Might as well be form posting these, but I still think you're the best damn character writer on the site.
There's Magic in the Air / Discussion
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This is the discussion related to the wiki page There's Magic in the Air.
(account deleted)I guess I must be a jerk, because throughout this series, I find myself identifying more with the auditor guy than anyone else. He seems to raise some defensible points.
Anyway, some dissonant notes for me:
- The "Matthew Broderick" thing is wearing thin now. It wasn't really funny to me, personally, when the joke first showed up, and it's becoming tiresome now.
- The "asked the auditor in a voice that sounded like Microsoft Sam had developed Malcolm McDowell's accent" line struck me as exceedingly silly. Like, I suppose I should get that, but it seems to be a little obscure to be effectively used a simile in prose writing.
- The idea of the researcher getting fired and then finding a job with another GoI. Even accepting this universe having an Anomalous Firms industry sector which would allow such a thing, I can't imagine the Foundation lets staff walk like that.
- The existence of magic in the Foundation universe is something I have real problems with. That's a whole ball of wax that I could spend pages on, but suffice to say it's something I have a very hard time reading about and liking.
Most of this stuff is just personal preferences of mine, so it's not like this is a bad article or anything. But it definitely clashes violently with what I like to see in material here.
The existence of magic in the Foundation universe is something I have real problems with.
Oh really? Then please, dig out this 'ball of wax' and tell me what your problem with it is.
Firstly, a counter-argument: in the Foundation Universe, we've pretty much established, that, depending on your canon, every myth/fantasy-fiction/sci-fi trope ever is true, and then some. Bigfoot, several Abrahamic myths, several other non-Abrahamic religions, aliens, ghosts, dragons (and dragon snails), haunted videogames, beings that live within books, statues that move when you don't see them, a thing that kills you if you do see it, comic books that drive you insane, toys that can kill people by turning them into god-damn teenagers instantly… and you honestly have a problem with magic?
Some people will say that magic is a crutch for holding up weirder parts of a story. I say those people don't know what they're talking about. Magic is a necessary part of the story. Any good fantasy author knows this, and knows how to handle magic as part of their world. The People of the SCP Foundation Wiki, I believe, have proven themselves to be more than competent fantasy authors. Like it or not, fantasy tropes pervade the very being of the wiki; there is The Dragon who is fought by The Knight, the Succubus, The Trickster, the Loyal Paladins, the Cult… hell, without using metaphor, look at the Serpent's Hand! They may as well be fantasy personified. They use magic all the time in stories and in the Wanderer's Library, always making pacts with deities and using anomalies freely.
So, what, exactly, is your problem with magic?
Firstly, a counter-argument: in the Foundation Universe, we've pretty much established, that, depending on your canon, every myth/fantasy-fiction/sci-fi trope ever is true, and then some.
I bolded the part that makes your statement self-contradictory. In my mind, we've collectively "established" that there's this organization called The Foundation, there are occasional phenomena that don't adhere to the established precepts of reality for whatever reason, and the Foundation contains them to protect what it considers consensus reality. That's it. Literally everything else has been tinkered with in the collected works of the site.
To run with that, no, we have most certainly not established that "every myth/fantasy-fiction/sci-fi trope ever is true". That may be the view that you and many others take, and that's fine, but that statement is not exactly the point of gospel you make it out to be.
Some people will say that magic is a crutch for holding up weirder parts of a story.
In some cases, but not all, it is. Even in cases where it's a fleshed-out and explored element of a story, I don't like it. Either "magic" is not defined and is therefore a meaningless attempt at a unified theory of anomalies (in which case why even bother), or it's an explanation borrowed from the vague notion of fantasy literature as perceived by Western writers. In the case of your story and nearly every other piece on here that employs magic, the latter is what's going on. There are two reasons I don't like that:
- In a lot of cases, I feel that it needlessly pigeonholes things into pre-defined tropes and conventions, which means that you have things like literal alchemists and wizards and spells showing up. I have no problem at all with fantasy genre writing, I enjoy it a lot, but I don't particularly care for it here.
- More importantly to me, "because magic" is an actual explanation in these works for anomalous phenomena. The fact that there is any explanation at all for anomalies takes away from the uncanny nature and reality-breaking weirdness that I think serves as a very compelling tone for our works. If there's an explanation, then to me the mystery goes away and the feel that I came to the site in the first place for just isn't there. I'm willing to suspend that from time to time for stuff like the SCP-001 proposals, but mostly I don't care for it.
I say those people don't know what they're talking about.
As a side note, don't make passive-aggressive strawmen. If you're going to disagree with me, then disagree with me.
Any good fantasy author knows this, and knows how to handle magic as part of their world. The People of the SCP Foundation Wiki, I believe, have proven themselves to be more than competent fantasy authors.
You make the supposition that what everyone is here to do is write fantasy, and that everything on the wiki is classified as "fantasy". That is not accurate. At all. That's your personal interpretation, and you're free to judge the works here through that filter accordingly, same as me. But don't lecture me about how your personal canon is law. That's bullshit.
Like it or not, fantasy tropes pervade the very being of the wiki;
What's your point, here? You cited two articles (that despite their age and historical importance to the wiki aren't really that good, IMO), a separate site canon which is specifically set apart from the main works of the wiki, and some GoIs. Yes, there are quite a few fantasy-based things on the wiki. How exactly does the existence of those things "pervade the very being of the wiki" to the point that I am forbidden to not like "magic"?
look at the Serpent's Hand! They may as well be fantasy personified. They use magic all the time in stories and in the Wanderer's Library, always making pacts with deities and using anomalies freely.
Yeah, I don't like the Serpent's Hand. I'm pretty open about that. Tell me, am I allowed to not like the Serpent's Hand?
TL;DR: It's a personal preference that deeply affects my enjoyment of articles, and I vote accordingly. A stance that is well within site guidelines and practices. I would appreciate it if you didn't get all pissy and try to lecture me on how your interpretation is The Correct One and how there is no room at all to disagree with it.
Theological and alchemical consultant.
Yessss. It's the little things that make a lot of your stuff fun, and this tale is no exception. Well done, looking forward to the next one.
Oh man, is this the one you've been working on since forever? If so, bravo. You did a really good job writing this one up. I quite liked what you did with the auditor character, and the magical elements were cool, in my opinion. I hope you write more tales like this one for this canon, because they rock.
Whether you like it or not, history is on our side. We will bury you!
/forum/t-859288/there-s-magic-in-the-air#post-
page revision: 1, last edited: 25 Feb 2021 03:57
