{"body":"11:57 AM <~barredowl> so, shall we start with our first impressions?\r\n11:57 AM <+cybersqyd> i like this one\r\n11:57 AM <~barredowl> i, for one, like this quite a bit.\r\n11:57 AM Why?\r\n11:57 AM <+cybersqyd> the juxtaposition of really horrible things happening and everyone being chill with it is fun\r\n11:57 AM I much prefer this one over the last one\r\n11:58 AM <~barredowl> there were parts where the random-y elements got to me a bit went a little too far, but i think the dynamic cyber mentioned is enjoyable.\r\n11:58 AM <~barredowl> well, i think they went too far a lot of the time. but idk.\r\n11:58 AM <%red3> I'm going to have to go, so I'll just give my overall opinion now. This tries to be weirdly horrific in the same way that Cousin Johnny tries to be brutally horrific. That is to say, it dumps a ton of weird shit onto the reader and expects them to be terrified from it. It doesn't work, to say the least. A lot of the scenes are boring, the horror is basic, and it's too shallow to really dig under my skin. It's like it's \r\n11:58 AM <%red3> afraid to do something horrible without immediately backpedalling and saying \"woah, woah, woah, everybody thinks this is a chill, don't worry.\" This is a light downvote from me.\r\n11:59 AM <+cybersqyd> i...think everyone being chill with this really makes it even more horrifying personally\r\n11:59 AM I actually agree with cyber on that. But I didn't like it overall\r\n11:59 AM and, quite frankly, I'm glad that we've moved away from this kind of storytelling on the site\r\n11:59 AM <+cybersqyd> it puts this in like a very like, surreal state where like, everything is happening and nothing is behaving right and it's like...more intense?\r\n11:59 AM <+cybersqyd> yeah, i mean, i think this kind of thing would get tiresome real quickly\r\n12:00 PM <+cybersqyd> but i think this executes it nicely\r\n12:00 PM Pepper is a great writer, but this feels surprisingly low-effort from them\r\n12:00 PM <+cybersqyd> i am definitely not biased by the inclusion of cephalopods \r\n12:00 PM <+cybersqyd> i mean it's from 2014; it's probably one of his first pieces on the site?\r\n12:00 PM Yeah\r\n12:01 PM Mainly cause this has the advice that I listened to from users yesterday about what makes a horror anomaly so unique: this has a purpose but we really don't understand why this does it still, like its alien to us. Example being that Laughy (2030-1) has been doing all of this since the 70's and that we still don;t understand what is the main goal. What Laughy does is target indivduals who then die to something \r\n12:01 PM unrelated to them. Which, from this fact alone, could mean any number of things to give the reader thoughts and ideas\r\n12:01 PM (About why I like this, I mean ^)\r\n12:01 PM I am generally of the opinion that shock horror works best when it's earned. We have to CARE about why this shit is happening to someone in order for it to really feel like it's a shock. Otherwise it's just... a thing? It happens, but it's more statistical in that this sort of thing happened for 30+ seasons\r\n12:01 PM <~barredowl> i think part of why this doesn't /fully/ work for me is that the connection between people watching the show and people being featured in the show is overplayed.\r\n12:02 PM <~barredowl> because i think that's one of the main components of horror in this: how people have this happen to them and what triggers it. i do agree that caring about the characters, though, is important for this kind of thing.\r\n12:03 PM <+cybersqyd> Malyce: see normally I'd agree but I think the disconnect works here: it really means there's a much stronger juxtaposition between humour and horror here than there would be if we associated with the characters more\r\n12:03 PM <+cybersqyd> like, all the events here are bordering on almost being funny and there's like, the slow horror of that; whereas if it was people we cared about, the humour would feel...a lot more out of place and jarring?\r\n12:03 PM Yeah, but it really belabors that. It just becomes an excessively long tide of bizarre for the sake of bizarre. Like, I'd care MORE if this shit kept happening to the same person\r\n12:05 PM Like if this person keeps going through the motions of being eternally pranked and their \"laugh/relief\" response keeps getting more and morethreadbare as the show progressed? this I'd find a lot more horrific and thus enjoyable.\r\n12:05 PM This just seems like we're reading yet another awful thing that is supposed to be kinda funny\r\n12:06 PM like a 4chan troll posting pictures/webms of animal torture because it's funny how the thing bounces in this one frame.\r\n12:06 PM <~barredowl> i could definitely see myself enjoying that more\r\n12:06 PM <~barredowl> hmm.\r\n12:08 PM I have Opinions\r\n12:08 PM I feel like I should not sometimes\r\n12:08 PM I apologize if I'm ruining the fun of this piece\r\n12:08 PM <~barredowl> it's alright. your input is always appreciated\r\n12:08 PM Mmmm now malyce does make a good point about us caring about a guy that had this happen to them every season. However, since this is a lot of people that are being targets either on purpose or by mistake, then it's still a bit horrifying. Personally (and this is just something I think would be more in-universe) if a major director of a Foundation site got targeted by this entity, that would be more daunting with a \r\n12:08 PM tagline \"Just laugh, I'm already in.\" To hammer in the fact that even the foundation isn't safe from this thing\r\n12:09 PM <~barredowl> see, i don't think that particular thing would work for me? it seems a bit too much outside the original premise for my tastes.\r\n12:09 PM Having people argue both sides makes it more interesting. Besides, your views as an experienced author are (at least to me) interesting to hear Malyce\r\n12:09 PM <+cybersqyd> see as much as i think malyce could be right; i also think having just one character would mean this gets, tiring really quickly? they'd very quickly just be done with it and stop reacting or w/e and idk. it'd feel more cliche too, i think?\r\n12:09 PM — DrMoned pops in while at work for a few mins\r\n12:10 PM <~barredowl> yeah, i think i'm sorta with cyber\r\n12:11 PM <~barredowl> they're ultimately, pretty different stories to tell\r\n12:11 PM Oh, I'd 100% agree that if this was this long and with one character it'd get old\r\n12:11 PM but I think that it gets old with this length and different characters\r\n12:13 PM <~barredowl> yeah.\r\n12:15 PM <~barredowl> on that note, does anyone have any concluding thoughts? i think i've either mostly expended my perspective or had my thoughts echoed by others.\r\n12:15 PM Same\r\n12:15 PM Not much to say really, a better piece than the last one, soooo I'm going to give this one a novote, leaning to upvote\r\n12:16 PM Also, cybersqyd i really do appreciate that we continue to follow the trend of \"malyce and sqyd disagree\". It's a big reason why you're one of my favorite critters.\r\n12:16 PM <+cybersqyd> :D\r\n12:16 PM Downvote, for stated reasons\r\n12:16 PM <+cybersqyd> this is an upvote cos i like what it's trying to do even if i do agree that the execution is...a little too drawn out\r\n12:16 PM <~barredowl> agreeing with sqyd\r\n12:17 PM Thank you for inviting me to participate in these discussions\r\n12:17 PM They've been insightful. \r\n12:17 PM <~barredowl> no problem\r\n12:17 PM <~barredowl> glad you enjoy them\r\n","name":"SCP-2030","extension":"txt","url":"https://www.irccloud.com/pastebin/zWzfAP92/SCP-2030","modified":1596227612,"id":"zWzfAP92","size":7733,"lines":61,"own_paste":false,"theme":"","date":1596227612}