The Fernweh Saga (Scheduled Release: 5 January!) [Book One is 600k]

It’s ok R I too hate the great outdoors

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In the wise words of my best friend: “I like the idea of outside just not actually being outside.”

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:face_with_monocle: :thinking: hmm, interesting

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@Abstract_One @Cat-Toes Ooh, R would relate to what you both said, especially that quote from your best friend. They like to run (as you will learn or may know from the 5 facts about them) for exercise, but that is usually on trails by a lake early in the morning and not in the thick of the wilderness. Besides, a treadmill at home is preferable --no bugs, better music system, and a controlled climate.

Idk, about you all, but it’s been hot where I reside. I dislike humid heat so much with how it weighs everything down compared to dry heat, which is why I prefer staying inside. :fire:

Fernweh is a fictional town (of course :laughing: ). I am not sure if readers have an idea in mind of where it is set or not? Like if you think it is in Maine (so many horror stories are set there…?) or elsewhere. I know I used a few different places for inspiration and then used my imagination and what I know of forests to shape the rest of it. In Chapter 2, if your MC is more aloof than they are friendly, you will learn about a unique water feature from the chatty deputy in the police station.

What the Deputy mentions before J's grand (intense) entrance, lol.

“Plan to see any sights while here?”

“Not sure,” you reply shortly.

“I could recommend some like the waterfall that goes to nowhere by-”

“Deputy.”

The officer shuts up instantly when the new voice sounds. The rest of the sentence is swallowed down thickly, possibly along with a bit of his tongue with how quickly his jaws snapped shut to create an audible clack of teeth.

An example picture of the waterfall that I got from the linked post below. It's pretty!

image

I added the bolded words because I am going to link a Tumblr post that is a cool read about what inspired that feature in Fernweh: here. I think it interesting at least. I learned of it because of the cheesy, but funny horror film called Jennifer’s Body that has a small town vibe too.

@Paradox1 Interesting, indeed. :smiley_cat: I try to leave little hints or suggestions in the text that will payoff later on. Perhaps, what you learn later may even re-color or define something that happened earlier on.

For instance, why J was acting rather distant at the memorium may take on a deeper meaning after reading Chapter 4. Especially for MCs who selected to spread the candlelight to J (or JR) because J kept the candle in their pocket the whole time to imply a sense of guilt or feeling wrong about attending the service, considering they knew your grandfather’s death wasn’t natural…

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Oh, waterfalls to nowhere! That’s so neat.

The feature in Minnesota is in hard, volcanic rocks which is not what I expected. We have similar features in Missouri where I live, but they’re usually related to areas where our soft limestones and dolomites have been dissolved. So the water goes underground in this sort of situation. It usually eventually resurfaces in a spring or just becomes part of the groundwater in the area.

I found some information from the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources. They measured the river flow above and below the falls and it was not significantly different so they concluded that the water resurfaces right away in the river. (So, the hole is probably connected to fracture that comes out below the waterfall and so the upstream water only flows underground for a short distance.) They were going to prove that out for sure using a dye trace, but the agency decided it wasn’t worth the time or money to do since they had a pretty solid conclusion from the water amounts.

So uh…there’s some elaboration from your friendly neighborhood geologist!

Edit: Source

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For some reason I was imagining the fictional town that was the setting of german tv show titled Dark and in another part (especially if MC decided go get fresh air in their first night), I thought about the small town in US tv series Wayward Pines.

Althought it’s probably more on the horror mood rather than the actual setting.

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Nah just say it’s in a middle of a Savannah and all the disappearance are just asshole hippoes and don’t question how there is a forest in a Savannah.

When I see Sofia Dorran as a romance option, I thought it Sofia IS the mom. Well, im pretty excited knowing I can romance a milf, but kinda disappointed when actually the romance option is her daughter.
This wip is still slap tho, pretty cool premise.

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@furyleika Thank you for your elaboration. I also would not have expected it to be volcanic rock related, but it’s interesting to learn that the water may be slipping through a fracture and traveling underground before joining the rest of the flow. It still makes me wonder where the stuff that was tossed in or ‘fell’ in disappeared to, though the article you linked mentions how the currents are really powerful and may break stuff up, so that could be it or maybe the stuff got lost in the underground portion? I’m assuming it’s not just a smooth channel (or like a tunnel), but rocky maybe? I guess water could have smoothed it. This actually has some minor relevance to Chapter 5, though I won’t explain how.

The fact that you’re a geologist is marbleous. :smiley_cat: I recall seeing you leave some incredibly detailed and interesting tags on a Tumblr post once.

@lynossa Oh, those are some interesting picks! Thank you for mentioning them; I looked them up. Wayward Pines definitely fits with the name and how forested Fernweh is, plus a picture I saw of main street encapsulated the small town aesthetic. I have Dark on my ‘to-watch’ list on Netflix. :smiley:

Wayward Pines Welcome Sign and trees

I also realized that I didn’t include a welcome sign to Fernweh, which was partially intentional…But I like the idea of having a slightly ominous slogan or mantra on a ‘welcome’ sign. I may be able to have a slogan come up elsewhere since we already have a town symbol. :snake: :thinking:

@Abstract_One Hippos don’t strike me as particularly aggressive. :slightly_smiling_face: No, wait I’m thinking about elephants; never mind. I don’t believe I have been asked where the story is set specifically yet, though someone did ask me how small the town was…I don’t have an exact population size in mind aside from it being small (which is relative) and will likely keep it kind of vague similar to where the setting is to allow for roleplaying/MC headcanons. Small town politics and gossip will likely come into play, though every writer tends to handle them a little differently, I think.

@The_Guy_That_Eat Mrs. Dorran would probably be surprised at your interest in her, lol. I actually lowkey thought people would find R’s mom to be a milf, but I think her cold or biting temperament understandably impacted that. Thanks for playing the demo and your kinds words! :green_heart:

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i thought Wayward Pines exist in real life because it looks so real :sob: :sob: :sob:

Weekly Update: 23 July 2021

I hope you’re doing well and staying safe.:green_heart:

The following for Fernweh Saga and the blog has increased over the last week, so ‘hello’ to all of you and thanks for your support!

> Here is a more specific update regarding what I have been doing:

- I’ve been answering/queuing asks on Tumblr and replying to the occasional question on here. I appreciate your patience and interest.

- I have been writing on Chapter 6, while still gradually editing Chapter 5 since it is longer (70k). I’m on J’s section in Chapter 5 now, then will do JR and the dun-dun-dun moment that plays out differently with each RO. There is a lot of variation, but that makes re-reading it fun too.

- I added a second choice relating to Chief Bowers to further allow your MC’s personality to come into play and see how the other characters react to how handle something. They will have their own opinions about events and you will see those differences in Chapter 6. It took me some time to add the extra choice because there are like 7 to 8 reactions/full scenes on top of the initial way you interact with her.

- I’m really excited for the interactions with A; there are quite a few variables and combinations that impact how the exchange goes.

- So, yep, just writing and editing. I want to get back to writing for longer lengths of time, which will be my goal for next week.

An emphatic thank you for all your support and kindness. :green_heart: Best wishes!


Do your Fernweh MCs collect anything? Or have any particular hobbies?

I am adding a post from my Tumblr below, so you can see how the characters would react to a hobby that involves the MC collecting a particular thing like coins, rocks, etc. I may eventually add a choice in-game about hobbies once things aren’t so grim/serious/mysterious. :slightly_smiling_face: .

An RO react from my Tumblr relating to collecting trinkets.

Question: How would the ROs be with an MC that finds little trinkets and coins and buttons and give them to them? :green_heart::green_heart:

My Answer:

B would find this cute! The fact that you are interested in collecting things and are willing to share that passion with them makes them soft. B would return the gesture with their own hobbies, so snapping a picture just for you (or composing an album for you overtime) among other things that I don’t want to spoil. B is touched that you would include them in something so personal to you and would like to do the same.

S would be inquisitive about what it is you are giving to them; they will look into the type of coin, where the button came from, or how the old trinket used to be used in everyday life. They would ask you what about it caught your eye and how you came to acquire it. S will express genuine, patient interest in you and the collection. They would also try and find shops, markets, antique stores around Fernweh for the both of you to explore.

Hmm, R doesn’t really have a hobby like this, so they might not understand the appeal or interest in it at first ; however, that reaction is altered because the trinkets/rocks/coins are coming from you . An old mint green glass button that may be mistaken for hard candy is kind of ‘meh’ to them, but because it came from you, it now matters. They will get a shadow box or a cabinet (perhaps an entire curio, if you collect a lot of things) and keep all of what you give to them within it.

J would hesitate for a second, but take it from you all the same with a soft smile on their face. They grew up on a farm as I mentioned, so collecting or finding more self-contained ways to play, etc. is what they are used to (you can learn more about this later…A little bit in Chapter 5 on their route depending on your choices). You would get a sincere thank you each and every time you give them something; they never take it for granted or as being a routine thing. You taking the time (and wanting to think) of them means a lot to J.

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My MC collects the ‘Joker’ card from different packs of playing cards.

People say, his snark and humour are gonna be the end of him. Well, what can he say? Joke’s on them

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for hobbies, i think he would be into baking or baseball. for collecting stuff, he collects buttons. he just puts them in a jar. he doesn’t even know how to sew.

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@Paradox1 Oh, that’s so cool; playing card art design can vary widely in style. I love the joker card tie in with your MC’s snarky and humorous personality too, which makes me think he may get along well with R or S. :thinking: R tends to enjoy trading quips.

@yb_minhee Baking is always fun. :bread: Not sure who your MC is romancing? However, B is also an avid baker and enjoys sharing their baked creations, while R enjoys simple, homemade goods. (R may come off as fancy with a somewhat ‘refined’ palette; however, they would prefer a sugar cookie to a creme brulee). B may be a good baking buddy for your MC.

The button thing is interesting too. One of my MCs collects rock and keeps them in a shoe box. I try and playtest with a few different personalities/dynamics to ensure that I am getting the proper reactions/responses in-game.

It’s nice to hear about both of your MCs, learning more about readers’ MCs can help me add options, so thank you! :green_heart:

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with my first and old playthrough, my mc was kinda going for S but lately my mc has been very into ehem certain qualities similar to said ro with the name starting with R would have to actually get passed that scene with R offering a ride cause for some odd reason, i cant pick between the first and second choice i think the choices where agreeing with it without asking B and the other one is asking B first. i was worrying so much about how B would react if i just accept it without his input lmao
my mc often worries about people’s reaction to things he says or do so even if he doesn’t want to, he ends up becoming a bit of a people pleaser. (idk why its so hard to be mean to fictional characters rather than real people lmao)

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Oh yeah. R and MC have upgraded their childhood rivalry to a competition of snark and humor. It’s very competitive between them and elicits either a groan/sigh/eye rolling from B which my MC absolutely adores
J has known my MC since childhood so they’re accustomed to the joker of the group. A good natured small smile lines her lips when he quips.
S prefers wits over snark and so MC had to develop a different strategy to outplay her. He’ll surely giver S a run for her money!

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I don’t see my MC collecting anything, but as for hobbies, writing poetry. I think it firs really well with her personality as well as the MCs backstory. I always imagined her being lonely after leaving Fernweh, and using writing as a coping mechanism. As for pure enjoyment hobbies probably reading and chess.

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My go to hobby for my MCs is usually drawing. I like the idea of them doing portraits of the cast in whatever game they’re in. Probably as D&D characters or something.

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@yb_minhee Oh, it’s cool how you’re trying the different romantic routes. They will each have their own unique moments and pacing.

Lol, that is considerate of your MC. I believe B would be okay with either choice. B tends to be relatively deferential and amicable around the MC due to past history and because they are a guest within Fernweh and the MC’s plus one, so they tend to let you decide certain things. That may change once more serious or high stakes choices come into play like exploring the woods in Chapter 4. :face_with_monocle: B was willing to voice their reluctance about it because there was more risk involved.

^That is relatable. I find it hard to pick the mean options even in Dragon Age or other games when playing; however, as a writer it can be kind of interesting to add them in. I have at least one anon on Tumblr who mentioned they selected a cruel option on occasion, not sure if anyone here has tried them.

@Paradox1 Oh, I love hearing about your MC and his snark! I am sure he is quick-witted and able to hold his own with R’s snark. R would enjoy having him around since the parties/events/luncheons they attend tend to be boring with most people refraining from being quippy with a Verner, so your MC could be a nice change of pace to that stuffiness and formality.

I like how you mention that J would be used to your MC’s style of humor; J would appreciate that it didn’t change even after time apart since that would make your MC more familiar.

@Cat-Toes I have heard that poetry can be really cathartic, so that is a cool hobby for your MC and perhaps a great way to process the aftermath of the fire and maybe even the nightmares that she has experienced too. The B&B has a wealth of reading material and S and B are also avid readers, plus S plays chess. I used the bishop piece in S’s character aesthetic due to the symbolism associated with it.

@BlackJimmy88 Taking the characters personalities into account may impact what D&D class they would be, right? Like paladin, necromancer (?), bard, etc. I have seen a few D&D posts while on Tumblr, but don’t know much about it. I think there is a lot of lore involved, so it’s interesting to think of your MC drawing with that style in mind. I have an RO ask about how each of the characters would react if they stumbled upon a notebook with drawings of them that the MC made. I have yet to answer it, but when I do I’ll either link it here or mention it to you. :slightly_smiling_face:

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hobbies; maybe baking/cooking and sports? (and playing card/board games; she will play to win xD)

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