The World to Bear (Seeking Greenlight)

Summary:

Negative thoughts = Bear attack! A character study in the form of a man and a bear.

The World to Bear (Seeking Greenlight)

Catred13 24 Apr 2020 00:16

Seeking Greenlights: Yes

Page Type: SCP Article

Genre: Drama/Emotional, Comedy (?)

Page Layout: Standard layout, thinking with 2-4 addendum marking noted incidents while under Foundation care.

Elevator Pitch:
A person who, every time they have thoughts about suicide of self harm, must fight a bear that appears out of thin air.

• The individual was administered a treatment for what they were told was a “revolutionary new way to fight depression”.

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Central Narrative:

• After several public maulings, the individual is taken to the Foundation, and as initial testing starts so does treatment for their depression.

• Through at least 1 interview the reader is shown that this individual still has a will to live, but still has these negative and destructive thoughts. It is a process to get well, and this individual has not yet given up yet on becoming well again.

• Possibly a further note or log about psychological state of the individual over the course of some time.

• Addendum noting that due to marked improvement and 9 months free of bear attacks, the individual is cleared to be released back into the population under surveillance and the use of an amnestic.

• Concluding addendum from 5-6 years later that shows the individual had a severe relapse due to an unknown cause and nearly died in the subsequent bear attack. The individual is remanded to Foundation care to undergo continuing therapy until anomalous effects are once again neutralized.

Hook/Attention-Grabber:
This SCP is a bit of a character study of a mentality, just using the form of a man and a bear.

I want to write an SCP that deals with depression in the way I know many deal with it on a daily basis, as this big lumbering shadow that you know will bite you in the butt, but that can’t stop you from making fun of it all the way down.

Additional Notes:
I am looking on advice and ideas on the following specifically:

• What kinds of questions would you ask someone who has this sort of problem?
• What don’t you want to see in a portrayal of depression?
• Is there a known psychology department at the Foundation? If so, can you point me in the direction of any possible doctor or interviewer names?

And other than those, please send any other feedback you have.

I have a rough basis for my idea so can give further details than the above if needed. Thank you for your time and help!

As a courtesy to our readers on mobile devices, please collapse long posts. ~Zyn

Last edited on 24 Apr 2020 04:14 by Zyn Show more

Re: The World to Bear (Seeking Greenlight)

RockTeethMothEyes 25 Apr 2020 04:10

Okay. I don't say this lightly. This is amazing.

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It's a silly premise, but I can't help but find the themeing behind it charming and understanding. It's a different portrayal of the "inner demons physically manifest" trope that I can really get behind. The terror of being pursued by an angry bear makes sense, realistically and metaphorically. Being stuck with your thoughts can be a daunting thing if you are struggling with depression.

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What kinds of questions would you ask someone who has this sort of problem?

Depends on what the "problem" here is. If it's the self-harm, stuff like "How frequently do you have these thoughts?" and "Is there anything on your mind?" are important to assess the severity of the situation and a possible root cause (though there sometimes isn't an outside conflict, and it really is just their own head). If it's the bear, I think questions like "When did this start?" and "Do these thoughts always manifest a bear?" could be useful.

What don’t you want to see in a portrayal of depression?

Depression is very much an invisible disease. Anyone can have it, and some people are taken by surprise when someone near them reveals that they have it. Depending on the severity, it might be more obvious and more difficult to be around. However, they are normal people with a unique struggle. I think it would most break my suspension of disbelief if the character just had break down after break down after break down.

Is there a known psychology department at the Foundation? If so, can you point me in the direction of any possible doctor or interviewer names?

I'm not great at knowing Foundation specifics like this, mostly because There Is No Canon™ and I just make it up if I need it to exist. There is a Department of Containment Psychiatry, though that's kind of a dark place to tread.

Suffice to say, I like this idea. Consider this a greenlight. You do need two to use the drafts forum, so I suggest reaching out to another reviewer through the IRC chatroom or the Butterfly Squad Roster.

Last edited on 25 Apr 2020 10:38 by RockTeethMothEyes Show more

Re: The World to Bear (Seeking Greenlight)

Sonderance 03 May 2020 04:46

Whew, I like this! The intentional manifestation of intrusive thoughts as literal bears to be fought seems like a fantastic way to depict the struggle to remove such thoughts from our psyches. As long as you maintain the focus on the individual's feelings and perception of their experiences, this is an easy greenlight on my part.

As for the questions about the canon of psychology at the Foundation, I think RTME put most of what I was going to say better than I could.

Re: The World to Bear (Seeking Greenlight)

SNOM 03 May 2020 06:09

Please ignore this, it was unhelpful. I might give feedback on the draft if its ready!

Last edited on 11 May 2020 06:22 by SNOM Show more

Staff Post - Closed

A Random Day 04 May 2020 04:49

Don't say "I give a bluelight". You aren't able or allowed to give greenlights, so don't go confusing new users with made-up, meaningless terms like "bluelights". Repeating this error will result in harsher disciplinary measures.

Catred13, please ignore SNOM. The bluelight does not exist. You need greenlights from qualified users.

This is a closed staff post. Do not reply to this post if you are not staff.