SCP-5952 / Discussion

This is the discussion related to the wiki page SCP-5952.

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Post-Author

UraniumEmpire 03 Oct 2020 22:26

subjective and short sighted
your words when they ridicule mine
feel like i need to scream
in order to outvoice an ant

---

#justamericanthings: the death cult of panopticism, sadism, and xtian imperialism that permeates the "rehab" industry.

Thanks to A Random Day for helping with Rockwell's name (and crit!), and kinchtheknifeblade for helping me nail the Christian angle. Thanks to stormbreath, SecretCrow, A Green Squid Kid, aismallard, Tufto, and Captain Kirby for the critique!

Part one of Christ In Scarlet.

Translation notes

• "Warbalang" is a nonsense word that came to my head, possibly an artifact of the knowledge of the "Berbalang", a Filipino mythical beast. In-universe, I imagine it was coined by one of the children, so if it turns into something distracting in your own language, consider this a baseline for a new word.
• Pastor Warbler's dialogue was intended as an emulation of the archetypal southern US hellfire and salvation preacher you'd see at outdoor revivals, while the Unknown Man/Elder Rockwell is the archetypal "behind the pew" preacher. Feel free to explore your own language's quirks wrt such things.
• Researcher Ford is referred to with gender neutral pronouns in the non-dialogue logs. I intended this because I saw her as a trans woman who hadn't realized she's trans/come out and just wanted to avoid dysphoria. Make of it however your language does that kind of thing.
• This skip is meant to explore the American Religious Right, the "Troubled Teen" industry, and the contradictory use of brutality in pursuit of propriety. Absolutely feel free to add or cut stuff to get the point across to non-American audiences.
• The use of "egregore" is a reference to a book whose name I can't remember, consisting of an antisemitic diatribe against Jewish people and apparently Flat Earth theory. Said book claimed Jewish people worshipped an "egregore". This is meant to tie into the theme of Christian Identity, a neo-fascist movement espousing the doctrine of "serpent seed" to justify white supremacy.
• Yes, the Foundation fucking up latine last names is deliberate.

warbalang

EDIT: Didn't think I'd have to do this:

+ Spoilers

• WWSCSTT are Christians, most similar to American Baptists but with select beliefs reminiscent of certain aspects of Catholicism and Pentacostalism.
• Roy Warbler's name is only significant if you account for his first name, too.
• What killed Schumer was not the Warbalang, but they were just as smart. She was alive until the day her remains were discovered.

---

… and I'm not Robert Frost.

Last edited on 01 Oct 2022 20:25 by UraniumEmpire Show more

Re: Post-Author

Rody The Pterodactyl 07 Oct 2020 15:27

+1, very good! Just don't know if the Foundation would use neutral pronouns, but whatever.

TheHouseOfBalloons 04 Oct 2020 01:28

This was terrifying in the best possible way! Your stuff is always great but I think you really outdid yourself here!

+1

Last edited on 04 Oct 2020 01:29 by TheHouseOfBalloons Show more

Nickthebrick1 04 Oct 2020 04:31

I'm still confused, what happened here?

Grigori Karpin 05 Oct 2020 08:55

So a) I found this riveting and it’s an easy +1

But b) I’m pretty confused and would looooooove a spoiler explanation if it pleases you.

Anyway, great stuff

+1

Rounderhouse 05 Oct 2020 16:17

Slow-build, unnerving as hell, love it. Stellar.

Captain Kirby 06 Oct 2020 15:30

God I feel bad I never got around critting this whole thing before, but luckily it didn't need it. Heavy 3935 vibes in a good way. The start was a little slow but once I hit the second set of recordings I felt like I was in the middle of Amnesia Except Its A Catholic School. Very good work.

Its a Bad Idea 08 Oct 2020 16:04

Fantastic atmosphere, riveting dialogue, and terrifying implications. Straight-foreword in its presentation, yet compelling nonetheless. Very good indeed.

Maxim Shemet 18 Oct 2020 02:48

I was unnerved and I liked it but I feel like I missed out on a lot. What was the deal with the Warbalang and the squid thing? Was it a coincidence that Pastor's name was similar? What happened to Ford? So confused.

vivianviolet 19 Oct 2020 20:59

Oh man that was a good read! I adore the southern US/gulf coast stuff by katemctiriss and I’m ecstatic to see it pop up again. Very much looking forward to whatever the rest of this christ in scarlet thing has in store!

Professor Bunni 21 Oct 2020 04:11

My favorite SCPs are those that get under my skin but never offer any final resolution. They itch. I'll spend days after reading worrying over them, trying to puzzle out a solution. Sometimes I'll have some insight, but the best ones leave me perplexed. Sometimes, years later, an image from these will pop into my head in a quiet moment - as I'm waking up, as I'm spacing out at my desk - and I'll wonder what, exactly, was up with that really weird SCP. You know. The one with the kid heads. The one with dead girl and the politician appearing in dreams. The ones that almost but don't quite form a coherent image. That feel like they should. There are alarming details but no obvious connections between them.

How does it all fit together? What am I missing? Would knowing ease the unease or chill it into full-on dread?

This has that feeling. As you continue this, please withhold explanations and connections. Resist the temptation to show off elaborate dioramas. It will be much better that way.

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