Exploring the SCP Foundation: SCP-7034 - Æ is for Aerials

[@Atanti-Peneu]

this is such a well written SCP article despite being shorter than the others, it really makes the readers and the character hopeless, and the ending is appreciable to...

[@jamesbryant8133]

I'm not a fan of the 40k ones (I played years ago) but totally agree about his narration. As well as the scp stuff the lovecraft content is great.

[@eboniemckinzie]

Dido I thought he was going to do a new story every day of this month

[@dwarfdigger135]

​@jamesbryant8133 the comment above has nothing to do with the content of the videos, he was talking about the article itself

[@Haematite]

There was the Dr Who Episode with the underground bypass in New New New York, during the Tennant set. A cities worth of people doing laps in the tunnel. This though is really disturbing. Poor Richard..

[@ivanpetrov5255]

Listening to the description, my thoughts were "Hey, this sounds familiar." I'm glad someone else made the same connection.

[@greenyodais]

One of the best/disturbing Dr who episodes.

[@onlylonelystars9268]

Gridlock is one of those unsettling episodes you never unsee...

[@aleistererikalupano7386]

Yeah this ehm let's say heavily inspired by that episode

[@DæmonV86]

That's what I was thinking. There's one attached to every universe, perhaps.

[@pyrosianheir]

This one puts me in mind of a more horrible version of that road out in the middle of nowhere where people would eventually stop and settle down and stuff. Like someone made it angry. Edit: Yeah, 5322! Supposed I should've known that you'd have thought of it, too.

[@MrGman133]

You make a really good point here! Its kinda like the heaven to hell versions of it.

[@EspeonMistress00]

Yeah! Even tho 5322 was sad in the fact that people get separated from their families completely, at least they could survive and may be form communities. This is just straight up hell.

[@BK2207]

Seems like a complimentary one. 5322 was a long road to acceptance and reach salvation. While 7034 is the paved path of good intentions to get away, but ending up straight to hell.

[@htth3152]

Looks like they also offer competing messages. 5322 was about how you shouldn't stop moving, shouldn't give up development and hope for stability and stagnation. In this one, however, the guy kept going, kept clinging to his goal, only to find out that it didn't matter, for there's only death in the end no matter what you do. Kinda depressing.

[@JoshSweetvale]

​@@htth3152That's life.

[@engie3953]

I hope you read this but all of your videos including the warhammer ones are always a joy to listen to please take care during this month

[@AdaptiveAudio]

Well said. We enjoy you a lot.

[@l.j.hopper2727]

💯

[@Hidden_Egg]

Nice, keep positive man.

[@outlawsloth6764]

This one has stuck with me since TheVolgun's vid on it a few months back. His voice acting was amazing, and now you've done a stellar job as well! I'm so glad you're doing this all month long - we truly don't deserve this gift you've given us! Keep up the amazing work dude!

[@nonsensicalramblings9167]

Yes!!! Exactly like you said, TheVolgun's incredible harrowing narration has made this one stick with me. The breakdown at the end had me genuinely disturbed and unsettled, in the best way. So good to see TES covering it too.

[@JinbaHGS]

I was on a road trip at the time. It was incredibly unsettling in that situation. Volgun is so talented!

[@brokentuskclan1795]

Rod Serling walks into frame: " Given enough time and Desperation, a sane person can shed all basic humanity and become feral, when no choice is available. Who knowns what lies in the hearts of civilised people, when a simple drive, can drive them to insanity....in the SCP."

[@Fulgrim2]

Love the subtle sound effects in that final message, that’s what I love about this channel, subtle details and hard work.

[@cyberprime9355]

This SCP, this freaking SCP is one of my worst nightmares. It is the idea of never getting home and seeing your family again, the idea of being so stuck in traffic that you can't ever leave the road..... ......only to to be damned to an anomaly despite going so far....this is just so well- crafted.

[@rodneykelly8768]

This is one of the few SCPs that I can only read once. Having been stuck in traffic jams, I can picture one that lasts forever.

[@xavis_dad]

Ya...

[@duuet5614]

Yeah as someone who drove 10 hours every day for about 2 years, this is too much for me to handle

[@FACTOTUM_55]

Well, YOUR forever. It does have an unfortunate end.

[@xavis_dad]

@@FACTOTUM_55 nah, samsara

[@kaimagnus5760]

Ironically I wouldn't be stuck in it for more than about 2 hours. Because with that much smog and exhaust my Asthma would kill me way before I figured out what was going on.

[@johncurtis9874]

To me, this SCP represents the feeling of going through life in this modern world we find ourselves in. There are a lot of parallels that can be drawn between the protagonist and the problems many of us experience in modern life: how it often seems that there's no point to anything besides just moving forward, how congested it feels when competing for a job or a promotion, how ruthless we need to be sometimes to get ahead or even just survive, the list goes on. When I think of modern horror, this SCP is one of the first things that comes to mind.

[@adameve2647]

Sometimes death is the only escape to suffering when living and breathing become more harder to achieve we look into the night sky speaking to god or gaze into vast empty barren space for freedom from this purgatory

[@jacobrutzke691]

​@@adameve2647nah i like tacos

[@Ghost_Onthehill]

This one always felt like the dark version of And The Road Streches On. Maybe its because I heard that one first, but both of these SCP's are my favorite to listen to on long drives. There is just something about an endless road trip that gets me

[@KaiserDeclan]

If you’re wondering the letter Æ is called ash, and was used in old English to represent a near open front unrounded vowel. To put that in a more normal way, it was the sound in between the letter A in all/ball and the letter E in Spanish. Basically due to reasons, I don’t feel like explaining they needed a separate letter to represent what we now call the short A sound in modern English.

[@Tahn0]

Æ in norway is after Z in the alphabet here. Though we have the 3 additional Æ, Ø and Å at the end

[@michaelandreipalon359]

Wonder if there'll be an Ñ for this weird series of letter tales?

[@Pr0digyZRX]

Easy explanation... Æ is ah... as he said at the beginning

[@sywrexile3078]

​@@Pr0digyZRX That is true, it is said as "Ah", but is called "Ash" in English. Was used in Latin but is still used in the cyrillic, Scandinavian & Germanic alphabets.

[@monolalia]

More like your regular modern English "a", innit? Or the various flavours of "ä" in Swedish, German, Finnish… Brat, gnat, fad, lad… æsthetics. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Near-open_front_unrounded_vowel.ogg

[@jimstone3014]

Last time I was this early, Lord Blackwood was still bipedal

[@CrusadingJello]

Scary SCPs: "Boo!" Readers: "Æ ! "

[@frenchtoasta420freedom6]

So True

[@jaewol359]

That last bit hits especially hard with the voice acting. I’m a sucker for last words that are so painfully human, and those are no exception. Great article, great narration, great listening experience.

[@vassagothedaemonprince9411]

Certainly one of the more simple yet effective SCPs out there, imo at least. Just very hooking and heartbreaking about someone who just wanted to go back to his home and family. Even more so when tv tropes added that the last messages implies that Richard was crushed to death. Possibly from the sheer amount of cars trying to desperately shove pass one another and the thinning of the lanes or tunnels. Hence the distortion, feedback, horns and screaming. Poor guy.

[@kingofthefunnyguys]

One of the best of the ABCS of death, something about this one was just really enjoyable to read for me

[@AnonYMous-on9co]

Dude. Longtime listener here, and I’m another person jumping from your Spotify page to tell you: your delivery in that last set was fucking phenomenal. Completely sold the story; wrapped it up in a wonderful bow of fear and suffering. You, my friend, have some goddamn chops!

[@boymeetsfish3589]

The Volgun did this one very well as well. Would love to see you two work together

[@EHH246]

0:25 Even the guy who wrote that journal said that being stuck in an Ikea sounded like "the setup for a bad joke."

[@MoolsDogTwoOfficial]

It's terrifying that it's implied that the tunnel at the end of the highway is endless, and whoever is inside it will be trapped by the deafening cacophony of horns and tortured souls. A fate worse than death IMO.

[@jacobatkins2548]

This is actually one of my favorite SCPs. I like listening to your explanation heavy version right after The Volgun’s dramatization. They compliment eachother well!

[@fathercrimmus9948]

I started watching a video while cooking dinner when I was stationed in Korea 4 years ago. I’ve almost finished the whole catalog. Love the back to back uploads & thank you for introducing me to the SCP universe. I look forward to both SCP and 40k uploads.

[@quicksilvertongue3248]

Just out of curiosity, when you say you've "almost finished the whole catalog", do you mean all the Exploring Series SCP videos, or all the videos on the whole channel?

[@chasefrost1401]

Volgun has this one if you want the reading to go along with this. Which I'll say, is a good pairing. It really is a good article. And volgun is great at voice acting, so it's just top quality.

[@grandshadowseal]

What one was it?

[@Nomadith]

​@@grandshadowsealbest to just search up volgun aerials - it's a keter

[@chasefrost1401]

Aerials

[@chasefrost1401]

Did it as one word instead of the whole thing

[@chasefrost1401]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/bmqqkmmMpZd4i8Usi=8heAkx9vVV88kxks

[@gray7035]

This one feels like a Stephen King short story, I love it!

[@FeedWillyStyle]

I'm 99% certain King did write a short story based on this exact concept many years ago.

[@UGNAvalon]

Was wondering why this sounded so familiar, then I remembered Volgun made a video on it. 10/10 would bawl my eyes out again.

[@slabulous00]

I'm so excited for this month. The effort you've gone through is very appreciated

[@joshuahendricks9558]

Good to see you posting frequently again Exploring Series. These videoes might just be entertainment. But plenty of times ive been overwhelmed and just needed an anchor, your videos always help.

[@dodsworth99]

2 of 31, 29 more stories to go. Thank you again for all this TES.

[@HCG]

That’s all he’s going to make?

[@dodsworth99]

@@HCG no, I'm sure we will enjoy more along with Warhammer 40k. TES is doing one for each day of October. That is a huge endeavor, that many videos put out daily with quality content. TES put out a little summary about it a few days ago

[@HCG]

@@dodsworth99 woah I didn’t know he was doing one each day, that’s crazy. I thought you were saying he was doing 30 more weeks of SCPs and then he’s done doing SCPs

[@DanielSan1776]

*OH BOY! IT’S 3AM!!*

[@ricardohoang8452]

Well not a right time when there are fire in Australian forest 😢

[@jacksonwilliams2380]

Aww shit here we go again

[@GoblinModeKnives]

You sir give me life every week

[@kpmh2001]

OH BOY 3AM!

[@SupermonkeyPlaysMC]

2:52 my time but my central standard time can step the fuck aside…. Cause ITS FINNA BE 3 AM

[@enriquehartmann8642]

I am roadtripping across the US right now for the first time. This is very appropriate

[@internetrules8522]

Stay safe my man!

[@Jqoen]

This reminds me of the other SCP with the agent going into a never ending road. And he met people along the way. That brother was on that road for 2 years

[@twicethess-ratedghoul7859]

I’m coming all the way from Spotify, which is where I often listen to your stuff, to say you did such an amazing job voicing that final transmission. Idk how often the comments say it, but I definitely think you do great ‘becoming a character’ and voicing them. And since I’m here, I’ve had this question for a while : is it more beneficial to listen to you on Spotify or watch the KZbin videos ?

[@eg_manifest510]

idk why but when you mentioned the kid on Christmas that's what really got me. I've read a few of these ABC skips and none have caused me much anguish or fright, but idk just hearing about that kid and knowing that his dad isn't gonna be there for the surprise caught on my heartstrings and pulled. Somehow that was scarier than a man melting into a puddle of nothing, or four girls turning into maddened gods and enslaving the world EDIT: oh wow it just gets worse, even Richard is talking about it EDIT2: yup that was one of the few skips that made me actually scared for the main character, and in general. Really well written, and all we need now is to force the author to write us a preferred good ending instead of leaving me sad for the kid and scared for Richard

[@amymargarethowe]

Thank you for doing an article from the A-Z Anthology!! I’ve been hoping that you would pick these up - your no-nonsense summaries are the best and introduced me to SCP in the early days of the pandemic. Can’t wait to see your takes on B-Z in the future (especially E and L)!

[@haezelroche]

Strap in boys, this ones a good one.

[@copyrightstrike4666]

As always I want you to know that whenever you upload a video, that day is going to be a little better. You are a fantastic narrator and getting better with each video, keep on killing it 🔥

[@shrimpbisque]

Volgun did a reading of this SCP! His voice acting is excellent; I recommend giving it a listen after this vid.

[@joe_krogan]

I love this channel with all my heart. I listen to these videos while on my way to work, when I make dinner, when I'm trying to fall asleep and so many other times. This channel has passively become a part of my daily life and I want to sat thank you to the guy running it. You keep me going, man.

[@axelprino]

I remember once reading a short story that had a similar start about thousands of people getting stuck in a traffic jam and having to organize to survive, but that one was a lot less explicitly supernatural, rather leaving the nature of the story up to the reader's interpretation. It also wasn't horror at all, it was some sort of reflection about society and whatnot, and by the end it had somehow turned into a romance story about a passionate but brief love with a vaguely bittersweet ending. This one just went head first into a tale of desperation and survival, it's curious to see how the same set up can lead to wildly different destinations depending on the author, but it's pretty on brand for an SCP article to crank up the madness as it goes forward. This month of SCPs is gonna fun, or more accurately, it is fun and getting better. Currently catching up the first few videos.

[@glitch-3107]

LA at 6pm is now a part of SCP cannon

[@CoLdDoG84]

I got major "There's a tunnel in your future" Vibes... no literary works have ever touched my mind in a similar way. Also, the SCP content is utterly amazing.

[@firescale8912]

*kicks tyres* "Isn't this one a re-tread?"

[@man_without_fear6518]

This was great. The Volgun did a great version of it too.

[@absconderblues9609]

Nice touch with the sound effects during Richard's dialogue. Thank you very much for the insane amount of work you put into this months SCP's, I'm really enjoying them and looking forward to one every day this month. Trick and treats. Thanks big time, you are the best for SCP content and you do a mean Lovecraft too

[@SiegmundXD7]

I remember hearing a reading of this one a few months back, and my mind still wanders to the v dark interpretation that this place either kills you, an accident or whatever on the highway, or dehumanizes you and forces you to do increasingly horrible things to make it to the “end” the end being a punishment of smog and fire for whoever was selfish enough to make it there

[@yolo_xenophone]

Traffic on the way to the Æon mall be like…

[@valentinroman4063]

For some reason i find this one the most horrific scp i have ever -heard- in this channel. The pure hysterical reaction of everyone make it scary

[@isaacgorski6054]

As a trucker with 4 kids and a wife... this is terrifying. This one broke me.

[@BuckBlaziken]

The article is so well written, even though I know there’s no live testimony, when he reached the tunnel or the incline I was really rooting that he made it out

[@entity707sfiles2]

Infinite space SCPs like this one, IKEA, the death highway, etc, are probably my favorite kind of SCPs. Liminal space and mundane horror is so much more interesting to me than just a monster that kills you in some horrific way. The exploration of what desperation can do to you, how you can hold out hope, what you do to keep yourself sane and justified, and what you sacrifice in these situations is always fascinating to me. This one is more hopeful than others I’ve seen, because Richard mostly keeps his morals despite what the people around him do and continues to love his family despite everything. I think it’s easy to believe that all those emotions would give out eventually, and maybe they would in reality, but it’s inspiring that he kept his humanity in the end.

[@09salt]

Thanks for reading these out, Series. These are amazing even though they aren't your works. The way you speak about them is fantastic. I don't understand how you make a horrifying biological horror calming to hear about.

[@redlady120]

Heard this a few months ago from TheVolgun. Hearing it as it is.. well I'm in shift right now and it made me cry. As a parent, I felt and understood what Richard felt when he realizes he will never see his son again. Even if it were fiction, may Richard find peace in that long never-ending road

[@ryanpirosch3977]

"I always knew" is such a gut-punch at the end of all things

[@alexharkness586]

Wow, what a nice SCP to hear when starting a four and a half hour bus trip. 🙃

[@megakazuya123]

"Richard is driven" *(Laughs in endless traffic)*

[@Anonymus600]

Daaaamn your voice acting on that last message was incredible!

[@pajamapantsjack5874]

Scp’s are great when you think about them a long while after. Ever time I get stuck on California traffic…I think what if I end up there.

[@emrysaki]

Exit 242, I-85 Honestly this SCP is just an accurate description of being stuck in Atlanta traffic.

[@WinterGray8888]

Oh boy I actually choked up you’re a great voice actor

[@RuefullyUrs]

This one broke me. It's such a heavy story.

[@mareoism]

It's 130 in the morning, and i got work at 5. This is going to be worth every minute im tired at work today.

[@tonyespo1363]

Got people singing you praises for your work. Throw me into the mix! Thank you for making my day just that little bit better!

[@BOTS31]

I am just going to like and comment. Because this content is amazing and should be recomended more to people

[@guitubagrips9719]

Thanks!

[@Welv1987]

Now I know why I was dreaming about that, I often listen scp video to fall asleep, and this one might have played a couple times. I finally found it. I like it. Better than usual nightmare (worst ones aren't even SCP related)

[@viirinsoftworks1304]

I think the whole thing is a metaphor for life. The road is life. You don't know what's going on ever, and different people got there in different ways. The sister jumping off the edge is suicide like it sounded like. It wasn't the freeway she jumped off of, but life itself. Some people didn't make it to the tunnel (some other end besides old age) just as we have all lost friends and family and acquaintances along our own lives- we've seen the bodies along the road, too. But as with an SCP, a metaphor is also a physical place. Just look at the other tunnel anomaly that represents pregnancy and birth.

[@tiagocf1208]

Anyone else reminded of acceleracers? feels like one of the tracks if the portal kept open forever and the cars smog got trapped in that dimension. With a infinite road floating in a void, never made to be visited outside of short time races.

[@null8fuffzn199]

The ABCs of death are such a treat. I can't get enough of this channel.

[@encycl0pediaman]

I love the exploring series and his readings of scps, and for this one specifically i highly reccomend listening to the volgans take on it, it really immerses you into the horror. A very well made scp i must say

[@drewdangsgamer6909]

Your narration and voice acting was phenomenal here, great scp vid! Much love 🫶

[@thomaspaine2217]

This might be my first comment here but I have seen literally every single video of yours. When I found your Channel I watched every old video back in a matter of days and I watch every new video within days too. You introduced me to SCP and Warhammer. This mini series is amazing as well. Please never stop, you bring much joy to the world.

[@hodanisbased4980]

This is one of the best articles out there. Crazy how much the story pushed a quiet, passive man like him to do so much awful shit just to survive

[@Monte_Carlo451]

WE ARE EATING GOOD THIS MONTH

[@wilsongutierrez-estela9797]

The volgun made this scp stick long term with me. Its cool that your coverings this.

[@cursedapostate3705]

Oh boy it's the scp that still gives me anxiety whenever I drive on the highway

[@FUNKY_BUTTLOVIN]

This kinda has a similar vibe to that other highway one, where theres weird buildings with angry eyes, people who stopped or whatever. Just thinking of a comment for le engagement ye yee

[@diamond_3716]

And the road stretches on aka SCP 5322 one of my favorites

[@rmhernandez2011]

I have listen to many of your SCP video's while falling asleep at night but I do not think I will be listening to this one late at night. Do not get me wrong I loved this one just as much as all your other ones, but for some reason this one scared me a litle. The ending feels terrible and I personaly believe that what was waiting for them at the other end of that dark tunnel was not a happy ending at all . I get visions of a monster eating its fill and then some. I think that the people who died a long the way and who did not make it to that tunnel where the lucky ones. By the way loving this, every day an SCP yay (happy dance)😀

[@chaliv203]

I just listened to this while in traffic at 4am i just made it to my workplace. I feel so fucking relieved. this was quite the great scp. Keep it up mate

[@RedMeansRecording]

Damn this one is deapressing :(

[@Unknown-br1uf]

"Æ: Representing the Latin diphthong ae, considered a Letter in some languages" 👁 "Aerial: A rod, wire, or other structure for receiving or transmitting Radio, or an adjective for Living/taking place in the air" 👁

[@pockpock6382]

Love it when i wake up and have something like this for breakfast

[@khartog01]

A drove humvees in the Army. Thanks for unlocking a new fear.

[@BerserkerLuke]

This scp is the concept of "just another lane" on steroids.

[@spilledink849]

Idk why but this feels like something straight out of The Magnus Archives

[@blackosprey2219]

That's exactly what I thought too. Physics defying space with a deep twisted sadism to it. It'd fit right in as a Vast or Apocalypse hellscape in the final season.

[@DerakosZrux]

"Someone should have done something by now." Seems like the hell many put themselves in when there's a real natural disaster and they realize that they're on their own and unprepared. Heck that should be the hell millions of people end up in every year as they watch a loved one bleed to death from a home or workplace accident and realize that they should, 100%, know how to stop bleeding as it's relatively easy and doesn't require anything expensive but they don't. So their loved one just dies. Cuz people are often useless. Imo, often to an evil degree. Free Stop the Bleed classes pretty much everywhere.

[@AfroChef]

Man I kid you not every time I have hit any traffic after reading this SCP I've thought of this skip, one of the most relatable ever

[@fishy5479]

one of many hell highways

[@polkalamypekopeko2969]

Thank you for your hard work. You are a living SCP God

[@filipsperl]

I like the aspect of the drivers getting angry and selfish, even if they wanted to cooperate at first. Like a slow corruption of distrust and everyone ultimately having only their own interests in mind. That's how most accidents happen. Maybe it was some sort of test and those that stayed eventually got out. Or, those that stayed eventually learned that people like them created the traffic jam in the first place. Lot of stuff to think about. I love roadmovies and this could probably be made into a nice short film

[@Skurai_X]

the last part where you acted out the scene with sound effects was really good, very cool

[@jonlee2553]

Great story, the most unbelievable part about it being that this guy worked for the foundation for 20 years and never saw anyone die.

[@GreenPonderingFrog]

Anything this man uploads is pure gold.

[@lydiahood7725]

I am pretty sure the inspiration for this SCP is not merely the aerials themselves but the song "Aerials" by System of a Down, since the song clearly convey the feeling of this SCP story and likely listening to the song while reading the SCP would be a great fit.

[@EspeonMistress00]

What? No. Idk how you would say that lol. I really love that song and I see no similarities except with the name

[@lydiahood7725]

@@EspeonMistress00 The song literally speak about going mad, the song escalate from depressed to enraged, just like the story, with the main character at first being fairly chill, than depressed and at the end completely mad, I don't understand how you could miss the similarities.

[@EspeonMistress00]

@@lydiahood7725 Well I feel the circumstances are very different tho. The vibes are very different. That's my interpretation of the song and the SCP. Hence I don't see them being ACTUALLY intentionally related.

[@TheTruthContestt]

Wtf are you talking about? You are reaching BIG time 😂

[@guitubagrips9719]

I like your funny words, [REDACTED] Man

[@derigel9783]

For all of you interrested in a dramatic reading of this, TheVolgun made a fricking good one.

[@wheatum730]

Æ is also my favorite letter of the English alphabet

[@Discotekh_Dynasty]

This is a great commentary on car centric culture and planning tbh

[@Ayahuasca98]

Weird how Richard and Scranton are some of the best characters despite only appearing in a single article. They aren’t some badass warrior or some hardened d-class. They’re just workers who have something that drives them.

[@Ragtags]

This is like ... well I've never been so amp for so much content. Thanks you