I just kind of incidentally started practicing to be an audiobook reader and I really think I might vibe with this job. I need to get better at accents. My British accent is pretty bad, my australian is decent but gets mixed up with kiwi sometimes. I can switch between northern and southern american like nobody's business. I'd probably goof up a german accent which is silly since I'm german. I do struggle with breathiness due to my asthma but I've already gotten way better over a few attempts. It helps that I'm a fast reader and I'm good at tonal inflection. It was hard to break the habit of talking in a descending tone at first—the thing that makes people compare me (and my brother) to Eeyore. People (mostly guys and one woman) have told me I have a really nice voice for this kind of thing though. I don't really like it because I'm gender dysphoric about it, but I believe in giving the people what they want.
Wally is set up as a sort of "main character" by the whrp. he's said in the site's description of the show to have introduced the main theme/lesson of the day's episode, and then the rest of the neighbors join him on his escapades. but then we have our first glimpses of everyone's actual dynamics and characters through the audios and you look at Wally and its like
first of all, thats an npc. second, nearly everybody else has severe main character syndrome
but its fascinating how Wally is just kind of... There. he doesnt talk much. he doesnt contribute beyond a couple of lines. its more like he joins the others on their shenanigans. he fades into the background. he's off to the side while everyone else holds conversations & leads the moment
Wally, despite being described as Thee character, is borderline background.
& whats even more interesting, within his individual secret audio files and interactions - he's almost chatty. not only that but the way he talks is more confident and faster paced. he's taking initiative. he can be kinda pushy. when talking to the qa/whrp/Us, he acts more like the character his descriptions portray. he acts more like a person instead of a puppet waiting for his next cue
I cant tell if - when around the neighbors - his tepid milk behavior is a purposeful act or if he's masking. and if he's masking, is it deliberate or involuntary? and in regards to both, why is he acting so different? It could be tied to what he's trying to accomplish. if he's trying to "restore" Welcome Home, it would make sense for him to act as he does around the neighbors - he wouldnt want to clue them in that he knows so much more than he's letting on, would he?
but then that begs another train of thought - what if he isn't acting or masking? if there is a time discrepancy between Wally's interactions with the qa/whrp/Us & the more 'official' audios, that could explain the difference in behavior. we could be getting glimpses into "future" (read: current) Wally, who's had much more time to figure himself out since we can safely assume he started out as a blank slate. we could be seeing a more experienced Wally than the one seen with his friends.
of course that line of thinking loses some merit when considering the 14 "bug" audios. or it could lend to it... if we're seeing a more experienced Wally but his friends are only seeing what he allows them to. it's still him, just... a carefully curated version.
in general it could really tie into the themes of identity and change and being other, to me. when you're so different - or you feel so different - that you can't bring yourself to be your most authentic you around your friends. when you feel like you have to hold back and be who you think they expect you to be, or what would be most palatable. most normal. will they accept you as you really are? there's always the fear and terror that the people you consider closest to you won't. or when you're so scared of change that you'll shove down & lock away parts of yourself so that you can keep things as you are. because once they know you've changed, so will they. and really, do you want to even accept that you've changed? what if that's what scares you most of all - that you're different, you've metamorphosized, you can't go back to the way things were because you yourself are no longer the person you were before. there is no reversing this no matter how much you try or pretend
LYDIA MARTIN
And I've got a lot to pine about. I've got a lot to live without.
You don’t care about getting hurt. But you know how I’ll feel? I’ll be devastated. And if you die, I will literally go out of my freaking mind. You see, death doesn’t happen to you, Lydia. / Unbelievable…you have no idea what you are, do you? The wailing woman.
I’m screeching and rolling on the floor laughing 😂 oh my god. I’m listening to another tacky Wolverine novella [lifeblood by Hugh Mathews] and the reader goes, “he only knew two German phrases, ‘hände hoch’ —hands up, and don’t shoot, ‘nicht SCHEISEN.’ “
😂😂😂😂 sorry but that’s the wrong ‘ie’. My man said ‘don’t sh*t.’
Podcasters always think that their show has to have more sound effects and voice actors and music and eventually get monetized and promote other shows and I just wish they would go back to the format of some guy reading fucked up shit into the mic for 20-40 minutes and when you google that guy it takes you to the podcast website where you see that his day job is something really random like store mannequin maker or baker at the all night cookie place. Maybe by s2 you can't hear traffic in the background anymore
it's been a while since i tried looking, but i did hear that something like this happens last year and over time started to think, "was it a fluke?" bc no one posted footage or caps of it then, and i aimed for a completionist run in my first playthrough. turns out it's real! and definitely shines a new light on a character that, for most other types of playthroughs, will not give this much emotion! EDIT: transcript now included, and some stillshots under the cut
[0:28]
Marie: Henry, this is the man who kept you from doing the right thing tonight. Kill him.
[0:15]
Forrest: Henry, you don’t have to do this. If you’ve not killed anyone yet, there’s still time to make the right decision.
[0:05]
Out of shot: (Gunshots) Henderson Police! Freeze!
Marie: No! Henry, get out of there!