds urgent to me.

As for Maxwell's language logs, maybe Hera can take a look.

I knew it! Hera can understand it.

Math is math. There we go! And binary gives you yes and no. Simple, but effective for answering questions.

I'm sorry Hera. I know Maxwell wasn't here for you, but she was there for a while. I'm sorry she didn't make a better choice. It’s sad to think that if they made better choices in another life, Maxwell and Jacobi might have actually been friends with these guys.

"How to listen. How much have we missed already?" That's a good metaphor for life too.

Not the Goddard Futuristics sponsorship 😂😂😂

"Do you want to do horrible things? Do you wish more of your time was taken up by conspiracy theories? Are you tired of just being evil on earth and want to be evil 🚀in space🛰️?" 😂😂😂

"Experiences no other human has ever gone through" right, but Lovelace is technically not totally human. (no offense. Biologically I mean).

"The Doug Eiffel charm" oh goodness

"What could possibly go wrong" DO NOT ASK THAT QUESTION DOUGLAS.

The wonderful record scratch and future Hera. 😂

"Fancy meeting you here...in the bridge...of a space station...the USS Hephaestus" I can just tell Doug ran a comb through his hair and threw on his best shirt for this. And that’s all you need. Max effort. Charm to 100% 😂

✨my casual stance😎✨

smooth Doug, very smooth

"I won't record you without your permission" 😂

I would not be surprised at all if Cutter and Pryce have listened to 100% of their journey. Microphones hidden everywhere.

"Don't pull others into your sinking boat" you're all in the same boat.

Wow. Lovelace is getting real here. "What would Isabelle Lovelace do?"

Lovelace you are YOU. ...Aw, she wants to feel like herself again. You can still be you Lovelace.

"That doesn't work. You know why?" oh because she's not her? Eiffel? Oh no.

Oh Hera. He was afraid of Hera? Windup girl? Hal9000 impressions? Doug, they weren't just jokes, and you know it. That's why you stopped.

"People are always going to be afraid of me, aren't they?"

Ouch.

And Doug did deserve that slap. It know jokes are how he copes, but poor Hera and Lovelace.

...yeah that DID happen. And I'd imagine Doug has been MIA. He's probably ashamed.

Doug, they know you're not a bad guy. We all make mistakes, but you need to apologize.

Doug is not the best listener or good at remembering or reading subtext. Me too buddy. It's okay. Dang they really called me out with this character and I don’t like this part. Can we go back to him being funny and a good friend and the only person brave enough to point out the obvious “killing people is wrong”?

Minkowski's speech about how hard it was to change her language and accent was a lot. I wonder what she thought about all those times Doug mocked Hilbert’s accent and Nationality? It also makes me wonder whether the aliens are doing the same with them. Not the mocking, but changing their speech. Are they just trying to communicate or do they want to create a certain impression?

But this is getting sad. Why does this feel like a forever goodbye? I don't like that. I don't like that at all.

"That's the thing about you Eiffel. You try. You really really try. And then you stop trying. Don't stop."

Let's see if he does.

I also love that Hera continued the podcast even though she got mad at Doug. She's so sweet. HAHA...The Hephaestus Files, nice. Hera deserves that.

I love the exit music 🎶🎶🎶

I feel like this episode might be a good metaphor for the aliens and communication. Doug didn't listen to what his coworkers were really saying. Maybe the aliens are the same way. Who knows.

Hm. I should go to bed now.

Eh...one more couldn't hurt.

Episode 52: Constructive Criticism

Oh Hera's trying to take care of him. It's okay Hera, he'll get over it, he just needs time.

Good thoughts Doug! You're listening! Why classical music? What's so special about that to them? Maybe they don't have a concept of sound or music! Maybe that's what they came for! You're doing it Doug! Good job!

The music is what they are sending. The point is why.

Be careful, Doug. She cares about you. Your friends care about you!

Oh Doug. RUN!

What would he do without Hera?

Did Lovelace gag him? Is this Kepler or Jacobi?

...why does Hilbert's lab have it's own pressure and air? To protect the experiments or give Hilbert a way out? Is there a way to detach the lab?

Also, it was only a matter of time. Cutter's errand boys kept chiming in when they weren't wanted. I'm surprised they weren't gagged sooner.

"The rules apply to Eiffel?" I suspect many rules were created specifically for or because of Eiffel.

A game? Not Funzo I hope.

Huh. Fortunately, Unfortunately sounds like a fun story telling game.

The story will tell you when to stop. Or you get bored. Or everyone dies.

Well not everyone I hope.

Oh Jacobi was that kid wasn’t he?

A WEEK? What happened to Doug? I knew he'd be upset after what happened, but yikes.

I knew it. The NPR special. Doug's punishing himself.

Looks like Kepler and Jacobi are getting on slightly better terms. Don't like that.

Hera. Hera no! HERA!

Oh right. She doesn't want to do a full reset of her personality. She doesn't want to delete herself even if she won't remember.

Don't ask Kepler for his games.

Oh now Jacobi is upset. I wonder what happened to him during the last round.

Wait, the you can only ask questions game! I love that game!

"Run away while you still can" no thanks Jacobi I'll play.

Kill him, Hera. Ask him about his Whiskey.

Now here's a good question. How did Jacobi end up here?

Oh right...Kepler's too proud to stop the game. This is perfect.

So Goddard did some good things. Wonderful. But you can't kill someone, show up in court, and cry "what about the millions I gave to the orphaned children?" YOU COULD HAVE STILL DONE THAT WITHOUT KILLING PEOPLE.

And good and bad DOES matter when you talk about progress, because it determines what you are progressing towards. FORWARD TOWARDS WHERE JACOBI? ASK YOURSELF WHY DOES THE WORLD WORK THAT WAY? DO YOU THINK THAT'S A GOOD THING? ASK DEEPER QUESTIONS YOU SIMPLETON!

"There aren't sides. There's people you do things to and people you do things for"

So Jacobi would kill them if given the opportunity. Tell me something I don't know. Pity he wasn't interested in the redemption arc. I was hoping somebody, ANYBODY would reach for it. The standard is low. The bar is on the floor.

Doug just wants to be helpful. Poor guy.

Yeah Doug, I know how this feels. It hurts. It's okay buddy. It's okay. They're still you're friends. You’re not worthless.

Oh his poor stomach.

And...Hera wins the game! Yay! 🥳

That's a lot of music. But again, why. Why do they need the music?

I'm beginning to like fortunately, unfortunately game. Let’s try it.

Fortunately, Jacobi had a come to Jesus moment and decided to stop blowing things up and stop threatening to kill people...oh dang it Jacobi!

Should have seen that coming.

#bods wolf359 reactions #wolf359 #renee minkowski #isabel lovelace #doug eiffel #alexander hilbert #hera wolf 359 #wolf 359 #w359 #hera w359 #daniel jacobi #warren kepler #wolf 359 spoilers #wolf359 hera #hera wolf359 #dear listeners #wolf359 reactions #wolf359 reaction #wolf359 podcast

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aro-oak · 1 year

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Fix it fics where Warren J Kepler lived and then had to deal with the consequences of his own actions >>>>>>>

#let that man suffer #put him back on earth with NOTHING #only righteous hatred from Jacobi #let him regret everything for the rest of his days #his ambition means nothing #hes my poor little meow meow #<3 and i want him to suffer #w359 kepler #wolf 359 kepler #warren kepler #w359 #wolf 359

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scarlet-the-girl · 7 months

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The Friends You Make

Chapter 1: A Turned Page

Writer's Note: Until I can get an AO3 account, this is where I shall be posting this. Please enjoy.

5127

I stopped at a lovely little café today called the Sweet Surprise. It was run by a little foxkin named Lydia. She carried pepper and cheese rolls I think you would adore. They would’ve paired well with your summer blend of tea.

I miss you.

J. Stern

Joseph woke up in a cold sweat, not remembering where he was for a moment. That was happening more and more often these days, and it was starting to look like a bad omen. But nevertheless, Joseph had to get up and find another assignment.

He efficiently repacked his items into his backpack and dressed, making sure to style his black hair (neat and slicked back) and polish his curved ram’s horns before he stepped out of his room at the inn. He made sure to grab some of the provided breakfast before setting out on another long walk that day: coffee with plenty of milk in it for now and his thermos, along with a flaky pastry filled with sweet cream and peaches.

He checked his map one last time before heading down a dirt highway towards the closest village. It was shaping up to be another quiet walk, alone. In these times, Joseph had a lot of silence his mind could fill with any number of problems or ruminations.

This had been Joseph’s way of life, ever since he left home at 18 to find a purpose of his own. He’d joined the F.G.I (Fantasy Guild of Investigation) to help in the U.P. division, finding unexplained troubles in towns and villages and determining whether or not the troubles were of magical or mundane origin. If they were mundane, Joseph had the authority to handle the situation as he saw fit. If it was magical? Well, he kept the population as safe as he could, while contacting and waiting for magically inclined guild members to come and take care of it.

This lifestyle did not facilitate a plethora of friendships and relationships in Joseph’s life, or a home he could call his own. Why did Joseph live like this? A combination of many factors: A drive to succeed and better himself to the point of exhaustion at times, the fear of opening himself up to people without the complete reassurance that they wouldn’t use that against him one day, and a phantom he’d been hunting for ages now.

Though Joseph Stern did not know it, today would be start of a new chapter for him, forcing him out of his monotonous lifestyle, whether he liked it or not.

Many miles and hours later, Joseph arrived at his destination, Huntington. A relatively large, but quiet trade city that usually had many problems to solve, though the size of those varied. Joseph hadn’t been to this side of the continent yet in his travels and was eager to explore and learn what he could. If nothing else, it would be another place to rest and perhaps hear whispers about another village’s problems that he could go help with.

Joseph was also grateful to be in a relatively diverse city, so he wasn’t the only tiefling in town. He’d trained himself not to care about the gaping stares of others in more insular towns, but it was still nice not to need to put up as many defenses.

Though Joseph’s investigation of the city turned up nothing he could help with, he was pointed towards a message board that the other villages nearby used to get adventurer’s attention in the case of a crisis. On that well used message board was a fresh plea from someone in a nearby village:

To anyone dumb enough to walk these lands for adventure,

Something is threatening our town. Buildings keep getting ransacked, people are getting hurt and our guys can’t handle shit. So come to Kepler and help, but I can’t pay you nothing.

- Pidgeon

After the brief note was a list of directions to take someone to Kepler the quickest way. Joseph decided that this seemed vague enough to at least warrant a visit and some questions. But before leaving, he had to complete his own side quest. Though today would not bring any more results than the last 14 years.

It was the same in every village, town and city Joseph ever visited on his travels: go into each bakery, restaurant, and café he could find in the area, give them the description of a tall Bugbear with dark brown eyes and a gentle demeanor by the name of Barclay, and asked them if they’d ever seen him pass through town. The answer was always no. Joseph knew it would be. He rarely got his hopes up anymore, but it still stung nevertheless.

Luckily, he didn’t have time to linger as he headed off towards the village of Kepler. It wasn’t as far of a walk comparatively, and as he made his way into forests that seemed to surround Kepler, he found a warning sign staked by the road.

Warning: You are moving into a Natural Resonant Quiet Zone. Magical means of communication will have a higher Arcane Spell Failure Chance going out and into the NRQZ. Please be advised when preparing daily spells within the Monongahela Forest.

Joseph nodded, recognizing the warning. He’d heard about the magical properties of the Monongahela Forest and was excited to see what the woods and the village of Kepler would have to offer. It proved to be fascinating even from the path, as he witnesses a rabbit hopping into a hole on a log, and then that same rabbit hopping out of a different hole on a different log.

It only took a bit more walking for Joseph to find the sign announcing the entrance to Kepler and the quaint buildings that made it up. It was getting into early evening when Joseph arrived and everyone was making their way to their homes or an inn for supper. It seemed obvious to Joseph that this was a mostly human town, as he was granted the usual stares from the villagers; though they weren’t as alarmed or prolonged, which made Joseph a tiny bit more relaxed. But he understood the stares, even if he disliked them. There was never a wide variety of tall, blue tieflings wherever he went.

Not too far from the center of town was a beautiful wooden building surrounded by a lush garden. The sign read ‘Amnesty Lodge’ with a sign below adding ‘All are welcomed here’. Well, that was good enough for Joseph as he followed the wooden plank path up to the Lodge. Opening the massive double doors into the main lobby, Joseph had the strangest feeling of coming home. Joseph tried to give himself some credit, it was very homely decorated with a massive hearth in the center of the lobby and many people sitting around and chatting with one another. This also seemed to be where the non-humans gathered, as Joseph could spot a few different races immediately: a Fire Genasi, a Selkie, and Vampire, and that was just upon first glance.

Joseph made his way to the front desk, where an ethereal woman greeted him with a smile. Joseph decided to pay for a week to start and he found himself in a room perfectly suited to his needs: A well sized bed, private bathing chambers and a writing desk by the window. After unpacking his bag, he made his way to the lobby and towards the dining room. Dinner service was about to start soon and many of the residents and visitors were gathered already. Joseph took a quiet table near the back to observe the others.

After a time, a stew dinner was served with fried potatoes. The waiter, the Selkie, dropped his utensils as he passed him a dish. The Selkie apologized and rushed off to get another set, forgetting to grab the dropped ones. Joseph took the time to bend down and grab them himself, and he froze as he moved up, his eyes catching the underside of the table.

A carving, a very old carving read ‘Barclay’s Spot’.

#fanfic #taz amnesty #agent stern #agent stern/barclay #sternclay

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