I saw this in its draft form, and I loved it then, and I love it now. The ending is such a wonderful subversion of typical bleak and dark end of the world endings. Emphatic +1.
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I'm drawn to that sorta library magic
Whisperin' through the dusty aisles
Watchin' all the thinkers read
But I can see the sunshine's rays gleaming through the clear water
Telling me you gotta hop in for this chapter's ride
There will always be better days
I became an administrator of the SCP sister site, the Wanderer's Library, around two years ago. Back then it was getting maybe 1 article a month. After a lot of work, we have a lively, if small, community of our own and regularly host contests to a small cadre of dedicated writers and readers. There's a different kind of satisfaction in seeing something spring up around you and knowing it wouldn't be possible without the work you put in. I get that same feeling from the WL site itself and from this entry.
This is my love letter to the Library, to SCP, and to everyone that has participated in either and fallen in love with the stories themselves. This is something I'm really happy with, and excited to share with all of you.
A massive thank you to literally everyone that read this there's too many to name, but you know who you are. Special thank yous to Valdevia for making the 6000-A image, to
Aethris for making the FUSILLADE logo, and to lynch for remastering some of the images. To
Uncle Nicolini — you helped me develop what would eventually become this article. To
rumetzen for giving me a place to shine. And to
thedeadlymoose for not only allowing me to use their AA and giving me insight into their thought process and lore, but for originally developing the concepts of the Wanderer's Library and Serpent's Hand to begin with.
I hope you enjoy this!
In the event this does not win, I would like for this to be 6999. If I can't get that either, it will be my second 001 proposal.
The paragraph about Ways is from Magic Orientation by thedeadlymoose, licensed under CC BY SA 3.0.
center.png — logo by Aethris, CC
6k.jpg - composite of smallsnek.jpg and bubble4.png
bubble3.png — https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Borneo_rainforest.jpg
smallsnek.jpg — artwork by Valdevia, CC
library.png — https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:County_Dublin_-_Long_Room-Trinity_College_-_20180703092642.jpg
tilly.png — https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Blanche_Lincoln,_2007.jpg
bubble4.png — https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Aerial_view_of_the_Amazon_Rainforest.jpg
forest2.png — https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Flickr_-_Israel_Defense_Forces_-_IDF_Elite_Units'_Soldiers_Take_Cover_in_the_Elyakim_Combat_Training_Base_(14).jpg
snek.jpg — artwork by Valdevia, CC
jungleman.png - https://pixabay.com/photos/soldier-the-war-the-army-conflict-4768760/
bubble5.png — working on it
earth.png — working on it but i know i got it from somewhere in here https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Earth_photography_from_the_International_Space_Station
interior.png — https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/4b/Long_Room_Interior%2C_Trinity_College_Dublin%2C_Ireland_-_Diliff.jpg/794px-Long_Room_Interior%2C_Trinity_College_Dublin%2C_Ireland_-_Diliff.jpg
amazing article! i really enjoyed reading and the article had me reflect on myself which i unfortunately rarely do. also for some reason earth.png in revision 2 wouldn't load for me even after refreshing and restarting so maybe the embed isn't working? i don't know if it's a thing for everyone or just me. anyways, definitely deserves the 6000 spot.
I'm a ^🅱️ot
(I somehow never commented on this. I think I didn't want to bias the contest, and then it just slipped my mind.)
This is the first piece on the site that I've ever seen that fundamentally understood, thematically, what I was trying to do with the character of Director Tilda Moose.
MANY people have written Moose very well in a way that I loved, and many understood her character, but never before this had anyone written her using the themes I created her to explore, and then was mostly too afraid to.
Rounder did all of this before he talked to me.
I remember the shock I felt when I got to the later parts of the article, and how I realized how thoroughly this represented what I'd been trying to do with this character since I created her.
How she was the avatar, for me, of so much sorrow and joy and pain, what it's like to suppress, what it's like to tell yourself you must sacrifice yourself to save what you love, that there is no other way, and it becomes all you know. About seeing terrible things coming and not being able to stop them, and the ego and arrogance to believe you could, if you just destroy yourself for the right cause. About the stories you tell yourself, and how they can destroy you or save you.
Even the inconsistencies with my personal canon came off perfectly as the lies Moose habitually tells people to survive, or what she might have done in this future scenario when she finally believed the lies she told herself.
"Former" Type Blue! What did she do to fool herself here, to think she could just carve out her past permanently, carve out that part of who she was? Did she believe it? Did she use anomalous means to make it happen? Did she just convince everyone of a lie?
And the lies she tells about why she went into the Archives.. Rounder did that intentionally, knowing that Moose literally can't remember why she did that, just the motives (which she hides), and writing her as an iteration of herself a few years in the future when she's just… finally lost faith. All of this is brilliant.
I also recall the shock I felt when I ended up pulling out and showing Rounder extensive drafts I'd written and never posted and how they reflected his 6000 draft like a mirror.
The one that hit hardest was…
"The end isn't death, Tilly. You were stubbornly clinging to that idea for so long."
Me, to Rounder, after reading that:
OKAY ARE YOU ON MY LAPTOP RIGHT NOW
(And then I pasted screenshots of unposted Resurrection brainstorming that I'd been doing the night before, discussing EXACTLY this with "just myself".)
I can definitely say that every piece for any canon I write on this site afterwards with Tilda Moose will include her having read this article, whether she believes it, and whether it really could actually happen or not in-story.
I can also safely say, by now, after months have passed, that this gave me extra inspiration and drive to post the stories that I've been afraid to post for years. I've been working on them slowly but without ceasing ever since reading this article.
In other words… I couldn't be more pleased or happy. I feel it's rare that authors get such an extraordinary stroke of luck with a mega-article by another author that includes perfect thematic characterization.
(Not to mention that Rounder was kind enough to not harden the actual details into canon — and to accomplish this uses storytelling techniques that I adore, which feels like it gives me permission to be braver again as a writer on this site — like I used to be here, before so much happened.)
I feel terribly grateful that I get to have this. Thank you, Rounder. <3
I got really excited by you're mere words 'Resurrection brainstorming'.
if there was an article that had X000 energy it would be this one. my initial skepticism at "you're just gonna make the wanderer's library your entry?" was quickly drowned out by how much like a statement piece this feels like. years of complex feelings on this site and its work and its community felt like they were finally being spoken to with this - and yeah, i'm a total sucker for these "value of stories" themes. this is just so, so thematically strong, and heartfelt, and passionate. here's to what's next. +1.
The snake has an exceedingly strong voice that really brings your story’s thesis to life.
Thanks! I'm glad her character really shone through.
Uh-oh, looks like the Library forgot about anafabulas! ZN-class Total Narrative Collapse Scenario time!
Jokes aside, this is excellently done. Most 6kish 6k so far.
If you’re reading this, forum signatures are enabled.
More than the fantastic dialogue, more than the flair and style, more than all the wonderful images and imagery, and more than the tight and engaging plot, the thing that really shines in this is the message. Every step of the way you're focusing not only on the closing of a story, but the opening of many, many more, and all the parts of this entry are working so cohesively. I absolutely love it. Thank you so much for writing this.
Definitely went in a direction I didn't expect. I also appreciate the theme changing when the Library spread to the site. Really, really great.
I was in a bad mood when I first critted this. Re-reading with fresh eyes: the way that this story makes physical the continuity of people, spaces, stories, identities and reality, and celebrates that continuation and transformation; the way our atoms live on when we die and so too our dreams; the way it's hard to draw the line between one person and another; it's all so joyous. It makes of music all one song.
When I first read this piece I was confused by the physicality of this continuation; I only saw the way it was just One World transforming into Another. But now when -A tells the director that her story had ended and begun long before the changing of this world into The Library, it signifies the broader meaning of this work to me; that this End Of The World is no more an end of the world than the passing of any day; it's only how this story is to end. Few consider what happens the day after Ulysses; few ask what comes before our earliest memories. The author here suggests that every moment is a world ending and a new one rising, stories ending and beginning, and that the rivers are never filled with the same waters.
This work approaches this love of change and its complex questioning of periodization with an extremely subtle touch, with very enjoyable characters, a clear admiration for writing and for the writing community it is situated in, and simultaneously offers up little wonderings on possibility and fate. It carries these engrossing themes and questions alongside an engaging story, and all in the most effective usage of every line possible.
I'm going to be thinking about this piece for a while. Thank you.
this is a lot to take in, but i appreciate all of it. thank you!
Sorry for making the snake lady hot :(
But that was a fantastic story, rounder!
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page revision: 2, last edited: 15 Jan 2023 15:06
