my heart is still broken about The Atomless, I think my heart will always be broken about it. Thinking about Ayg and her unfinished story and all the work and love poured into her. Putting those feelings here because I'm essentially not able to do so safely anywhere else.
The new Atomless episode is so good (watch the atomless if you haven't yet)
*spoilers ahead
*tw cults
New Mors, as a deconstruction of cults that pop up in leftist spaces and co-opt leftist ideals as a form of recruitment, is so good. You see it so often, especially in forms of "new age thinking."
Near where I live, there is a cult known as the twelve tribes that works very similarly. They use a hippie bus and prey on tourists and run a vegetarian restraunt called the yellow deli (using child labour) to trick people into joining. Underneath the progressive anti-capitalist facade, they're a fundamentalist christian cult.
I've never understood how this kind of recruitment takes place. I've always had a sense of disbelief, but this episode truly helped me understand. Dont get me wrong at first. All the alarm bells were set off, but there was a period after that, where I legitimately said, "Maybe these guys aren't so bad." I was re-assessing. Maybe my misgivings came from a place of mistrust for religion. Maybe I was apprehensive because of personal bias. I mean, who am I to judge another culture, let alone an alien one.
But then it soured. The isolationism, the Idolaisation, the control. It became so clear what New Mors is and what they do to their citizens. Just because a group appears on the surface to align with your beliefs doesn't mean they actually do. The point is, you are not immune to propaganda, and although it's good to be critical of internal bias, sometimes you need to analyze why things feel wrong.
A Scene from The Atomless that will never get to air
I wanna share something meaningful to me since the show won't get to finish. We have a few episodes recorded that can't reach your ears and in one, what was going to be the next one, Ayg had the breakthrough I was wanting for her for 30 episodes.
This is, one of the most important scenes I ever got to play as her, and I couldn't stand the idea of not having it known that she WAS going to get here. So I edited this part just for myself.
I'll throw spoiler context for anyone who wants it below the break.
Thank you again to everyone who listened, cared, and engaged with this story. I am still broken hearted but also so grateful.
The context made short is that Ayg was born in the lower decks of Saga, a really oppressed under city. She tried so hard to get out and wound up kind of doing it, but working for a pretty corrupt company. Early in the campaign, the gang met a group of activists on saga who planned to blow up the decks that separate the upper decks and the lower. Ayg was pretty much the only one who was uncomfortable with the idea of helping - and only kind of reluctantly agreed from a distance. She still valued the law and knew that the lower decks were a bad place to live but hadn't fully recognized who to blame. My whole dream for her character arc was her slowly putting the pieces together and realizing who the real enemy is, and uniting against them. I finally had that first big breakthrough moment for her with Scrap, Robins NPC who's also from Saga, and it's one of the most important scenes I played as her. and I'm really proud of how Robin and I got there.
An audio drama actual play - a group of creatives get their first ever big break - a college radio show set to record live in a real station. With nerves high and tensions higher, it feels as though something is watching over their shoulder as they settle in.
Frequencies features an incredible collaborative cast who co-created this series, including: