Happy Pridefest! I originally had some goofy SCP-themed grindr gags in mind, but this ended up falling out of me instead. Oops! Oh well!
SCP-8818 / Discussion
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This is the discussion related to the wiki page SCP-8818.
Very charming piece! In particular, I think the strength of the dialogue really sells this - 8818’s description of his brief episode of what I presume was life is wonderfully evocative and touching, while still managing to come across as something I could actually see someone saying out loud, rather than reading as awkward prose. This article brought a smile to my face; not much more to say than that. :)
The dialogue of what it means to be “full of life” isn’t clicking with me unfortunately. I’m not sure why, since I quite like the concept, but the character himself does nothing for me.
Yeah I’m inclined to agree. I like the idea but that dialogue bit where he describes the feeling is the lynchpin of the piece and I feel like it’s not quite vivid, not quite intense enough.
Thirding is a little silly, no?
I respect that this isn't going to work for everyone. Perhaps it could have been better! But on this occasion, on this subject, I feel content to leave the piece as it is. This one's pretty much just for me, guys. Happy Pride!
Echoing the above.
I'd like to mention, the description is incredibly elegant, it's the perfect setup for any kind of character arc or vibe, but I feel this is equally offset by the interviews ambiguity. There's a certain lack of specificity that feels more generic and one-size-fits-all rather than an intimate exploration of identity.
Since its tagged pridefest, there's definitely subtext here, but it could be read as a trans piece, or a gay piece, or an ace piece, or a pan piece, and while there is an argument to be made about how queer identity is not required to fit in a specific box (it would be hypocritical to suggest otherwise), this just lacks that distinction.
I get what it's trying to go for but it is not working for me.
bloop
Novoting for the same reasons listed above. I, personally, am not great with subtext in general, so while I understand the interview is supposed to be implying something I have absolutely no clue what it is. Whether that's a skill issue on my part for not getting it or something clarity related on your part remains to be seen I guess lol.
Not downvoting though because I really adore the setup and vibe, even if I didn't understand where it went.
For me personally, the most disappointing part about this article is that it sets up this promising premise, a literal dead man walking who feels an intense emotion for the first time, and then does nothing with it. There's no journey of inflection that starts, he doesn't desire more of this feeling and go out looking for it again, the story ends before it can begin. The concept isn't explored, there's no growth, no adventure, nothing.
8818's description of this "feeling" also falls kinda flat, but everyone else has already discussed it.
For more information, please reread.
There's no journey of inflection that starts, he doesn't desire more of this feeling and go out looking for it again, the story ends before it can begin. The concept isn't explored, there's no growth, no adventure, nothing.
That is the entire point. Fair enough if you don't like that that is the point. But that is the point.
Very likely chance this could be just me, since nobody else has brought it up, but there's some weird CSS glitch that's making the entire text move to the left off-center.
Not sure if that's intentional or what but it's a little inconvenient.
I didn't care for the article itself, but other people have already shared my thoughts. I'm glad you're happy with it though!
For clarification, this was a deliberate choice, since to me it felt better centered against the rating module, if that makes sense. BUT this is something I'm totally fine changing! Given that basalt is centered to the page by default I can see why it would feel off.
I'm sorry but I don't see how this relates to the theme of PrideFest. I think there is a subtle implication or implications here that completely went over my head. Novoting until I decide what to make of this.
This is what years of being in the closet to myself felt like. I'm out now, but I'm still the man who felt the sudden brush of life and told himself it was nothing. I'm still unlearning being him.
(I feel I should add a disclaimer that I don't think that anyone is obligated to favor this or any other piece solely because it comes from a personal place.)
I will also point out, there's nothing barring anyone from entering anything to PrideFest. There's literally no rules about it explicitly because it's a bad idea to litigate whether a given entry is "queer enough".
The point is to celebrate pride, to show that the wiki has grown enough to make it to this point, and this extends to how an author decides to express themselves.
bloop
Is this related to social norms? The subject is told to live without being aware of it, so he feels pain but doesn't know why.
While I appreciate the minimalism of the piece, I also feel like it stops before it really gets interesting. I can sort of tell what's happening especially by reading the pride-fest tag. That SCP-8818 is sort of hollow, it looks and acts like a normal living person but is not really alive. And the implication of this is that it briefly became alive when it experienced something akin to love. It's a metaphor for being in the closet and unfulfilled romantically, and then having the brief realization that you might be queer but brushing it off and going back to masking. But, like the above comments said it does not really capture in its imagery what it is like to become alive after pretending to be alive for your entire life or what happened to actually give SCP-8818 the reaction
I'm going to novote this.
/forum/t-16869590/scp-8818#post-
page revision: 2, last edited: 15 Jan 2023 15:06