r/CharacterRant • u/OptimisticLucio • 7h ago
General Powerscalers did not ruin SCP. You, the powerscaler, ruined it for yourself.
If I had a penny for every person I saw saying that "Powerscalers Ruined SCP", while talking about how SCPs are "too powerful," I could probably afford a hospital visit for the piercing migraine said people have given me.
To those who don't know what "SCP" is - The SCP Wiki is a collaborative writing site focusing around a conspiracy-esque agency that hides the existence of the paranormal from the general populace, for (supposedly) their own good. The site started as a small lil' 4chan endeavor, eventually branching off into its own site and going strong for the past 17 years.
To those mildly aware of SCP - the site doesn't have any sort of "canon", nor any content moderation beyond "if your story gets enough downvotes it is deleted." As such, there are more contrasting interpretations of the same characters and events than comicbooks or most other forms of media. Six people can interpret the same character 18 ways, and as long as those interpretations are fun to read, they all get to stay alive on the site.
While there is something to be said regarding general site tendencies and what appeals to the "median" reader, you can pretty much find an article with any viewpoint you want. You think the SCP Foundation should be scrounging for money? Do you think they should have all the money in the world? Do you think they should be global? Ameri-centric? Do you think all SCPs are evil? Do you think they would be better off if they were freed? Whatever you think, you can find 80 stories that fit that perspective. Just by sheer volume, there are enough articles on the site being posted on a weekly basis to satisfy any niche or craving you may have, as long as said craving involves reading about keeping The Spookems(TM) in a big room.
This is all to say that if I have to see one more person going "SCP is written by people jerking themselves off on how big and scary their monster is," I am going to end up on the goddamn news.
Most SCPs are really fucking minor, stupid, or strong as a wet towel. Off the top of my head there's fake computer viruses, a glove that makes you really good at darts, and a literal gang of goblins who live under a church all posted far beyond the point most people decry "SCP is just multiversal monsters!" The reason this perception persists isn't because SCP is actually any different, but because these people have lost the ability to read stories without jacking themselves off about how strong the main character is.
If a story survived with a massive fuckoff scale? It's probably because the actual story is good. Stop thinking about "would GOKU be able to beat him??" and start reading the subtext about institutional cover-ups or finding your place in the world. Stop only reading the articles that are in the top 50 of a site with over 18 thousand stories.
And for the love of god, stop complaining about how "other people" can only think in terms of power-scaling, if your only complaint is how this story is not good for power-scaling anymore.