You have completed this visualization exercise: Within the Wires

Within the Wires is a podcast by the team that does Welcome to Night Vale and Alice Isn't Dead. In a mysterious Institute a patient is given a series of 10 tapes to listen to, visualization exercises and guided meditation. As the tapes go on, however, it becomes more and more obvious that the person recording them has a special connection with and focus on this specific patient. Worldbuilding is filled in through the tapes, including: what the Institute is, what happens to children at the age of 10, how is a person like a piece of art, and what does a cedar tree smell like?

Now, while the more recent tapes at the time of this writing (5 and 6) are a lot more clear about what's going on, the early tapes are quite surreal and dreamy, and all of them are creepy.

Spoiler: Trigger Warnings as of Tape 9

Stalking, medical experimentation, memory alteration, body horror in the form of what is likely figurative language used to describe said memory alteration, nonconsensual brain surgery.

Spoiler: Tapes out so far, in order, part 1

 

Spoiler: Tapes out so far, in order, part 2

Listen.
Remember.
Comprehend.

 

love this series

 

Have you heard tape 6? It was pretty amazing!

Spoiler

If I was Oleta I'd be pretty damn freaked out, tbh, even though as a listener I also sympathize quite a bit with Hester.

 

Spoiler: spoilers for cassette 6

I didn't imagine the implication that Hester caused Oleta to be brought to the institute, did I? I brought you here. I examined you carefully.

 

Spoiler: Cassette 6

No, that was how I interpreted it, too. It's possible she's just talking indirectly, but that combined with 'there are things you will need to forgive me for', I am pretty sure that's what happened. Either that or something happened to Oleta's sister, who keeps getting brought up.

 

Spoiler: further 6 and 5 spoils

She sure did talk a lot about how jealous she was when she saw Oleta with her sister, huh! My money's now on went around the world -> went to work at the institute -> saw Oleta and her sister -> saw Oleta and her sister on what she thought was a date -> got jealous and freaked out -> caused Oleta to be brought to the institute. I gotta relisten to some early ones with context, though.

 

Spoiler: Even more 5 and 6 spoils

I honestly love how obsessed Hester is, because it's simultaniously sweet and heartwrenching because they had this important relationship torn apart arbitrarily as kids and creepy as fuck because she is obsessed with Oleta despite not having known her, really known her, for over a decade at the very least. Like I feel like her memories of Oleta breaking through caused a huge emotional crisis of dissonance with The Way Things Are. And her latching onto Oleta is probably in part her trying to find a reason for that to happen, and her channeling all her frustrations with the things she's starting to see are wrong into this dream that she can be with Oleta and everything will be okay because it's GOT to be okay it's GOT to. So... it's not really about Oleta. But that's also why it's so scary from an outside perspective?

 

YEAH I LOVE IT :3

 

Man, I'm so glad I have someone to talk about this show with now! :D

 

(listens to opening of new episode) OH COOL I GUESS EVERYTHING WENT WELL

 

Spoiler: 5? I think?

Yeah, Hester remembering Oleta and getting jelly about the "date" is part of the reason why Oleta ended up at the Institute but I want to hear more about this "it's not unusual that you found your sister, it's how you found her" thing that got briefly dangled in front of us. unless I missed something?

 

Spoiler: Same stuff

I think the implication is that it's unusual that she REMEMBERED her sister and found her that way, rather than just recognizing the facial resemblance.

 

It's weirdly relaxing hearing someone very calmly talking about metal spiders in your abdomen that steal your memories and prod at your insides. Interesting enough subject that the words don't blur together in my head, but calm means I have no obligation to feel or examine my feelings or whatever. It's nice. Nice music, nice words, nice plot.

 

THANKS FOR GIVING ME YET SOMETHING ELSE TO GET INTO. THANKS KINTSUGI

NO SERIOUSLY THANKS THIS LOOKS AWESOME

 

Just listened to the latest episode and hooooooooo boy shit sure did get real there

 

This is my reaction to every new episode for the past, like, 4 episodes. And this is just season 1!



(I should probably update the episode list in this thread?)

 

Spoiler: Tape 9

I do like how initially Hester is trying to help Oleta escape but covering her own ass at the same time and talking about how 'forgiveness is very important', but by the time tape 9 rolls around she's done with that, mostly. There is no more room for Oleta to get hurt and Hester to be safe. They are going down together or running together or, if things go bad but good, Oleta will escape but the Institute will have Hester and be very curious about her. On the edge of my seat until tape 10!

 

Ooh. Okay, I was interested but at first I was having trouble staying focused on them (probably because of autism or ADD or whatever sensory thing it is I have.) But I had some sewing to do and I hit on the idea of listening while sewing. Cassette 2 complete!