Agent Doug Salazar

"'If you've got room for one more history nerd... I'm in.'"Douglas "Doug" Salazar (he/him) is an initiated human rogue who works as an agent at the Los Angeles division of the Institute and attends Woodside University. He appears first as an NPC played by Frank, and later as a guest player character played by Andre.

Appearance
Doug has black eyes and tan skin, with black straight mid-length hair. He has a scrawny build, wearing dark formal attire and thick rimmed square glasses. Adara compares Doug to the character Linguini from the Pixar movie Ratatouille in "Lockup".

Personality
Doug is a studious and straight-laced man. He is shown to ramble and act impulsively under stressful situations, and submit to authority when questioned or commanded. He is also fatigued most of the time, as his hours at both the Institute and Woodside do not allow him much time outside of his work and studies respectively. As a well-educated grad student, Doug also is adept at explaining his viewpoints and understanding of situations should anyone have questions.

Background
Originally from Washington DC, Doug was a mundy who grew up in the United States capital with a deep fascination of history, bolstered by educational facilities and historic sites in the area such as the Smithsonian Institution and the National Mall. After graduating high school with honors, he was accepted to Woodside University for his undergraduate degree and moved to Los Angeles. In 2015 during his sophomore year, Doug was approached by Dr. Victor Bane to be initiated into the magical world and began work as a low-level agent after scoring well in a number of aptitude tests and attending a lecture from Bane. He finished his Bachelor's degree in history and began his graduate thesis work for a Master's in American history, investigating the intentions behind the National Park Service and other federally protected lands as an attempt to conceal and preserve native and endemic monsters in the United States.

Episode 2: "Lockup"
Doug first appears in Episode 2 as an NPC as an escort to the Witches as they're brought into the Institute for interrogation after the Half-Ogre Brawl at Marvin's Bar. He was ordered by Kat to fetch water for Dor-Vey, and returns with a bottle with no brand. Dor-Vey quickly snatched a water bottle and chugged it, stunning him. Dor-Vey then asked Doug to bring back much more water to help her destress, and he hesitantly complies. Later, Justice asked the interviewer for a water as well, and is immediately dispatched to grab more water. After Dor-Vey threatened to report his "poor service", he wearily returned with three bottles and she expresses satisfaction. After she woke up for her interview, Dor-Vey asked for both water and crackers to snack on, as he yields to her requests.

As the party is released by the Institute, Dor-Vey passed by Doug and tipped him a half-melted chocolate bar she had in her jacket pocket for his efforts as a thanks for his efforts, to which he responds, "It's water, man." Anthe also thanked him genuinely for his work.

Episode 3: "One, Maybe Two, Things"
Doug was assigned to take both Artie and Trish back to campus as they have no escorts from the Institute. As he drove them back to Artie's residency, he answers a call from Dr. Victor Bane on his Bluetooth earpiece. Dr. Bane instructed Doug to send the contact information to all the Witches of Woodside, as they had been coerced into an official grouping to prevent any further risks to the secrecy of magic to mundies. He stuttered at first, but after Dr. Bane presses him, Doug confirmed he would do so. After he hung up, he turned on the radio to some "very loud Mexican music" and began bobbing his head to the beat, cautious to make sure the two passengers did not notice.

Episode 4: "Lay to Rest"
Doug was walking from the history department at Woodside when he was told by his coworker James Higgins (whom he refers to as "Jimmy") that there had been paranormal occurrences happening on campus after his one-man cleanout of the historic Founder's Home on Woodside's campus was finished. On his way over, the Founder's Home exploded and caused the students nearby to panic. Doug rushed towards the historic site, and saw Artie enter the building and drop their phone, after which he hacked into their phone and called Anthe. He urgently called the group together to assist him in retrieving their friend.

Once he entered the building, he found no sign of Artie and continued toward the closet where he had set up the ectoplasm machine, resembling a humidifier, to attract the spirit of the house (though he was misguided and believed it warded it away). He noticed that the ectoplasm in the machine had been expended, and checked the chicken-scratch of a manual that came with the machine. As Doug began to feel his mind leave him, he recentered by humming a pop song to himself, which alerted the Witches to his presence in the Home. Doug panicked as Kat asks him what he's doing, but managed to explain the mechanics of the machine to the best of his knowledge. When Kat tried to read the instructions, she fell catatonic, and Dor-Vey noticed shadows beneath Kat, Doug and Justice. As the team fought them off, Doug fell unconscious to one of the spectral attacks, but Anthe quickly revived him.

After the combat, Kat asked Doug if they can receive assistance for the ectoplasm, and he reluctantly called Dr. Victor Bane. After two and a half rings, Victor picked up and Doug admitted that the cleanout "was unsuccessful", to which Victor berated him for not only failing his mission but for endangering Kat's life. Doug panicked and hangs up on Bane, and the group followed Dor-Vey's lead to an old photo of Jebediah Summerfield, the founder of Woodside University, whom Doug identified immediately and his connection to The Brotherhood. Doug rushed upstairs and unlocked the door to Summerfield's study room, and the party found Artie standing in the room unresponsive. As Dor-Vey, Anthe, and Justin advanced towards Artie, the door slammed shut and barricaded Mari, Kat, Trish and Doug outside. Doug then realized that the "God-awful" wooden cross in his study was missing and fetched it from another locked closet, setting it on the wall and compelling the spirit of Summerfield. Once the group managed to satiate Summerfield, they grabbed Artie and after analysis from Doug, he urgently insisted they head back to the Institute to help them with their magical condition, all while believing he would be promptly fired.

Episode 5: "The Cost of Wisdom"
As the party and Doug made their way to the Institute, Doug approached Mari about her ability to use magic. Mari remained vague on the details, but the two agreed to keep her magical prowess a secret from the Institute, with Doug claiming he'd see her soon.

As the group makes their way to the Institute, they meet with Dr. Delilah Bane, and she greets Doug and smiles with frustration with the mention of the Founder's Home being the site of the occurrence. Doug meekly confirms, and she states that Victor will want to speak to him. They then watch Artie begin to lay in a tub full of ectoplasm, as Doug misguidedly attempts to explain what occurs as "warding off bad spirits" with "necromancy", but Delilah quickly corrects him that the ectoplasm in fact absorbs the soul and is enchantment magic. She then asks Doug to remind her to sign him up for magic classes at Woodside.

As the group is lead to another room after seeing Artie's ectoplasmic detox begin, Doug offers to get the Witches some coffee from the breakroom, and returns with a full set for everyone, including creamers and sugars. One of the researchers working on the EMF's on Artie stops Doug and asks for a refill of his mug, which Doug complies to and engages in trite small talk, which Mari can tell Doug despises. After setting down the coffee for everyone, Dor-Vey interjects asking for chocolate milk, which Doug exasperatedly explains they don't have chocolate milk and frustrated that she isn't satisfied with the creamers provided. Suddenly, as the alarms in the Institute turn red, the group runs into the laboratory with Artie, and as Delilah attempts to stop the chaos, and everyone falls unconscious.

In the first vision in his unconsciousness, Doug flashed back to his first meeting with Victor Bane in an alternate reality. Unlike in this reality, Victor approached Doug with keen interest in him, telling him of his high potential as a researcher and that he could teach him languages that are "far more challenging and far more interesting" than what he already knows. In the second vision, Doug saw himself as a researcher at the Institute and was given the grant money to continue his thesis work on the true origins of the National Park Service. He and Bane agree to head to North Dakota. In the third vision, Doug saw himself as a much older man, now a professor at Woodside University. He talked to his teacher's assistant about correcting a test rubric on American monsters, and admitted how he and his husband hadn't yet replaced their mattress and that he now had a crick in his back. The student then informs him that a letter from a well-dressed individual came in, which happened to be written by Victor on his vacation in the Bahamas. Doug is able to read through the writing to see written in code a congratulations on his new position as director of the LA division of the Institute.

After the Spectator left, Doug and the rest of the Witches regrouped and shared in their collective trauma. Doug requested the rest of the day off and followed Dor-Vey, Kat, and Anthe to Marvin's where he sat and ordered a sangria, trying to remember what was on the test rubric and "very sad there's not a crick in his back". Dor-Vey then sat next to him and gifted him a crazy straw to break him from his spiraling thoughts.

Episode 8: "Underworld Business"
When Monica stopped by Dor-Vey's studio apartment above Marvin's Bar, she asked if Dor-Vey remembered Doug, describing him by his ethnicity and height before she remembered him as "Water Guy". Monica confided that Doug believes the party to be "trustworthy", though she reneges when Dor-Vey says they were friends. Later at Marvin's, Monica tells the party that she and Doug devised a plan to allow the Witches to search the Undercity for a lead on the half-ogre's illegal glamour, and that Doug would be taking notes for the Witches' classes while they were away. Mari threatened to kill Doug should his notes be lackluster.

Episode 9: "Red Dahlia"
Though Doug himself does not appear in the episode, an elven artificer using a glamour with Doug's hair tries to trick the Witches of Woodside. Mari grows suspicious, and after asking him what Doug's name is, the artificer dropped the act but kept the glamour on until Dor-Vey knocked him unconscious and reverted into his unglamoured form.

Katherine Bane
Kat was the first party member to interact with Doug, as she made the first order water for Dor-Vey. As the daughter of the Banes, Kat lords her connections to the Institute authorities over Doug, to which he sheepishly submits.

Dor-Vey
Dor-Vey and Doug's relationship was rocky at first, as Dor-Vey exploited her privilege during the interrogation at the Institute as Doug was coerced to fetch her drinks and food, hence his nickname "Water Boy". However, their relationship has grown more amicable, as she refers to him as a friend and he affectionately nicknamed her "Chocolate Giver" for her first tip and her strange obsession with chocolate milk.

Artichoke
Doug was the first to notice Artie enter the Founder's Home and sought help to rescue them. After the Witches managed to get a hold of them, Doug immediately insisted they take Artie to the Institute fearing their state could possibly take their life, putting his job on the line for Artie's safety.

Mari Williams
Doug and Mari's relationship also began rather strenuously, after Doug noticed Mari using magic in the Founder's Home Incident and she noticed he had a strenuous relationship with other employees at the Institute. Despite the tension, it's clear the two respect each others' wit and skill.

Justin Valentini/Justice
Justice first interacted with Doug at the Institute interrogation, asking him for water. They later met again at the Founder's Home Incident, as Justice was with the Witches when Doug called for their help. Doug dupes Justin at the end of "The Cost of Wisdom" as he pretends to have read all of Justin's messages, when in reality he has only seen the messages in the Witches' group chat.

Dr. Victor Bane
Victor Bane is Doug's superior at the Institute and the primary figure Doug answers to. Victor was the person who approached Doug to be initiated into the magical world and acts as a slight. While Doug is respectful and somewhat fearful of Victor's authority, he does wish to be friendlier with him, and often tries to schmooze him, though with little success. Victor sees potential in Doug as well, and is willing to barter punishments for him with his wife, Delilah.

Dr. Delilah Bane
Delilah Bane and Doug are much less interactive than Victor, and Doug is actively fearful of Delilah. He acts as courteously as possible around Delilah and never speaks to Delilah unless spoken to. Doug's lack of knowledge on magic flusters him in front of Delilah and she promptly puts him in a magic class.

Agent Monica Walters
Monica and Doug are coworkers at the Institute, partnered together after the Founder's Home Incident. Their relationship is very friendly, referring to each other by their shortened nicknames and bonding over their shared East Coast origin. They are also highly cooperative, able to concoct the plan to have the Witches of Woodside continue investigating the lead on the half-ogre's illegal glamour in the Undercity once they were reassigned to another mission.

Dr. Linda Merkel
Doug and Dr. Merkel have worked for several years, since he was first initiated. Their relationship is very friendly and casual, as he refers to her almost exclusively as "Doc". Dr. Merkel helps Doug through his generalized anxiety disorder and his often lopsided work-life balance.

James "Jimmy" Higgins
Doug does not like James much at all. Whereas Doug has toiled and labored at the Institute for several years with no promotions, James quickly ascended the ranks, which frustrates Doug to no end and suspects his lack of promotion to be racial discrimination. James is quite friendly to him though, and as Doug is not very confrontational, he pretends to be chummy with him as well, and calls him by the nickname "Jimmy" as he knows it's one of his irritants.

Trivia

 * Doug was the first guest character to appear on the stream, with Andre stepping in for Adara during Episode 4. He was also slated to step in for Serenity for Episode 5, and ended up guesting anyway once she was able to join the stream.
 * Doug is the only character so far to transition from non-player character to player character.


 * Doug was the first player character to fall unconscious in combat and roll death saves.
 * Doug canonically dubbed the campaign's party "The Witches of Woodside" during his call with Victor Bane in "Lay to Rest", which was adopted by the Institute to reference the group. When Dor-Vey is told the group's name by Monica in "Underworld Business", she questions if he meant to call them the "Bitches of Woodside" which Monica doubts, calling Doug "a good guy".

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