I started i am in eskew n ive listened to the first episode and found it so terribly charming. How horrifying, to be loved by a monstruous city (that also kinda wants to eat you). I think on how in most horrors the person is inexorably consumed by the thing that loves them and the horror is in the happiness and fear on become something else, and this is seen as inevitable (think jane prentiss). I find it curious how in this case david is able to reject it and has to deal with the heartbreak.
One of the things I was consistently impressed by regarding David and Eskew is that---well, Eskew is monstrous, but it is an honest monster. It is a monster that follows rules, that does not hide what it is or over-promise what it offers. Before ever coming to the City, David flees from his disingenuous mother and a world that doesn’t quite fit around him; a London that lies, that promises immigrants may come without fear and outcasts will find a place, that your rented apartment is an impenetrable fortress, that history is straight line and to be trusted, that you will be housed and fed and if not happy, then at least not suffering. David’s London (and Riyo’s London) promises that there is nothing strange and nothing that is wrong, so if something is strange or wrong well that’s on you.
These things aren’t true in any city, of course, but at least Eskew doesn’t lie about them. So everything in Eskew is strange and wrong, suffering is your base state, nothing is to be trusted and David doesn’t fit in Eskew, but Eskew never promised him otherwise.
There’s a quote from C.S. Lewis’ Til We Have Faces, when the characters are discussing transformations, and death. Psyche (of Cupid and Psyche) says to her worried sister, that she isn’t afraid that being a god’s bride means death, for “To be eaten and to be married to the god might not be so different.” I thought about it a lot, listening to Eskew.
As a final note and definitely spoilers if you haven’t finished the podcast, but....I really do like the final episode. I think it did a tricky thing, treading the line between easy, unsatisfying resolution---David returning to his life Before, somehow healed by being in Eskew---and the more depressing reality that David would never be able to escape Eskew, not really. (Just like the city tells him in “Ingratitude” he’s not built for comfort, and his time in Eskew has reinforced it, guaranteed it. David Ward will never fully trust what’s given to him. He is always going to be looking for cracks.)
Still. I would have paid good money to know what might have happened if he stopped, and let Eskew eat and/or marry him.
I just read rotten work and omg so somft im a bit teary eyed ;-; I love your writing so much, you make characters so *real* and full of life and detail it hooks me right in
aaaa aww thank you so much!! :D i had a lot of fun with imagining daily life, and i'm dummy in love with all the teaching staff, so it was a big pleasure to write :') !
Happy Holidays @crazyspookies! Have some Christmas-themed fluff. Set in Season 1 with no spoilers!
“Five, what the hell are you doing!?”
Sam’s voice reverberated in Runner Five’s ear as they pelted back toward the gates of Abel, a massive bag slung over their shoulder.
“Runner Five, this is a major security breach,” Janine added, her anger emanating through Five’s earpiece. “Going for a run without notifying any of us -- you are facing disciplinary action when you arrive.”
“Assuming Five outruns those zoms...” Sam growled. “Come on, Five, you’ve got a pack behind you clipping at a decent pace. Pick up that pace!”
Five sped up, breath coming in heavy gasps. The bag felt heavier and heavier by the moment, but they were determined not to let these specific supplies go. They had gone to too much trouble finding it all.
Another 200 meters in, and Five spotted the shining red beacon that was Abel’s comms shack. With a grunt, they ran faster, turning behind them to count the zoms still following behind.
“Raise the gates!” Sam cried, spotting Five.
The familiar sirens blared as Five skidded through the gates, the grasp of one zombie just brushing the back of their neck. The gate clanked shut behind them, and, unable to maintain balance, Five toppled over to the ground. The bag they had collected dropped beside them.
“Five!”
The comms shack door burst open, and Sam nearly tripped in his eagerness to reach Five.
“What the bloody hell did you-- why would you--” he spluttered indignantly.
Five smiled, stood, and brushed the dirt off themselves, slinging the massive bag over their shoulder again.
“What is that?” Sam asked, frowning. “Five, that was really dangerous. You really need to tell us when you’re going out for a run. You just disappeared, and none of us found you for hours-- and then, when we did manage to track you, you were in the middle of the forest with a dozen zoms breathing down your neck. How do you expect us to keep our runners safe if they just leave?”
“Not to mention, by themselves,” Janine said, still over the radio. Five glanced up at the comms shack and saw her formidable figure standing at the window, arms crossed and looking none too pleased. “I am going to have to report you for irresponsible behavior, Five. That was unacceptable.”
Five put a hand on Sam’s shoulder, gave Janine and apologetic little wave, and strode back toward the sleeping quarters. Janine might yell at them for a few days for this stunt, but Five was certain Janine would forgive them… eventually.
***
Five hadn’t been able to find presents for everyone. With Abel’s population growing at an alarming rate, it had only been logical to pick and choose who would be receiving Christmas presents. Five felt a little guilty about it, what would they have given to Molly and Ed anyway? A new motorcycle?
Five crept around Abel to different sleeping quarters, where the Abel residents were getting ready for bed. Some, thankfully, seemed to already be exchanging presents, so Five felt a little less guilty about not finding something for everyone.
Janine, Simon, Jody, Sam, Eugene, Jack, Sara, Maxine, and Sam all seemed a little perplexed when Five found them and beckoned them to follow. Most of them were already in pajamas, but went along to a little tent Five had constructed just for this occasion. Soon, everyone was crammed inside and looked around at one another.
“Five, if this is for mission planning, I must say that this is quite unorthodox--” Janine began, but Five held up a hand.
Silently, Five took out nine parcels, all wrapped a bit clumsily with newspaper, but looking fresh and clean all the same.
Five passed them out, one by one, and then waved to them with a signal to open them.
Jody gasped in delight as she ripped the newspaper off her long and slim gift. “New knitting needles! Oh, Five, that’s brilliant. Thank you so much!”
Jody and Five smiled at one another as everyone else unwrapped their gifts. Jack and Eugene both recieved replacement headsets for their radio show and wrapped Five in a massive bear hug.
“Protein powder?” Simon laughed, unwrapping his. “That’s just excellent. I was running out. How did you know?”
Five had managed to find a new stethoscope for Maxine and a hunting knife for Sara, and they both smiled broadly and showered Five with thanks.
When Sam opened up his own gift, he stared down at it for a moment and then looked up at Five. It was a plain orange hoodie -- nothing special about it, really, except that the inside was exceptionally fuzzy.
“You remembered I’m always cold,” Sam said quietly. “Five, this-- this is really sweet. Thank you.”
He reached over and squeezed Five’s hand, and they smiled broadly in return.
“So this is where you ran off to today?” Simon piped up. “Off to do a bit of last-minute Christmas shopping?”
Five gave a roguish little smile and shrug. Why reveal all of the secrets to the magic?
In truth, Five had been planning this for weeks. The protein powder and knitting needles had been easy enough to come by, but Five had needed to do some sneaky bartering with neighboring settlements to find the other items. Five had originally wanted to find an Aquaman costume for Sam, but that was just a little too specific, so an orange hoodie would have to suffice in its place.
When Sam and Janine had discovered Five on their mystery run, they had just been on their way back from Scoobs settlement, having traded a pack of beer for Sara’s hunting knife. Five glanced over to her, and was pleased to note that Sara was now flipping the knife over and over in her hands, inspecting every bit of it. That was a good sign.
Finally, everyone turned to Janine. Her gift had been the most difficult to find. It had taken weeks for Five to track down the toolkit that now lay in her lap. Janine was always complaining that she didn’t have enough tools to properly fix the electronics in her house. Janine stared down at the brand-new set that Five had stolen from a home improvements store five miles away. That had not been a pleasant run.
“Five…” Janine said slowly, looking up. “Where did you find this?”
“Does it matter?” Simon laughed. “It’s amazing. Janine’s been wanting some of these for months.”
“Five that’s--” Janine struggled to find words, and Five smiled softly. “Runner Five, this is-- something I have greatly needed, as Simon said. But I do not usually accept bribery--”
“It’s not bribery!” Sam retorted, exasperatedly. “It’s Christmas! Five went out on that solo run just to find those presents for us!”
“In any case,” Janine continued pointedly. “I do not usually accept gifts as peace offerings. But. As it is a special occasion… I am willing to make an exception.” Her face softened. “Thank you, Runner Five.”
Five chuckled and sat back, watching everyone enjoy their Christmas gifts in the tent. For living in the zombie apocalypse, Five was feeling quite joyful on this Christmas Eve. Infuriating Janine had definitely been worth it.
Some of the clips from when radio abel and radio new tomorrow start sharing time at irst are a bit different depending on morale, will you put both versions? (also, thanx for everything you're doing this blog is such a life saver omg :') )
Yes, the radio transcripts will include every clip that can possibly occur during each season of radio mode, and I will make clear which ones depend on morale or other gameplay conditions.
Honestly that anon was incredibly rude. It's like going to an artist's blog and say "i hate you art do you think you're going to draw something i like at some point?" No one does that unless they are either incredibly entitled or have the specific intention of being hurtful. You were very gracious about it but that anon is a dick. On happier news i'm lenjoying the game and want to know more about the mystery set in the plot of the story!
As I said, I really don't want to discourage people from telling me if certain characters aren't working - certain events. But I do think there is a difference between saying "In the context of the story, I hate this character" - like villains or even allies that annoy you for certain reasons. You dislike them but hopefully wouldn't want them cut away from the plot, because then it would be poorer.
To straight up saying - "I wish this character didn't exist in the first place". For the writer, that sounds like I'm just doing a poor job.
Obviously, I know people will dislike some of my characters. That's natural. There is a reason why I put the arguing options, after all. Why I write conversations where either Alessa or Hadrian do not like you.
But I won't lie and say it sometimes doesn't hurt just a little when I receive messages telling me they wish they could kill Hadrian because he interrupted a flirting scene with Alessa.
But with all that said, thank you for your words!🖤I’m glad you’re intrigued.
hihi! thank you so much for doing the transcripts. English isn't my first language and they have helped me so much to understand but also to be able to look back on a mission and interiorize the indormation given during it! All the love :) <33333 (also wanted to raise o attention that the link for s10 story missions doesn't lead anywhere!)
Finally fixed this issue, thank you so much for bringing it to our attention!
