# Pastebin zYHQQQiB
11:15 AM <~barredowl> so my first impressions are the following: this feels a lot weaker than the previous tale.
11:15 AM <+cybersqyd> yeah
11:15 AM <~barredowl> i wasn't really caring for the characters, nor did i feel they had any discernible or relatable traits.
11:15 AM <BlueJones> Mhm, a tiny bit weaker
11:16 AM <+cybersqyd> it lacked narrative punch
11:16 AM <~barredowl> yeah, it felt very directionless.
11:16 AM <BlueJones> It certainly didn't feel unique
11:16 AM <~barredowl> kinda forgettable.
11:17 AM <red3> Yeah, a lot of the initial appeal for me is gone at this point, so now I'm just going on the content of the articles themselves, and a lot of it is lost on me. This article just seems like a filler episode of a cartoon with no immediate consequences or payoff besides a guy getting his arms covered in bugs for three sentences.
11:17 AM <+cybersqyd> yeah
11:18 AM <~barredowl> yeah, and for this series, which is only six tales long (at least the section we're reading), it's a really bad thing to have something this "filler".
11:19 AM <~barredowl> i don't really have much to say about it, unfortunately, considering there wasn't a lot which "stuck" for me
11:19 AM <red3> And with all the lore that this thing supposedly has, there isn't a lot of content to back it up. It's like placing the reader in a fully fleshed-out D&D world or some other fantasy series, and then focusing them on some school children going through their day. There is some appeal there and an itch that it does scratch, but with all of this potential I really wanted to see more.
11:19 AM <~barredowl> other than i think this doesn't feel like a good sign for a series when half of its tales just feel like exposition.
11:19 AM <~barredowl> all setup and no payoff.
11:20 AM <BlueJones> How many tales are in this again? Aside from the ones we're reviewing?
11:20 AM <~barredowl> red3: yeah. i do like some of the descriptions of foundation stuff (in the last tale, for instance, the library was somewhat interesting), but it's very superficial
11:20 AM <red3> BlueJones: Eight in total, six in the main storyline.
11:20 AM <~barredowl> yeah
11:20 AM <+cybersqyd> This feels like it could be like, a nice introductory tale for like, people new to the SCP wiki to read maybe; but then, it also feels like it's...relying a lot on weird details so maybe not?
11:21 AM <~barredowl> hmm, yeah.
11:21 AM <~barredowl> this is kinda spoiling my opinions on the other tales because it's like, when are we going to get to the point?
11:22 AM <BlueJones> Its difficult to tell really. If this is how I think these tales are going to go and going by the number of articles here, its just going to go around in circles about these guys not understanding our world
11:22 AM <+cybersqyd> I...somewhat disagree a touch? Or at least, it made the last tale feel stronger in comparison cos I read this and it reminds me of the sheer charm of it
11:22 AM <~barredowl> yeah, there's some of that for me too
11:23 AM <+cybersqyd> But yeah, it feels like it's missing the opportunity to really...do something with this beyond 'haha look at these people who don't know what human stuff is'
11:24 AM <~barredowl> like, what i want from this is to either explore the foundation universe or the antarctic reaction to this universe further. it feels like a mix of both without really developing either of them.
11:24 AM <+cybersqyd> yeah
11:24 AM <~barredowl> it really feels superficial when you get down to it
11:25 AM <+cybersqyd> red3: i'm circling back to your thoughts on this in terms of e.g. world building and stuff and I find myself agreeing
11:25 AM <+cybersqyd> It's like, two vastly different worlds colliding and we're seeing...some random side stuff
11:26 AM <+cybersqyd> The introductory character thing really felt like it was setting up a lot more intrigue and stuff? Like it was gonna be a big, complex story with lots of characters and stuff; and then everyone interesting has disappeared and we're left looking at the lesser characters
11:26 AM <red3> Yeah, and considering that there's only two tales directly set in the Empire that has all of this world-building, it doesn't really make sense to focus that much energy on that.
11:26 AM <+cybersqyd> yeah
11:26 AM <+cybersqyd> hm
11:26 AM <+cybersqyd> I think I'd be more okay with this in a bigger canon?
11:26 AM <~barredowl> hmm indeed.
11:27 AM <+cybersqyd> Like if it was BM, and there were a tonne of tales, seeing some relatively minor, low-key stuff would be nice
11:27 AM <red3> cybersqyd: I agree somewhat. From what I've seen from this series so far, it doesn't look like it wants to have some big overarching story, but more just giving a collection of slice-of-life experiences with a concept like this. However, those experiences can still be intertwined with a bigger overall narrative and they can have more connections to each other besides just "One Antartican and his friend doing something 
11:27 AM <red3> that ends up having no consequences later on in the series."
11:27 AM <+cybersqyd> yeah
11:29 AM <+cybersqyd> (as much as wrapping the conversation up this early feels off, it kinda seems like we've all said all we want to?)
11:29 AM <BlueJones> The thing is, it doesn't have a good forward motivation when compared to canons like Those Twisted Pines or End of Death where you either have multiple tales that are short and sweet and satisfactory or a  plot thread to lead you to the next tale of "Oh my god so that's why they did X! To get to Y!" but here it doesn't satisfy me enough to want to read more? I guess? Its hard for me to pinpoint where I just lost the 
11:29 AM <BlueJones> motion to keep reading this
11:30 AM <~barredowl> yeah, now that the charm has kinda worn off with this one, i'm kinda apprehensive about the next three.
11:30 AM <~barredowl> okay, sorry about this, but i have to get toilet paper for my brother
11:30 AM <~barredowl> gbye
11:30 AM <+cybersqyd> wait like, long good bye?
11:31 AM <~barredowl> back
11:31 AM <~barredowl> no, short one
11:31 AM <+cybersqyd> wb
11:31 AM <~barredowl> so anyway\
11:32 AM <+cybersqyd> do we want to reconsider canons after the next story?
11:32 AM <~barredowl> i'm curious if new authors coming and telling their respective tales might improve this series overall?
11:32 AM <+cybersqyd> maybe
11:32 AM <red3> I agree with Blue's thoughts for the most part, but I think part of the lack of motivation to continue reading comes down to just how bland the initial concept of this was.
11:32 AM <~barredowl> cybersqyd: idk, that seems wrong to me.
11:32 AM <~barredowl> should probably stick around and still read it, cause it may offer a valuable lesson in the future
11:33 AM <+cybersqyd> yeah, I mean. I was opening it for discussion cos idk whether folk want to or not; I know if I was reading for like, my own enjoyment, I'd likely stop soon but *shrugs*
11:33 AM <+cybersqyd> ...part of me does really want to read at least the next tale
11:33 AM <BlueJones> red3: Mhm, perhaps its to do with the blandness BUT this canon is old, so mayhaps as owl rightly said, if new authors sat down and said "We got this whole empire to play with, lets use this" then perhaps it would be worth the slog to get to the fresh stuff
11:33 AM <+cybersqyd> yeah
11:33 AM <+cybersqyd> i'd love to see some interesting stuff here
11:34 AM <+cybersqyd> some real like, intrigue and like, the empire playing dumb and stuff
11:34 AM <+cybersqyd> maybe like, infiltrating the goc and things
11:34 AM <~barredowl> zyn has a tale in here so maybe that could offer something? also dmatix -\_(._. )_/-
11:34 AM <+cybersqyd> a zyn tale is likely gonna be good
11:34 AM <red3> I agree with that. There's also a lot more to explore with the location of an entire anomalous empire that faceless Foundation sites don't offer.
11:34 AM <+cybersqyd> she's done some really great things
11:35 AM <+cybersqyd> though, she also tends to write very slice of life-y things so it might not fix the issues with the canon :/
11:35 AM <~barredowl> i mean this series is called "Site-19 Exchangees" so idk
11:35 AM <~barredowl> maybe it'll still stick around the foundation site
11:35 AM <BlueJones> red3: I'd be down to just write something for this canon, just to prove that this canon can provide some more interesting stuff
11:36 AM <+cybersqyd> ihp's tale here is probably gonna be pretty good; it's a shame it's not in this section of the canon :(
11:36 AM <red3> Do we want to read the two tales that take place within the Empire one day, or just stick with the main six?
11:37 AM <~barredowl> i'm not sure
11:37 AM <+cybersqyd> i say we read more and then like, at the end of the six, we can see how we feel?
11:37 AM <red3> We don't have to decide it now.
11:37 AM <red3> Yeah, what Cyber said.
11:37 AM <~barredowl> yeah
11:38 AM <~barredowl> so for what it's worth, do you think we should take a quick break before jumping into the next tale?
11:38 AM <+cybersqyd> ...I kinda feel like we may have technically already but *shrugs*
11:38 AM <red3> Sure.
11:38 AM <BlueJones> Yeah, I'm down for quick break
11:38 AM <~barredowl> hmm.
11:38 AM <~barredowl> ok